Huck Finn: Listening to Your Heart or Listening to Society

Ernest Hemmingway once described a novel by Mark Twain as, "…it is the ‘one book ' from which ‘all modern American literature ' came from" (Railton). This story of fiction, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is a remarkable story about a young boy growing up in a society that influences and pressures people into doing the so-called "right thing." It is not very difficult to witness the parallels between the society Huck has grown up in and the society that influences the choices of people living today. However, what is it that gives society the power to draw guidelines to define the norms, trends, and what is morally right and wrong in life? Is it always the best choice to listen to your consciences, which is under the influence of society, or is it sometimes just as important to listen to your heart and what you think is right? Society has always denounced the acts of death and children running away from their homes. Huck can be seen as a morbid child as he is always talking about death and murder. Society would rather not have anything to do with people who have such a melancholic outlook on life. Living with years of torment by his drunkard father, Pap, Huck feared the day he would return to daunt his life. When Pap does return, he seizes Huck and drags him to a secluded cabin where Huck is boarded inside and unable to leave: This is where the dilemma occurs. In this position, Huck has a decision to make, either take note to the morals of society and listen to his conscience, which will result in more added years of pain and anguish from Pap, or Huck can listen to his heart and do what he thinks is best. Huck 's situation is so extreme (the mental and physical abuse from Pap) that he cannot take it anymore. He does what he thinks is best; Huck listens to heart rather than his conscience. In order to get away from Pap, Huck organizes an elaborate plan to arrange his own death and run away – both denounced by society - from the prison cell (cabin) and Pap. Huck, for the first time in his life, had felt what it is like to be free: "The sky looks ever so deep when you lay down on your back in the moonshine; I never knowed it before" (Twain 46). Every incident where Huck is faced with a dilemma, the situation seems to intensify. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was first published during the post-Civil War period when slavery had been abolished. Although slavery had been banned in the United States, it was alive in Missouri during the existence of Huck Finn. The Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, sisters who adopt Huck, have a slave by the name of Jim who, on the outside, appears to be both unintelligent and foolish, as by the impression received when Jim first speaks, "Who dah?" (Twain 6). In the beginning of the novel, Huck 's views on slavery had been skewed by society and by the civilized Miss Watson 's righteous and moral views. Huck finds it all fun and games when he and his comrade, Tom Sawyer, play a trick on Jim; Tom Sawyer and Huck remove Jim 's hat from his head and place it on the branch above him. When Jim wakes up, he believes he has been bewitched, adding to his dim-witted and brainless appearance. Only later on in the novel does Huck realize what Jim really means to him. On Huck and Jim 's journey to Cairo, Jim begins to speak about when he is free he will go and find his children and take them from the slave owner. This rubbed Huck the wrong way; his standards of Jim had been lowered because, from Huck 's point of view, why would Jim steal his children away from a man who has done nothing to him? Huck 's conscience began to come into play and he had made up his mind: He was going to turn Jim in when they reach shore. He was sure of it until Jim began to sweet talk Huck, telling him that Huck was the only white man that had ever kept a promise to him. This comment went directly to Huck 's heart; he could not possibly betray Jim even if he would be seen by society as a "low down abolitionist" (Twain 57). Another racist happening that occurs is the action of Huck writing a letter to Miss Watson telling that her run away slave, Jim, is in his possession. Huck 's views begin to change on slavery when Jim speaks openly about how he once beat his daughter for no reason. Huck sees the emotional ties Jim has with his family and commences to see that black people have equally as much feelings as white people do and now views Jim - who has emerged as a father figure - to Huck as a human, not as a slave and a piece of property: "I don 't care if society says freeing a slave is wrong. I think it 's right, and I 'm going to do it even if they say I 'm going to hell"(Twain). Huck goes against every righteous lesson taught to him and every word society has tried to plague his conscience with to save Jim. Much like in the fictional world of Huck Finn, everyday societies, around the world try to form and mold the minds and conscience of anybody who will listen. Everywhere we look, there have been stereotypes, bias, and racist ideas formed from societies, including religion, media, and traditional family values, just to name a few of many. Because of the strong morals each of these groups hold, it can be difficult for individuals to stand up against these factions. Minds begin to become so filtered with the rhetoric of society that people no longer listen to their heart, what they really want. The media (television, radio, internet, advertisements, billboards, commercials…) targets its audience, and then goes in for the kill; they control the way people act, think, and dress. Teenagers are the easiest group the media can target because they are the easiest to be influenced by what they see on the television or in magazines. Not many are as courageous as Huck and do what their hearts tell them to do; the majority of teenagers mimic their favorite celebrities ' fashion styles or conforms to the latest fad, even if they do not find it appealing. Countless teens only imitate everybody else because they fear being different and an individualist. For the select few who chose not to be a victim of the media influencing them so much where they lose heart, they become ostracized, for instance Brian Deneke. In 1997, Brian Deneke became a victim of hate crime full with societies ' influence on conscience-heart making decisions. This nineteen year old was said to be "…a nonconformist. He was an Individualist. He was a free spirit. Brian was also a thoughtful and caring young man, a good son, a good friend. His life was full of promise" (Remembering Brian Deneke). The only thing that set him apart from others was his appearance. He listened to his heart, not caring what others will say behind his back. Veering away from the norms of society, Brian became his own person and, for it, a wealthy teenager, who was taught his whole life not to be different, murdered him by running Brain down with his car (Remembering Brian Deneke). Media sources do not even have to come out and say directly what they want people to do. The conscience mind is always awake and working. Every time the television is turned on or we open up a magazine, the channels or pages are filled with glamorized celebrities, which is enough to have any teen enthralled. As the media has an influence on the society norms, religion also influences conscientious decisions. Children usually do not have a say in what religion they want to be a part of; parents force religion on their children, thinking it is a socially accepted act - belonging to a religion makes a clear conscience. Religious groups set conventions that defy what is, morally, the right thing to do. These regulations, set for members of their affiliation, are choices that should be made by the individual. Constituents should not have to be tied down to doing what is morally right because they are a part of a religion. An example of being tied down to a religion is it has come to the attention to the public that members of the Mormon religion have not had the right of freedom of speech (The Mormon Church…). The MTV television show The Real World (a reality series where viewers see what happens when seven complete strangers have to live together) effectively portrayed how religion (Mormonism is this case) can run a persons ' life and affect the futures of young adults. At the age of twenty-two, Julie was practicing the Mormon religion and attending Brigham Young University (BYU, a dominant Mormon University) when she decided to try out for the television show The Real World – unaware of the controversy it would bring (Hona). If Julie went on listening to her conscience she would have never been able to be a part of an experience that opened her eyes to a completely new world and new opportunities. Just weeks before the season aired on television, Julie notified BYU about her situation. BYU had felt that Julie had broken the code of conduct of the school, with the main matter being while on the show she lived in the same house with members of the opposite sex – a forbidden act at the university. When asked if Julie believed she had broken the code of conduct, Julie replied with, "I feel that while I was in New Orleans [where The Real World was being filmed] I was true to myself, and that is what 's important to me" (King). With all the debate over the situation and the possibility of Julie being removed from BYU, she still believes she did the right thing by listening to what her heart told her to do. As far back as religious morals go, traditional bias and racial values go just as far. Even in the current world, racial ignorance is alive and well (ideas of racial biases and inequalities for women to name a few). Elders still hold ridiculous values about whites being the supreme race. The largest racial affiliation (Ku Klux Klan) is one of the largest interest groups to this date. To become a member of the Ku Klux Klan, the first requirement on the application is you cannot be racially mixed, date, or marry a nonwhite citizen. These views are passed down from generation to generation, until somebody is daring and smart enough to think to him or herself how ignorant these views are, views as in "Imagine the world with only one race - only one culture - Is that really what you want? ...Because that WILL be the END result" (Knights of the Ku Klux Klan). Those who are valiant enough do disregard these discriminatory views stand up and listen to their heart, not their conscience that has been filled with mindless information for years. The only thing that has changed since the days of Huck Finn is that the world has even more sources to influence society and the conscientious minds. So which is best: listening to your conscience or listening to your heart? While maybe losing the acceptance of a social group, listening to the heart will leave individuals with a feeling of fulfillment and happiness. The socially unacceptable is only unacceptable because there are new ideas society is not use to: "Society opposes the good idea when it is not an accepted routine" (Growth Online). Individuals who listen to their heart have something extra than people who listen to their conscience, which is true self-respect: "The individual 's trust in himself [or herself] is superior in his [or her] trust in the society" (Growth Online).

Works Cited

"Growth Online." Social Influence on the Individual. 06 Apr. 2005 .

Hona, Leah. "Julie and the "Real World"." About. 08 2000. 06 Apr. 2005 .

King, Larry."Larry King Live." What 's Driving the Popularity of
`Reality TV '?. 27 2000. Transcript. 06 Apr 2005
.

Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. 07 Apr. 2005 .

The Mormon Church has a poor record on free speech. 07 Dec 2002. 06 Apr. 2005 .

Railton, Stephen. Mark Twain in His Times. 05 Apr. 2005 .

"Remembering Brian Deneke." Brian Deneke Memorial Committee. 05 Apr. 2005 .

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Cited: "Growth Online." Social Influence on the Individual. 06 Apr. 2005 . Hona, Leah. "Julie and the "Real World"." About. 08 2000. 06 Apr. 2005 . Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. 07 Apr. 2005 . Railton, Stephen. Mark Twain in His Times. 05 Apr. 2005 . "Remembering Brian Deneke." Brian Deneke Memorial Committee. 05 Apr. 2005 .