" The novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a timeless classic written by the "Great American author", Mark Twain. It makes readers laugh out loud on one page, then by the next they are tearing up with emotion. In my opinion, though it is one of the greatest novels of our time, I did not personally enjoy The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It was very difficult for me to read and I would find myself having to read pages over again out of confusion. It was also quite hard for me to stay awake while reading it. Given this, I do not mean to turn people off to the idea of reading this novel. It is indeed a classic novel with adventure and humor. It was enjoyable on many occasions, constantly keeping readers guessing if Huck and Jim will succeed with their journey. I would recommend this novel to those with a higher reading level that are also accustomed to the type of old language Twain uses in his novel. This book is not necessarily for everyone, but there is a definite reason it is referred to as the great American novel.
There are many conflicts that occur throughout the whole novel. The main conflict, however, is man versus society. Both Huck and Jim flee from their town in hopes of being free men in Cairo. Huck is running from his father, who locks him up and occasionally abuses him. Jim, on the other hand, is running from slavery. They both want to escape the horrors of society and live in a place where they can be free and not controlled by someone.
The writing style is quite difficult to fully comprehend, in my opinion. The opening sentence to the novel is "You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," but that ain't no matter" (Twain 1). That sentence in itself is very difficult to understand. Most of the novel is moderately confusing, in my opinion. Twain tends to go on tangents as well, explaining minor events with an intense amount of detail. This style of writing is not particularly enjoyable for me, however most seem to look beyond it.
The novel contained some very important themes in its pages. In my opinion, the main theme was how society has a way of controlling people. In the story, Huck believed he should turn Jim in, but being out in the water away from other people, he did not have to conform to their thoughts about slavery. Huck was free to make his own decisions and form his own opinions. This resulted in him keeping Jim safe and free from slavery as long as he could. If he was still in the town he came from, he would not have helped Jim in fear of the people looking down at him and telling him it is wrong to think that way. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has it's good and bad factors, but in conclusion it is an extremely powerful story with important themes that everyone should learn. "
— Natalie, 1/5/2014