Read the excerpt below and answer the question. “TWO or three days and nights went by: I reckon I might say they swum by, they slid along so quiet and
smooth and lovely. Here is the way we put in the time. It was a monstrous big river down there--sometimes a
mile and a half wide; we run nights, and laid up and hid daytimes; soon as night was most gone we stopped
navigating and tied up-nearly always in the dead water under a towhead; and then cut young cottonwoods
and willows, and hid the raft with them. Then we set out the lines. Next we slid into the river and had a swim,
so as to freshen up and cool off; then we set down on the sandy bottom where the water was about knee
deep, and watched the daylight come. Not a sound anywheres--perfectly still -just like the whole world was
asleep, only sometimes the bullfrogs a-cluttering, maybe. (p. 114)”
In at least 150 words, discuss how Twain uses the Mississippi River as a symbol for freedom in this passage, and explain
how the river functions in the novel. Cite examples from the novel to support your response.