The Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn
by
Mark Twain
(Symbols)
The Mississippi River
For
Huck and Jim, the Mississippi River is the ultimate symbol of freedom. Alone on
their raft, they do not have to answer to anyone. The river carries them toward
freedom: for Jim, toward the free states; for Huck, away from his abusive
father and the restrictive “civilizing” of St. Petersburg. Much like the river
itself, Huck and Jim are in flux, willing to change their attitudes about each
other with little prompting. Despite their freedom, however, they soon find
that they are not completely free from the evils and influences of the towns on
the river’s banks. Even early on, the real world intrudes on the paradise of
the raft: the river floods, bringing Huck and Jim into contact with criminals,
wrecks, and stolen goods. Then, a thick fog causes them to miss the mouth of
the Ohio River, which was to be their route to freedom.
As
the novel progresses, then, the river becomes something other than the
inherently benevolent place Huck originally thought it was. As Huck and Jim
move further south, the duke and the dauphin invade the raft, and Huck and Jim
must spend more time ashore. Though the river continues to offer a refuge from
trouble, it often merely effects the exchange of one bad situation for another.
Each escape exists in the larger context of a continual drift southward, toward
the Deep South and entrenched slavery. In this transition from idyllic retreat
to source of peril, the river mirrors the complicated state of the South.
As
Huck and Jim’s journey progresses, the river, which once seemed a paradise and
a source of freedom, becomes merely a short-term means of escape that
nonetheless pushes Huck and Jim ever further toward danger and destruction. At
the beginning of Huckleberry Finn, the river is a symbol of freedom and change.
Huck and Jim flow with the water and never remain in one place long enough to
be pinned down by a particular set of rules. Compared to the “civilized” towns
along the banks of the Mississippi, the raft on the river represents a
peaceful, alternative space where Huck and Jim, free of hassles and
disapproving stares, can enjoy one another’s company and revel in the small
pleasures of life, like smoking a pipe and watching the stars.
As
the novel continues, however, the real world beyond the Mississippi’s banks
quickly intrudes on the calm, protected space of the river. Huck and Jim come
across wrecks and threatening snags, and bounty hunters, thieves, and con
artists accost them. Although the river still provides refuge when things go wrong
ashore, Huck and Jim’s relation to the river seems to change and become less
friendly. After they miss the mouth of the Ohio River, the Mississippi ceases
to carry them toward freedom. Instead, the current sweeps them toward the Deep
South, which represents the ultimate threat to Jim and a dead end for Huck.
Just as the Mississippi would inevitably carry Huck and Jim to New Orleans
(where Miss Watson had wanted to send Jim anyway), escape from the evils
inherent in humanity is never truly possible.
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