The importance of nature in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In his novel TheAdventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses nature not only as ally, but asa deterrent in Huck Finn’s search for independence and Jim’s search for freedom.
The most prominent force of nature in the novel was the Mississippi River. Theriver was not only their escape route, but perhaps it became their biggest enemybecause it was always unpredictable. Nature is the strongest factor in the novelbecause in a completely different geographical setting the story would have hadnot only a different outcome, but Huck and Jim might never have found friendshipand freedom. Twain changes his tone when describing the Mississippi River fromwry and sarcastic to flowing and daydreaming. This change in tone illustrateshis own appreciation for the beauty and significance that nature holds for him.
Twain uses personification to show the beauty of nature in contrast to theimmaturity and obnoxious mentality of society. Huck would sometimes wake up to”see a steamboat coughing along upstream” that “now and thenwould belch a whole world of sparks up out of her chimbleys” which actslike a child without manners. (Twain, 81) In almost every chapter Twain usescolorful descriptions of nature to help the reader to imagine the setting of thescene. Twain would not have used so many examples and vivid descriptions ofnature if he didn’t want nature to be a huge part of the novel. In the novel,Huck’s main goal is to get away from a terrible, abusive drunk of a father.
Without the access of the Mississippi, Huck might not have ever escaped hisfather, and his father could have easily killed Huck. For Jim, who’s goal wasnot only freedom, but to see his family again, the river was a free way to reachthe free states. With Huck’s fortune he could have bought a train ticket or paidanother way to get to Cairo, but it was important for him to make his journeywith Jim. In that time a black runaway slave could not have ridden on a train oreven walked on land in the light of day without being caught in a matter ofminutes. Obviously, the river was an imperative part of the story for both Jimand Huck to get away without being caught. “To Twain, nature was almostheaven. He describes it with much more care than that which he gives to passagesabout civilization. He shows the beauty of nature by using select details withconnotations of peacefulness and serenity.”Book Reports
