A Analytical Dive Into The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Free Essay Example

In Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn there are numerous amounts of literary analysis. However, motifs and themes are the biggest and most important ones used throughout the entirety of the story. The way Mark Twain uses them in the book really help you get a grasp on what he is trying to portray while also helping you get a better understanding of the characters hes using the motifs with and the themes he is also trying to portray through them. Motifs are prevalent through the storys entirety. One of the biggest examples though is Childhood. Its no secret that Huckleberry Finn is a young boy in the book so this motif shouldnt come as that big of a surprise. In a sense I feel like Twain portrayed Huck the way he did because he knew some children would idolize the way Hucks childhood was but also helped recreate it for those of use that are older. For instance according to Jennifer Formichelli (who did a scholarly review on the subject of childhood in Huckleberry Finn) states in Huck Finn alone Twain succeeded at something better than reminding adults of childhood, by actually creating the experience, the thing itself. (Formichelli). I mean he would play hokey, smoke and was basically supervision free. Huck even says in the book Whenever I got uncommon tired I played hookey, and the hiding I got next day done me good and cheered me up. (Citation). As a child we all wanted to do what we wanted without parent supervision and j ust be free to do what we want when we want, like being able to skip school when were tired. Yet, we are able to experience it through Huck within the novel. Although he doesnt get that much of a book education Huck gets a good moral education due to the childhood motif. This is because he is innocent and open-minded enough to embrace new ideas and overlook/overcome the typical prejudices that might typically occur within a young white child during that time period while helping out Jim play a big part as well. Also Hucks childhood innocence makes the books big themes of racism and slavery seem not as heavy due to the innocence of perception and views that is associated with childhood. The childhood motif feeds into the theme of Maturation. Thus, being because we get to see Huck go from his childhood state to maturing into adult as the story develops and as he makes his way down the Mississippi River with Jim. Hucks Maturation is the most notable through his relationship with Jim. Jims thoughtful personality and behavior is what drive Huck to grow the most as a person and really gives him an ideal father like figure for the first time in his life. In the book Huck even states Well, he was right; he was most always right; he had an uncommon level head for a nigger (citation). This just shows how highly Huck held Jim. Even though Jim was black he still valued his opinion and did even really question it just assumed he was generally right. Which I believe shows Huck maturing, because despite society frowning upon being friends with or even associated in a formal manner with a slave/African American. Huck goes on to not even care even though he didnt much to begin with anyways, but it truly shows Huck maturation because, it shows that he doesnt care what society thinks he hold Jim and his opinions and views in high regard and hes going to keep it that way regardless of what society thinks. As expected due to the time period the book is set in racism and slavery is a huge theme throughout the book. Since it also set in the south that plays a big part as well. In the South during this time period an African Americans life didnt really hold much value within the eyes of society. The n-word is thrown around frequently threw out the story in order to show just how racist those times were. All though Twain took some heat for it Twain had to use the word because it is historically accurate. The word had wide currency in the South in Twains time, and other regions (Sloane). Which I feel like he had to do if Im being honest. All though its a nasty word it really portrays the racial tension and separation of the time. Another big thing is that the book it self pretty much revolves around racism and slavery because Huck is helping Jim who is a slave escape and that is viewed as a very big social no-no at the time due to how embed into society racism was at the time. Therefore, setting up Huck to be a heroic figure because he know its socially unacceptable/suicide at the time to help out a slave in escaping but he frankly doesnt care because he likes Jim as a person and he is his friend. Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a story that really engages you and makes you feel as if your part of the story. It does this through its uses of literary elements weather its through motifs, themes, etc. Twain will find a way to get you hooked. Twain uses these motifs and themes to draw on Hucks development as a character but also to point out the flaws in society as well.

Oppression and Isolation in Land of Green Plums - Literature Essay Samples

The Land of Green Plums, by Herta Mà ¼ller, is a novel arguably as defined by its language as its content. There are many interpretations of Mà ¼llers literary style, and one of the most cogent is that it serves to show the reader how indirect, and isolating, life under a totalitarian regime has to be; feelings cannot be openly mentioned, and most people operate in constant fear. One technique which is used by Mà ¼ller to increase this effect is the complex and seemingly disparate images with which scenes and events are described; not only do the comparisons seem at first to be inscrutable, but they also make it difficult to ascertain if a plot point has actually happened or was simply an unusual image. Another device which contributes to this is Mà ¼llers use of anonymity for nearly all the characters; by distancing the reader from the characters themselves, it is difficult to tell who can be trusted, and who might be acting out-of-character. The combination of these techniques keeps a wall of interpretation between the events of the story and the reader; the uncertainty this evokes in the reader echoes life in a country where information is often withheld or reshaped. Although further reading clarifies Mà ¼llers imagery, at first the connections are often vague or seemingly absent. For example, Mà ¼ller mentions â€Å"A lost war, an SS-man who came back from the war, a freshly ironed short-sleeved shirt hanging in the wardrobe† (p.14). While this follows a statement that the father in this paragraph went off to war, it is not certain at this point if he was the SS-man who came back, or what relevance the shirt has to this issue. The direct comparison of emotive ideas like the SS and mundane things like an ironed shirt serves to unsettle the reader. Another example of the effects of this disparity of images is the narrator stating that â€Å"There is always a wisp of cloud in the city, or else just an empty sky† (p.78). This example shows how Mà ¼ller can even contrast images against one another; the use of the word â€Å"always† means that this statement actually directly contradicts itself. Given that wisps of cloud are al lusions to friends, as mentioned in a poem on the same page, the point conveyed here is that a single friend is actually the best people can expect in the city. Further to this, the narrators thought that â€Å"The words in our mouths do as much damage as our feet on the grass† (p.89) is also confusing at first glance. However, understanding that plants in general are often used to represent childhood in this novel – the green plums (â€Å"They were oversized children.† p.81) and the mulberry trees (â€Å"I saw a young man carrying a sack, a sack with a mulberry tree in it† – p.4) being examples this sentence acquires new meaning: that even the words we speak to one another can have as much effect on us as our childhoods have had. This is also true of life in a dictatorship – simply saying the wrong words can end up having a massive impact; especially within a regime which so voraciously manages information. The second way in which Mà ¼ller creates a barrier to understanding between the reader and the characters is by maintaining a measure of anonymity for all the characters. An inability to fully connect with many of the books characters is effective at maintaining the atmosphere of distrust. This is accomplished in a variety of different ways. For example, Georg, Kurt and Edgar are never given last names, and similarly their characterization is sparse. The reader is ultimately left to decide whether or not they trust them. Also, the narrator is never named; at times, she refers to herself and her own memories simply as â€Å"my†. Often, though, only the definite and indefinite articles are used: â€Å"The child snips the crooked ends straight† (p.221) being an example of the former and â€Å"A father hacks away at the summer in his garden† (p.14) an example of the latter. This has a more powerful distancing effect than the narrator describing the family as her own ; by referring to the family by their designations (i.e. the child, the father and the mother), they are dehumanized and disconnected from everyone but one another. Similarly, with the indefinite article, even the connections between the family members are not known; â€Å"a child† is not necessarily related to â€Å"a mother†. This disconnection also underlines the fact that any one of these people might, one day, simply be killed and their loved ones expected to act in accordance with the Partys stance; for Lola, they were told to â€Å"abhor her crime and despise her for it† (p.23). While the primary issue with reading The Land of Green Plums as a novel is the unusual paratactic style, it lends it great depth as an interpretive piece and its overall effect is to underline the themes. The distance between all the characters, including the narrator and Lola – whose interaction is limited primarily to the narrator reading Lolas diary – becomes the readers distance from them, and heightens the atmosphere of oppression and isolation. The reader is also disconnected from standard chronology and linear thought, with the story often being told in flashback and with varied imagery. These effects combine to produce a feeling of surreality in the reader, allowing them to more effectively experience the same paranoia and fear as the narrator. This, together with the other distancing devices already mentioned and the atmosphere of suspicion culminating in Terezas betrayal, make the novel solipsistic – the only person the reader definitely knows at the en d of the book is the narrator. The first and final lines of the book – â€Å"When we dont speak, said Edgar, we become unbearable, and when we do, we make fools of ourselves† (p.1, p.242) – attest to this point; whatever someone does, whether they are silent or talkative, they will be either hated or ridiculed, and either way they are alone.