Land versus river is seen as a major theme, or motif, in Huckleberry Finn. There are many differences between the episodes that occur on the river and episodes that occur on the land. There is not only a difference in the mentality of the characters, but the action of the characters. Although the differences very much outweigh the similarities, there are similarities, too.
The most obvious symbol of the river is the freedom that it gives both Huck and Jim. One of the freedoms is that nothing matters while on the river; they are free to do whatever they please. They don’t need to be civilized, schooled, made to wear certain outfits at certain times, or anything else that they don’t want to do. They can sit naked and nobody can say a thing about it. To Huck, the river represents just that very thing: no civilization or rules. But to Jim, it represents much more: the freedom that he will soon have. The river will lead him to that freedom.
The land, on the other hand, is......
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