Superstition in Huck Finn Essay - 1232 Words

Superstitious Times Some say that superstition is an impractical way of looking at life but the characters in Mark Twain’s, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn beg to differ. Examples of superstition are abundant throughout the novel. Allowing characters in a novel to have superstitions makes their lives more realistic and the reading more enjoyable. Huck and Jim’s superstitions cause them grief, help them get through, and sometimes get them into trouble in their lengthy runaway journey. Although both of these characters tend to be quite rational, they quickly become irrational when anything remotely superstitious happens to them. Superstition plays a dual role: it shows that Huck and Jim are child-like in spite of their otherwise†¦show more content†¦He listened closely â€Å"me-yow! me-yow!†(6), this was, sure enough Tom’s call to him. Huck jumps down to meet his friend. This superstition gives the reader a first insight to Huck. The superstition is somewhat childis h and belief in the reality of witches shows that Huck has a long way to go before maturation. In the fourth chapter Huck sees Paps footprints in the snow. So Huck goes to Jim to ask him why Pap is there. Jim gets a hair-ball that is the size of a fist that he took from an oxs stomach. Jim asks the hair-ball; â€Å"Why is Pap here?† But the hair-ball wont answer. Jim says it needs money, so Huck gives Jim a counterfeit quarter. The counterfeit quarter allows the reader to ponder the thought that Jim and Huck are superstitious, yet they still cheat the superstition like it doesn’t exist. Almost as if being superstitious is such a normal attribute that Huck and Jim don’t know they’re superstitious. Jim puts the quarter under the hair-ball. The hair-ball talks to Jim and Jim repeats it back to Huck. quot;Yoole father doan know yit what hes a-gwyne to doquot; (19). Jim tells Huck that he’s going to have many troubles in his life, but also considerable joy. Also, that he’s going to get sick, but always recover healthy and that he’s g oing to marry first a poor woman, then a rich one. If a person knows, or think they know how their life is going to turn out life can go two ways: they could come to aShow MoreRelatedSuperstition In Huck Finn1111 Words   |  5 PagesLife is full of superstition, whether you like it or not everybody has some sort of superstition in them. Some people don’t let some things go to their head like others do. Some people can get really stubborn if something suspicious happens. I am one of them people, it is really hard to get suspicion out of your head, it is one of them things that once you do it, it is hard to not have those thoughts in your head. And in the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn you will see the cause and effectsRead MoreThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain628 Words   |  3 Pagestext of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and through the text textbook examples of Transcendentalism can be seen from the cast of characters and Huck himself and the situations/adventures that he gets himself into throughout his journey, a journey which enables him to develop his Transcendental ideals.. Transcendentalism is a vital part of The novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. By reading and studying the content of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn it is perceived that TranscendentalismRead MoreMorality in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay717 Words   |  3 PagesHuckleberry Finn, a novel about an adventurous boy named Huck Finn as he traverses about on the Mississippi. 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Huck was somewhatRead More Huck Superstistion in the Novel Essay example1722 Words   |  7 PagesHuck Superstistion in the Novel In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, there is a lot of superstition. Some examples of superstition in the novel are Huck killing a spider which is bad luck, the hair-ball used to tell fortunes, and the rattle-snake skin Huck touches that brings Huck and Jim good and bad luck. Superstition plays an important role in the novel Huck Finn. In Chapter one Huck sees a spider crawling up his shoulder, so he flipped it off and it wentRead MoreTheme Of Superstition In Huckleberry Finn1138 Words   |  5 Pagesof superstition in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain makes the novel more interesting. It adds character depth, gives reasons for the actions of the characters, and drives the plot. It also makes the story a bit more humorous for the reader. Superstition, both good and bad, is a large part of this novel. This is true especially when it comes to the characters, and the way they interact with their surroundings and each other. The main character of the novel is Huckleberry Finn. HisRead More The Narrator of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay803 Words   |  4 Pages The Narrator of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Mark Twain chose Huck Finn to be the narrator to make the story more realistic and so that Mark Twain could get the reader to examine their own attitudes and beliefs by comparing themselves to Huck, a simple uneducated character. nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Twain was limited in expressing his thoughts by the fact that Huck Finn is a living, breathing person who is telling the storyRead MoreThe Main Themes of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain796 Words   |  4 Pagesshot.† This quote is from Mark Twain at the beginning of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and it shows Mark Twain’s humor, while also setting the tone for the book. This book was published in the 1880’s, which was around twenty years after the civil war, but it showed there were still signs of discrimination against the African Americans. The main themes of this story are racism and slavery, superstitions, and the issue of conforming to society to please others. The theme of the story largelyRead MoreSuperstition : Superstition And Superstition Essay1911 Words   |  8 PagesSuperstition, often a word that is used to describe an event as bad or good luck, failure, supernatural and the world that is unknown. Superstition played an important role that took place several times in the story. A belief that killing a spider is a bad sign, touching snakeskin with bare hands can only bring bad luck, and the belief that a hairball can tell a persons future, are all examples of some of the superstitions found throughout their journey. Throughout this novel, Jim and HuckleberryRead MoreSuperstition in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain661 Words   |  3 PagesThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, the theme of superstition is obviously portrayed in both views of Jim and Huck. Huck shows his beliefs in superstition throughout the entire novel, but especially in the beginning. Between Huck And Jim, Jim is by far the most supe rstitious. Huckleberry Finn is superstitious out of terror, while Jim is superstitious out of beliefs and his education. Huck and Jim have different point of views on how they see superstition. Jim, is Huck’s best friend