1. Comment on the symbolism of vessels - rafts, ferrys, skiffs inside abandoned boats, people smuggled or smuggling on these vessels - in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Compare with other literary examples, either from this course or simply that you know of.
2. Text analysis practice - try your hand at the following excerpt from chapter XII
"Every night we passed towns, some of them away up on black hillsides, nothing but just a shiny bed of lights; not a house could you see. The fifth night we passed St. Louis, and it was like the whole world lit up. In St. Petersburg they used to say there was twenty or thirty thousand people in St. Louis, but I never believed it till I see that wonderful spread of lights at two o’clock that still night. There warn’t a sound there; everybody was asleep.
Every night now I used to slip ashore towards ten o’clock at some little village, and buy ten or fifteen cents’ worth of meal or bacon or other stuff to eat; and sometimes I lifted a chicken that warn’t roosting comfortable, and took him along. Pap always said, take a chicken when you get a chance, because if you don’t want him yourself you can easy find somebody that does, and a good deed ain’t ever forgot. I never see pap when he didn’t want the chicken himself, but that is what he used to say, anyway.
Mornings before daylight I slipped into cornfields and borrowed a watermelon, or a mushmelon, or a punkin, or some new corn, or things of that kind. Pap always said it warn’t no harm to borrow things if you was meaning to pay them back some time; but the widow said it warn’t anything but a soft name for stealing, and no decent body would do it. Jim said he reckoned the widow was partly right and pap was partly right; so the best way would be for us to pick out two or three things from the list and say we wouldn’t borrow them any more – then he reckoned it wouldn’t be no harm to borrow the others."
6 comments:
Throughout the chapters XII and XIII of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Huck and Jim sail in a raft through the river making a couple of stops to get food and other supplies. On one stormy night, the two characters come across a sunk steamboat.
The focus on the vessels in these chapters recalls the Western literary tradition of water transports as symbols of adventure and curiosity, but also of trials and unpredictable situations. When Huck insists on exploring the steamboat to search for possible treasures, he incorporates the curious and adventurous character of many heroes from travel narratives, such as Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. However, as he enters the vessel his curiosity proves to have brought him danger.
Huck has to escape the boat in order to not be found, hence he faces a trial. Not a trial where he has to prove his heroic abilities - like Odysseus - but to survive. This encounter also highlights the unpredictability of being on the water. Although the scene is placed on a river, it showcases how bodies of water - especially ones on stormy nights - enable lawless behavior among people. This type of behavior is also showcased in The Heroic Slave by Frederick Douglas where a new order is established on the ship, the slaves become free and the previous crew is captured or killed.
Overall, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn explores the different meanings a vessel can typically have, from adventure to unpredictable behavior. Additionally, Huck seems to go through both a physical and mental journey in the text.
It is expectable for a hero to come victorious no matter the circumstances, or is it no matter the means? Either way, a fall from grace is very welcoming in order to spice up the plot, just as the above excerpt touches the themes of Good and Evil, and bares similitudes with Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s“Goodman Brown”.
Although unintentional, Rip falls asleep for 20 years, leaving his children solely under the care of their mother — and even when awake, he wasn’t much of a provider, "Rip was ready to attend to anybody's business but his own; but as to doing family duty, and keeping his farm in order, it was impossible”. This neglect is a very strong link between to Pap, since both fathers tend to leave their duty to outward circumstances, “Pap always said it warn’t no harm to borrow things (…)”, in this specific scenario, the least Pap could have done was to feed his own son. It is recognisable, though, that Rip is a better father than Pap, because at least he’s not abusive and his children do not have to fear him, whereas Huckleberry decides to fake his own death and face the dangers aboard the raft. Finn’s innocence in the following quote “I never see pap when he didn’t want the chicken himself, but that is what he used to say, anyway” is actually very funny to the reader, because one can clearly understand that the father’s reasoning would never compel him to do that, hence why Finn has never once witness such an event.
Moreover, in “Goodman Brown”, the reader finds a similar dilemma of what to do when confronted with the Good and the Evil. Faith, his wife, represents his spiritual angel, just like widow is the angel sitting on Finn’s shoulder, telling him is no good to “borrow” from others without their permission. The Devil, with his persuasive talk, (“Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness”), evokes the idea of giving in to temptation; his staff resembling a serpent might actually be an allusion to the Fall of Eve. This character is, in the circumstances of the excerpt, a correspondent to Pap, who encourages the son to satisfy himself at the cost of others.
Carolina Amaro - 2
This excerpt from Chapter XII of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is rich in description, dialect, and moral ambiguity.
His imagery emphasizes the contrast between the dark, quiet river and the bustling brightness of the towns Huck and Jim pass by. Phrases like "a shiny bed of lights" and "the whole world lit up" highlight this.
The way Huck describes the towns as “nothing but just a shiny bed of lights” with “not a house... to see” suggests a surreal, almost dreamlike quality to these towns.
As usual there’s a dialect is full of colloquial language, with phrases like “warn’t,” “see,” “reckon,” and “roosting comfortable.” This choice of language is typical and linked to Huck’s character annd background. There’s an informal and unrefined way of speaking, which the story a sense of authenticity and closeness.
There’s also some irony present, typical of Twain’s way of writting and that’s good to reveal some hidden features about the chatacters and situations “ I never see pap when he didn’t want the chicken himself“
We see some enumerations “ borrowed a watermelon, or a mushmelon, or a punkin, or some new corn, or things of that kind” combined with the choice of simple, sensory words like “shiny,” “black,” “lights,” “wonderful spread,” and “still night” creates a strong visual and tactile experience of the scene
1-In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, rafts, ferries, and boats symbolize freedom, survival, and moral choices. The raft, especially, becomes a safe space for Huck and Jim, where they can escape from society’s rules and form a close friendship. At the same time, their journey down the Mississippi River exposes them to the harsh realities of the world, like injustice and danger. These vessels represent both hope and the challenges of navigating life.
This idea connects to other works from the list. In Frederick Douglass’ writings, ships are often tied to freedom, especially for enslaved people seeking escape. Like Jim in Huck Finn, they risk their lives for liberty. Both stories show how dangerous yet necessary these journeys are.
In "Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving, Rip’s trip to the mountains is similar to Huck and Jim’s journey. It’s an escape from society, giving him a break from its demands. Similarly, in Thoreau’s Walden, the pond represents simplicity and self-discovery. Like Huck and Jim’s time on the raft, water becomes a symbol for freedom and reflection.
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s ideas in “Self-Reliance” also match Huck’s choices. Emerson focuses on living by your own beliefs, which is what Huck does when he decides to help Jim, even if society says it’s wrong.
In all these works, journeys on water or into nature represent breaking away from society and searching for freedom, truth, and a new way of living.
Cristiano Araújo 164943
1. In Huckleberry Finn, vessels like rafts, skiffs, and abandoned boats symbolize freedom, danger, and moral struggle. The raft represents Huck and Jim’s sense of equality and escape from society’s rules, while the skiff and wrecked steamboat symbolize moral challenges and the darker side of humanity. On another note, these boats also act as spaces of smuggling and concealment, reflecting Jim’s hidden status as a runaway slave. Similar symbolic vessels appear in other literary works, like the ship in Moby-Dick, which represents isolation and moral dilemmas.
2)
This excerpt is essentially a brief description of Huck’s routine down the river, passing through towns, coupled with a moral reflection from the protagonist.
We begin with the opposition between the multiple small towns, that were “nothing but just a shiny bed of lights”, and the city-like brightness of St. Louis: “wonderful spread of lights.” The reader views Huck’s surrounding universe through his impressed, often fantasizing lens, which amplifies reality many times over - the simile “it was like the whole world lit up” emphasizes this terrifically. Moreover, children often have a very sensory and immediate connection with the world, without filtration, and Huck’s simple sensory wording, both visual and auditory - “there warn’t a sound” or “black hillsides” - highlights just that.
The innocence with which the occasional chicken stealing is disclosed is totally characteristic of Huck and is a beautiful interpretation of malicious teachings from his father. Pap apparently instilled in his son the ideal that robbing a chicken is not malice, since “you can easy find someone” that wants a chicken, at least if you don’t. What is incredible here is that the Robin Hood kind of excuse from his father is transferred to Huck literally, which ends up being one of the few good deeds of a terrible man - astonishing! Still, Huck comments that his father never gave up a robbed chicken, unmasking his hypocrisy in an unintentionally ironical manner. The “that is what he used to say, anyway” perfectly embodies the figure of Huck: a kid who turns evil into good and does keen observations without the slightest desire to injure.
The third paragraph is a somewhat ethical discussion about the nature of borrowing something with the vague intention to “pay them back sometime”. While Pap allows, or even praises, such action, the widow sentences it as an adorned avoidance of acknowledging “stealing.” Jim, however, appears to circumnavigate total adherence to a single perspective, making a hybrid mixture of both: leaving a few things behind and borrowing the rest (with the intent of returning them, obviously). This time, contrasting with Huck’s permanent practical management of life, the reader is faced with a solution from an unlikely character, Jim, who is often overshadowed by Huck’s protagonism.
I have to mention Carolina Amaro’s description of the authenticity and directness Huck’s colloquial language provides: couldn’t have said it any better!
Matias Castiel
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