Long Live Huck Finn

“Long live the walls we crashed through

All the kingdom lights shined just for me and you

I was screaming, ‘long live all the magic we made’

And bring on all the pretenders

I'm not afraid”

- Long Live, Taylor Swift

Mark Twain’s satirical novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, radiates with the excitement of adventure while eliciting feelings of nostalgia from its audience. Whether it's climbing a tree, pretending to be thieves on the hunt, or sailing down a river, Huck and his companions really know how to keep the magic of childhood alive while facing abundant challenges. Guess what connection I’ll be making in this post! Yeah, that’s right: Taylor Swift.

Right off the bat, Huck, Tom, and the gang sneak out of their houses in the dead of night to engage in some extreme adventure. Their first adventure is taking a journey to a cave somewhere in their hometown and starting their business of thievery. Which, of course, reminds me of Taylor Swift’s song, Long Live, where she sings, “For a moment a band of thieves in ripped up jeans got to rule the world.” In all honesty, I don’t think I could’ve inserted a more perfect song lyric to relate to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Don’t laugh. . .I’m serious! Make fun of me all you want but, when you think about it, Huck Finn is a poor boy who wears rags for clothes (hence the “ripped up jeans”). He goes on magnificent adventures with his crew, during which they pretend they are quite dominant over the rest of the world (hence the “rule the world” aspect). Who knew Taylor Swift lyrics would be perfectly relatable to a satirical novel that is well over one hundred years old?

I continue. . .Huck’s adventures suggest that even the youngest and poorest of individuals can be completely independent and intelligent. Huck and his friends are exaggerated versions of the stereotypical wild and adventures children. For example, there is a point in the book where Huck is living completely on his own in the woods, hunting for each of his meals and building his own form of shelter. I’m quite sure this is not a realistic interpretation of a child surviving on his own in the wilderness because most children wouldn’t know even the most basic of survival skills. However, these exaggerations express that courage and imagination can take you just about anywhere.

If you’re ever looking for a bit of nostalgia for your childhood and some literary entertainment, then you should definitely give Huck Finn a try. I highly recommend it! It’s very upbeat and fun with historical and cultural undertones of the American West. So far, there have been countless times while reading that I have actually laughed out loud because of the absurdity of the events and logic of the book. There was this one time when. . .well, I won’t ruin it for you. You’re just going to have to read it for yourself! But definitely keep in mind those Taylor Swift lyrics while you’re reading.