The Adventures oF Huckleberry Finn

Mikaila Garfinkel
English 48B
12/25/09
Mark Twain #1

"We was down south in the warm weather, now, and a mighty long ways from home...it was the first time I ever see [Spanish moss] growing, and it made the woods look solemn and dismal."

This is one of the first lines that opens Chapter 31 in "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." It is from the point of view of Huck Finn, a young boy who experiences a journey with a runaway slave, Jim, and how their friendship allows them to help each other. This particular passage is describing when the runaways are in the process of fleeing from their home, and they have been traveling non-stop for many days, and finally they reach a stop at a village, so the frauds could do some work. As they are traveling, Huck describes the nature he is seeing, such as the Spanish moss growing on trees, which is all very new to him. The specific moment of travel appears to be a moment in which Huck realizes that their struggles to get there, might actually lead to a worthy destination. This is one, of several, parts of the Chapter in which Huck seems to be changing from the person he was at home.


This part of the chapter stuck out to me for several reasons. First off, it is the beginning of the chapter, and therefore, sets the mood for the rest of the chapter. The quote itself is rather peaceful, and sets the mood to feel that Huck is genuinely content, despite being a runaway...He describes the Spanish moss hanging from the trees like "long gray beards." Long beards often make me think of an old wise man, or wizard. This could be foreshadowing of Hucks enlightenment of the "I'll go to hell" moment in which he decides to protect Jim. However, I don't think this is the main part of foreshadowing. The main part that stuck out to me the most from this quote is when he thinks "the wood looks solemn and dismal." The vocabulary in this sentence is much different from most of his other words. He is notorious for using improper slang, which was one major controversy of the story, and being highly uneducated. The words "solemn" and "dismal", and accuracy he uses them in this phrase, shows how he is starting to change. It is proof that he is starting to think more, which is what brings him to his later rrealization. The entire portion of the sentence is perfect grammar, which shows that he really is a smart character, who is able to think abstractly. The other part of this quote that stuck out to me, was the first part, when he talks about how their current location had warm weather. The thing I noticed, was that he said it was much warmer than home. Home is a specific word used to describe a location, and often has a positive connotation that conveys the idea of "warmth" or happiness. They are not running from their town, they are running from their home. Mark Twain creates this word with a negative connotation, by making the place the crew ran to warm and beautiful. I thought it was really interesting how he created a negative image about where they are from , by making the place they ran to much better than their "home".