Contrasting places are often used in literature to represent opposed
             forces or ideas which are central to the meaning of the work. The
             Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel which tells the story of a boy
             named Huckleberry Finn and his journey down the Mississippi River.
             Author Mark Twain contrasts the river and the shore in order to get
             across to his readers the idea that society tends to conform people
             while nature lets them be free and true to themselves.
             In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the river becomes Huck's
             home, and the shore is the place he avoids. The river can represent
             either a god or a sanctuary. Like a god, the river guides Huck on his
             journey. It pulls Huck downstream where he meets new people such as
             the scheming duke and king and the Grangerson family, and also
             reunites him with old friends, such as Jim, the runaway slave. The river
             can also represent a sanctuary to Huck as well. It is a place for him to
             run to, to escape the life he doesn't want. It is a safe haven from his
             father who wants nothing but his son's money. The reason Huck turns
             to the river in the first place is to escape from his drunken abusive
             father. Huck finds much more happiness on the river than with his father
             or at the Widow's home, where he is supposed to be living. On the river,
             Huck is free to go wherever he pleases and to be whoever he wants to
             be. He doesn't have to look for adventure, adventure finds him quite
             The shore, on the other hand, represents civilization and
             persecution, which is what Jim and Huck want to avoid. On the shore
             Huck is forced to be someone he isn't by attending school, wearing
             fancy clothes, and practicing good manners. He isn't free to live the
             kind of life he wants to live, which is unburdened and spontaneous.
             Jim wants to avoid society because, since he is a slave, he believes that
             the Widow is going to sell hi...