Why Is Huck Finn Morally Wrong

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn, the protagonist, develops morally over the course of the novel. In the beginning, Huck is dismissive of morality and sees no value in doing the right thing. As the novel progresses Huck starts to consider what might be the correct action, but only takes into account society’s understanding of what is a correct action. He [Huck] then begins to question society’s standards and eventually progresses to think for himself. Over the course of the novel, Huckleberry Finn matures as he begins to think for himself and question what the world believes to be morally correct.

In the beginning of the novel Huck is contemptuous of morality and does not accept the world’s basic principles

Huck thinking about what the right thing to do is an improvement from before where he did not bother to think seriously about heaven and hell. When Huck hears that Jim, a runaway slave, intends to free his family from slavery, Huck is horrified. In expressing his perturbation, Huck says, “Here was this nigger which I had as good as helped to run away, coming right out flat-footed and saying he would steal his children—children that belonged to a man I didn’t even know; a man that hadn’t ever done me no harm... My conscience got to stirring me up hotter than ever, until at last I says to it: ...‘I’ll paddle ashore at first light, and tell.’’ (pg. 81) In this quote Huck explains his uneasiness with the idea of slaves being freed. Huck’s uneasiness displays how he has matured because he begins to think about what he believes to be right or wrong. In this particular case, Huck is bothered by Jim freeing his family because in Huck’s time society understood slaves to be property. As such, if Jim was to free his family, he would be stealing. Despite this progression in Huck’s maturation, Huck only takes into account society’s moral standards and does not think for