The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: The Most Acclaimed Fictional Work in American Literature

 

Mark Twain is an indispensable name as far as American literature is concerned. The American Romantic Movement that emerged during 19th century with strong transcendental underpinnings reached its cliff through the striking and fabulous novels and stories by Stephen Crane, Herman Melville and Mark Twain. As found in most of the books by Mark Twain, he was deeply fond of the variety American outdoor life is well-known for. We find his protagonists crossing rivers, running through jungles, roaming around marketplaces and countryside questing for the essence of life.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is viewed as Mark Twain's masterpiece. Huck Finn, an American orphan roams across different parts of America. However, the major events of the novel take place on Jackson Island on the Mississippi river. Huck Finn is found deeply attached to Jim, an absconding slave who ran away from his repressive white masters and Huck Finn made friends with him. Huck Finn is a white American boy while Jim is an Afro-American slave but this dissimilarity of complexion poses no barrier to their friendship. Mark Twain expressed his disapproval to slavery by portraying a selfless friendship between Huck Finn and Jim. He wanted all Americans to treat each other equally with compassion and amity irrespective of the colour of their skin. A profound humanitarian theme jingles in the story of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huck Finn held a cynical attitude towards the so-called civilized American society. The word "civilization" seemed ironical to him because of the discrimination he witnessed among civilized people. On a few occasions, some kind-hearted American ladies wanted to adopt Huck Finn but every time he managed to escape. The indoor household regulations seemed unpleasant to him while the charm of outdoor life fascinated him most. Though Huck Finn is found quite sarcastic and carefree in his approach to life, however, he remained very loyal and affectionate to Jim, the black slave. It shows Huck Finn had a broad heart and had a benevolent vision of the Afro-American masses. He is surprised to see people antagonizing and assaulting each other for money and wealth. He questions himself why people don't like to live in peace.

What made Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn a timeless work of literature is the outstanding quality of the author to convey grim messages about social perils through a fun-packed style of narrating the story. It is an attribute that very few authors of the world have been able to master and Mark Twain is one of them. Mark Twain showed the murky stains of American society through the words spoken by Huck Finn but these words are not at all parochial. Rather the diction Mark Twain applied in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn sounds very light and amazingly enough, this frivolous narrative style has succeeded to inscribe deep marks on the minds of countless readers. With this superbly unconventional style, Mark Twain reconstructed the American way of telling stories and while doing so he highlighted the colloquial American confabs that always come with easy-going gestures.

Mark Twain actually upheld the watchwords of humanity, liberty and egalitarian values through the events he depicted in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He characterized Huck Finn as his spokesman to champion the notions he believed in, the dreams he cherished glancing ahead for an America free of injustice and social disparities. To conclude with a few lines from Ernest Hemingway, "All modern American literature comes from Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since." These compliments bear the evidence that this novel stood the test of time and has proven to be an ideal work of classical fiction.


Ananda Rahman is a freelancer
and a columnist.