Pham 1

Stephanie Pham

CP English 3

Ms. Dadabhoy

Period 1

11 January 2017

Word Count: 623

Journey to Freedom

In ​The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn​ written by Mark Twain, we see the recurring

theme of freedom;The message Twain is trying to convey to the audience is that escaping society

and being free will give us happiness; some examples are when Huck escapes his father and

civilization, when Jim runs away from slavery, and when Jim becomes a free man. Although all

5 themes of freedom, slavery, religion, growing up, and society/hypocrisy go hand in hand,

freedom is a very prominent one and we can see that through Mark Twain’s use of spelling,

diction, and tone. We see this when Huck says, “[...] she took me for her son and allowed she

would sivilize me […]” (11). The way Twain uses “sivilize” rather than the correct spelling of

“civilize” indicates​ ​not only that the uncivilized way is easier and less stressful, but also that

through Huck’s character, Twain shows us how little Huck cares about school and being a refine

human being. We can see that Huck just wants to be free and uncivilized; he does not care about

school, being a gentleman, or wearing clean clothes; he just wants to do what he wants. We also

see this theme once more when Jim says, “ I run off” (53). Jim has escaped his master because he

wanted to break free from the chains of slavery and be happy away from a life of confinement.
 Pham 2

So, once he is free, he can earn money to buy his happiness, which is his family, and give them

freedom as well so they can live happily once again. This theme returns again when Jim

mentions how Harvey Shepherdson has eloped with Sophia Grangerford; “he kin git acrost de

river wid Miss Sophia” (124). The eloping couple have run away towards freedom to become

happier, due to their family’s rivalry, they are not in a position where they can start a

relationship. Furthermore, they are choosing to run away so they can start a better life together

leaving behind what their parents want for them and also the expectation that a Grangerford or a

Shepherdson must hate one another. Another example is when Huck is told by the duke that,

“That old fool sold him [...]” (227), he broke down and cried. Huck saw it as unfair that Jim ran

away to be free only to be recaptured into a life of enslavement. Huck knows that all the trouble

they have gone through to attain freedom and he just wants his friend to be a free man. Finally,

the last example of freedom is when Tom exclaims, “He ain’t no slave; he’s as free as any cretur

[…]” (300). This signifies how Jim is officially free; escaping the chains of slavery and can now

buy back his happiness, which is his family. But more importantly, Jim finally gets what he has

been trying to obtain after going against what society wanted for him and listening to himself for

a change. Throughout the story, the theme of freedom remains constant and Mark Twain

mentions it very often so we do not forget that Huck and Jim’s main goal is to acquire their

freedom. As a whole, the theme of freedom is a main part of the story and it is what started this

entire adventure, Huck did not want to be civilized and Jim did not want to be a slave; they both

ran way and broke away from society to look for their own kind of freedom. Twain was trying to

tell us that freedom is what makes people happy and we should not listen to what society wants
 Pham 3

but what we want, and once we are able to obtain our own freedom, happiness will come shortly

after.