These few chapters escalated so much from the previous ones in this book, they are full of just as much adventure but Twain's imagination and creativity never ceases to amaze me. For example, we meet the "Duke of Bridgewater" and the "Dauphin of France" and they escape their pursuers, they swear to turn the pirates of the Indian Ocean to Christianity, and reenact Shakespeare's finest performances. Huck loses the Grangerfords, the family he moved in with, to the Sheperdsons, when one of the Grangerford's girls runs off with a Sheperdson's boy to elope.
Chaos on land and peace on water are a huge contributing factor in this novel, I, personally, think Twain may have imbibed a little of himself into these chapters. He himself may have felt more at peace when on the water, when he worked as on a steamboat during his early years. He may have felt a little flustered or that chaotic things happened when he was on land, and, therefore, he incorporated some of that into his story of Huck and Jim.
Whenever Huck is on land strange, crazy, unpredictable, dangerous things seem to happen to him, things that we would never even consider doing or even dream of happening. For example, Huck meets the Grangerfords who are in a death fight with the Sheperdsons, the Grangerfords think he is a Sheperdson and they won't let him into the house until he proves that he is not. Twain paints a picture of pure terror on Huck's part, " 'Now, George Jackson, do you know the Sheperdsons?' 'No, sir; I never heard of them.' 'Well that may be so, and it mayn't. Now, all ready. Step forward, George Jackson. And mind, don't you hurry--come mighty slow. If there's anybody with you, let him keep back--if he shows himself he'll be shot.' ... I didn't hurry; I couldn't if I'd a-wanted to. I took one slow step at a time and there warn't a sound, only I thought I could hear my heart" (Twain 96). I could never imagine this, or anything like this, ever happening in my entire life. I would be so scared if I had been in the position that Huck was in, I honestly don't know what I would do. This is the kind of chaos that Twain might have felt when he was on land, nothing that chaotic happened on the raft, floating down the river.
The peace on the river, most likely, comes from floating down the river at night. Huck, I'm sure, felt just as comfortable at night as he did during the day because Tom and him used to sneak out and get together at night time. Huck mentions that they are naked while floating down the river because he thinks it's more comfortable that way, due to the fact that he doesn't feel complacent in nice clothes, he used to the rags that he had worn for so long. In our society, unless I'm a legal adult attending college, all the excitement happens during the day, people are sleeping during the night, or at least resting, buildings are closed, and people are home. I think Huck feels at peace on the river because he is finally content, he doesn't have Ms. Watson's and his father's conflicting views about what he should do with his life, he is finally free to do whatever he wants and he feels more relaxed than he ever has been before. For example, he says "We said there warn't no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft" (Twain 116). He is not worried that he or Jim will get caught because it's during the night and nobody is out at that time besides them.
Don't get me wrong, land is not always chaotic, and the river is not always peaceful. When Huck was living with the Grangerfords, I do not think the entire time was stressful for him, or else why would he have stayed with them for as long as he did. Granted, when the two families started killing each other, it may have gotten a little bit intense, but up until then, I'm sure it must have felt nice and peaceful to feel like he belonged somewhere. Also, the water wasn't always peaceful because, we know, that's how Jim and Huck always got separated, for example, their raft smashed when hit by a steam boat, but the peacefulness of the water heavily outweighs the chaos of the water, and vice versa for land.
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Bantam Dell 1981.
Chaos on land and peace on water are a huge contributing factor in this novel, I, personally, think Twain may have imbibed a little of himself into these chapters. He himself may have felt more at peace when on the water, when he worked as on a steamboat during his early years. He may have felt a little flustered or that chaotic things happened when he was on land, and, therefore, he incorporated some of that into his story of Huck and Jim.
Whenever Huck is on land strange, crazy, unpredictable, dangerous things seem to happen to him, things that we would never even consider doing or even dream of happening. For example, Huck meets the Grangerfords who are in a death fight with the Sheperdsons, the Grangerfords think he is a Sheperdson and they won't let him into the house until he proves that he is not. Twain paints a picture of pure terror on Huck's part, " 'Now, George Jackson, do you know the Sheperdsons?' 'No, sir; I never heard of them.' 'Well that may be so, and it mayn't. Now, all ready. Step forward, George Jackson. And mind, don't you hurry--come mighty slow. If there's anybody with you, let him keep back--if he shows himself he'll be shot.' ... I didn't hurry; I couldn't if I'd a-wanted to. I took one slow step at a time and there warn't a sound, only I thought I could hear my heart" (Twain 96). I could never imagine this, or anything like this, ever happening in my entire life. I would be so scared if I had been in the position that Huck was in, I honestly don't know what I would do. This is the kind of chaos that Twain might have felt when he was on land, nothing that chaotic happened on the raft, floating down the river.
The peace on the river, most likely, comes from floating down the river at night. Huck, I'm sure, felt just as comfortable at night as he did during the day because Tom and him used to sneak out and get together at night time. Huck mentions that they are naked while floating down the river because he thinks it's more comfortable that way, due to the fact that he doesn't feel complacent in nice clothes, he used to the rags that he had worn for so long. In our society, unless I'm a legal adult attending college, all the excitement happens during the day, people are sleeping during the night, or at least resting, buildings are closed, and people are home. I think Huck feels at peace on the river because he is finally content, he doesn't have Ms. Watson's and his father's conflicting views about what he should do with his life, he is finally free to do whatever he wants and he feels more relaxed than he ever has been before. For example, he says "We said there warn't no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft" (Twain 116). He is not worried that he or Jim will get caught because it's during the night and nobody is out at that time besides them.
Don't get me wrong, land is not always chaotic, and the river is not always peaceful. When Huck was living with the Grangerfords, I do not think the entire time was stressful for him, or else why would he have stayed with them for as long as he did. Granted, when the two families started killing each other, it may have gotten a little bit intense, but up until then, I'm sure it must have felt nice and peaceful to feel like he belonged somewhere. Also, the water wasn't always peaceful because, we know, that's how Jim and Huck always got separated, for example, their raft smashed when hit by a steam boat, but the peacefulness of the water heavily outweighs the chaos of the water, and vice versa for land.
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Bantam Dell 1981.