The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Analysis 1 of 2

“I was powerful glad to get away from the feuds, and so was Jim to get away from the swamp. We said there warn’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft.”

This text was found in Chapter 18 after Huck and Jim escaped the feud between the Grangerfords and the Shepherds. In the text, Huck is saying that he feels free and comfortable on a raft. In a way, the raft symbolizes Huck’s and Jim’s freedom. It serves as their way of escaping from the society. Literally speaking, the raft is their only way of escaping from society as it serves as their transportation. Life may be awesome for Huck and Jim on the raft, but problems continue to arise along their journey on the Ohio River. I guess this is Mark Twain’s way of letting Huck and Jim (and the readers too) that the raft is merely a symbol of their freedom. They are only on a raft and are still susceptible to the problems of the society that they are trying to run away from. Mark Twain constantly enforces that idea as there are numerous examples of their raft being invaded by other people. One example would be when a group of men on a boat confronted their raft in search of runaway slaves. Another example would be when two men who were con artists asked to hitch a ride on their raft.