Huck Finn - Hypocrisy of Society

Topics: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, Civilization Pages: 2 (694 words) Published: April 9, 2006
Almost all novels depict morals or the author's view on any given subject. Although many people start to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn thinking that it is a simple novel on a boy's childhood, they soon come to realize that the author, Mark Twain, expresses his opinions on multiple important, political issues. Twain touches on subjects such as slavery, money and greed, society and civilization, and freedom. From the time of its publication, Huckleberry Finn has been distinguished as a novel with prodigious political positions and messages. Throughout the novel, Twain continuously shows the hypocrisy and absurdity of civilized 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...
Continue Reading

Please join StudyMode to read the full document

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Huck Finn Society Paper

    ...“All modern American Literature comes from Huckleberry Finn.” ~Ernest Hemingway. Mark Twain is quite possibly the father of the American novel. The books he wrote were and still are popular among the rich and the poor alike. He introduced the ‘epic adventure’ style, (like the Iliad and the Odyssey) into American literature. Throughout his long and eventful life, Twain saw many flaws in his society and reflected upon them in his writing. His most popular and criticized novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, emulates these flaws. In the novel Twain criticizes the mind-set of the Gilded Age, shows the lack of compassion in the white society versus that shown in black society and ridicules human greediness. On one of Huck’s adventures he meets the Grangerfords, the wealthiest family he has ever encountered. They let Huck live with them and teach him their ways. While touring their house, Huck makes honest remarks about their possessions. From the outside, their house is luxurious and remarkable which allows Huck to say he “hadn’t seen no house out in the country before that was so nice and has so much style”(99). It did not even have an iron latch on the front, but a brass knob to turn, the same as houses in town. Most of the decorations in the house look genuine on the outside but are actually fake on the inside, which demonstrates the attitude of the Gilded...

    Read More
    1385 Words 6 Pages
  • Huck Finn Essay

    ...Jake Pries Mrs. D English 3 29 January 2014 The south in the 1800’s became a messed up society because of the culture of slavery. The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn portrays a story about a young boy named Huck Finn who is trying to escape society. Huck and Jim go on an adventure for to be enlightened and for freedom. They both want to become free from their homes, and Jim also has to earn money to support his family. Huck Finn runs into many different problems and people that show a variety of symbols that show the way of life in the south. The symbols in this novel that are shown throughout the story are racism and freedom, because it represents the way of life in the south during the 1800’s. Tom represents a part of the southern society because he is a wild, free from authority, and uneducated with absurd ideas. “Now, we’ll start this band of robbers and call it Tom Sawyer’s Gang. Everybody that wants to join has got to take an oath, and write his name in blood.” (Tom 19) Tom’s gang is with the boys from his neighborhood, like his friend Huck. Tom is the leader of the clan and they listen to his commands. His gang shows Tom’s crazy ideas and his wildness. Tom’s free will to do whatever he wants is the cause of his outspoken abruptness. “Ben, I’d like to, honest injun; but Aunt Polly well, Jim wanted to do it, but...

    Read More
    1117 Words 3 Pages
  • Huck Finn Essay

    ...people living there, convincing them of the humanity of slavery. Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn tells the story of Huck Finn, a young redneck boy, who finds friendship in a runaway slave named Jim, despite his own racist background. Though Huck and Jim bond throughout their journey, Huck struggles to overcome the way he was raised and see Jim as a person capable of feelings and emotions. Throughout his journey down the Mississippi, Huck is faced with challenges where he must decide Jim’s fate, but as his bond with Jim grows stronger, he begins to unlearn the racist views he was taught. He begins to mature and follow his heart when he apologizes to Jim, decides not to turn him in, and when he finally has the epiphany that he would rather rot in Hell than turn in his best friend. Huck, who grew up playing tricks on others with Tom Sawyer, realizes for the first time that African-American slaves are capable of feeling pain, and he learns that true friends do not try to hurt each other. After being separated from Jim all night in the fog, Huck finally finds him asleep on the raft, and he decides that it would be funny to play a trick on the less intelligent man. After making up a story and trying to convince Jim that the entire night was just a dream, Huck jokingly comes clean and tells Jim the truth, but he does not expect Jim’s...

    Read More
    1632 Words 7 Pages
  • huck finn Essay

    ... Irony in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn For centuries, irony has been used as a literary device by writers Thesis: Irony is heavily used in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through religion, racism, and the fact that Jim is a free man throughout the majority of the novel. One theme that possesses a rather unsurprising amount of irony is religion. At the very beginning of the book, Tom Sawyer gets it in his mind to start up a murderous gang of robbers with the neighborhood kids. One of the boys pipes up and says that he cannot get out much save for Sundays, but “all the boys said it would be wicked to do it on Sunday, and that settled the thing.” (Twain 15) It is nice to see that they have taken some of their Sunday school lessons to heart and know that it is perfectly fine to murder and steal, as long as they do not do it on the Sabbath. Another example would be when Miss Watson tells Huck to pray every day, and whatever he asks for, he would get. Instead of asking for things such as forgiveness and other intangible things that would help Huck better himself, Huck asks for materials items as if he is under the impression that God is his personal Santa Claus. A third example would be when Pap forbids Huck from going to school anymore, going as far to say, “First you know you'll get religion, too. I never see such a son.” (Twain 29) The irony here is that most parents want...

    Read More
    708 Words 3 Pages
  • Huck Finn Research Paper

    ...Huckleberry Finn Persuasive Essay In Mark Twain’s Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, Huck decides to flee from civilization. Huck discovers that Tom Sawyer’s aunt, Aunt Sally is trying to adopt him and make Huck fit into normal society. After witnessing all the cruel and inhumane things that affected Huck, returning back to civilization would not be the right choice for him. It is justified for Huck to disappear from a civilized life, so the thirteen-year-old boy can live happily, surrounded by the forest. When Huck is around Miss Watson, Pap, and the Duke and Dauphin, Huck wants to be out roaming the wilderness by forests and river, free from any disturbances. Huck's anger with civilization started when Huck was with his terrifying father, Pap. During Huck's early years, Huck used to be physically abused because his father often got drunk. Pap would: “jump and scream, and say one had bit him on the cheek- but I couldn't see any snakes"(Twain 39). In the beginning of the book, Pap is trying to steal Huck's money by suing Judge Thatcher. Also, Huck's father got so mad at his son for attending school, that he locked Huck in a concealed cabin in the wilderness. Pap is the only family member that Huck has in his life, but Huck knows that he will become miserable...

    Read More
    1530 Words 7 Pages
  • Huck Finn Essay

    ...In the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain uses the Mississippi River to show the value of freedom. Freedom is defined as the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Huckleberry Finn is trapped with his abusive father, while Jim is a slave with a family. Huck and Jim set out to float the Mississippi, with their ultimate goal being freedom. Twain uses the Mississippi River to represent adventure, comfort, and an escape from society. Twain uses the Mississippi River to show adventure. From the beginning of the book, it is clear that Huck loves adventure. Huck agrees to join Tom Sawyer’s robber gang. “Now, we’ll start this band of robbers and call it Tom Sawyer’s Gang. Everybody that wants to join has got to take an oath, and write his name in blood.”(13) When Huck and Jim are on the Mississippi River, Huck is eager to do something adventurous so he tries to dress up like a girl and go into town. “I reckoned I would slip over the river and find out what was going on…couldn’t I put on some of them old things and dress up like a girl?”(60) Jim seems skeptical about adventures, but Huck is always pushing him to do something fun. For example, Huck pressures Jim into trying to catch the gang of murderers. Huck says, Quick Jim, it ain’t no time for fooling around and...

    Read More
    931 Words 4 Pages
  • huCK fINN Essay

    ...Diana Masch Huckleberry Finn (Is Huck a strong character or a weak one? Is he a hero or an anti-hero? Is he a victim of circumstance, or does he make his own destiny? Does Huck think for himself, or does he let other people influence him too much?) Huck is the narrator and protagonist in the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He comes out as sympathetic, kind-hearted, and relatable compared to other characters in the book; however, he has to overcome a huge conflict inherent in his society. Arguably, Huck becomes a strong and the most important character in Huck Finn because of his realistic approach to his environment. His strength also manifests the inner struggle he has with his conscience, thus making him a recognizable figure in the whole of American literature. This essay seeks to point out how Huck is a strong character, a hero, and a master of his own fate. The main theme of the book is Huck’s evolution from a fairly passive survivor who believes in the conventional morality to someone with his own moral code and convictions, culminating in the “Allright, then, I’ll go to hell” scene. In the beginning, Huck believes that Jim is certainly not his equal just because Jim is black, and that Tom Sawyer is his superior because Tom comes from a middle-class family who do not abuse him, as opposed to his own...

    Read More
    1185 Words 5 Pages
  • Huck Finn Essay

    ...human? In the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn we see a boy by the name of Huck have a change in mindset on his African American friend Jim. Huck starts off with the normal mindset of society in his period of time. This though changes throughout the book. We see Huck view Jim as inhuman, to a human who is also his best friend. At the beginning of the story Huck starts off with the mindset of any normal boy his age during this time, ignorant and quite un educated. We see an example of this very early on when he is still living with Miss Watson. "Miss Watsons big negro, named Jim" (pg 4). We see Huck here refer to Jim as Miss Watsons' when he is introducing him for the first time. This is happening as him and Tom Sawyer are trying to sneak out at night to meet for the first time with their band of robbers. It is obvious that as just stated, he is being to referred to at first as just property. Specifically belonging to Miss Watson, if he wasn't there would have been no need to add the extra information. Though it is brief, he still show no feeling or significance to him as a character or person for that matter. Signs that Huck does believe that Jim is a regular do not take long to come up though, the first sign we see is when we find Huck on the island just out of town in which he ran off too. He then finds Jim also there, puzzled he...

    Read More
    1402 Words 6 Pages

Popular Essays

Become a StudyMode Member

Sign Up - It's Free