To begin, Huck’s struggles within the deformed conscience of an entire society leads to his maturation. Throughout the book, Huck struggles within himself whether or not to follow his heart or to follow society’s deformed views. In one situation, Huck begins to feel guilty about helping a runaway slave, Jim, to freedom. Huck narrates, “My conscience got to stirring me up hotter than ever, until at last I says to it, ‘let up on me- it ain’t too late yet- I’ll paddle ashore at first light and tell’” (89). This is just the beginning of Huck’s journey to maturation. This is one of the first times Huck begins to question his heart. Following society’s views, Huck believes he’s doing the wrong thing helping Jim run away, when in fact he is doing the correct action. Later on, Huck continues his battle with his moral compass, and his view of the world. Huck still
Starting from a young age, everyone loves to go on adventures and have fun, just like Huck Finn. Growing up in St. Petersburg, Missouri, he is a white 12 year old boy and the son of a drunken father. In the beginning of the book, Huck is seen as a little innocent boy. Until he enters the world with his friend, Tom Sawyer, as they go on adventures, which creates problems and controversy through the history of the North and South, civilization, and racism and slavery. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck has many controversial experiences that are still a problem in today’s society, which is why we should keep teaching the book in school.
Throughout the rest of Huck 's journey he continues to meet people along the way that believe themselves to be good civilized people but they all contradict that in some way. The Grangerford 's are in a murdering feud with another family, the Phelps own slaves and are trying to get a reward for Jim, the townspeople that feather and tar the Duke and King without a trial, the execution of Boggs, even the Widow tells Huck not to smoke but takes snuff herself. Huck spends a large amount of time in the book pondering over how to be good and do the right things, and at the end of the book when he decides to go West and leave it all behind he has finally realized that he 's not the one that 's bad, society is. Huck heads back out into the world not for more adventure, but to get away from
The widow, Miss Watson, takes Huck into a closet to pray, and tells him to pray every day so he will get what he wants. Huck tries to pray daily, but becomes disappointed when all he gets is a fish-line with no hooks, when he prayed extra hard for hooks. “By-and-by, one day, I asked Miss Watson to try for me, but she said I was a fool. She never told me why, and I couldn’t make it out no way” (19). When he asks Miss Watson about it, she tells him praying brings spiritual gifts. Unable to see any use for that sort of thing, Huck decides praying is probably not worth his time. Huckleberry Finn, an illiterate white trash boy who is at the bottom of society’s hierarchy, narrates Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain put the novel in the voice of Huck for his very literal thinking. His realistic views and perceptions provide much of the ironic humor of the novel. Huck simply reports what he sees, and the monotone narration allows Twain to show a realistic view of the common ignorance, slavery, and inhumanity that took place.
Huck becomes more mature throughout the novel of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because of the adults that he meets along the way. These adults include the King and the Duke, Jim, and Huck’s father Pap to help Huck to realize how different people can be than by what is expected. Huck learns to not judge someone based on the color of their skin, not to trust everyone, and to notice that all he needs in his life is himself. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not only a story of a slaves journey to freedom, but also a story of a boy growing up into a
Throughout the exciting escapades in the story The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, the conflicts and complements between individuals and society are constantly shown in the book especially when dealing with matters of conscience and personal principles of right or wrong. The author, Mark Twain, shows his point of view on these uncertainties by developing an internal struggle in the main character Huckleberry Finn to help give the reader a better idea of his own morals.
When Huck steps away from his cocoon on the raft, he witnesses the Duke and the Dauphin's attempt to sell Jim, Huck’s loyal runawayformer-slave friend, back into slavery. Huck is confused by the men’s desire to sell Jim, but eventually concludes that he “will go to hell” to defend his friend (223). Huck’s tenacity and unwillingness to let Jim, his loyal companion, remain in the socially acceptable slavery, as well as his willingness to sacrifice his spiritual well-being to save his friend, conveys the idea that Huck disapproves of slavery and its principles. Huck’s situation, which exposes him to the heartless nature of society, is caused by the conniving actions of the Dauphin. The Dauphin is a con-man, who to feed his drinking habit, sells Jim for forty dollars. The Dauphin’s actions disgust Huck, who was previously blissfully unaware of society’s harsh and cruel nature. Huck, by ripping up his letter to Ms. Watson, and vowing to “steal Jim out of slavery again,” refuses to conform to the society and slavery (223). Huck’s non-conformist attitude conveys his progressiveness and emphasizes society’s archaic view on slavery. Thus, Huck’s experience with the Duke and Dauphin, shows him the cruel reality of slavery as well as the heartless reality of society. Before his experience on land, Huck remained conscious of, but not fully aware of heartless actions.
After lying to Jim and getting caught, Huck thinks on his actions. “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards, neither” (86). Huck knows that his actions are wrong but struggles to apologize to Jim because he is conditioned to believe that Jim has no real value. Huck tries to break free from the influence of society and in doing so, he realizes that his actions are not morally acceptable. With no interference from society, Huck is therefore able to humble himself to Jim and treat him in a way that opposes society’s expectations. After leaving the feud, Huck comes back to the safety of the raft and says to Jim, “We said there warn’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft” (116). For Huck, the raft is a safe and secure spot; with Jim on the raft, Huck feels protected and that he has a dependable friend. As Huck spends more time with Jim, he begins to see Jim as more human and someone he can trust. In this moment of reflection, Huck is therefore able to remove the stigma society places on him being friends with Jim because of their races; he is able to think for himself without the fear of society’s influence or thought on his choices. When Huck wakes up in the
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
Feeling guilty shows a person’s awarness of social criticism which is related to social control. In the The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , individuals feeling guilty is a major component of society. During his trip on the Mississippi river, Huck thinks he is committing a sin by opposing society and defending Jim. On the river Huck meets some men searching for runaway slaves, Huck creates a story about his dad having smallpox on the raft. The men are scared of catching smallpox and give Huck money and instruct him not to let people know that his dad’s sick when searching for help. Once the men leave, Huck admits, "I knowed very well I had done wrong, and I see it waren't no use for me to try to learn to do right” (pg69). Society’s norms make
Thought out a person's childhood, they experience events that transform them to become who they are later in the life. People have to deal with the decision of what right and what's wrong. At a young age, Huck chooses to run away from his home because he was raised by a father who was an alcoholic and means towards Huck. He really did not care for him. Huck knows this is wrong, but does it anyway, he decides to help a slave name Jim escape and try to help him reunite with his family again, by doing this he knows he is going to get in trouble if he gets caught. Once he runs away from his father, Huck lives on a river with Jim. The river symbolizes freedom, and it becomes symbolic of Huck's journey to discover his natural virtue. In Mark Twain's novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the author develops Huck's conscience and morality through the characters
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.
Morality is defined as the principles for which people treat one another, respect for justice, and the welfare and rights of others. Moral development is gained from major experiences that can change viewpoints on life or cause people to make a difficult choice in a tough situation. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, one of Mark Twain’s major themes evident in the book is the moral development of Huck FInn, the main character.
Compare and Construct the development of a theme in assigned texts by two different writers we have studied. In this case, I am going to use the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain and the Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller. These two writers have some similarities in their works as follows: