Zach Wilson--Outside Reading 2

Myth is not new, and is not unique to Lewis, Tolkien, and his contemporaries.  Huckleberry Finn is a novel by Mark Twain which makes extensive use of myth.  It is essentially a re-spinning of the Odyssey within the Homeric tradition. Huckleberry Finn essentially becomes the Odysseus of the south in his journey for freedom from his drunkard father.  The use of vernacular and localized terminology sets the stage for the myth of the river.  Huck Finn along with Jim, becomes a freedom fighter, a hero, and an adventurer, all from his raft on the Mississippi.  This is another example of a re-cast myth, in a looser carnation than that of Till We Have Faces.
Travel and the idea of a journey are also emphasized to provide contrast and new information and input.  This is an emphasis which was found in The Space Trilogy, where Ransom travels to Venus and Mars, and the new landscape provides the basis for the action.  The 'travel novel' is a concept which often drives narrative and story, and it is not unique to the science fiction genre, although it is exaggerated.  Huck Finn floats down the Mississippi, whereas Ransom travels to distant planets.