Huck Finn - Violence and Freedom

Violence and Freedom

In, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, author, Mark Twain contrasts what life is like on the uncivilized shore compared to the peaceful life on the river. Huckleberry Finn is a character that rejects society's behaviors and values because he does not want to be "civilized" like everyone wants him to be. Huck is someone with a mind of his own and someone who does what he pleases. Since Huck is someone who rejects society, he eventually ends up running away and traveling up the Mississippi River with a slave name Jim. The two runaways find peace on the river and they also find that they do not have to deal with the cruel society on shore. In this respect, what qualities make the river and society on shore so different from one another and how does Twain establish these contrasts? Huck and Jim are two individuals seeking freedom from the uncivilized people on the shore and during their journey together they find freedom on the raft floating up the Mississippi River.

The values of the society on land are of greed, violence, cruelty, and deception. Huck's father was one of these tasteless members of society. He was a drunken cruel person who only cared about finding Huck when he heard he was rich. He intended on getting all Huck's money. Huck's father states,

Looky-here--mind how you talk to me, I'm a standing about all I can stand, now--so don't gimme no sass. I've been in town two days, and I haint heard nothing but you bein' rich. I heard about it away down the river, too. That's why I come. You git me that money to-morrow--I want it. (59)

Huck's father is a perfect example of the greed in society. He does not care about anything else besides Huck's money. Huck's father will even beat him for no reason or because he is jealous of Huck for being clean and educated. Huck states,

Every little while he locked me in and went down to the store, three miles to the ferry, and traded fish and game for whiskey and fetched it home and got drunk and had a good time, and licked me. (61)

Hucks rejection for society began right with his father because he had seen what it had done to him. Huck pursues freedom because society values greed and violence to achieve what one may want and this is the complete opposite of what Huck is about.

The freedom on the river is constantly being disrupted by society on shore and Huck finds himself in the middle of a bloody family feud between two families, the Grangerfords and the Shephardsons. Once again Huck is a victim of violence when he watches his new friend Buck die. Huck says,

The boys jumped for the river- both of them hurt- and as they swam down the current, the men run along the bank shooting at them and singing out, "Kill them, Kill them!" It made me so sick I most fell out of the tree. (119)

Society disgusted Huck and he goes on to say, "I wish I hadn't ever come to ashore that night, to see such things" (119).