Darren Evans
Mrs. Thomas
Honors English 11
3 March 2010
The Mississippi River
A symbol is a person, place, or thing that represents something beyond itself. The
symbol in the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is the Mississippi River. The
Mississippi River symbolizes a path for both Huck and Jim that carries them to freedom.
As the Mississippi River flows from its headwaters in Minnesota to the Gulf
Stream waters, its flow is both choppy and smooth, just as Huck and Jim’s adventures
are. Throughout their adventure to freedom, they come across many obstacles. One
example is when the Duke and the Dauphin invade their raft. When they came across
Huck and Jim, they disguised themselves as a king and prince in order to rob their raft.
Another example of rough waters for Huck and Jim was when the thick fog cover caused
them to miss their turn and then delayed Jim’s path to free land. Although they came
upon many obstacles, most of the time was just smooth sailing for the two runaways.
The Mississippi River is an appropriate symbol for this novel. The novel took
place during the time of slavery. For slaves like Jim, the river is an appropriate symbol
because they are all looking for a path to freedom. The river is also an appropriate
symbol for Huck because he is looking for a new direction away from his father’s
abusive behavior. Overall, the author does a good job describing Huck’s journey through
the symbol, The Mississippi River.