Stephen M. Orth, 1995. The River, Freedom, and Huck's Happiness in Facing the Absurd: An Existential Approach to Huckleberry Finn first published in 1884, is clearly Mark Twain's masterpiece. Huckleberry Finn, Interestingly, however, it is considered by many critics to be a precursor to works of disillusionment which Twain would later produce in years of pessimism and bitterness. signals, Huckleberry Finn perhaps, the beginning of Mark Twain's disenchantment with mankind and society. A well known theme of the novel, the relationship between the "corruption" of society embodied by the shore and the "freedom" of the river, supports this theory. I will take a less conventional approach to symbolism of the river and the shore, however, and examine Huck's freedom in light of basic existentialist thought. Clearly is not an existential novel. Nevertheless, there Huckleberry Finn seems to be a significant thread of existential thought interwoven throughout Twain's realism. First, a rough definition of existentialism is needed. Existentialism is concerned, at its most basic level, with the affirmation of freedom and the refusal to subordinate personal awareness to abstract concepts and dehumanizing social structures. It represents rebellion against established ideas and institutions which inhibit personal freedom. Existentialists realize they are free to create themselves through their own actions. However, in the creation of the self, one is always limited by an inevitable death and, thus, life becomes meaningless, or what Albert Camus calls absurd. As Camus suggests in his essay, "The Myth of Sisyphus," revolt from the absurd gives life its value. Camus comments, "what counts is not the best living but the most living." Revolt from the absurd, then, is the freedom to create the self. Huckleberry Finn, like the existentialist, finds himself facing the void of a meaningless life. He tries to take action and choose his own destiny, but he is instead manipulated by the actions of others and, most often, left powerless to create himself. The river, then, does not represent true freedom; for, there are times on the river when Huck is not truly free to choose his own actions. However, there are instances, intermixed with such periods of "non-freedom," when Huck does have
Stephen M. Orth, 1995. The River, Freedom, and Huck's Happiness in Facing the Absurd: An Existential Approach to Huckleberry Finn Huckleberry Finn, first published in 1884, is clearly Mark Twain's masterpiece. Interestingly, however, it is considered by many critics to be a precursor to works of disillusionment which Twain would later produce in years of pessimism and bitterness. Huckleberry Finn signals, perhaps, the beginning of Mark Twain's disenchantment with mankind and society. A well known theme of the novel, the relationship between the "corruption" of society embodied by the shore and the "freedom" of the river, supports this theory. I will take a less conventional approach to symbolism of the river and the shore, however, and examine Huck's freedom in light of basic existentialist thought. Clearly Huckleberry Finn is not an existential novel. Nevertheless, there seems to be a significant thread of existential thought interwoven throughout Twain's realism. First, a rough definition of existentialism is needed. Existentialism is concerned, at its most basic level, with the affirmation of freedom and the refusal to subordinate personal awareness to abstract concepts and dehumanizing social structures. It represents rebellion against established ideas and institutions which inhibit personal freedom. Existentialists realize they are free to create themselves through their own actions. However, in the creation of the self, one is always limited by an inevitable death and, thus, life becomes meaningless, or what Albert Camus calls absurd. As Camus suggests in his essay, "The Myth of Sisyphus," revolt from the absurd gives life its value. Camus comments, "what counts is not the best living but the most living." Revolt from the absurd, then, is the freedom to create the self. Huckleberry Finn, like the existentialist, finds himself facing the void of a meaningless life. He tries to take action and choose his own destiny, but he is instead manipulated by the actions of others and, most often, left powerless to create himself. The river, then, does not represent true freedom; for, there are times on the river when Huck is not truly free to choose his own actions. However, there are instances, intermixed with such periods of "non-freedom," when Huck does have