With in the first twenty chapters, freedom and enslavement are expressed in many different ways. In the first chapter the Widow Douglas attempts to transform Huckleberry in to a civilized fellow. In Huck's point of view, this is enslavement. He grew up with the habits of being "free" in he woods.Free for Huck is running around with out worrying about getting dirty and the ability to have a smoke when ever he wants to. Of course Huck's view of freedom differs from the town. For the rest of the town, freedom is a well educated person. Such as the foil we see in chapter two with Tom Sawyer. Tom is a well mannered young boy and he would be considered free due to the fact that education is a big factor between freedom and enslavement. When it comes to the view of the slaves, freedom simply means the ability to live their own lives working for money and with out a "master" to obey. In chapters seven and eight, the domestic slave for the Widow Douglas, Jim escapes the same night the "body" of Huck was "found". For Jim floating on the raft down the Mississippi river is considered freedom. When Jim found Huck, both are considered free in their views. Huck is free because he has "escaped" from the Widow Douglas (with the help of pap); therefore he does not have to worry about sneaking a smoke . Huck doesn't have to worry about his cloths either. If he gets them dirty while he his out. Huck also escapes from pap.Huck saws his way out of the cabin so he can become free.
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11 years ago
5 comments:
I like how you made reference to the chapters in the beginning because I didnt include that in my blog so i was able to remember certain things. I agree with you on Jim's freedom being in the river. I also put that in my blog xD. It's also interesting to see Tom's name again because it made me see how much more Huck has matured from those days. I also found it interesting when you said education is a major part of enslavement and freedom. I thought it could be both because for Huck, education can represent his innocence of right and wrong which in my eyes is freedom and his knowledge of the land and survival strategies is his enslavment because he learned them from Pap's beatings.
I completely agree with you. About everything. Huck feels enslaved during his transformation from son-of-the-town-drunk to and educated young man, which hadn't really been completed as far as we read. That's just not who he is. I also really like that you included Tom Sawyer and compared him to Huck because of how connected they are. Everything we learn about one of the boys is the opposite from the other, personality and action wise.
Your link between Jim and Huck is accurate, to say the least. Their personal freedoms are connected no matter how one looks at it. Once one finds freedom the other is able to achieve the same privilege.
I like how you used different objects from the book to portray Huck’s freedom. I did this also in my blog when I described Huck leaving society. I also put in my blog that Huck is enslaved when he is with the Widow Douglas and Pap. Your link between Jim and Huck is truly incredible, and this is an important factor when you are comparing two main characters to two main themes. I also like the way you used Jim’s freedom to sort of portray Huck’s freedom. You interconnected them, putting their paths of freedom and enslavement together and I like that. It shows through your writing that they are one unit, not two separate ones, and their destinies depend on each other’s commitment.
I like how you connected huck's life before he faked his death. I just connected the freedom to him being free on the Mississippi River. I never even thought about the Widow Douglas "enslaving" him. Good point that I didn't see at first. I agree that both Jim and huck find freedom rafting on the Mississippi, as that is the only time that both of them have gotten all that they wanted. Huck was searching for freedom from the Widow and from pap, and Jim was obviously searching for freedom from being a slave. Like I said earlier, I had never thought of the idea of huck being enslaved by the Widow Douglas.
Great conversation! Regina, nice start to your blog. Next time try to include a literary lens in your discussion. You might not realize it, but you are taking on a historical lens in your critique. Be more aware of it and focus on what aspects of the story are specific to the time period and which events would change if placed in a different time or place.
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