Mark Twain uses the plot of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to reveal the truths about life in the South during the 1800's.

Since many African-Americans had been imprisoned as slaves, it seems only natural that one would occasionally escape to search for freedom. An obvious quest for freedom in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn would be that of Jim, an escaped slave. Huck meets Jim and they grow to become exceptional friends. Salwen explains, "It's about a slave who breaks the law and risks his life to win his freedom and be reunited with his family"(1). Huck contributes much aid to Jim's mission for freedom, and thus learns many truths about society. Meltzer elaborates, "Huck helps Jim to escape from slavery, and in a famous scene Huck's spontaneous self is placed in opposition to his acquired conscience, to the prejudices and values of the society he was raised in" (89).

In addition to Jim's pursuit of freedom, Huck hopes for his own independence. By escaping and traveling along the Mississippi River, Huck aspires to gain Freedom for both of them. Unger illustrates, "The next twenty chapters detail adventures on the river or beside the river, in a pattern of withdrawal and return, as Huck and Jim float with their raft toward what they hope will be freedom for both" (203). Huck wishes to prove his independence through his notorious trip along the Mississippi River. "Huckleberry Finn speaks out against stupid conformity and for the freedom and independence of the individual," states Meltzer (89). Naturally, with issues such as slavery and racism pervading his novels, Twain would receive a variety of responses to his works. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, like most other novels, has its share of various public responses. First of all, many people respond to the novel in a negative way. For example, some readers possess a feeling of anger towards issues discussed in the novel. One critic elaborates, "The novel's semiliterate narrator, vernacular dialogue, forthright depiction of the hypocrisy and brutality of American life, and unrefined frontier humor were sufficiently radical at the time of its publication to warrant the novel's banishment from numerous libraries as 'the veriest trash'" (19:349). Contrarily, some people do not possess enough knowledge of the issues to understand the novel's message. "It is a concretely liberating effect, and therefore different in kind from Whitman's vision of democracy, which can hardly be said to have been understood by or to have found a response among any considerable number of Americans," explains DeVoto (6:466). On the other hand, many readers have felt positively towards the novel. They believe that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has caused society to recognize the mistakes of the past. Hall emphasizes, "Initially a clowning humorist, Twain matured into the role of the seemingly naive wise Fool whose caustic sense of humor forced his audience to recognize humanity's foolishness and society's myriad injustices" (6:452). Along with this recognition came the realization that the treatment of slaves was inhumane. "To its everlasting credit, American society in the postwar period gradually came to the conclusion...that the ancient pattern of discrimination against Negroes was morally and legally indefensible," states Lynn (6:484). Finally, not only does Twain possess a negative view of slavery, he also has a distaste for war.

In conclusion, Mark Twain utilizes the plot in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to express the immorality of life in the South during the 1800's. He depicts the code of slavery in the South and the quest for independence of a slave and a young boy. Additionally, Twain's work produced a wide range of readers' responses. Finally,Twain's last major work Pudd'nhead Wilson also strongly spoke out against slavery.