Theme Of Freedom In Huck Finn

According to weber.edu, about “1,775,515 nonwhite individuals were enslaved in 1860.” Sadly, slaves during this time period were very common. Jim, a character in the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, is a slave to Miss Watson. However, freedom is not just shown by being free from slavery, it has other definitions. The novel shows three different types of men and what they consider freedom. The main character and narrator of the book, Huck has an abusive father who is addicted to alcohol. He also has the Widow Douglas, who is his primary caregiver because his father is not able to. The Widow Douglas has strict rules compared to Huck's father- making him go to school, participate in religion, and other common teachings. Therefore,

After finding out that Miss Watson was going to sell him, Jim knows he needs to save himself. Jim finds Huck in the woods and they start their adventure down the Mississippi River. Huck says, “out with you Jim and set her loose!” and off they go starting their new adventure. (Twain 206). The raft and river are Jim’s way to the free states, where he hopes to meet with his family. When traveling, Huck and Jim talk a lot together and often share many thoughts and feelings. One night they looked up at the stars saying, “We had the sky, up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made, or only just happened” (Twain 120). On the raft Jim and Huck are both equal, unlike if they were in society. Jim's hope for sharing his knowledge and superstitions with Huck is to allow african americans and caucasians to become equal because if they can share the same sky they can share the same equality. As Jim and Huck travel their freedom path they encounter two con artist that continue on with

Although Huck’s, Jim’s, and the con artists’ reasons and ideas of freedom are different, the river allows them all a path to their dream. The raft provides freedom, and also equality between the opposing characters. Therefore, freedom can be viewed differently depending on the character. In modern day, a child might claim freedom as being able to stay up late and go out with friends, Whereas another child might claim it to be able to indulge in a sweet they do not indulge in often. No matter their skin tone, ethnicity, gender, background, and anything else that separates the human race the individual can attempt to achieve