Close Reading Huck Finn.... Finally

Text: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by William Faulkner

Critical Lense: Psychoanalytic Lens

“Do you reckon Tom Sawyer would ever go by this thing? Not for pie, he wouldn’t. He’d call it an adventure—that’s what he’d call it; and he’d land on that wreck if it was his last act. And wouldn’t he throw style into it?—wouldn’t he spread himself, nor nothing? Why, you’d think it was Christopher C’lumbus discovering Kingdom-Come. I wish Tom Sawyer was here…” (Twain 69)

“By this time Jim was gone for the raft. I was just a-biling with curiosity; and I says to myself, Tom Sawyer wouldn’t back out now, and so I won’t either; I’m a-going to see what’s going on here.” (Twain 70)

During this part of the novel, Huckleberry Finn is with Jim on the water after they have left the island. They are on their way down the river and Huck Finn spots a shipwreck. Obviously at his age curiosity is controlling most of his actions, but he is just a bit scared to go through with them. This is what causes him to use Tom Sawyer as a bit of an excuse to go through with the actions.

The unconscious thoughts and desires are usually influenced and formed at an early age. Since Huck is around his early teens, like 13, his hidden thoughts and desires are beginning to be finalized. The majority of his thoughts are based around adventures and discovering something. Twain mentions the search for “adventure,” because he is showing how naive Huck Finn is and how he is only looking for things that could give him short-term benefits. This is different from what Jim is thinking, because he’s older and is looking for a long-term plan revolving around safety. This hidden desire for adventure shows how he is still looking for something fun that will take up his time. Even though he should be looking for shelter and somewhere safe to stay, he is more concerned about finding something new and exciting, because that is generally what his age group wants to do.

Huck Finn also mentions that he wants to discover something like “Christopher C’lumbus.” This is a very naive thought, which will not likely happen, because first of all if he comes out with the discovery, then he would get caught. Also he is just young and looking for adventure, so he believes that he can do almost anything.

The different thought process and goals are mainly based around age, because his thoughts are still developing. Since his thoughts and reacting actions are still being developed, he searches for an excuse to perform the actions that he truly desires, such as saying that Tom would do this or that.