Effects of Setting in Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain’s
Huckleberry Finn is set in essentially two different places: on and off the
river. What occurs in each of these two settings contrasts in content and nature, bringing out different aspects of
Twain’s writing. On the
river,
Twain emphasizes the free and easy nature of
Huck, while introducing
society and its conformity in
Huck’s time off the
river.
When
Huck is traveling on the
river, he can be and do whatever he wants. It’s a completely informal situation, and he doesn’t have to change to fir anyone else’s rules. He can choose what he does without having to conform to an acceptable practice, even going so far sometimes as to travel on the raft naked because that’s what’s most comfortable for him. Because of the complete freedom that the
river gives
Huck, it represents his individuality. It’s a place where he can be himself and not have to abide by
society’s rules. He also doesn’t have to accept
society’s treatment of
Jim and other slaves; as long as
Huck and
Jim are by themselves, they can live without the ideals of civilization.
Huck’s treatment of
Jim on the
river is just as it would be toward any good friends, and so without the watchful eye of
society,
Huck lives the way his true feelings dictate. He doesn’t have to grapple with what
society thinks he should do until he is faced with having to deal with its views. Before that,
Huck helps
Jim to run away and does only what comes naturally to him.
Huck also associates freely with people without the constraints of
society and its influences. The
king and the
duke, whom townspeople are running out of town, become
Huck and
Jim’s companions on their way down the
river. These are people with whom
Huck would normally not have associated with; if for instance he were still with the widow, she would have tried to discourage him from befriending such rascally people in her efforts to civilize him.
Huck’s experiences off the
river and among
society are completely different, forcing him to change his actions to become part of
society. He frequently must adopt another identity, such as George Jackson, to be accepted by the people he meets, and must adapt to their ways of living. For instance, in the episode with the Grangers and the Sheperdsons,
Huck becomes a part of the Granger family and adopts their customs, some of which he normally would object to as too stiff and formal. He is also exposed to the cruelty of
society in this episode, witnessing the savageness of the feud between the two families.
Huck must change who he is as well when he is with the
king and the
duke, almost involuntarily ta
king part in their fraud and being exposed to the dark side of human nature. In their experiences with the deceased
Peter Wilks’ family and town,
Huck sees how very base they are as they unscrupulously try to rob the girls out of everything they have, and he decides he must get rid of the
king and
duke the first chance he gets. While they traveled with
Huck, the
king and the
duke consistently showed their utter lack of morals, thus further exposing
Huck to the evils of man.
Huck also has to find ways to explain
Jim’s presence when he is on
land, an example of how he must conform to
society’s views. Because of the changes
Huck must make and the darker sides of man that
Huck must deal with when he is on
land, being off the
river symbolizes
Huck’s search for identity. When the evil and good sides of man are shown to
Huck, he is exploring human nature in a search for what’s inside of himself. As he frequently changes his name, for instance, once becoming a girl, and once
Tom Sawyer,
Huck is searching for himself and trying to become someone.
Huck's experiences on the
river, where he is free to do what he wants and lives in innocence, contrast greatly with his experiences on
land, where he is faced with conformity to
society and its cruel nature. This enhances the meaning of the work because it brings out
Huck’s need to find himself. Everything that he encounters is merely a step in his
journey toward finding his identity, and this, the true meaning of the novel, is played out with all of
Huck’s discoveries about man and the decisions that he makes.