Tone

Moralistic, Introspective, Tongue-in-Cheek

Twain's has a point to make and he's going to get it across, with the story's plot line as well as through
Huck's explanation of his inner thoughts.

But besides Huck's many moral quandaries and important, life-changing decisions, there's also a ton of
humor in the novel. Twain was a master of irony, wit, sarcasm, and satire, and the Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn is riddled with all of them. Twain drops all kinds of irony into the plot, but one of his
favorite tricks is showing that Huck isn't nearly as smooth as he thinks he is—like when Mrs. Judith
Loftus, after hearing Huck spin a whole roomful of lies, looks him "straight in the face, and very pleasant,
and says, 'Come, now, what's your real name'" (11).

But Huck isn't the only one whose self-image is a little inflated. The duke and the king say they are a real
English Duke and the rightful King of France (the "lost" son of the assassinated Louis XVI)—but know
through Huck's description that neither of them is even remotely believable as a European aristocrat, like
when the young man asks the old one "What're you alassin' about?" (19).

Genre

Adventure, Satire Coming-of-Age

Kid on a raft, bad guys, several snake-related incidences—you're just one Samuel L. Jackson (and a few
technological innovations) away from Snakes on a Plane. (Although, to be fair, Twain is also clearly
drawing from classic adventure epics, particularly The Odyssey. Don't believe us? Well, consider that,
throughout the whole epic, the main character is called the "wily" or "crafty" Odysseus. Translation: the
guy is really good at spinning a story—just like our friend Huck.)

But there's clearly something else going on here. For one, take Twain's "Notice": "Persons attempting to
find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be
banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot."

Um, satirical, much? By reading this first, we know that we should pay close attention: this may look like
a kid's book, like one of the adventures rotting Tom Sawyer's brain, but everything is not as it seems. It
may look like a kid's book, but in fact it's a complicated examination into racism, slavery, and the moral
issues that go with them.

And speaking of morality: Huck doesn't exactly grow up over the course of his travels, but he does
develop his moral compass to a significant degree, which is a big part of becoming an "adult." Sure, he's
not about to settle down with a nice girl and a picket fence—but he's definitely growing up.

What’s Up With the Ending?

Jim is free, Tom's leg is healed, Huck still has his $6,000, and Aunt Sally has offered to adopt him. Talk
about your Hollywood ending.
Well, not so fast. Settling down with Aunt Sally—as nice as she is—is about the last thing Huck wants to
do. Instead, he decides to "light out" for the territories, the unsettled land west of the Mississippi (43).
He may have had a moral breakthrough, but he's not about to settle down with a mortgage and a 401(k).

We're pretty convinced that this is Twain making Huck into a symbol for the American spirit—but it
might also be his way of showing that someone like Huck, who is capable of making moral and ethical
decision for himself—is never going to fit in with the boring old townsfolk who may be nice but certainly
aren't good.

Setting

The Mississippi River along Missouri, Illinois, and Arkansas sometime in the 1830s-40s

Slavery is legal. Everyone drunk. And you'd better not touch any rattlesnake skins, because you'll be sure
to have bad luck. Before the Civil War.

And this isn't the gracious, refined South where everyone is drinking sweet tea and wearing giant
dresses. It's a backwater south, full of uneducated, superstitious, and misguided hicks who say things like
this: "Deed you ain't! You never said no truer thing 'n that, you bet you" (12).

But we do also see that people can be good and kind: the Grangerfords take Huck in right away; Mrs.
Judith Loftus tells Huck—who's a stranger—to "send word… and I'll do what I can to get you out of
[trouble]" (11); and Aunt Sally welcomes Huck like a long-lost child instead of a boy who isn't even really
her cousin.

And there's real beauty in this South, too. When Huck is on the river, he responds to this natural beauty:
"There was freckled places on the ground where the light sifted down through the leaves, and the
freckled places swapped about a little, showing there was a little breeze up there. A couple of squirrels
set on a limb and jabbered at me very friendly" (8.1).

So what's Twain saying with this setting? Well, like a lot of people who write about the South—like
William Faulkner—he seems to see its good and its bad sides—and, more than that, he seems to think
that it could change.

Writing Style

Informal, Youthful, Colloquial

Twain is writing in a style that you could call "vernacular" if you were feeling fancy, and "ordinary
speech" if you were feeling, well, ordinary. (Vernacular specifically refers to language as it's spoken in
particular regions—so, the way that Valley Girl speech is different from the way they talk on Jersey
Shore. If that's even language.)

Since Huck is our first-person narrator, the whole story is told in his voice. The grammar isn't perfect, and
Twain writes the way Huck Finn talks (hence all the apostrophes subbing for unpronounced letters). And
you can tell by the way he talks about pap's abuse—that he got "too handy with his hick'ry"—that he
just accepts the beatings as a part of life. Behind the colloquial and friendly tone, it's actually kind of sad.

Besides nailing Huck's education level, social background, and personality, Twain succeeded in telling the
story convincingly through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old. (At least, we think so.) The novel drips with
dramatic irony, when we can pick up on certain subtext even when Huck doesn't. Like all those
conversations where Huck thinks he's fooling somebody into believing one of his lies?

The River

"Muddy Mississippi." "Ol' Man River." "Proud Mary." And even more, if you want them. The Mississippi
River might as well be a national symbol; it's definitely a majorly important symbol for Huckleberry Finn.
It represents freedom and possibility—but also, maybe, the problems of a drifting life.

Nothin' Left to Lose

Sure, the river is Huck and Jim's transportation. It's taking them from captivity (slavery; child abuse) to
(hopefully) freedom in the state of Ohio. But the river ends up symbolizing freedom in its own right.

Before hitting the rapids, Huck feels confined—both by both society (which, figuratively, kept Huck
imprisoned by its restrictive rules) and by Pap (who, literally, kept Huck locked up). And the river is the
only route they can take if they want to be free both in that present moment and in their respective
futures.

"Free again," "All by ourselves," "nobody to bother us": to Huck, the river represents a life beyond the
rules of society. And that's a life he could get used to.

With Great Freedom Comes Great Responsibility

After all, the rules and laws that people like the Widow and Judge Thatcher lay down aren't just meant to
make Huck's life miserable; they're also meant to protect him. On the river, Huck and Jim encounter all
kinds of life-threatening situations: burglars and potential murders; losing their raft; missing the mouth
of the Ohio River; losing the raft again; witnessing the Grangerford-Shepherdson bloodbath; meeting up
with the duke and king; oh, yeah, and losing Jim back to slavery.

As Huck drifts down the river, he learns that freedom comes with great responsibility: the responsibility
to decide for yourself how to be a good, moral person.

Huck

Huck, a symbol? We think so. Sure, he's a great, well-rounded character—but he could also be seen as a
symbol for America. (See Huck's "Character Analysis" for a few thoughts.) Check out the very last line for
some pretty convincing proof: "But I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because
Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can't stand it. I been there before" (43).

In the nineteenth century, there was a lot of mythology built up around the idea of the rugged
individual, the frontiersman or pioneer who was completely independent and self-sufficient, and wasn't
about the let the guv'mint tell him what to do. (For "guv'mint," read "Aunt Sally" or "the Widow
Douglas.") In other words, someone a lot like Huck: smart but uneducated; a little wild but
fundamentally honest and moral; and not too fond of table manners.

When Huck says he's got to "light out for the territory ahead of the rest," he's taking on the role of the
pioneer: heading out to new, untamed country. And we bet that as soon as it starts getting "sivilized,"
he's going to head out looking for yet another frontier.

Narrator Point of View

First Person (Central Narrator)

We're getting a first-person narrator, and it's a real first person, full of Huck's personality and viewpoint
and youthful voice. Because everything is filtered through Huck, we have to rely on him to interpret the
story and present it to us. This subjectivity means taking the narration with a grain of salt, but Huck's is
so earnest and truthful with himself—and with us—that we're happy to take him at his word.

THEMES

Race

Huckleberry Finn tackles some major issues. Remember that, even though slavery had ended by the time
Huck Finn was published, the whole country was still deeply racist.

Slavery

The theme of slavery is perhaps the most well known aspect of this novel. Since it's first publication,
Twain's perspective on slavery and ideas surrounding racism have been hotly debated. In his personal
and public life, Twain was vehemently anti-slavery. Considering this information, it is easy to see that The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn provides an allegory to explain how and why slavery is wrong. Twain
uses Jim, a main character and a slave, to demonstrate the humanity of slaves. Jim expresses the
complicated human emotions and struggles with the path of his life. To prevent being sold and forced to
separate from his family, Jim runs away from his owner, Miss Watson, and works towards obtaining
freedom so he can buy his family's freedom. All along their journey downriver, Jim cares for and protects
of Huck, not as a servant, but as a friend. Thus, Twain's encourages the reader to feel sympathy and
empathy for Jim and outrage at the society that has enslaved him and threatened his life. However,
although Twain attacks slavery through is portrayal of Jim, he never directly addresses the issue. Huck
and Jim never debate slavery, and all the other slaves in the novel are very minor characters. Only in the
final section of the novel does Twain develop the central conflict concerning slavery: should Huck free
Jim and then be condemned to hell? This decision is life-altering for Huck, as it forces him to reject
everything "civilization" has taught him. Huck chooses to free Jim, based on his personal experiences
rather than social norms, thus choosing the morality of the "natural life" over that of civilization.

Conflict between civilization and "natural life"

The primary theme of the novel is the conflict between civilization and "natural life." Huck represents
natural life through his freedom of spirit, uncivilized ways, and desire to escape from civilization. He was
raised without any rules or discipline and has a strong resistance to anything that might "sivilize" him.
This conflict is introduced in the first chapter through the efforts of the Widow Douglas: she tries to force
Huck to wear new clothes, give up smoking, and learn the Bible. Throughout the novel, Twain seems to
suggest that the uncivilized way of life is more desirable and morally superior.

Mockery of Religion

A theme Twain focuses on quite heavily on in this novel is the mockery of religion. Throughout his life,
Twain was known for his attacks on organized religion. Huck Finn's sarcastic character perfectly situates
him to deride religion, representing Twain's personal views. In the first chapter, Huck indicates that hell
sounds far more fun than heaven. Later on, in a very prominent scene, the "King", a liar and cheat,
convinces a religious community to give him money so he can "convert" his pirate friends. The religious
people are easily led astray, which mocks their beliefs and devotion to God.

Superstition

Superstition appears throughout the novel. Generally, both Huck and Jim are very rational characters, yet
when they encounter anything slightly superstitious, irrationality takes over. The power superstition
holds over the two demonstrates that Huck and Jim are child-like despite their apparent maturity. In
addition, superstition foreshadows the plot at several key junctions. For instance, when Huck spills salt,
Pap returns, and when Huck touches a snakeskin with his bare hands, a rattlesnake bites Jim.