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Huckleberry Finn Satire Essay

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In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain utilizes satire to convey the overall message of the novel, that society is flawed; he implies one should refrain from orienting their personal moral compass and ideals by what others dictate, because society is imperfect. This is evident in Huck’s moral struggle with the concept of slavery: Twain uses slavery as an example to satirize religion and hypocrisy. He also satirizes “us vs them” mentalities through the example of the Sherburn and Boggs incident. He also mocks the baselessness and irony of racism in American society. Satire is used in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn against religious hypocrisy, mob mentality, and racism to highlight these human flaws and address dark and serious issues with a touch of humor. Religious hypocrisy is one of Twain’s most glaring examples of the flaws of humanity. Throughout the novel, Huck struggles to reconcile his perception of adults like Miss Watson as religiously moral with his misgivings about the practice of slavery. Twain also uses the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons to this extent: “Next Sunday we all went to church, about three mile, everybody a-horseback. The men took their guns along…[the sermon was] all about brotherly love” (Twain 111). In this quote, Twain shows how people …show more content…

Twain’s mockery of religious hypocrisy, mob mentality, and racism reflect the ways that he was disappointed in the human race. Huck battles constantly with the disconnect between societal ideals and what he innately believes, the latter eventually triumphing. Twain conveys that an individual has to choose for themselves what to believe and how to act, rather than parrot concepts of right and wrong from religion or surrender one’s beliefs to a crowd. Ultimately, the novel questions the established hierarchy of race in civilization and encourages the readers to do the

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