Huckleberry Finn Using illusions to confront reality
A person often hides his own personality traits and his understanding of the world to project a desired image or lifestyle that is unattainable in the crude reality. ... In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, the main protagonist, Huckleberry Finn, also known as Huck, attempts to hide from the grueling reality of his life. Many characters including Jim, Tom and even Huck himself, contribute in many ways helping Huck maintain his illusion, whereas characters which attempt to anchor Huck in reality of responsibilities, hard work and suffering make Huck develop an individual moral sense of right and wrong that will sooner or later guide Huck towards true happiness. In the novel, the struggle of maintaining illusion away from reality has a deeper meaning. Huck holds on to illusion because reality often means lost of innocence. Because reality is too harsh and difficult for Huck, he tends to create an ideal world wherein he uses illusion as his major survival skill. ... One of Huck’s survival skills is maintaining superstitions which allow him to preoccupy himself on things unrelated with reality. ... It’s just another way of pushing reality away by living an idealistic illusion. ... When Huck is around Tom, everything seems to flow in the right direction making Huck take no notice of the reality around the small illusion they live in. ... ” Huck was getting bored of the gang because his once looked forward illusions started to decompose. ... In conclusion, I think that the novel has two very important sides that help Huck maintain very different illusions. ... This side acts as a foil to the other side where Jim, Tom and even Huck himself create superstitions and use their imagination to help Huck have illusions and overlook the many hardships he lives through.