Tension In Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a fictional novel that was written by Mark Twain in 1884 about a boy named Huckleberry Finn who goes on many adventures and finds himself in a lot of trouble. Along the way he meets a lot of interesting and unique people that help him. The novel is set on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Petersburg, Missouri. In the novel, there are two points in which the tension is the highest. One happens to be when Huck is trying to escape his drunken father in the log cabin where he has him trapped. Another high tension part is when Sherburn gets on his roof protesting with a gun while an angry mob outside of his house is seemingly ready to lynch him. A good example of a part that has low tension is when
For example, in the novel it says, “By and by he rolled out and jumped up on his feet looking wild, and he see me and went for me. He chased me round and round the place with a clasp-knife, calling me the Angel of Death, and saying he would kill me, and then I couldn't come for him no more. I begged, and told him I was only Huck; but he laughed SUCH a screechy laugh, and roared and cussed, and kept on chasing me up. Once when I turned short and dodged under his arm he made a grab and got me by the jacket between my shoulders, and I thought I was gone; but I slid out of the jacket quick as lightning, and saved myself. Pretty soon he was all tired out, and dropped down with his back against the door, and said he would rest a minute and then kill me. He put his knife under him, and said he would sleep and get strong, and then he would see who was who.” (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn). This part of the book is one of the exciting moments where the reader has a feeling of uncertainty for the life of Huck. It seems at times during this scene that Huck may not make it out alive, and this significantly adds to the level of tension felt by the reader. This is not the only time that Huck's father tries to beat him throughout the book. At one point in the book Huck is getting beaten almost daily by his father, as he is a drunk and can seemingly never control himself at home with his family, or going out in town. Another
In the novel it says, “Jim sucked and sucked at the jug, and now and then he got out of his head and pitched around and yelled; but every time he come to himself he went to sucking at the jug again. His foot swelled up pretty big, and so did his leg; but by and by the drunk begun to come, and so I judged he was all right; but I'd druther been bit with a snake than pap's whisky.” (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn). Rattlesnakes are very poisonous and many people know this, therefore the mention of the snake bite and ravage swelling of Jim’s leg strikes a bit of worry and fear in the reader. This formulates an aura of high tension around this point in the book, as the reader does not know what is going to happen next with the injured and immobile Jim. The tension here is produced by the reader’s uncertainty of the future of Jim. Jim has been on the run since the beginning of the book, and has now been immobilized by the bite. Most readers safely assume that this occurrence is not just a coincidence, but leads into a bigger conflict or issue later in the novel that permeates through the pages of Twain’s writing. In conclusion, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a good book that seems to have a high level of tension throughout it. But the tension in this book is welcome, as it adds a level of depth and action that would not be