Huck's "Awakening"

Huck’s “Awakening”

In many ways, to understand the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, the reader must also know a little about the author. Mark Twain was one of the many pen names of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He was born on November 30, 1835, and grew up in the Mississippi River town of Hannibal, Missouri (de Koster, 15). Mark Twain has deeply etched the image of Huck Finn and the runaway slave Jim on the raft into the American consciousness as the raft symbolizes freedom from the constraints of civilizations. While floating down the Mississippi River, he meets Jim, the runaway slave who is owned by Mrs. Watson. The reader sees for the last time in Chapter 15 that Huck becomes aware of the consequences that his childlike shenanigans actually end up hurting the one true friend, Jim. Huck’s life begins to change when he is faced with many moral struggles along the way. He has to fight against society’s views, which conflict with...