Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huck Finn

Mark Twain and His Immersive Writing

Mark Twain appears to be one of the most admired writers in America, partially due to his ability to totally immerse a reader in the world of childhood. In these terms, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are the most striking example of Twain being fully formed as a provider of a quality children’s fiction. At the same time, though centering solely on the restful life of a typical 19th-century child, both mentioned novels still engage in discussing vital social topics as racism, discrimination, religion, and the society’s structure. It is proceeded via applying a number of elements, such as defining the exact setting, developing a plot, involving varying themes, and extensively using the symbolic language to help a reader reach a true underlying though covered by the description of childhood.

Theme

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are the masterpieces of Mark Twain that depict stories of typical Americans boys’ childhood. The main theme of both works is the enjoyment of this period of being young and careless when the world is full of miracles and opportunities, and a person is free to explore this globe without the burden of obligations that adults have. In the novels, the writer describes the growth of children with their parallel study of the world around them. The main characters investigate not only the nature and physical laws but also those of the society along with the notion of morality and the disadvantages of the community as people’s organization (Cope 35; “Themes and Construction: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” 8).

The books primarily discuss young boys’ adventures, but they also reveal some important social themes. Mark Twain in his writings raises questions of freedom, slavery, growing up, death, and the opposition of a personality to the society (Abdallah 11). In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the author realistically portrays the American society during the Pre-Civil War period (Messent 224). It is no coincidence that Twain discusses the topic of slavery taking into account the period of events that are described. In the novels, the author pays much attention to defining the concept of freedom for a particular person. Consequently, in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain considers several socially significant topics. Herewith, these themes arise in the context of the worldview growth of the main personages.

Symbolic Language

Mark Twain often refers to symbolism in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In general, the author demonstrates certain symbols through his characters. Huckleberry Finn as a Mark Twain’s hero implies the struggle between a man and his conscience as well as the clash between the society and freethinking (Inge 47).

In the novel about Huckleberry Finn, Widow Douglas is a symbol of the “normal” society and civilization. This character puts all her efforts to make Huck civilized. She wants Huck to go to school and become immersed in her religion. The Grangerfords are the Kentuckian family being the symbol of the southern aristocracy and hospitality. The latter with the Shepardsons symbolize the Civil War (Abdallah 31).

Mark Twain also uses other symbols, for example, the river and the raft. They in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn imply freedom. The raft is also the place where Huck and Jim are equal (Abdulkadhim 26; Afrasiabi 9; Chideste 11). Furthermore, in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the treasure serves as a paramount pattern. This symbol is always an important part of boyhood’s stories. It is the ultimate goal of the adventure of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. The mentioned feature also shows the transition from childhood to adulthood. The whitewashed fence demonstrates the specificity of Tom Sawyer’s character. It symbolizes his eagerness to avoid his responsibilities. Generally, Mark Twain’s writings contain a tremendous number of symbols. The symbolism plays a valuable role in both pieces discussed because, thanks to them, the features of characters and events in the works are revealed (Zhang 20).

Setting

The place of the main events in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is fictional town St. Petersburg. The image of the latter was taken from an actual town Hannibal, Missouri. Mark Twain’s St. Petersburg is situated on the shore of the Mississippi River (Twain (b) 14). It is described as small but with all necessary opportunities for boys. Twain represents it as an average place of residence with a church, a courthouse, a schoolhouse, a terrible cemetery, Temperance Tavern, and a haunted house, though the surrounding nature is incredible. There are large and magnificent forests, a wide river, and an island ideal for playing pirates, and the caves in these places ideally suit for those wishing to be lost in them.

A considerable part of the actions in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn take place in Illinois, on Jackson’s Island, Kentucky, Arkansas, and the Phelps’ farm. The developmental period of the events of both books falls on the time around the middle of the nineteenth century before the Civil War. Therefore, Mark Twain’s writings refer to the reasons and causes of the war, namely the struggle against slavery and racism and the awareness of the society of such a notion as freedom (Henaoui 32; Valkeakari 40).

Plot Elements

Mainly, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn have dynamic plots, and the events change each other in a rapid manner. In both cases, the main storylines are the adventures of the main characters, namely Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn. In addition, there are supplementary plots, for example, a story of disagreements between the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons.

The plot lines of the main heroes are described as periods of their life without the beginning and end. At the same time, some branches of secondary characters have their logical conclusion. For example, the storyline of Pap Finn ended in his death, which allowed Huckleberry Finn to return to St. Petersburg (Twain (a) 197). The events connected with the main heroes describe the separate parts of their lives, so the author was able to write the continuation of Tom Sawyer’s adventures.

Conclusion

To conclude, as any properly structured and detailed story, both novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain contain indispensable elements such as themes, plots, settings, and symbolic language that fully discover the essence of readings. Thus, Twain engages in discovering not only the childhood and the process of becoming adult but also a person’s growing up in the society with racial issues and discrimination on the verge of the extreme changes brought by the Civil War. Through immersing in children’s minds and experiences, the author is able to discover the true essence of the society of 19th century. Generally, Mark Twain, as a dedicated writer of readings for children, managed to reveal the controversial tendencies of the described period to the fullest extent through the use of abovementioned elements.

Works Cited

Abdallah, Baffi. Racism in Mark Twain’s Novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Thematic Analysis, Kasdi Merbah University- Ouargla, 2016.

Abdulkadhim, Firas S. A. “The Natural Environment in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.” International Journal of Literature and Arts, no. 2, vol. 4, 2016, pp. 25-29.

Afrasiabi, Soran. The River as a Symbol of Liberty: An Analysis Regarding the Significance of the Mississippi River in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Karlstads University, 2015.

Chideste, Cynthia A. ”Drifting Down the Big Still River”: Huck and Jim’s Epic Journey in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Iowa State University, 1996.

Cope, Virginia H. Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn: Text, Illustrations, and Early Reviews. University of Virginia Library, 2013.

Henaoui, Ismail. Slavery in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, University of Tlemcen, 2016.

Inge, M. Thomas. Huck Finn Among the Critics. Washington: USIS, 1984.

Messent, Peter. ”Discipline and Punishment in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” Journal of American Studies. no. 2, vol. 32, 1998, pp. 219-235.

”Themes and Construction: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” Exploring Novels, 2003, pp. 6-10.

Twain, Mark (a). The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Orinda, CA: SeaWolf Press, 2018.

Twain, Mark (b). The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Orinda, CA: SeaWolf Press, 2018.

Valkeakari, Tuire. ”Huck, Twain, and the Freedman’s Shackles: Struggling with Huckleberry Finn Today.” Atlantis, no. 2, vol. 28, 2006, pp. 29-43.

Zhang, Heng. A Journey of Racial Neutrality – the Symbolic Meaning of the Mississippi in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Kristianstad University College, 2009.