A favorite among young readers and adults alike, Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, first published in 1884, is considered to be the author’s masterpiece, as well as one of the best American novels ever written. In order to escape his abusive father, Huckleberry Finn fakes his own death. He meets up with the runaway slave Jim, and the two begin a new, carefree life on a raft traversing the Mississippi River.
Despite their travels bringing them more trouble than expected and the fear of being returned to their old lives, Huck Finn and Jim form a bond that helps protect them from the judgments of a hypocritical society that claims to value civilization even as it benefits from the horror of slavery.
Many readers see Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as a children’s book because Huck is a boy. However, the book’s moral themes and metaphors are relevant for almost any age and situation.
Huck rejects his Aunt Sally’s attempts to protect him in favor of entering the unknown wild.
He simply values his own personal freedom and sense above all else—a quintessential American trait.
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