The Concept Of Wealth In The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn 
Brianna Canty
Professor Makman
English 317
8 October 2014
Title
Wealth and money and the lack of both are concepts that are seen at various moments throughout Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In the novel, there are some characters and families that extremely rich and rank high in status. The Grangerfords, a family who allows young Huckleberry Finn to stay with them, are such a family. To Huck, their home is like a palace. Then there are other characters, who are dirt poor and have no status whatsoever. Slaves, such as Jim, and other characters throughout the novel are portrayed as the poor – those without a penny to their name and some who are not even free; they belong to other people. By placing these two dissimilar things, those rich and those poor, side by side, these characters and the comparison all emphasize the disparity between the rich and the poor and provides a logical connection between the two concepts. The text of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain juxtaposes the rich and the poor by describing Huck and Jim’s views of material possessions and wealth to implicitly critique materialism and striving for wealth. Twain begins his novel by having Huckleberry Finn give some background information on himself. He is very quick to mention that Huck Finn is a wealthy young man. Huck states “Tom and me found the money that the robbers hid in the cave, and it made us rich. We got six thousand dollars apiece—all gold” (Twain 5). This amount of money is larger than any other amount of money mentioned in the novel, which makes them all seem insignificant compared to Huck’s money. Huck has a relaxed attitude toward wealth and money, because he has so much of it. Huck does not view money as a necessity, but more as a luxury. A little later in the novel while Huck and Jim are travelling, the two find various objects from a nearby boat wreck, which consisted of mostly clothes, books, and cigars. To readers, this lot may not
Professor Makman
English 317
8 October 2014
Title
Wealth and money and the lack of both are concepts that are seen at various moments throughout Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In the novel, there are some characters and families that extremely rich and rank high in status. The Grangerfords, a family who allows young Huckleberry Finn to stay with them, are such a family. To Huck, their home is like a palace. Then there are other characters, who are dirt poor and have no status whatsoever. Slaves, such as Jim, and other characters throughout the novel are portrayed as the poor – those without a penny to their name and some who are not even free; they belong to other people. By placing these two dissimilar things, those rich and those poor, side by side, these characters and the comparison all emphasize the disparity between the rich and the poor and provides a logical connection between the two concepts. The text of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain juxtaposes the rich and the poor by describing Huck and Jim’s views of material possessions and wealth to implicitly critique materialism and striving for wealth. Twain begins his novel by having Huckleberry Finn give some background information on himself. He is very quick to mention that Huck Finn is a wealthy young man. Huck states “Tom and me found the money that the robbers hid in the cave, and it made us rich. We got six thousand dollars apiece—all gold” (Twain 5). This amount of money is larger than any other amount of money mentioned in the novel, which makes them all seem insignificant compared to Huck’s money. Huck has a relaxed attitude toward wealth and money, because he has so much of it. Huck does not view money as a necessity, but more as a luxury. A little later in the novel while Huck and Jim are travelling, the two find various objects from a nearby boat wreck, which consisted of mostly clothes, books, and cigars. To readers, this lot may not