Symbolism, “the practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships” is an enticing technique that authors frequently utilize to stimulate and connect with their audience (www.dictionary.com). This practice not only fascinates the readers but also forces them to look more deeply into the message of the novel rather than what is apparent. In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the author Mark Twain uses symbolism to portray many different concepts. The ideas of freedom, tranquility and comfort are the mindset and outlooks signified by the raft, the Mississippi River and the events that occurred on both.
The most significant symbolic undertone of the Mississippi River and the raft is definitely freedom. For Huckleberry, being on the river represents an escape from many places and feelings. He is trying to break away from conventional southern society and its racial hostility and biased beliefs. He wants to leave Widow Douglas and Miss Watson and their civilized ways, and Pap and his drunken rages. He wants to be in an environment where he feels like he can make his own decisions, have no insecurities and have no worries about r

Another example of symbolism is noticeable when Jim and Huck are just simply floating down the river. Everything around them is so serene. All they hear is the flow of water and the sound of nature. “We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness. It was kind of solemn, drifting down the big, still river, laying on our backs looking up at the stars…nothing ever happened to us at all – that night, nor the next, nor the next…” (Twain, 63). When Huck says that nothing ever happened to them on the river he was making a comparison with the land. He was indicating that the land is where there’s violence and horror, and the river is simple and placatory. Although solemn at times, they seem to like it better that way; then they can loosen up and be themselves. Huck never has to think about society and Jim doesn’t have to worry about his getaway.

out racism and violence. “I was powerful glad to get away from the feuds…other places seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy” (Twain, 113). The raft and river provide him with the freedom he desires. It secludes him from society and he accepts it because it is controlled by nature. It sets him free from racial profiling and it allows him to befriend a black slave, which the South would forbid

The idea of tranquility is closely associated with comfort. When Huck and Jim are on the raft drifting down the river they both feel so at ease; and when necessary, they use the river for rejuvenation,