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The Struggle To Escape Society In Mark Twain's Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

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The struggle to escape society and its beliefs develops throughout Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Escaping from an abusive father and the restraint of organized society, Huck Finn befriends a runaway slave to suppress his loneliness. Society’s views root themselves deep enough to perplex the personal decisions of Huck throughout his quest to free himself from the constraints of society. Through the ambivalence of abiding by societal or personal morality, Huck develops a personal value system defined by legitimacy, sympathy, and respect to cope with his future obstacles. Throughout the novel, Huck develops a system of values which differentiate him from society. By thinking for himself, Huck develops a sense of sympathy unmatched in racist society. His relationship with Jim contrasts southern views and represents his distancing from society as well as the ability to secede from society’s standards. Yet nowhere does Huck “condemn” these standards. Instead Huck designates society’s ideas and religious views unfit for him as he “knows no better”. Huck sympathizes with Jim and his goal of saving his family even while struggling to repress the views society instilled upon him. The first instance of Huck’s moral stand arises as Huck disregards his thought of returning Jim to “his rightful owner”(90) to the men on the boat. Instead he claims the boat behind him is infected with small pox. Here, Huck blatantly disregards society’s expectation of racism for the first

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