Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

“Jim, this is nice,” I says. “I wouldn’t want to be nowhere else but here. Pass me along another hunk of fish and some hot corn-bread.”

Re-reading this classic felt like that. Hanging out on the barge with Huck and Jim – eating corn bread. I didn’t want to be anywhere else. There are stories that shape us in a real, measurable way. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of those stories for me.

I remember reading Huck Finn in high school and falling in love with the vidid scenery and characters. However, for me, it sort of ended there. It was one of those stories where you read it to check it off the list – you know what I mean? But I didn’t really connect with the characters in a deep way. I wasn’t invested. This time, and I don’t know if it’s because it wasn’t assigned reading or I just have more space for literature, I was much more connected with the characters and the story.

I cried when the Grangerford daughter eloped with the Shepardson son resulting in a blood bath. I was literally walking around in circles in my tiny apartment in angst waiting for Jim and Huck to find each other again after the big storm. I wanted to kill the Duke and the Dauphin when they sold Jim back into slavery… seriously aren’t they the worst? But the moment that wrecked me (for real) is when Huck resolves to go free Jim. To us living in 2016, that seems so obvious. Of course, people aren’t property, slavery is bad. But for Twain’s Huck Finn, living in 1880s when slavery had just become illegal and some folks didn’t even know it yet, it was a hard choice. He thought he was going to hell for stealing. Seriously. Let that sink in. A young child truly believed he would be eternally damned for protecting and fighting for the freedom of a fellow human being.

In our world, that seems crazy. But re-reading Huck Finn in 2016 has me thinking… what will our generation’s version of this story be? What are the themes that will emerge and be penned as the iconic fiction of our day? Will it be about fake news? Social media bullying? Racist violence? Women’s rights? The shit storm that was the 2016 election?

My challenge to you, dear reader, is this – live your life as if the iconic book of our day is about you. Spend less time in social media debates and more time interacting with real people. Spend time getting to know someone whose life experience is dramatically different than yours. Cook more, complain less. Challenge your own assumptions. Live in community. Eat cookies. Drink wine. Fight hate with everyday acts of love. Go on adventures.  Enjoy all the wonderful parts of our world. And who knows, maybe our generation’s iconic fiction will have your story in it.