Symbolism of Animals in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

姜艷

【Abstract】Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ranks among the all-time treasure of American literature. Owing to its eternal artistic charm and endless exploring value， it arises numerous interpretations from multiple perspectives. This paper tend to study the portrayal of animals in this novel. By focusing on the symbolism of animals， the author not only uncovers the manifold roles they play， but also foreshadows the plot at key junctions.

【Key words】symbolism； animals； The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

1. Introduction

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn tells the story of black slaves boys—Huckleberry and Jim who desire to live in freedom， they take a raft down the Mississippi through a variety of difficult adventures. This novel is considered to be Mark Twains masterpiece， a classic American novel. Many writers work on the concise language and its unique artistic styles. However， the animals of the novel through the journey of adventure have rarely been explored， these animals are not optional； their presence plays an crucial role on the rendering of plot development and theme.

2. The Symbolic Meanings of Animals

A variety of animals that occur during the Mississippi River adventures make a clear clue and form some symbolic meanings.

2.1 The Auspicious Hogs

The auspicious hogs“It was not long before I shot a wild pig and I dragged it to the bank of the river. Its blood made a red track on the ground. I then put some blood on the ax. It looked like I was killed by a robber and thrown into the river.”

A wild hog appears at the end of the first part of the novel， when Huckleberry escapes from his fathers control. During the days of Huckleberry living with his father， his father often go out to drink， Huckleberry often catches fish or bird. One day， he met a wild and intelligent hog， and he killed it， using blood of the wild hog disguised his own death， thus he escaped from his father， since then， the wild hog appears to be a sign of good luck.

2.2 The Evil Snake

In the eyes of Americans， the snake is a symbol of evil. More argument as follows： if he sees a snake unkilled， he fears mischief； It is unlucky to dream of snakes； If a snake or a viper crosses your path， watch out for false friends.

Huckleberry did not believe snake-related claims Jim had told him， instead， he laughed at Jim and killed a small rattlesnake and he put it around on Jims sleeping blanket. While later he experienced a series of bad luck， then Huckleberry convinced it. Here it is worth mentioning that touch dead snake rather than the live ones is said to bring bad luck.

In the second paragraph of adventures， Huckleberry and Jim destined to experienced various toughness， for instance， Jim was bitten by a snake， the loss of the boat， as well as the fog miss destination， all of this were caused by the dead snake Huckleberry had once touched. It is believed that the snake is scary animals in the mysterious world， even people considered it will rule other animals on behalf of the worlds reptiles. In the biblical story， the snake has been described as the most cunning animals， it tempted Eve and Adam to eat the forbidden fruit， thus disobeying God， it was expelled from the Garden of Eden. Since then， women have to go through the pain of giving birth the next generation， the men will have to toil crops until their death. As a consequence， Huckleberrys father and aunt Sally， as well as other Americans are all fear and hate snakes， which can be seen from the novel “It was the worst bad luck in the world to touch a snake skin with my hand.”

3. Conclusion

Through above analysis， readers have learned a lot of folk myths and superstitions culture about animals， and these animals are successfully used in the novel， which not only effectively promotes the development of the story， but also reproduces distinctive native American culture， and in this way， this novel appears more vivid and specific.

References：

[1]Mark Twain.The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.Bantam Classics，1981：61.

[2]Collis，H.American Superstitions.Beijing：Foreign Language and Research Press，2004：119.