The Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn
Themes, Literary Devices, and
Character in the Early Chapters
A Bitter Battle Book
• First and foremost, Twain’s classic is a novel
that contains a battle, and that battle belongs
to Huckeberry Finn, the main character. Twain
presents us with a young man who attempts
to escape a society that offends his senses and
threatens his very well-being.
Twain’s Presentation of Civilization
• Twain’s early message is clear: Civilized society
is boring, confining, and hypocritical.
Three Pieces of Evidence
• The lines are drawn as early as chapter one. Huck
tells us that upon being adopted by the Widow
Douglas his life becomes “rough living …
considering how dismal regular and decent the
widow was in all her ways.”
• She requires he dress in confining clothing that
causes him to “do nothing but sweat and sweat,”
• and will not allow him to smoke despite her own
use of snuff.
Examination of Evidence, Part I
• Although Huck describes the Widow’s living as
“decent,” the reader should not be misled: Huck
cannot abide the dull routine of polite society,
finding that the “regular” routines of the day are
“dismal” and “rough” on him. Huck’s choice of
the word “dismal” reveals his view that the hourby-hour appointments of the educated and
wealthy are bleak, depressing, and dispiriting.
Claiming that they are “rough” on him indicates
that his spirit is broken down in the presence of
Widow Douglas.
Examination of Evidence, Part II
• He attempts to find solace in escape, preferring
rags in the countryside to starched collars in
town. The clothing he is required to wear in the
presence of the widow is not only stiff because of
the habits of laundering, but is accompanied with
rules of propriety. Therefore, when Huck says it
causes him to “sweat,” he not only means literally
from the fabrics, laundering, and physical
discomfort, he also means that the rules of
conduct that surround and govern him cause him
unease.
Additional Evidence for Part II
• A prime example of this is when Miss Watson
pecks at Huck for his behavior. She is relentless as
a feeding bird as she points out his physical faults:
“Don’t put your feet up there Huckeberry … Don’t
scrunch up like that Huckeberry – sit up straight …
Don’t gap and stretch like that Huckleberry—why
don’t you try to behave?” She annoys him to the
extent that when she says he could go to “the
bad place” he responds he wishes he could go
there because of the torment he receives in the
house.
Examination of Evidence, Part III
• Despite his observation that the Widow is
“decent,” Huck cannot abide her hypocrisy. While
she allows herself the use of snuff she does not
allow Huck to smoke – a habit he took on easily
at a younger age and that provides him relaxation
and help in thinking. The contemporary reader
understands the adverse effects of tobacco on
the body, but a modern reading cannot ignore
the fact that Huck observes even in the widow
that vices cross social boundaries, and he sees it
unfair that she should not follow the same rules
she sets for him.
Literary Device: Humor Through Irony
• The irony Huck observes in the habits of one
wealthy woman introduces a major literary
device employed by Twain: satire. Satire in the
novel primarily takes the form of irony, and in
the chapters surrounding Huck’s kidnapping
and imprisonment, Twain employs situational
irony.
Situational Irony Defined
• Situational irony occurs when the author
presents within the plot a situation that builds
an expectation in the reader. The author plays
to conventional wisdom or common
understanding, in a sense setting up the
reader for the common expectation yet
surprising the reader with dramatically
different events. When the unexpected
occurs, the reader is faced with a surprise,
often with a humorous result.
Example of Situational Irony
• Shortly after Huck discovers Pap’s bootprint he
finds himself face-to-face with an abusive father
who aims to return Huck to his rightful place –
among the low in society. Pap warns Huck not to
return to school or he shall be beaten. When
Huck does go to school and Pap is unable to
secure Huck’s treasure, Pap kidnaps the boy and
secures him in a backwoods cabin across the
river. While there, Huck endures beatings and
threats to his very life, one evening narrowly
escaping death from his father, who attacks the
boy in a drunken stupor.
Interpretation of Evidence
• When the reader observes this situation, it is
natural to feel sympathy for Huck, the boy
whose body takes the blows given by the
physically abusive father. It is also natural to
wish that Huck could escape or overcome his
father’s maltreatment. However, Twain’s
situational irony surprises the reader and
causes the reader to see another of Twain’s
comments on society: It is worse than what
most would consider “rough” living.
Building Evidence of Twain’s Message
• Despite his aversion to his father’s behavior
around town – which causes him to go to
school just to spite his father - and the
beatings he endures while at the cabin, Huck
still prefers his father’s company and the
“easy” life he leads at the cabin to the life in
town with the widow and Miss Watson. Huck
narrates, “… it warn’t long … till I was used to
being where I was, and liked it—all but the
cowhide part.”
Further Evidence and Interpretation
• For further evidence of Huck’s slight “reversion”
to backwoods living, see the fourth paragraph of
chapter six.
• The irony here is that for the reader, the “easy”
life would be in town under the care and
supervision of the widow, where there is food
provided and a free education that can lead to a
future. In contrast, Twain’s young narrator sees
life among “society” as so objectionable that he
would rather endure beatings – the “cowhide” and imprisonment in a cabin.
Irony at Work to Produce Humor
• The list of objections Huck presents seems
minor to the mature reader. The reader is
slightly entertained by the fact that Huck
prefers no rules surrounding clothing and
behavior and language. He prefers living the
“easy” life of the hunter-gatherer who goes
days without bathing and wears filthy clothes
if any at all. The lifestyle to many sounds
abhorrent: dirt, grime, and the uncertainty of
food.
Further Evaluation of the Irony
• However, within this irony the message from
Twain is clear and similar to the one he presents
with the earlier commentary on the clothing:
society presents objectionable requirements that
confine an individual.
• Huck’s narration makes the requirements of
“civil” society sound ridiculous compared to the
simple life lived off the land. In fact, it is only
Pap’s three-day absence when he leaves Huck
locked up that finally scares Huck into wanting to
escape.
Dramatic Irony Defined
• Another type of irony employed by Twain is
dramatic irony. With dramatic irony, a
character lacks a piece of knowledge that the
reader, or another character, possesses.
• Because of this lack of knowledge, the reader
observes the character’s behavior and
reaction to events with heightened
anticipation and humor, as the reader is “in
on” something that the character is not.
Dramatic Irony on the Raft
• An example of dramatic irony involves the
conversation between Huck and Jim about kings,
dukes, Solomon, and the French language. Jim
becomes interested in how much royalty makes,
and Huck informs him, “they can get a thousand
dollars a month if they want … everything
belongs to them.” After Jim’s inquiry about what
they do to earn this money, Huck continues,
“They don’t do nothing! The way you talk! They
just set around!”
The Irony: Huck & Jim’s Knowledge
• The dramatic irony is based on what both
characters do not know. Firstly, Jim is in
complete ignorance about the history, habits,
and income of royalty. His dramatic shock and
reaction to Huck’s information provides
entertainment, especially because he takes
whatever the boy says at face value. The fact
he believes Huck is humorous because Huck
himself, with only a partial formal education,
provides Jim with partial truths.
The Irony: The Reader’s Knowledge
• The reader is aware that while kings were (and
are) wealthy, Huck has misinterpreted the extent
of their rule and kingdom. While everything
within a kingdom may “belong” to a king, the way
Huck presents it to Jim makes it sound like the
entire world is ruled by kings.
• This scene is one place in the novel where Twain
editorializes about the ineffectiveness and
behavior of America’s own political leaders.
These politicians are later represented by the
characters of the duke and king.
Explanation: The Joy of Partial
Knowledge
• Huck expresses shock and an air of superiority when he
says, “The way you talk!” He asserts his own knowledge
with a phrase that means, “I can’t believe you are so
without knowledge that you don’t know this.” Again, Twain
employs dramatic irony, and here the character without
knowledge that provides the humor is Huck.
• His own superior attitude emphasizes the absurdity of his
misinformation: That kings “don’t do nothing” and “just set
around” oversimplifies the function of kings yet captures
the way a child would imagine the easy life of royalty. The
reader enjoys seeing Huck attempt to teach Jim with partial
truths, because the reader’s own knowledge allows
him/her to see the humor in Huck’s education and beliefs.
The Humanization of Jim
• While discussing the conversation on the raft, this is a
good time to address the relationship between Huck
and Jim. Firstly note that Jim and Huck speak to one
another with full honesty and without reservation.
While on the raft, and especially in this conversation,
Jim does not follow the strict rules of society that
dictate he lower himself before a white boy. In fact, he
argues vociferously for his opinion that “Sollermun”
could not have been the wisest king, and his logic that
all men should speak the same language carries with it
just enough common sense to seem acceptably logical.
Jim’s “Rules” as a Slave
• As a slave, Jim had to abide by a strict code of
behavior so that whenever he interacted with
a white person he had to verbally and
physically ensure the white person’s
superiority. Verbal requirements included
calling young white boys “master” and elder
whites “mister,” “missus,” “sir,” and “ma’am.”
Jim’s Reaction to Dukes and Kings
• When Huck informs Jim that dukes and kings
go by “your majesty, your grace, and your
lordship” he is amazed at the new level of
formality required because the white royalty
follow rules similar to his own. This
information is not a surprise to the reader, but
Huck tells us that Jim’s eyes “bugged out,”
indicating keen interest and shock. Jim’s lack
of knowledge and physical reaction provide
humor to the reader through dramatic irony.
Why Jim Is Not a Comic Figure
• It may appear that Jim is presented in a
negative light by Twain—that Jim is a kind of
buffoon or protective clown riding along on
the raft with Huck. Yet this is far from the
case. It has already been shown that they felt
free to express their opinions while on the
raft. Twain is able to provide Jim with honest,
human feelings and reactions. In doing so, he
ensures that the reader is not left with an
image of Jim as a comic figure.
Jim Goes Along with Huck
• When Jim and Huck are reunited after the fog
separates them overnight, Huck pretends to
have been on the raft the whole time, and Jim
at first plays the role that his upbringing and
society have dictated: he believes the white
boy and plays along with Huck’s lie.
More Summary
• Huck dodges Jim’s queries about the fog and
tying up to the towhead with outright lies,
eventually claiming, “you did dream it,
because there didn’t any of it happen.” After a
few minutes of silence Jim replies with, “Well,
den, I reck’n I did dream it,” verbally giving in
to Huck’s lies and seemingly letting go of his
own arguments against them.
Leading Into Jim’s Lesson
• Yet it is only a few moments later that Twain
reveals Jim’s intelligence and feelings of
humiliation, upending the notion that the Black
man is a mere creature below his white master.
When Huck brashly asks Jim what the debris left
on the raft from the towhead debacle represents,
Huck thinks he will have a fine time watching Jim
attempt to understand what undoubtedly looks
like concrete evidence of the “dream” Huck
presented. Instead, Jim teaches Huck one of the
book’s most enduring lessons.
How Jim Humbles Huck
and Becomes Human
• Read the final three paragraphs in chapter
fifteen to see how Twain humanizes Jim and
humbles Huck.
We Empathize with Jim
• A human feels, and their feelings cause us to
empathize with him/her. Jim’s consideration
of Huck’s lie causes him to respond openly and
honestly. He shows that he is hurt by Huck’s
trick, and this greatly affects Huck.
• The reader sees that Jim is not dumb enough
to believe everything he is told, and he even
has the temerity (gall) to give Huck a scolding
through his final interpretation.
Twain’s Lesson
• This scolding/shaming brings Huck around to
see Jim as a true companion. Huck’s lesson is a
lesson for all who have ever used an
advantage given by society to make a fool of
someone. That target feels as keenly as the
oppressor.
• This scene is also an indication that the river is
a freeing force, as Jim’s opinion and feelings
are free to be shared. The river is where new
rules are drawn governing friendship.
The Theme of Friendship
• The relationship between Huck and Jim
blossoms in the course of the novel.
Early Chapters
• At the start, Huck allows Tom to play a simple
trick on Jim, but there is no repercussion
• In chapter 15, Huck’s mean trick regarding the
night in the fog results in shame for Huck and
a further evening of their relationship as Huck
apologizes. Here, Huck first imagines Jim to be
gullible and foolish, but when he sees that Jim
is neither, his attitude toward the slave shifts.
Later Chapters
• When Huck discovers Jim after running from
the Grang/Shep affair, he is overjoyed
• Huck fights against one of the strongest rules
of society when he considers betraying Jim,
yet his own internal morality wins
• Huck says he would rather go to hell than
betray Jim – and that is true friendship
The River as a Symbolic Device
• The river functions as a distinct symbolic
device:
– It is Huck’s baptism – he escapes a smothering
society into freedom; this is further supported by
the way Twain paints the negative influence of
religion
– The river is something pure and separate from
corruption
Evidence
• Huck states, “There warn’t no home like a raft,
after all. Other places do seem so cramped up
and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty
free and easy and comfortable on a raft.”
• On the river, the customs and rules found on
land do not apply. Jim and Huck are free from
the oppressive rules such as those
surrounding Jim’s behavior and the dictates of
“civil” society
Contrast to Land
• On land we find hypocrites, frauds, cowards,
and fools
– Example in how Huck sees the Grang/Shep
families
– Example in how Huck sees the king and duke
swindling
Superstition
• Be careful to note that Huck is just as
superstitious as Jim
• Their belief in superstition reflects a strong
belief in nature and the cosmos rather than
the rules set down by organized religion. Huck
and Jim look to nature for signs giving away
their fortune and future
Evidence
• The way Jim interprets the events on the night
of the fog
• The birds signaling the arrival of a storm on
Jackson Island
• The snake skin
• Hairy arms/chest
Twain’s Suggestion
• Often, Jim’s predictions do come true,
revealing Twain’s suggestion that it is better
off for Huck to trust his heart and his folk
beliefs than organized religion
• This is further supported by the fact that
Huck’s dedication to Jim provides a “happy”
resolution to the novel as opposed to
troubling – Huck’s dedication to his friend
rejects religion and dogma