Mark Twain's The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a satirical adventure fiction novel written by Mark Twain. The novel was published in December of 1884 in Britain and Canada; it was then released in the United States another year later in 1885. The book is read around the world and has been widely criticized for its use of harsh language and controversial topics. The book has become a classic and is known for its stance on racism during the time it was written and its view it gave of South in the late 1800’s. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is commonly published with 263 pages, not including any additional appendices or forewords. Twain’s novel contains a rather straightforward series of literary elements. The story takes place in the Southern United States

The exposition takes place in Missouri, where Huck Finn is living with Mrs. Douglas after his latest adventure, who is attempting to civilize him and educate him. He runs away from Mrs. Douglas’s sister, tired of being “civilized” but is caught by the sudden reappearance of his father. His father takes him away and hides him in a cabin to try to claim the $6,000 Huck had acquired as a result of his last adventure. Huck gifts the money to the town judge and then fakes his own death to escape from his father. He flees to a small island called Jackson’s Island, where he stays while his body is being searched for. While on the island, he meets Jim, who ran away from Mrs. Douglas and as a result, is the main suspect for Huck’s “murder.” The two decide to ride down the Mississippi river in a raft to get to Illinois, where Jim will legally be a free man. Huck is unsure about helping free a slave at first, but is driven by his desire to get away from his father. Along the way, they are separated when a steamboat nearly destroys their raft, and Huck is taken in by the Grangerford family. He stays with them for a while, until he learns of a feud between them and the Shepherdson family. He finds Jim hiding near the river, and learns he has repaired the raft. They then flee to continue on their journey. During this part of the story, they meet up with the con artists on the run, who address themselves as being the rightful King of France and the English Duke of Bridgewater. The run along the river visiting town by town, where they continuously con out the residents of each town. They use techniques ranging from fake preaching to creating theatrical productions that nobody likes and fleeing with the money. Eventually they come upon a small town where they find out about the Wilks family, who has just lost Peter Wilks, the guardian of three young girls. The girls are expecting two family members from England to