Superstitions in Huckleberry Finn Essay Example For Students

Superstitions in Huckleberry Finn Essay In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, there is a lot of superstition. Some examples of superstition in the novel are Huck killing a spider which is bad luck, the hair-ball used to tell fortunes, and the rattle-snake skin Huck touches that brings Huck and Jim good and bad luck. Superstition plays an important role in the novel Huck Finn. In Chapter one Huck sees a spider crawling up his shoulder, so he flipped it off and it went into the flame of the candle. Before he could get it out, it was already shriveled up. Huck didnt need anyone to tell him that it was an bad sign and would give him bad luck. Huck got scared and shook his clothes off, and turned in his tracks three times. He then tied a lock of his hair with a thread to keep the witches away. You do that when youve lost a horseshoe that youve found, instead of nailing it up over the door, but I hadnt ever heard anybody say it was any way to keep of bad luck when youd killed a spider.(Twain 5). We will write a custom essay on Superstitions in Huckleberry Finn specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now In chapter four Huck sees Paps footprints in the snow. So Huck goes to Jim to ask him why Pap is here. Jim gets a hair-ball that is the size of a fist that he took from an oxs stomach. Jim asks the hair-ball; Why is Pap here? But the hair-ball wont answer. Jim says it needs money, so Huck gives Jim a counterfeit quarter. Jim puts the quarter under the hair-ball. The hair-ball talks to Jim and Jim tells Huck that it says. Yoole father doan know yit what hes a-gwyne to do. Sometimes he spec hell go way, en den agin he spec hell stay. De bes way is tores easy en let de ole man take his own way. Deys two angles hoverin roun bout him. One uvem is white en shiny, en tother one is black. De white one gits him to go right a little while, den de black one sil in en gust it all up. A body cant tell yit which one gwyne to fetch him at de las. But you is all right. You gwyne to have considable trouble in yo life, en considable joy. Sometimes you gwyne to git hurt, en sometimes you gwyne to git s ick; but every time yous gwyne to git well agin. Deys two gals flyin bout yo in yo life. One uv ems light en tother one is dark. One is rich en tother is po. Yous gwyne to marry de po one fust en de rich one by en by. You wants to keep way fum de water as much as you kin, en dont run no resk, kase its down in de bills dat yous gwyne to git hung. (Twain 19). Huck goes home and goes up to his room that night and Pap is there. In Chapter ten, Huck and Jim run into good luck and bad luck. The good luck was Huck and Jim finds eight dollars in the pocket of an overcoat. After dinner on Friday, they are lying in the grass, then Huck ran out of tobacco, so he went to the craven to get some, and finds a rattlesnake. Huck kills it and curled it up and put it on the foot of Jims blanket. Night came and Jim flung himself on the blanket and the snakes mate was there, and it bit Jim on the heel. Jim tells Huck to chop off the snakes head, then skin the body of the snake and roast a peice of it. H e took the rattles off and tied them to Jim wrist. Jim said it would help him. Huck says I made up my mind I wouldnt ever take a-holt of a snake-skin again with my hands, now that I see what had come of it. (Twain 52). .u190a00b9778f80049c0236cbf286875c , .u190a00b9778f80049c0236cbf286875c .postImageUrl , .u190a00b9778f80049c0236cbf286875c .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u190a00b9778f80049c0236cbf286875c , .u190a00b9778f80049c0236cbf286875c:hover , .u190a00b9778f80049c0236cbf286875c:visited , .u190a00b9778f80049c0236cbf286875c:active { border:0!important; } .u190a00b9778f80049c0236cbf286875c .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u190a00b9778f80049c0236cbf286875c { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u190a00b9778f80049c0236cbf286875c:active , .u190a00b9778f80049c0236cbf286875c:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u190a00b9778f80049c0236cbf286875c .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u190a00b9778f80049c0236cbf286875c .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u190a00b9778f80049c0236cbf286875c .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u190a00b9778f80049c0236cbf286875c .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u190a00b9778f80049c0236cbf286875c:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u190a00b9778f80049c0236cbf286875c .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u190a00b9778f80049c0236cbf286875c .u190a00b9778f80049c0236cbf286875c-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u190a00b9778f80049c0236cbf286875c:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Role of the Emperor in Meiji Japan Essay ThesisAs one can see Superstition plays an important role in the novel Huck Finn. Huck killing the spider which is bad luck, the hair-ball that tells fortunes, and the rattle-snake skin that Huck touched are examples that brought bad luck to Huck and Jim in the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.