Themes of the Kentucky Cycle

Reading The Kentucky Cycle has many interesting themes that we have seen elsewhere this year, especially in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Crucible. Although they have different plots, these two texts are very similar in their key themes and messages. I will examine how The Kentucky Cycle is similar to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by looking at both texts' racist and religious messages, and I will also explain how The Kentucky Cycle is similar to The Crucible by considering the importance of land.


The Kentucky Cycle has some racist messages, as does Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In The Kentucky Cycle, as Jessie and Sallie come in carrying a jug of whisky, the Judge asks, "Is that a jug, your nigger has there?" (87). Just out of the blue, without any purpose or even drama, the Judge decides to use the N-word. This idea of frequently using this derogatory term unnecessarily also appears in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. For instance, after deceiving Jim, Huck realizes the effects of his misbehavior and says, “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger” (73). Here again the word seems to pop up out of nowhere. If Huck had been sincere about his apology, why would he have described Jim as a "nigger"? Huck obviously had the choice to not use this word, but he unfortunately did.


The Kentucky Cycle conveys important religious themes, especially ones that pertain to Christianity, as does Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In The Kentucky Cycle, Tod asks about "Zion" (21). In Christianity, "Zion" refers to heaven, a very important Christian ideal. In Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck describes how the Widow Douglas would teach him about "Moses and the Bulrushers" (4). This quotation portrays the importance of religion, as Douglas made the effort to teach Huckleberry about the Bible.


The Kentucky Cycle shows the importance of land, as does The Crucible. In the dispute over land in The Kentucky Cycle, Taskwan portrays the land's significance by saying that it cannot be "'given'" to anyone else (28). Clearly, he feels very passionately about the land. In The Crucible, describes the long-standing hatreds of neighbors partly as "[l]and-lust, which had been expressed by constant bickering over boundaries and deeds" (7). As these neighbors were constantly fighting over land, they show how much they deeply care about it and do not want to give it up.


When comparing The Kentucky Cycle to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Crucible, there are many similar themes in these texts. I explained three important ones: racism, religion, and land. Personally, I like making parallels to other texts because they denote the themes' societal importance throughout history. What do you think?