Huck Finn - Hypocrisy of Society
Part of the absurdity of civilized society that Twain depicts is that society's accepted rules and laws are logic defying. One example of this is when the new judge in town allows Pap to keep custody of Huck, but Jim will never be able to gain custody of his own children. Huck would be better off without his father and is only mistreated by him, and Jim's children would be better off with him instead of being separated and enslaved. However, society is not concerned with the personal welfare of the individual and places them in situations that prove to be harmful. Another example of this is the Grangerford and Shepardson feud. These two families are perceived to be highly civilized and educated, yet they kill people over a meaningless feud that they don't even know how it started. This shows how ludicrous society can be. Twain also shows that terrible acts, such the Duke and King scamming an entire community, go unpunished but feebleminded crimes, such as yelling drunken insults, led to executions. Sherburn's speech to the mob about cowardice, lack of logic, and selfishness of the mob mentality captivates Twain's view on society.
Through the duration of the novel, Twain demonstrates that the uncivilized way of life is better than living in a civilized society. One of the main messages that he delivers is that...
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