The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn is a masterpiece of the American literature. Twain discusses the events in a captivated way and by this; he wins the hearts of human across the globe. The book Huck Finn by Mark Twain bases its story on the aspects of racism, companionship and social criticism as it explains the relationship and way of life of Huck and Jim, the slave. At the beginning of the book, Huck and Jim have a constrained relationship but later on, conditions bond them to great friends. Huck racially discriminates Jim based on color, but it takes long before he accepts his companionship regardless of the prejudice. Majority of the population in the country discriminates against each other and this clearly illustrates the criticism evident in the relationship of Huck and Jim. Across the book, Twain uses the river and the land as the main aspects symbolizing social criticism.
As calamities and upheaval face the country, Huck and Jim seems to be escapist as they uses the river as a “safe haven.” The two characters jump easily on the raft and escapes from the country. At this destination, they live a stress-free life because fellow compatriots can no longer ridicule or criticize them. Ironically, they believe that the river advocates for freedom and equality to all people. The river represents the aspects of social criticism as the two refuses to visit the land where they were discriminated against and judged by their color. Moreover, on the raft, Huck perceives Jim differently and claim him they are equal, something that could not have happened on the land. Both characters feel at their comfort when they are on the river because they are disconnected from the rest of the universe.
Twain uses the land to reveal the way of life during those times. Discrimination is real and the population is adamant to perceive things are any different angle. The black people are enforced to slavery, the reason they are considered worthless. The whites believed that black people belonged to a low social class and they could not interact with them under all circumstances. With such a perception, the population found it hard to comprehend the way Huck and Jim related. The white boy was thought to be "privileged" and relating with the black man, Jim was against the expectations of many. As a result, the characters had no any other option but to hide from the faces of the rest of the world. They had to act in disguise to prevent people from observing and reviewing their friendship. On the process, Huck and Jim were treated with contempt as the society isolated them and they were considered outcasts. The discrimination made it harder for Huck to free his friend Jim from the oppressive society.
During the settings of Huck Finn, the society accepts the act of slavery because of their popularity. Huck finds himself in trouble because of the differences in color. Because of criticism from the society, Huck and Jim are forced to escape from their homeland in search of peace to a place where their lives cannot be disrupted. The author capitalizes on this act to bring a comparison between the land and water to show the degree of social criticism.
In the novel, Huck emerges as a hero as he becomes affectionate discarding his moral code to save Jim from slavery. He intensifies the struggle to succeed in his mission and it is clear that he was concerned with the activities in the society that he rejects. The author illustrates the theme of fragment when he sheds light on the inner struggle that Huck underwent in showing contrast between human feelings and prejudices. Nonetheless, Huck realizes that Jim is more than a human being since he finds him admirable. To his surprise, he develops feelings of brother-hood towards Jim. To an extent, he is conscious of the contradicting feelings and prejudices that he held.
The only choice left with Huck is to listens to his conscience and ignore the perceptions of the society. This is the best solution that will guide him to save Jim out of slavery. Finally, he changes his decision and opts to save the black man from captivity. Huck instincts did not allow him to sit and watch human mistreatment of human beings. Cruel and brutal acts that deny the right and freedom to live despite the criticism of the society disgust him.
As expounded above, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain deserves to be classified as a master class of world literature since it provides insights of social criticism, the genuineness of satire, the natural expression, and the enticing charm of its humor. Prejudice is the key to social criticism and the author clearly expresses the behavior of the society. Therefore, the literary work of Mark Twain concentrates on social criticism in the way he describes the actions.
