Literary Analysis of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Literary Analysis of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In Huckleberry Finn there are several themes. There are themes of racism and slavery, civilized society, survival, water imagery, and the one I will be discussing, superstition ( SparkNotes Editors). Superstition is a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation (“Merriam-Webster”). Superstition was a very popular theme in Huckleberry Finn that you saw throughout the story. Huck was somewhat superstitious, but Jim speaks a wide range of superstition and folk tales. In the story it makes Jim seem as if he is unintelligent, when really his superstitions and beliefs come true and shows he is a wise person. At first, Huck thinks Jim’s superstitions are foolish and silly, but he eventually starts to appreciate Jim’s outlook and knowledge on life. Jim’s superstition was accepted as social teachings as well as being the adult figure in Huck’s life (SparkNotes Editors). One of the first times I saw superstition in the story was Huck’s superstition of bad luck. “Pretty soon a spider went crawling up my shoulder, and I flipped it off and it lit in the candle; and before I could budge it was all shriveled up. I didn’t need anybody to tell me that was an awful bad sign and would fetch me some bad luck, so I was scared and most shook the clothes off me. I got up and turned around in my tracks three times and crossed my breast everytime; and then I tied up a little lock of my hair with a thread to keep witches away ( Twain 110).” Another time Huck’s superstition of bad luck was shown in the story was when he accidentally spilled salt at breakfast. “One morning I happened to turn over the salt cellar at breakfast. I reached for some of it as quick as I could, to throw over my left shoulder and keep off the bad luck, but Miss Watson was in the ahead of me, and crossed me off ( Twain 117).” Because Huck was not able to
Cited: Page Twain, Mark. "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." The Norton Anthology American Literature. Seventh Ed. Vol. C. Nina Baym. New York: W. W. Norton & Comapny, Inc., 2007. Print. SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. 5 Feb. 2011. "www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/superstition." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, 2011. Web. 5 Feb 2011.