ABSTRACT
Now Huckleberry Finn has taken a position of centrality in American literature and what was once seen as a children's book has been shown to be, once the authors started looking carefully, a devastating attack on slavery and many other nineteenth-century American institutions. The chapter discusses some of these techniques, show how Twain "pulled them off" and discuss their significance as far as American culture and society are concerned. If we look at the novel from an existential point of view, as an example of the literature of the absurd, Jim's trip makes good sense. In the controversial ending of the book, which ridicules romanticism and formalism, there is a dispute between Huck and Tom about how to rescue Jim. Jim's trip in the wrong direction makes sense. And, of course, the nonesuch is a classic bit of the theatre of the absurd, both literally and figuratively.
