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Huckleberry Finn American Experience Essay

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The Flight to Freedom
“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves”, left the mouth of the once prominent advocate for the abolishment of slavery, former president of the United States, and revolution pioneer, Abraham Lincoln, in his quest for the independence of slaves throughout the nation. Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn expresses the American experience and captures the same idea of acquiring freedom, both physical and mental escape, through the characters Huckleberry Finn and Jim, who both physically escape their dangerous and threatening living arrangements, and the raft that aides Huckleberry and Jim in their quest and exploration of themselves and a new life. The concept of the “American …show more content…

This coincides with the idea of an “American experience” for Huck as he is considered “hip” and daring for leaving town and his stagnant lifestyle in pursuit something greater, something new, something that young adults like him would not have considered during that time. As he escapes without direction Huck encounters Jim, a slave who has also fled his captivity in pursuit of liberation. Huck befriends the slave and the two venture down the Mississippi River, embarking on a journey in which they face violence, distress and episodes of lost hope. A large change that we the readers view during the time Huck and Jim spent together on the river, is Huck’s perception of slavery. After conversing with and getting to know Jim, his values, beliefs and dreams, Huck begins to truly believe that slaves like Jim are not as society paints them to be, that they too are humans with feelings and deserve rights equal to a white man. It is through Huck’s change of heart and development of character that Twain suggests a new way of thinking for future generations of Americans, as they experience more places, people and cultures.
Twain also employs the character Jim to convey the “American experience”, despite him falling short of many opportunities that free, white Americans were able to have during this time.

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