Rebirth in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Throughout Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain established the recurring theme of rebirth primarily through his main character, Huckleberry Finn. From the very first page to the last, Huck, along with his slave Jim, experienced various forms of social, psychological, and moral rebirth. As they moved from one society to another, Huck constantly changed his name, indicating a change in his identity and his rebirth into an unfamiliar society.
The first social rebirth that Huck Finn experienced was when Widow Douglas took him in and cared for him as a son. Huck never enjoyed the “civil life” he was forcefully given. “It was rough living in the house all the time, considering
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At the beginning of the novel, Huck thought that Jim was inferior because of his color. When Huck and Jim traveled together on the river, they bonded, and Huck saw things in a new light. Huck finally saw Jim as a person, not a slave. “I was trying to make my mouth say I would do the right thing and the clean thing, and go down write to that nigger’s owner and tell where he was; but deep down in me I knowed it was a lie-and He knowed it” (227). Huck finally saw Jim as more than just property and knew he couldn’t let Jim go back to the life of a slave. This was a major turning point in the book because Huck’s morals had finally transitioned to encompass his morals over those valued by society. Huck and Jim had left their old lives behind to gain the experience of a new, free one. Huck left his horrible and abusive Pap, and Jim left his life of slavery. Both of these characters had an opportunity to start a new life on the river which symbolized rebirth. Every time Huck and Jim drifted along the river, there were endless opportunities for them to be reborn in new societies and start new lives. Just as the river was endlessly flowing, Huck’s possibilities of changing were