Huckleberry Finn was written by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) and published in 1885. This timeless novel unfolds in the Mississippi valley, probably in Mark Twain’s home state, Missouri.

Huckleberry Finn is a fourteen year old curious boy who lived with the widow Ms. Douglas, and Ms.Watson. Both were very strict, especially Ms.Watson, but she had good reasons for it. Huck Finn was a clever boy, but he often found trouble. He loved freedom and especially being out in the nature. He did not like school, or authorities like Ms.Watson. Huck did one day sneak out in the dark to meet his best friend Tom Sawyer.

Tom and Huck met Jo Harper and Ben Rogers, who where some of the boys that were hiding in the old cave. Tom and Huck promised the boys to keep the cave as a secret place. They joined together in Sawyers “criminal gang”.

One night the inquisitive Huck finds some tracks in the snow. Huck understands that it’s his father. He runs down to judge Thatcher to secure his money. Huck told about the tracks from his father, because he wondered what his father was up to. Huck`s father wanted to get Huck away from Ms.Watson and Ms.Douglas, because he didn’t like that Huck was going to school. Nobody in the family had gone to school before. His father wanted money, and huck barrowed 3 dollar from Thatcher, which he gave to his father. The father spent the money on alcohol and where arrested as he often did. Judge Thatcher and Ms.Douglas tried to protect Huck from his violent father and went to lawsuit to take custody of Huck from his father. Unfortunately for them, there was a new judge. Judge Thatcher and Ms. Douglas failed succeed, because this new judge was more familiar to Huck’s father than them.

The new judge took the father to his home, gave him food, clothes and took care of him. The father locked Huck inside a bungalow where he only was allowed to go out when he was hunting and fishing. Huck`s father got drunk every day and was beating up poor Huck.

One day when Huck was fishing, he found a floating canoe on the river, and hided it behind some trees. Huck planned to escape, and plotted out a clever way to do so. Huck took a saw and found his way out, where murdered an innocent pig with rifle. He took the pig to the bungalow to flay it. He scattered blood all over the floor, and took an axe and some of his hair which he left in a corner of the bungalow. He then took a large bag and filled it with stones and dragged trough the forest and down to the river, where he tossed it into the water. It was easy to see that something had bin dragged down from the bungalow to the river.

Huck found the canoe and paddled to Jackson’s Island where he met his “Nigger” friend, Jim. Jim had successfully escaped from Ms.Watson, who had planned to sell him in New Orleans.

It doesn’t say anything about what Huck Finn thinks about the slavery, in all the first 16 chapters of the book. But it seemed to me like the white people fought they where better than the “niggers”. The white people repress the black and used them as slaves like they where animals.

Huck really wants to help Jim get his freedom. But he has doubts, he is not shore if  he’s doing the right thing. Does he want to risk his reputation and keep helping Jim, or follow the law and turn in Jim.

Huck Finn and Jim became good friends on the Jackson’s Island. Jim was now Huck's first true friend. They had one comment desire: Freedom. Huck wants to free himself from his fathers violent behaviors, and be able to survive on his own. Jim seeks freedom from slavery. Together they believe they can fulfill their dreams.

Huck and Jim found a cabin, but because of the rain, the cabin was taken by the river. Jim and Huck took some useful things from the house, and continued their journey. Later on their journey, Huck was curios to know if his father believed that he was dead.  He dressed up as a girl, and went to the town. He went to a small cabin, where a woman who had recently moved to town lived.

Huck said that his name was Sara Williams and that his mother was very ill and poor. He told about him and Jim, that he was killed and that Jim had escaped. Then the lady realizes that Huck is a boy, but promises to not tell a word to anyone. She said that if he needed help, he could write a letter to Mrs. Judith Loftus, which was her. Huck went back to Jim and now they had to escape Cairo, which they believe to be the country of freedom.

I think that Huck Finn has a big heart dough he maybe hooligan at times. He loves to be free in the nature. He was very happy and relieved when he met Jim on Jackson’s Island, because he no longer had to be alone and he found a new good friend.

I haven’t read the whole book yet, but I thought it seemed very exciting.  I tried to read the book in English, but it was very difficult because the language has this difficult Missouri accent. So I read the Norwegian version. I really liked the part where Huck obscure his escape by killing a pig. Mark Twain has a fascinating imagination and he describes the environment in details which make me really imagine how the action take places in real life. This is a interesting book, it made me realise how great my life is and how lucky I am, in contrast to how Huck and Jim’s life was like.