Huckleberry Finn Moral Development Essay

In 1884, Mark Twain writes a novel called, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn which features a young boy by the name of Huck. As the story unfolds, the author focuses on the

Throughout Huck’s adventures, he is put in numerous situations where he must depend on himself, and use his own judgment to make fundamental decisions that will later have an affect on his life. Growing up, Huck has always been considered an outcast amongst all his peers and in society as a whole. Consistently throughout the book, all the people he is forced to live with try to change him. Prior to the start of the novel, Miss Watson and Widow Douglas have been granted legal custody of Huck, who views him as an uncivilized boy who possesses no morals. Huck explains in the opening chapter, “The Widow Douglas, she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me”(Twain 1).

At this moment, Huck is at a low in his maturation on his morals journey. A person with morals would not willingly sacrifice the life of someone else just in order to be part of a gang. It is at this point where Huck can now begin his journey of moral progression.Huck encounters his first major dilemma when he comes across the wrecked and sinking steamboat and three robbers. When Jim and Huck take the skiff for themselves, leaving the three robbers stranded, Huck realizes that he has left them to die. “Now was the first time that I begun to worry about the men- I reckon I hadn't time to before. I begun to think how dreadful it was, even for murderers, to be in such a fix. I says to myself, there ain't no telling but I might come to be a murderer myself yet, and then how would I like it?” (76). This is the first time that Huck questions the actions and outcomes that he has set in motion and the effects they have on other people. After he realizes that he could now be considered a murderer, he makes a plan to get a captain to go investigate the wreck in order to save the men's lives. Even though the men he would be saving are murderers and robbers, he doesn’t want to be responsible for their deaths, and tries to correct what he has done wrong. This is the first major step in Huck's moral maturation. At that point, he establishes a set of standards that

Throughout this captivating novel Huck endures his fair share of trouble and morally challenging decision but he always comes out on top by following his heart and doing what he feels to be right. Not everyone lives their life that way though. Huck is betrayed by societies faulty systems and poorly imposed laws early in the book. The very judicial system that was supposed to protect him instead hands him over to his drunk abusive father. The whole town knew what kind of man his father was, and knew that Huck would be better off under the guardianship of the widow, but the judge treated Huck like he was nothing more than his father 's property and said "courts mustn 't interfere and separate families if they could help it." That decision led to Huck living such a terrible life with his drunk

He wants to be there for Jim like Jim has been there for him, and Huck knows that if he decided to turn Jim in, Jim would’ve been affected by his decision forever.In conclusion, Huck’s growth throughout the novel is shown through the decisions Huck makes as the novel progresses. Huck’s judgement and morality grows and he learns how to think about how his decisions will affect the people around him. At the beginning of the novel, Huck consents to his gang killing Miss Watson, who was a part of his family. This shows he does not think about his actions and he has poor morality. At the end of the novel, Huck is risking his own reputation to save Jim from being enslaved once more, which proves he has matured emotionally and gained

trying to run away from all of his problems and in the process runs into an escaped slave, Jim. Instead of turning Jim in, Huck helps him on his journey to the north. During the book Huck grows from a immature boy to a more respectable young man. Huck begins to see how different people can be. Throughout the story Huck grows as a character and that is because of the people he meets along the way. The portrayal of adults in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is to help Huck to grow as a more mature and respectful person. Twain uses the King and the Duke, Jim, and Huck’s own father to help Huck develop as a more mature adult.

Mark Twain emphasizes the theme that a person's morals are more powerful than the corrupt influence of society in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Based on how Huck Finn views the world and forms his opinions, he does not know the difference between right and wrong. In the novel, Huck escapes civilized society. He encounters a runaway slave, Jim, and together they travel hopes of freedom. But along the way, Huck and Jim come across troubles that have Huck questioning his motives. Throughout their journey, Huck is aware that Jim has escaped but does not know whether or not to turn him into the authorities. Huck’s mentality about society matures and he realizes his need to protect Jim from dangers. As the novel progresses, Huck begins to realize the flaws in society. Huck ultimately chooses to follow his own

Huckleberry Finn is a story about a rambunctious young boy who adventures off down the Mississippi River. “The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain demonstrates a situation where a Huck tries to find the balance between what is right and what is wrong. Huck faces many challenges in which his maturity will play a part in making the correct decision for himself and his friend Jim. Huck becomes more mature by the end of the novel by showing that he can make the correct decisions to lead Jim to the freedom he deserves. One major factor where Huck matures throughout the novel is through his experience. In the beginning of the novel, Huck receives spelling lessons and continues to look for ways to improve his behavior. After meeting up with Tom Sawyer, he

In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck and Jim bond closely to one another, regardless of the fact that they belong to different ethnic groups. Huck, a coming-of-age teenage boy, lives in the Southern antebellum society which favors slavery. At the beginning of the book, Twain claims that “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; and persons attempting to find a plot will be shot” (Twain 2). Ironically, through his experiences with Jim, the uncivilized Huck gradually establishes his own moral beliefs, although sometimes struggling against the influence of society.

Individuals often say that the right way may not necessarily be the popular way, but standing up for the right thing, despite it being frowned upon, will be the true test of one’s moral character. This relates to the moral growth that Huck Finn experiences throughout his journey. Mark Twain’s controversial novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, can be said to be a compelling story about how one individual, Huck Finn, goes against society’s ideals. Huck’s moral development can be said to be based primarily on those around him, especially Jim. Many instances also influence Huck’s morals, particularly during the raft journey that will change his beliefs and morals. Although there are numerous instances where Huck’s moral growth can be seen, the individuals around such as Jim, will influence his moral growth greatly.

Morals create stories and stories create novels, but can a novel be written without morals? Mark Twain states within his notice that no morals or motives prevail in the scripture of the novel. However, support for reasons towards believing otherwise, once having read, verbatim, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, succeeds. Mark Twain’s original viewers may have been scared due to the repercussions at stake, but followers now can collectively discuss whether or not discovered morals exist, disregarding his drastic warning against the pondering of these scenarios. Although Twain’s “Notice” explicitly states the absence of moral expression within the making of Huck Finn, morals intertwine themselves within the ignorance of the population and the wrongfulness of racism.

Before the end of the book, Huck now understands regardless of how bad somebody is their life is still of worth. This shows how mature he can really be because somebody that was immature would rather want somebody to get what they deserve than looking at what their life is worth. “Well it made me sick to see it; and I was sorry for them poor pitiful rascals… It was a dreadful thing to see.” Pg. 174. When Huck was talking about this about the king and duke shows he is maturing and had a true feeling for people.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an American classic, it was the starting point for all great American Literature. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been awarded all of these honorable titles because of its abnormal and controversial plot line. During the time period when the book was written, it was unacceptable to view African- American’s as anything other than slaves. They were viewed as inferior to whites and were treated like property, they had no rights. The main character of the book, Huck, disagrees and disobeys these norms and pushes the boundaries of society when he becomes friends with a slave from his childhood; Jim. As the book went on, Huck is in a constant argument with himself about his feelings toward Jim. Throughout

Mark Twain, once and forever will be a famous American writer. Twain has written many books that are highly valued all over the world, but one the twain is really known for; the publication of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The novel tells a story of a young teenage boy of the name Huck Finn with a father who was a extreme alcoholic. Huck did not want anything to do with his father Pap, therefore he decides to fake his death and runaway. In the mist of running he stumbles upon a runaway slave, Jim who happened to be from the very farm he came from. Despite what his head is telling him, Huck decides not to turn him in and goes against society. As the two travel along the Mississippi river, Huck learns a lot about and begins to realize

Specifically, through the controversy of slavery at the time, Huck learns how to listen to his intuition and conscience. His slight hesitation escaping with Jim makes him question the authenticity of his morality. He says, “I begun to get it through my head that he was most free--and who was to blame for it? Why, me … But you knowed he was running for his freedom, and you could ‘a’ paddled ashore and told somebody” (Twain 87-88). At this stage in the novel, it is important to denote his ambivalence toward the situation. Though he helps Jim, he feels a sense of guilt for going against societal standards. Regardless, Huck has a myriad of opportunities to turn Jim in--and doesn’t. This verifies that Huck progresses in developing his maturity and poise. Naturally, as his bond with Jim cultivates, Huck unknowingly treats him as a human. Through Huck’s sensibility, he states, “It didn’t take me long to make up my mind that these liars warn’t no kings nor dukes at all … I hadn’t no objections, ‘long as it would keep peace in the family; and it warn’t no use to tell Jim, so I didn’t tell him” (Twain 125). Correspondingly, Huck gains a consideration for Jim and his personal feelings, which he expresses nonchalantly through motley aspects of their journey. This also shows how his aspects of racism are changing; he starts to believe people are people, no matter