According to Thomas Foster, the author of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, every trip is a quest (except when it’s not). Basically, Foster is saying that whenever a literary character goes a journey, they are doing more than just going from point A to point B. They are also undergoing an experience that will cause them to grow and develop. Huckleberry Finn’s decision to escape from his father’s cabin in the woods and head down the Mississippi River in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn definitely marks the beginning of a quest for Huck.

In chapter one of his book, Foster lays out the requirements for a quest; Huck’s adventure meets all of them. Huck, of course, is the quester, or the person going on the quest. He is setting out for Jackson Island, a big island in the middle of the river just south of his hometown (35). Huck wants to go there to escape from his father and to start a new life. Huck is sick and tired of being told what to do and how to live his life. He hates living with the widow and with Miss Watson because they constantly try to make him into what in their eyes would be a proper boy. For instance, the widow forced Huck to wear new clothes and prevents him from smoking (2). Miss Watson forces Huck to go to school, and even though he eventually takes a liking to it, he is still resentful about being forced to go (3). Huck wants to have the freedom to live his life the way he wants to live it.

Huck also faces a number of challenges on the way to the island. Before leaving, he has to take a number of elaborate measures to avoid being discovered. He covers the wear and tear he had made by crawling in and out of the house, lays a false trail with the blood from a wild hog, and covers his tracks (32). He is nearly discovered immediately after escaping the cabin by his dad, who had returned earlier than expected (34). He has to lie flat in his canoe to

avoid being seen by the townspeople (35). Despite all of his efforts, Huck is still nearly discovered by the fairy boat (37).

So, what does Huck actually gain from embarking on this quest? Foster, of course, tells us that it is self-growth and exploration that Huck will find on his journey. Specifically, after the first third of the book, it seems that Huck is going to learn a lot about racism and false stereotypes. From the very beginning, Jim appears to Huck as an intelligent, sentient being. This causes Huck to struggle with the issue of race in his society, and why one group of people would consider it their God-given duty to enslave and torment another group of the same flesh and blood as themselves. Huck has also literally escaped from his father, Miss Watson, and the widow. This indicates that he will learn to think for himself and begin to make his own decisions about what is civilized and what is not on his journey down the river, unhindered by any overbearing presences.