Huck Finn Mississippi Quotes

The river went on raising and raising for ten or twelve days, till at last it was over the banks. The water was three or four foot deep on the island in low places and on the Illinois bottom. On that side it was a good many miles wide; but on the Missouri side it was the same old distance across – a half a mile – because the Missouri shore was just a wall of high bluffs.

– Mark Twain

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 9. Huck describing the Mississippi River in early summer, just after he and runaway slave Jim escape to Jackson Island.

This second night we run between seven and eight hours, with a current that was making over four mile an hour. We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness. It was kind of solemn, drifting down the big, still river, laying on our backs looking up at the stars, and we didn’t ever feel like talking loud, and it warn’t often that we laughed – only a little kind of a low chuckle.

– Mark Twain

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 12. Hucks explains that while he and Jim float downsteam on their raft, the Mississippi is a
source of food and spiritual nourishment for them. They enjoy the freedom of being in the wilderness.

Sometimes we’d have the whole river to ourselves for the longest time. Yonder was the banks and the islands, across the water; and maybe a spark – which was a candle in a cabin window; and sometimes on the water you could see a spark or two – on a raft or scow, you know, and maybe you could here a fiddle or a song coming over from of them crafts. It’s lovely to live on a raft.

– Mark Twain

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 19. Huck and Jim really embrace the freeom of life on the river.

We had the sky, up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made, or only just happened – Jim he allowed they was made, or only just happened; I judged it would have took too long to make so many. Jim said the moon could a laid them; well, that looked kind of reasonable, so I didn’t say nothing against it, because I’ve seen a frog lay most as many, so of course it could be done.

– Mark Twain

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 19. Living on a raft on the Mississippi, what better life, what more freedom for Huck and Jim.

So, in two seconds, away we went, a sliding down the river, and it did seem so good to be free again and all by ourselves on the big river and nobody to bother us. I had to skip around a bit, and jump and crack my heels a few times, I couldn’t help it; but about the third crack, I noticed a sound that I knowed mighty well – and held my breath and listened and waited – and sure enough, when the next flash busted out over the water, here they come! – and just a laying to their oars and making their skiff hum! It was the king and the duke.

– Mark Twain

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 29. Huck after helping expose the swindlers the Duke and King and escaping from them on the raft with Jim. But this time the Mississippi no longer symbolizes freedom for Huck and Jim, as the con duo catch up with them in a small boat.
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