Hip the History was written by John Leland, which he created the argument that Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, and Herman Melville believe in the idea that hip itself can be more than one thing at once. One of Leland’s theses claims, that hip is a negotiable identity. This establishes the tension in Mark Twain’s novel “Huckleberry Finn”, that Huck is caught between his true identity and his ever changing negotiable identity on his quest for Jim’s freedom.
John Leland gives the argument in his work that “a nameless protagonist who changed identity from page to page” is relatable to his concept of a negotiable identity. A negotiable identity is when you complicate and express yourself in various ways, changing your being. Ralph Waldo Emerson, a profound philosopher, can relate this idea through his love for change and constant movement. In “Ralph Waldo Emerson in His Essays” by Tony Tanner it demonstrates his love for change and movement by stating “If life was ‘flux’ in constant ‘metamorphosis’ then so should the writing of it be.” It is truly apparent in Mark Twain’s novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, that there is change when Huck is venturing down the river with Jim for his desperate need of sweet freedom, while Huck is constantly changing his identity to benefit for Jim. When the two start their journey they have minimal supplies to survive on the river, so Huck deliberated an idea to play the part of a young women name Sarah Williams. While disguised as her he goes to a local house near the river to sneak food and necessary essentials into his dress. Twain’s commentary portrays the idea of a negotiable identity by Huck, in an instant, having the ability to change from his true identity to a new persona whether it be Sarah Williams, George Jackson, the duke and dauphin’s young servant, or even Tom Sawyer. All of these roles that Huck’s identity adapt are for the sake of Jim’s life to take a turn and make a tremendous change. For Huck to be constantly changing his identity to benefit for Jim applies to the thesis’s idea of a negotiable identity for Jim on their quest to freedom. This relates back to Emerson’s ideal thrive for the concept of change. In order to achieve change Emerson quotes that “ you have to stress the importance of actual doing”. Huck firmly stresses the importance of actually doing because he is constantly doing all in his youthful power to give Jim the freedom he rightfully deserves to change his life.
John Leland gives the argument in his work that “a nameless protagonist who changed identity from page to page” is relatable to his concept of a negotiable identity. A negotiable identity is when you complicate and express yourself in various ways, changing your being. Ralph Waldo Emerson, a profound philosopher, can relate this idea through his love for change and constant movement. In “Ralph Waldo Emerson in His Essays” by Tony Tanner it demonstrates his love for change and movement by stating “If life was ‘flux’ in constant ‘metamorphosis’ then so should the writing of it be.” It is truly apparent in Mark Twain’s novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, that there is change when Huck is venturing down the river with Jim for his desperate need of sweet freedom, while Huck is constantly changing his identity to benefit for Jim. When the two start their journey they have minimal supplies to survive on the river, so Huck deliberated an idea to play the part of a young women name Sarah Williams. While disguised as her he goes to a local house near the river to sneak food and necessary essentials into his dress. Twain’s commentary portrays the idea of a negotiable identity by Huck, in an instant, having the ability to change from his true identity to a new persona whether it be Sarah Williams, George Jackson, the duke and dauphin’s young servant, or even Tom Sawyer. All of these roles that Huck’s identity adapt are for the sake of Jim’s life to take a turn and make a tremendous change. For Huck to be constantly changing his identity to benefit for Jim applies to the thesis’s idea of a negotiable identity for Jim on their quest to freedom. This relates back to Emerson’s ideal thrive for the concept of change. In order to achieve change Emerson quotes that “ you have to stress the importance of actual doing”. Huck firmly stresses the importance of actually doing because he is constantly doing all in his youthful power to give Jim the freedom he rightfully deserves to change his life.