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Formal Education vs Moral IntelligenceRepeatedly Huck encounters situations which require a moral decision. He usually can differentiate between a bad moral choice and good one. He has no time for stories supplied to him by Widow Douglass and Miss Watson. He finds this life constraining and false and would rather live free and wild.Quotation: Chap 1 p. 6“After supper she got out her book and learned me about Moses and the Bulrushers, and I was in a sweat to find out all about him; but by and by she let it out that Moses had been dead a considerable long time; so then I didn’t care no more about him, because I don’t take no stock in dead people.”…
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Hucks Moral DilemmaMark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the story, taking place prior to the Civil War, of a young boy, Huck Finn, who fakes his own death and runs away from home in order to escape his abusive father, Pap. Accompanying Huck on his adventure down the Mississippi River is Jim, a runaway slave. In the beginning, Jim is depicted as a stereotypical and naïve slave, and Huck and Jims relationship, at times, loosely resembles a master-slave relationship; though Huck is not truly Jims master, he tries to act in a superior manner toward Jim, likely because society has taught him to act this way. As the story progresses, however, Huck and Jims relationship appears to change and Huck struggles with an internal battle of what is right: his conscience, which is controlled by the values of society, or what he feels in his heart. Hucks heart wins this battle a few times during his adventure, and Huck and Jims relationship continues to grow; however, because Huck is only an impressionable young boy, it is impossible for him to completely turn against the values of society. Though Twain appears, himself, to be intentionally racist, he uses Hucks character, and his interactions with society, in an ironic manner to negatively critique the racist culture of the old South, and to show how poorly blacks were treated. His purpose in writing this novel was to comment on how little had changed, even after the Civil War.…
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The book The Adventures of Huckleberry finn written by Mark Twain focuses on the character Huck and he had to fake his death and now hm and jim are run a ways.…
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In a world in which everyone tells him it is okay, he has to discover it for himself. In the novel, Huck often does not want to be told what to do and is very rebellious. He looks up to Tom because of how Tom is able to do adventurous things. Huck’s growth is explained in, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn provides a means of observing his growth and change. As the narrative progresses, the succession of thefts performed by Huck- from the imaginary "julery" and "ingots" stolen by Tom's harmless band of robbers, to the very real act of slave stealing on the Phelps's farm- char Huck's growing moral depth and awareness. “(Link 305). He slowly grows as he becomes more aware of what is going on around him in the world he is living in. He learns to value his friendship with Jim over what society thinks about slaves. When Tom agrees to help Huck with stealing Jim, Huck agrees to follow the plan that Tom comes up with. Tom makes the situation so much more complicated and yet Huck goes along with it. Huck is typically more practical, but he goes along with Tom’s plan because in a way he does not want to have to be the leader. Without guidance, similar to Holden, Huck has to learn about things for himself. He has no one really to rely on when Jim is captured. Huck questions whether or not he should just turn Jim in or save him. By making this moral decision, he grows…
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Later all their tricks led to their demise when they are tarred and feathered making Huck realize that it’s better to follow the law and instead of feeling a sense of justice, he feels pity on them because he realizes how cruel people are to each other. When Huck lies, it’s a little more acceptable because he’s still young, naïve, and doesn’t really know any better. When he lied and tricked people, most of them were to protect Jim so he wouldn’t be caught and try to get him to the North, but it later becomes more apparent that Huck didn’t want to go back home, to pap or Miss Watson and the Widow Douglas because he was tired of his dad using him to get his money and the restrictions The Widow and Watson had on him. Even though at first he thought following the Duke and Dauphin’s footsteps, he finally realizes after deceiving the Wilks family that “at last, [he was] a-going to chance it; [he’d] up and tell the truth [that] time”(182). During this part of the book he goes through a moral…
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Huck chooses to follow his gut whether it turns out to be virtuous or immoral, but it leads him to see what his accepted by society through guilt. For example, the Widow tells Huck to look out for other people. “This was too much for me,…
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Huck learns a variety lessons from the various figures in his childhood, some good and some bad. From his Pap, he learns how to fend for himself and to reject formal society, but he also learns about racism, alcoholism and has to suffer years of abuse. From the Widow and Miss Watson Huck learns about generosity and kindness but also about religious indoctrination and the boundaries of what deemed is acceptable in society. From Jim, Huck learns about love and compassion, trust and honesty as well as the difference between right and wrong. Floating down the Mississippi River Huck learns to challenge social norms and constructs when he decides to help Jim to freedom. The contrasting characters of Pap and The Widow mirror their contrasting beliefs systems. And yet with the help of Jim, one of the only constant characters in the novel huck learns the truth about the world. Huck’s new world image is tested when the King and the Duke, two “rapscallions”, sell Jim to Mr. and Mrs. Felps. Once again attempting to use his own judgment, but erring on the side of his upbringing Huck decides that Jim would be…
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In Mark Twains' The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the main character Huck, makes two very important decisions. The first one is how he treats Jim when he first meets him at Jackson's Island and the second is to tear up the letter to Miss Watson because he cares deeply for Jim. When Huck first runs away from Pap he goes to Jackson's Island and thinks that he is the only person there. He soon finds out that this is not true, and that "Miss Watsons Jim"1 , is taking crap there as well. Many people would hate to be alone on an island with a "nigger"2 , but Huck is happy to have someone to talk with. At first Jim thinks he sees Hucks ghost and is scared. Huck gets Jims feelings by changing the subject and saying "It's good daylight, le's get breakfast"3 , showing that Huck is not only real but he does not mind that Jim is black. Jim feels that Huck might tell on him for running away, but he then decides that it will be okay to tell him why he ran away from Miss Watson. Jim keeps asking Huck if he is going to tell anyone about his running away, and Huck say's "People would call me a low down abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum but that don't make no difference I aint gonna tell"4 . Hucks response truly shows that his ignorance has no showing over his kindness. When taken into consideration good decisions are much more important in the long run than being the smartest person. After traveling with Jim for quite some time Huck begins to feel bad about harboring a runaway slave. He decides to write a letter to Miss Watson explaining the whole story, because Jim had been sold and he does not know where he is. Huck was indeed confused about what he should do so he dropped he dropped to his knees and began to pray. He felt by helping Jim he was committing a sin, but he later realized "you can't pray a lie"5 . Huck saying this shows that he feels what he has done for Jim is not wrong; instead what others had done to Jim is wrong. Still not sure of what to do about the…
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Taking a closer look at the novel reveals that Jim himself provides Huck's moral strength. When Huck mockingly asks him to interpret the meaning of the trash on the raft, "rather than taking each item of debris and divining its meaning as Huck requests, Jim takes each act of kindness and concern he has shown Huck Finn over the course of their journey and defines for the boy, perhaps for the first time in Huck's life, the meaning of friendship, loyalty, and filial or family responsibility." (Chadwick). By apologizing to the slave, Huck was not only accepting Jim as his friend, but he was also accepting his moral values. It is Huck's friendship with Jim that makes possible his moral growth. Jim's comment, "you's de only fren' ole Jim's got now" (67), when Huck is paddling off to turn him in, stops Huck and forces him to decide in favor of Jim. The memory of Jim's friendship keeps Huck on the right track. When Huck remembers their friendship, "and couldn't seem to strike no places to harden me against him, but only the other kind" (161), he makes the decision to "go to hell"…
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Growing up and witnessing pap being a drunk had a huge impact on Hucks moral development. Huck frightened to see pap for the first time says “I used to be scared of him all the time, he tanned me so much I reckoned I was scared now too” (pg.18). Family has a big impact on a person’s life. Depending on someone’s morals and up bringing it can shape a person differently. Huck voices his straggles about pap demanding money and being an alcoholic “He took it and bit it to see if it was good, and then he said he was going down town to get some whiskey” (pg.21). Hucks father coming into his life in such bad shape is hard to deal with. But raising above all the negative energy is key to not falling down the wrong path. Even though Hucks family was not helpful, his other surroundings are a big impact with learning good morals.…
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When Jim is sold by one of the con artists, Huck decides to go against societies orders, as he shouts, “Alright then, I’ll go to hell” as he goes out to find Jim and free him. Going against societies orders, proves that Huck’s compassion and care for Jim is genuine, and he is willing to risk his own life for a black person. Ironically though, when Huck and Tom manage to find Jim, Tom forgets to mention to Huck that Jim was free the entire time, and they were the ones keeping Jim enslaved. This comes to a shock for Huck because he actually believed Tom would risk his own life as well to help “free” Jim, but Huck still struggles with the idea that he thinks all “good people” obey to societal values, and that he himself thinks is bad because he does not obey to those…
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Huck Finn has been taught in schools for many years. Obviously, it has continued to be taught in schools because it serves an educational purpose. One of its purposes is to expose kids to important moral concepts to learn from through Huck’s journey. One morality concept this novel focuses on is the concept of right versus wrong. Huck, being raised in a “white society,” constantly struggles with what actions he does towards Jim are sociably acceptable or not. At the beginning of the novel, Huck plays a trick on Jim that results in…
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The Effects of Morality In every persons life at one point they will have to make a choice based on their moral beliefs. These decisions can show what a person believes in right from the start. In Mark Twains' The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the main character Huck, makes two very important moral decisions. The first being how he treats Jim when he first meets him at Jackson's Island and the second is to tear up the letter to Miss Watson out of his love for Jim. When Huck first runs away from Pap he goes to Jackson's Island and thinks that he is the only person there. He soon finds out that this is not true, and that "Miss Watsons Jim"(41) is taking refuge there as well. Many people would hate to be alone on an island with a "nigger"(43), but Huck is instead happy to have someone to converse with. At first Jim thinks he sees Hucks ghost and is petrified. Huck eases Jims feelings by changing the subject and saying "It's good daylight, le's get breakfast"(41), showing that Huck is not only real but he does not mind that Jim is black. Jim feels that Huck might tell on him for running away, but he then decides that it will be okay to tell him why he ran away from Miss Watson. Jim keeps asking Huck if he is going to tell anyone about his running away, and Huck replies "People would call me a low down abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum but that don't make no difference I aint gonna tell"(43). Hucks response truly shows that his ignorance has no bearing over his moral kindness. When taken into consideration good morality is much more important in the long run than being the most intelligent person. After journeying with Jim for quite some time Huck begins to feel bad about harboring a runaway slave. He decides to write a letter to Miss Watson explaining the whole story, because Jim had been sold and he does not know where he is. Huck was indeed confused about what he should do so he dropped he dropped to his knees and…
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During the course of Huck’s journey he creates a strong wilful bond with Jim, and learns a lot about doing right. Huck thought it would be funny to play a joke on Jim, and leave the dead snake in his bed as a prank forgetting that the mate of a snake would come and lay with it. Huck then later felt bad about leaving the snake in his bed, and getting him bit by one. Before Huck wouldn’t care much about playing a prank but he learned that what he did was wrong and knew that he was doing bad, and wanted to change his ways. Huck was beginning to gain a conscience and was becoming more aware of responsibility for his actions, Huck was feeling guilty about his part in a criminal scandal of the duke and king, who plotted to rob the Wilks girls of their father’s money. Huck reminds himself that what he was doing wasn’t right and he needed to make a change about his actions, “I says to myself, this is a girl that I'm letting that…
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Jim then warns Huck not to look at the man's face, which allows Huck to have the motivation to continue his adventure thinking that his father is not dead. Jim continues to stay with Huck and provide him with moral support on the river, serving to develop Huck’s moral development along the way. An example of this moral support is where in Chapter 16, Huck makes up a story to preserve Jim's freedom and then Jim remarks he will never forget Huck's kindness. Huck later experiences a coming of age when he is faced with the ultimate moral dilemma of reporting Jim at the Phelps Farm to Miss Watson. Feeling conflicted about stealing “property” from Miss Watson, he writes a letter which he then crumples up after fully understanding that his letter would harm Jim, who he then realizes is a human being. This incident evokes feelings of regret in Huck, and shows that Huck is the one good person in the novel.…
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