Huckleberry Finn Nature Analysis

“Nature is so powerful, so strong. Capturing its essence is not easy - your work becomes a dance with light and the weather. It takes you to a place within yourself (Annie Leibovitz)”. Nature is the natural world as it coexists peacefully with humans. Civilization, on the other hand, is an advanced state of society where humans often take advantage of nature. Nature is a force to be reckoned with, a force so strong it has the potential to eliminate humanity entirely. Society is also a force to be reckoned with, as it has the ability to destroy nature and all it stands for. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain shows that nature is powerful, accepting, and a source of freedom whereas society is weak, judgemental, and restricting.

Civilization is used to represent unhappiness, poverty, laziness, and violence. In fact, civilization is shown to be not very civilized. Huck dislikes the idea of being civilized, and finds himself only happy in nature. Huck's early doubts of the civilized world all started with his father, Pap. During his childhood, Huck was abused both physically and mentally by his sorry excuse of a dad. His father walked in and out of his life, failing to be the father figure he so desperately needed. Because of this, Huck began to feel repulsed by society and how it allowed Pap to be awarded his custody. Huck and his father’s relationship is shown in the quote, “Pap he hadn't been seen for more than a year, and that was comfortable for me; I didn't want to see him no more. He used to always whale me when he was sober and could get his hands on me; though I used to take to the woods most of the time when he was around.” Pap wants all the rights of having a child without the responsibilities which helps clarify why Huck has difficulty accepting society. Social behavior is first learned from family, something Huck has never known. Huck does not feel at home in civilization. He continuously longs for the peace of the woods and his adventurous spirit causes a need for exploration. Huck’s feelings about being civilized are shown in the quote, “The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize

Huck and Jim’s journey down the Mississippi River is representative of the nature vs. society theme. Whenever the two go into a town, they encounter crooks, dirty people, violence, and depression. They are faced with lynchings, tarrings, murders, thefts, and many other hazardous situations. Even while on the raft in nature, civilization always seems to suddenly cause them unavoidable issues. The house floating down the river is an example of nature vs. society. In this instance, nature’s sheer force presides over society. Huck experienced the damage of this large home and the death of its owner, but this had little effect on his emotions or thoughts; Huck was seemingly indifferent to the consequences of the flood. Another example of nature vs society is shown through this quote, “After midnight the people on shore went to bed, and then for two or three hours the shores was black--no more sparks in the cabin windows. These sparks was our clock--the first one that showed again meant morning was coming, so we hunted a place to hide and tie up right away (Twain 117)”. This quote shows that even though Huck and Jim are floating along the river in nature, their journey is still controlled by society. Because they risk being seen, the only time it is safe for them to travel is based on when society allows them to. Society is still present even in