Deception In Huckleberry Finn Analysis

In the novel, The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain conveys the theme that deception is normally considered immoral but can be considered justified in certain circumstances. One instance of justified deception is illustrated in Chpater 16, when Huck lies to the slave hunters by telling them that his Pap, not Jim, has smallpox and should not be seen by anyone. By informing the slave hunters that his Pap has an contagious disease, Huck discourages the slave hunters from checking the raft, thereby preventing Jim from being captured and potentially killed. Huck’s lie can be jusified because Huck’s lie protected friend, Jim, while being harmless to anyone else.
On the contrary, in Chapter 24-28, the Duke and the King’s attempt to con the Wilks family in order to get their wealth is hardly justifiable due to the fact that the sole reason was to benefit themselves at the cost of the innocents. Although the King tried to justify his con by saying that Mary Jane, Susan, and Joanna will have enough to live off of, his scheme to take money and property away from the rightful owner clearly harms the Wilks. Huck knew their con was different from some of his own

In Chapter 41, Huck looks for a doctor that could treat Tom’s bullet wounded leg. In order to hide Huck and Tom’s identity, Huck comes up with a lie that he and his brother are the Phelpses and his brother accidentally got shot in his dream. The intention of this lie was to convince the doctor to treat Tom without revealing their identity. In this scheme, no one is harmed but Tom is saved. Different from the Duke and the King’s con, Huck’s lie is certainly harmless and justifiable. Throughout the novel, many character including Huck, Jim, Tom Sawyer, the Duke, and the King, deceive other people. However, each person’s deception is different from in nature due to the difference in moral and intention of the