The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an outstanding novel, published by author Mark Twain in 1884. In the novel, the main character, Huck, feels trapped in a society that he doesn’t want to be a part of. He doesn’t like his father, nor his caretakers Widow Douglas and Miss Watson. He and his friend Jim, who is one of Miss Watson’s slaves, end up getting on a raft to escape their current lives. Throughout the novel, Mark Twain expresses his views on the need for reformation through satire, symbolism, and characterization. Mark Twain uses characterization to express the need for reform. Firstly, he characterizes Huck as free-spirited and independent. For example, Huck states, “Pretty soon I wanted to smoke, and asked the widow to let me.” Huck …show more content…
If Pap’s drinking isn’t bad enough, then his abusiveness is. For example, Huck states, “He chased me with a clasp knife, calling me the Angel of Death.” This shows Pap’s abusive nature when he’s drunk. He attempts to kill his own son because of his intoxication. This is what makes Pap dangerous to Huck, and is why there must be a political reform in childcare services. Similar to Huck, Jim also desires to be free, but he wants a different kind of freedom; freedom from slavery. Twain characterizes Jim as uneducated and superstitious. For example, Jim states, “Well it’s a blame ridicklous way, en I doan’ want to hear no mo’ ‘bout it. Dey ain’ no sense in it.” Jim is talking to Huck about the different languages that are spoken around the world. It is difficult to understand Jim, due to his awkward and uncivilized dialect. Not only does the pronunciation show that Jim is uneducated, but his ignorance of the fact that people in different areas of the world speak different languages definitely does. This is a well-known fact for just about everyone except slaves, which is why this ties into the theme of slavery. Jim is unable to receive education because he is a slave. Slaves weren’t allowed to be