A Free Land is Hard to Find: On Huckleberry Finn’s Escaping from Civilization
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Keywords

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Huck’s freedom
Civilization

DOI

10.26689/ssr.v4i9.4325

Submitted : 2022-08-10
Accepted : 2022-08-25
Published : 2022-09-09

Abstract

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is Mark Twain’s representative novel, in which the black slave Jim’s personal liberty has been the focus of critical attention. However, the white boy Huckleberry Finn’s freedom is taken for granted and therefore seldom mentioned. It can be argued that Huck can neither find real freedom in the seemingly civilized society nor at its opposite side. This thesis divides Huck’s adventure process into three parts, tracing his escaping from his father’s and the widow Douglas’ parenting patterns, his rifting journey down the Mississippi River on the raft and to the island as well as his vagrancy in mob-ruled communities. By doing so, it attempts to demonstrate the infeasibility of gaining individual freedom, the freedom of life and the civil freedom accordingly.

References

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