Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Country setting in THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN

Many writers use a country setting to establish values within a work of literature.  For example, the country may be a place of virtue and peace or one of primitivism and ignorance.  The setting plays a significant role in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  Analyze how the country setting functions in this work as a whole.  Do not merely summarize the plot.

4 comments:

  1. In the story, i feel that the setting plays a huge role on the story as a whole. I feel that the country, the land part, is a place of primitivism and ignorace, and the river is a place of virtue and peace for both Huck and Jim. To me, the river symbolized freedom, as the one place where the two could be free, and act as they please. Whereas on the land, they had to pretend and constantly hide and lie to everyone they encountered. The river can be seen as a temporary escape from the civilized life Huck looked down on. However, the only thing the duo feared along the river were the steamboats, steamboats can in a way represent civilization since they were created and built by civilized people, showing that they cannot truly escape from civilization no matter where they are.

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  2. Kiara Walker
    Period 5
    In "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain, I feel that the simplicity of a country setting emphasizes the themes and overall plot of the novel. I agree with Taylor in that the river can be seen as a place of peace for Huck and Jim. However, I also think that the river is the center of learning and knowledge throughout the novel. It is while on the river that both Huck and Jim change as characters. This is because the villiages along the river were so chaotic and action-filled that the boys never had a chance to just think. They always had to lie or hide from those around them, as said by Taylor. It was while on the raft that Huck contemplated whether or not saving Jim from slavery was a good or a bad act. As Taylor said, I agree that the land was the portion of ignorance in the novel. On land, there were many cruel and ignorant people. This can be seen when the boys met the Duke and the Dauphin, who rode from town to town lying of their "play" which turned out to be a scam in order to make money. The villiages were also filled with closed minded stereotypical white southerners who supported slavery. Huck liked the river because it allowed him to escape from a civilized life. One interesting thing about the river was that Huck seemed to admire it for its adventure, while Jim was scared for his life on the river. Huck throughout the novel seemed to mature a lot as he realized that not everything can be seen as a game. The river was peaceful and allowed for character change, but even on the river, the boys were forced to hide from slave hunters and steamboats filled with people who could very well tell of Jim's whereabouts.

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  3. Rachel Cuizon
    Period 5
    In "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain, I believe that the country setting establishes values of both virtue and ignorance through the use of the river and society surrounding the river. The country setting is seen as a place of virtue through the Mississippi River and how it symbolizes freedom for both Jim and Huck. Although the river carries the plot along, the story goes from peaceful and lazy to dangerous and violent. Ignorance can be seen through Huck's actions as he tries to stray away from a civilized life. Ignorance is not only seen through Huck but also in the close-minded, stereotypical, white southerners who support slavery, as Kiara has just stated. I also agree with Taylor on how the river is seen as only a temporary escape for Huck and Jim because as hard as they tried to escape society and the civilized ways, civilization always found its way back to them. This is seen through the ignorant actions of the Duke and Dauphin as they acted as an obstacle in the way of Jim and Huck's freedom. The Duke and Dauphin's ignorant acts consisted of a play that was a scam in order to gain money.

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