Huckleberry Finn’s Adventures’ theme of loneliness

A complex and unpleasant emotional response to isolation or a dearth of company is loneliness. It entails uneasy emotions brought on by an absence of connection or communication with others, either right now or for a considerable amount of time in the future. The causes of loneliness can be cerebral, social, physical, or emotional. According to studies, loneliness affects people in marriages, families, relationships, and even in prosperous jobs across a wide range of societies. Modern cultures are now concerned about it. To reflect societal situations, writers and academics of all levels have used the subject of loneliness in their literary works. Mark Twain, whose work of art, Adventures of Huckelberry Finn is punctuated with elements of loneliness and isolation, is one of these authors. This paper will provide an in-depth analysis of the theme of loneliness as highlighted in the book, Adventures of Huckelberry Finn.

Theme of Loneliness

Loneliness is evidenced in the novel through the character Huck Finn who does not have a love of a biological father. It is quoted, “Yes, he has a father, but you never find him nowadays” (Twain, 1885). Relationships form an important aspect of society. Living without a close family member can put one in a critical situation of loneliness. This situation is aggravated when one has to live without a father figure. An important aspect of this novel is the fact that Huck can make friends and get into relationships that he needs. Despite being lonely and without a father at the beginning of the novel, Huck manages to find companions who guide him and support him all through the adventures. It is important to note that despite getting company from friends, he remains detached and yearns for family love.

Loneliness can be hard to manage should the victims lack the right kind of people to guide and support them. At the beginning of the novel, Huck is unable to cope with loneliness. For a large part of the novel, Huck does not seem to know how to manage or cope with loneliness. He learns how to carry on with life throughout the story. The novel thus states, “That is just the way with some people. They get down on a thing when they don’t know nothing about it.” The fact that he was able to find the right company relationships helps him to bridge the rift separating loneliness and companionship. Through this association, he was able to combat loneliness a situation that in my opinion would be difficult to control had he not had the chance to associate.

Huck was born into an environment that had influenced him to experience initial loneliness that made him feel isolated in some aspects. This isolation is demonstrated when Huck encounters the overpowering frontier with the huge size of the Mississippi River in a deep and big forest surrounding a settlement. The novel states, “…but by and by it got sort of lonesome, and I went and set on the bank and listened to the current…” (Twain, 1885). From a societal point of view, Huck is a marginal figure yet alienated from the society. He is under obligation to be involved in certain social beliefs some of which are untrue. At some instance, Huck finds himself in a situation where he has to make major decisions most of which are incompatible with the general societal conventions. Huck’s entire life is influenced by forces of collective consciousness as pertains to the problem of racial discrimination.

Huck’s separation from society and love does not explain all aspects of alienation in the novel. Loneliness and isolation are also witnessed when Huck is separated from Jim and the raft by fog and an island. These aspects further separate him from the world he is supposed to be close to and interact with freely. In page 86 of the novel, Huck seems to have a changed view of the world. Huck explains, “…and there was them kind of faint dronings of bugs and flies in the air that makes it seem so lonesome and like everybody’s dead and gone” (Twain, 1885).All systems that worked very well no longer seem to function. The result from this kind of system is the general feeling of loneliness and dismissal.

In The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck, who is the novel’s main character feels alienated and lonely from the society’s morals and norms of the American Society of 1830’s and 1840’s. Consequently, Huck runs away with a slave by the name Jim who is his relative. In this case, Huck feels alienated by some people and the civilized moral values which imposed upon him by the people that he encountered in the city where he grew up. He opts to find a way out of this situation so as to feel less lonely. In order get out of the civilization and the loneliness that accompany it, Huck rafts down the Mississippi River together with Jim.

This novel portrays a character alienated from his culture and the societal norms and beliefs. Huck feels that the society and the people around him are too strict yet some things are not acceptable to him. Huck says, “human beings can be awful cruel to one another” (Twain, 1885). He runs away from the intolerant people who initially surrounded him. The societal aspects that he faces in his life push him into choosing his individuality over civilization. His instincts and the urge to beat loneliness and alienation guide him throughout his entire life.

Loneliness and isolation are also depicted when Huck has to battle with his conscience. He faces an intense inner battle on societal beliefs, personal morals, and companionship. “I felt so lonesome I most wished I was dead” (Twain, 1885). His solitude at the beginning of the novel causes him a lot of misery. Huck is seen to be fighting with social conventions in two ways. The first way is through the intellect and the second way is through the use of morals. Huck’s education makes him branded as an outcast as it distrusts the morals and the precepts which constitute the fabric of society. As a result, this society labels him a pariah, and it never protects him from all forms of abuse. The attempts made by Miss Watsons’ and the Widow Douglas do not seem to ameliorate the already aggravated situation. The only thing that Huck learns is to distrust the morals of the very society in which he is born.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the theme of loneliness also comes out when Huck alienates himself from his society so as to escape its evils. All through the novel, he battles with the ideas of right and wrong because, in this system, the two aspects, for his society, do not match with what he has learned. He feels some degree of loneliness and alienation as he cannot have other people believing or viewing things from his perspective. According to the society where Huck grows up, the people believe that helping a slave run away is wrong thus should be condemned. It is this society that has branded all black people as being sub-humans. The same community believes that whoever has money has power. Huck argues that he would rather be without money but avoid all forms of conflicts and corruption. In this sense, Huck is isolated from his society because of the beliefs which, according to him, are unacceptable.

References

Twain, M. (1885). Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Charles L. Webster and Company.