Ana Arias
Per.4
SUPERSTITION THEMATIC ESSAY
Superstition is a word that is often used to explain bad luck, misfortune, and the world that is not known. It holds the power to cloud the minds of many. People choose to believe in superstitions to formulate certain situations in life that have no real organization. This is clearly evident in Mark Twain's, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn based on the ongoing adventure of a young boy and slave who are on a journey to find personal freedom. Mark Twain saturates the novel with various examples of superstition to demonstrate the difference among those in the Christian society, display the nonsense ways of civilization, and emphasize how crucial the rules of society are. Superstition…show more content… The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn consists of symbolism affiliated with the superstition established by both the actions and beliefs of the characters in the story. In the beginning of the book, Huck sees a spider crawling up his shoulder which terrifies him, so therefore he flicks the spider into the flame and watches as it shrivels up before his eyes. In Huck’s mind he assumes his actions will bring bad luck and evil omens, he states “I turned around in my tracks three times and crossed my breast every time; and then I tied up a little lock of my hair with a thread to keep witches away.” (13) This depicts the difference between Huck from the society because of instead of believing in god he is caught in the idea of being haunted by witches. Twain derides American romantics for their allure to the supernatural as a disguised attempt for religious belief. Later one morning during breakfast at the widows house Huck happened to turn the salt-cellar, he rapidly reaches for some salt to throw over his shoulders to ward off all possible bad luck he could acquire. Huck then asserts how “The widow put in a good word for me, but that warn't going to keep off the bad luck,