This paper examines the travel motif as a recurring literary device in three canonical American novels: Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Herman Melville's Moby Dick, and Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The analysis considers how each author deploys travel differently — as an avenue of escape and inescapable fate in Hawthorne, as an all-consuming identity and way of life in Melville, and as an expression of childhood freedom and its limits in Twain. The paper argues that in all three works, travel ultimately fails to resolve the protagonists' core problems, yet remains the engine driving narrative and character development.
To understand and extract a travel motif from any novel, one must first understand what a motif consists of. A motif is a recurring and persistent theme used across all areas of creative work, including literature. In three classic American novels, the evidence of a travel motif is laced and intertwined throughout each story, weaving its way around the lives of the protagonists. Moby Dick, The Scarlet Letter, and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn all make use of travel motifs for the purpose of connecting the plot to the needs of those who live within the stories.
The Scarlet Letter is a classic example of the travel motif being put to use in service of the story. Travel is a thematic strength throughout the book because it begins with Hester traveling to America ahead of her husband. Travel is what brought her to a place where she was entirely alone, waiting for her husband to arrive. He did not come, and it was assumed he had died en route to the states. While waiting, however, she had an affair and consequently had a child with Dimmesdale, the local pastor (Hawthorne).
Travel is used as a motif in this story largely because it provides avenues of escape for many of the characters. Her husband had not actually died; he eventually traveled to the states and remained in hiding in order to scorn Hester for her actions. Hester herself had traveled to America to begin life anew. When she was sent to prison for committing adultery and then forced to wear a scarlet letter "A" on her clothing, her life became very difficult. It was further complicated by the preacher's weakness and his refusal to come forward and legitimize their daughter, Pearl.
The travel motif emerges again when the characters plan to flee and live elsewhere. Travel and geographic change have long been used as a means of altering the course of a narrative, but in this novel the travel motif is ultimately about the impossibility of escape. The preacher confesses his love and acknowledges his daughter before the town, then dies. Hester leaves and lives elsewhere for a time but eventually returns (Hawthorne). Travel in this book does not cure the characters' problems, and when Hester dies she is buried beside the pastor, the two sharing a tombstone bearing only the letter "A" (Hawthorne).
In Moby Dick, the use of the travel motif is evident, though employed in a different manner than in The Scarlet Letter. The entire book is grounded in travel. The sailors spend their lives at sea, and even in the quest for the great whale, it is the travel itself that is so painstakingly depicted throughout the story (Melville). Travel is the foundation for showcasing the personalities and life goals of the characters. The motif also allows for the exploration of superstitions rooted in sea traditions and maritime lore.
Travel is the very center of Moby Dick, and it portrays the grip that seafaring life can have over those who are addicted to it. Even after a rescue, the men return to sea because the need to travel is in their blood — it is who they are, what they live for, and what is ingrained into their very souls. The novel conveys to the reader that travel for these characters is more than an occupation; it is the core of their identity (Melville).
"Boys pursue adventure but face unavoidable consequences"
The theme of travel is so deeply ingrained in all three novels that it creates a common understanding of its importance to mankind. Travel can be used for geographic healing, the satisfaction of the soul, or the pursuit of childhood dreams. It is a common motif that drives the advancement of these three stories and helped make them the classics they are today.
Travel works to clear the mind of the character as well as the reader. It allows for the leaving behind of those who have either lost their significance to the story or have caused pain to the protagonist. The travel motif is not uncommon in literature, but in these three books it is the central theme and the foundation for the actions of all those who live within their pages.
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