Sunday, March 20, 2011
Journal 1
Compare and Contrast the childhood of Huckleberry to your own childhood, especially taking into account freedom.
Huckleberry Finn and I have severly diverse childhoods. At 13, Huck does not even have a place to call home. He lives with the Widow or his father, and in either place he isn't free or treated the way he deserves. The Widow represents Huck's inclusion with society. While Huck lives with her he learns how to read and write a little, and how to be a civilized man. While Huck first complains at the the difference in life from his backwoods upbringing, he grows fond of it for a while. This part of Huck's childhood is much like my own. We are both free to go to school, free to read and write and play with friends. We both had a bed to sleep in and a caretaker that wants us to succeed. However, Mark Twain makes a point that practicing freedom of speech in civilized society is impossible. Huck has religion shoved down his throat, and told by the Widow how to behave, what to say, and more importantly--what not to say. I have always been taught to be a polite person, just as the Widow tried to teach Huck, but found that sometimes what I need to say in a situation is not always polite. My extended family has the same problem. Sometimes, when trying to be polite, they end up offending each other because no one is truly speaking their mind out of courtesy for the other person.
After this part of Huck's childhood, Pap comes back into Huck's life. Pap is a man that is completely opposite from my childhood. He does not want his childhood to exceed him in life, and wants to force his backwoods way of life on Huck. He is described as a sickly, pale, dying man. By Pap's description, Twain is saying that his way of life is dying. Pap drags Huck to his log cabin in the middle of the woods, far away from society, and forbids him from attending school or reading books. When Pap leaves for town, he locks Huck in his cabin like a prisoner. Although Huck has escaped from society, he still does not have freedom. Pap is dangerous, jealous and racist. He treats Huck like a slave. This is when Huck decides to run away from that life and create his own. He fakes his own death and runs off to an island, where he teams up with a runaway slave. Though the last part of Huck's childhood as a runaway is nothing like my own, it is where he has the most freedom. No influences are acting on his decisions, and he even befriends a runaway slave--completely against the rules of society. Huck must escape all boundaries to be free, including his own life. Throughout the story I predict that Twain will compare Huck's actions in society with those of his free self. As for my own childhood, though I never plan to run away from society--this story makes me think of just how free I am to make my own decisions. ¶ 6:23 AM
Huckleberry Finn and I have severly diverse childhoods. At 13, Huck does not even have a place to call home. He lives with the Widow or his father, and in either place he isn't free or treated the way he deserves. The Widow represents Huck's inclusion with society. While Huck lives with her he learns how to read and write a little, and how to be a civilized man. While Huck first complains at the the difference in life from his backwoods upbringing, he grows fond of it for a while. This part of Huck's childhood is much like my own. We are both free to go to school, free to read and write and play with friends. We both had a bed to sleep in and a caretaker that wants us to succeed. However, Mark Twain makes a point that practicing freedom of speech in civilized society is impossible. Huck has religion shoved down his throat, and told by the Widow how to behave, what to say, and more importantly--what not to say. I have always been taught to be a polite person, just as the Widow tried to teach Huck, but found that sometimes what I need to say in a situation is not always polite. My extended family has the same problem. Sometimes, when trying to be polite, they end up offending each other because no one is truly speaking their mind out of courtesy for the other person.
After this part of Huck's childhood, Pap comes back into Huck's life. Pap is a man that is completely opposite from my childhood. He does not want his childhood to exceed him in life, and wants to force his backwoods way of life on Huck. He is described as a sickly, pale, dying man. By Pap's description, Twain is saying that his way of life is dying. Pap drags Huck to his log cabin in the middle of the woods, far away from society, and forbids him from attending school or reading books. When Pap leaves for town, he locks Huck in his cabin like a prisoner. Although Huck has escaped from society, he still does not have freedom. Pap is dangerous, jealous and racist. He treats Huck like a slave. This is when Huck decides to run away from that life and create his own. He fakes his own death and runs off to an island, where he teams up with a runaway slave. Though the last part of Huck's childhood as a runaway is nothing like my own, it is where he has the most freedom. No influences are acting on his decisions, and he even befriends a runaway slave--completely against the rules of society. Huck must escape all boundaries to be free, including his own life. Throughout the story I predict that Twain will compare Huck's actions in society with those of his free self. As for my own childhood, though I never plan to run away from society--this story makes me think of just how free I am to make my own decisions. ¶ 6:23 AM
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