I Like High Mountain Huckleberry Soda

I am reading the Adventures of HuckleBerry Finn right now. I remember reading it as a kid and seeing this really cool HBO mini-series on it. But now that I am reading it as an adult, it speaks to me much more than it did before.

Huckleberry Finn is this boy who is caught up in the whole slavery dilemma. He thinks slaves are property, but then he has a real friendship with Jim, a black man. He is actually in a situation where he is somewhat driven to do the right thing even though society tells him it is not. Huck is a fascinating character, because he is sort of the rebel of the town. He is not a character many people would normally be able to identify with. But Twain writes it in such a way so as to make you feel like Huck is totally normal (or totally Twain).

I think most people are not as fortunate as Huckleberry Finn in their ability to be free of society's restrictions. We grow up going to school, church and thinking a certain way. Our families raise us to take a certain political stance. We come to see ourselves as people who have a certain place within that society. An importance. I was not raised to hate other races, but I know that at some point I had to recognize the differences in race and come to some conclusions about them. Whether those conclusions were right or wrong, they were important in recognizing who I was and what I could do.

Huck Finn was a boy who was forced to see those differences a little earlier in his life than most. But, in being a rebel and a boy instead of a man, he is not cornered into making a societal choice. He is free to think over what to do. He has society telling him slavery is the way things are supposed to be. He also sees Jim as a person and a friend. Reading this as a boy, the answers are so obvious. Reading this as an adult, there is a very profound metaphor about the way man is and what needs to be overcome.

It is more than just slavery that Huck has issues with. When it comes to man's relationship with God and the practical notions of prayer, he has a real hard time. Why pray when there is no visible evidence that it works? It is the common man mentality of wanting to see proof before one does something. Even though I have a pretty firm belief in prayer myself, I still see how someone who has no upbringing with that might have problems relating to it.

Going down the river with Jim to help him become free was not Huck's only goal. He was essentially escaping himself from the tyranny of his father. So, having Jim along helped him with his loneliness and in making decisions. I do want to help other people in life, but on the way, I want to play volleyball, basketball, golf and many other sports. I want to write, create, program and learn. I want to make money, save it and spend it. I want to be married and have children. I want to watch movies, read books and listen to CDs. I can do all this self-interest and still help others right?

Oh! And I want to drink High Mountain Huckleberry Soda...