Preview

Huck Finn Problem With Society

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
598 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Huck Finn Problem With Society
Mark Twain's epic novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was a masterpiece of writing. The novel had so many underlying themes and hidden meanings. The main theme from the book is the problem with society. Huck lives in a society gone mad, with many traditions or beliefs that go against moral codes. Huckleberry Finn is a boy in the late 19th century, Huck was a perfect character because he did not judge people, and it saw things realistically which made him be able to do exactly what Twain wanted him to do; show the problems in society.

In the beginning of the novel, Huck's caregiver and her sister try and teach Huck the proper manners in society how to sit, talk, and act that would be appropriate. This shows the first problem Twain points out. Certain places and certain times have their own traditions, customs, and beliefs. How is this far, how is it acceptable to force something on someone just because where they live? In this time when they are teaching Huck he becomes irritable and lonely, he says, "Miss Watson she kept pecking at me, and it got tiresome and lonesome." All the learning and teaching makes Huck want out, it makes him want to go "somewheres" The society being taught to him is being forced on him because that is what they want not what Huck wants.
…show more content…
For example, when the town gets a new Judge in town gives Pap's "rights" to Huck. Even though it's not in his best interests of Huck, the judge believes that it is the best option for Huck because that is what is normal. Slavery is another big theme in the book, but it also ties closely in with the problems in society. How can a society be correct when the lives of black man are being treated as property. Which slave owners to don’t care about the health or hearts of the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Huck, by saying this, reveals his true feelings regarding rules and principles. He feels that they are useless and unworthy of his attention. The tone of the quote easily backs up his feelings, because Huck employs words such as “grumble.” He sees society's rules illogical and degrades them constantly through the first 7 chapters and presumably the whole novel. This quote can foreshadow an internal battle for Huck where he needs to find out what is moral or immoral and useful or…

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain follows the story of a young white boy, Huckleberry Finn, as he travels down the Mississippi River. Twain uses the experiences of Huck as he travels down the river to comment on society. His opinions of many topics are given by satirizing other characters or events. An element this satire that twain uses is the depiction of the characters in a humorous manner. Throughout the novel the use of this satire is clear and express Twain’s opinions on American culture in the antebellum period. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an effective piece of satire on American culture during the 1800s. Twain satirizes feuding, Pseudo-intellectualism and Greed in his story.…

    • 1094 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huckleberry Finn is a novel set in the rural south of the United States during a period in history when slavery and racism were part of everyday life. The novel introduces two main characters: Huck Finn, an adventurous but naïve, white boy, and Jim, a runaway slave whom is travelling with Huck down the Mississippi River. Throughout the course of the novel, both characters are faced with their individual internal struggles; Huck in particular is faced with the pressing notion of whether or not he should turn Jim in to his rightful owner and do the “right” thing, or disobey the law and help Jim obtain his freedom. Being nothing more than a foolish and naïve boy, Huck does not know the meaning of true love and friendship, until Jim opens up to him and they begin to bond no longer as white boy and black slave, but as humans.…

    • 873 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The conflict between society as well as religion against the individuals ability to see past the mold that we live in, is a theme that is portrayed throughout the Huckleberry Finn. The book begins by creating a scenario in which a young boy, brought up in a regular South American society in the early 1800's and goes on to have him fight his way through a complex, internal, moral struggle caused by his love and friendship for a runaway slave. He had to figure out at a weather “right” was defined by what is correct in the eyes of society, or by what he felt was “right” in his heart, and then make a major decision. Huck Finn's inner struggles included; differentiating between religious, governmental, and societal rules which taught to him what is acceptable and what is not from the day of birth,and his own moral instincts. When it came time for huckleberry to make up his mind he took all that he was taught by society and his own ideology in to account and then he declared “Alright then, I’ll go to hell”. This indicated that Huck believed that following his own moral compass was more important than following the moral compass of others, or even G-d for that matter.…

    • 670 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A society must be pretty far off the mark if a young boy can see how things are wrong when civilized white men cannot. As a poor, illiterate boy, Huck doubts the morals and principles of the society that views him as an outsider and does not protect him from father’s abuse. This uneasiness about society and his developing bond with Jim leads…

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The novel is written in a way to not only document the evils of slavery and the existence of racism in the South, Twain also shows that the use of what we consider to be inappropriate language today is a true representation of language considered to be appropriate during the period of slavery. Lastly, the book is a symbol of humanity as a deep, unlikely relationship forms between a white boy and a slave. Huck protects Jim and helps him to escape, while Jim will risk his own freedom for Huck. In the end, freeing Jim from slavery helps Huck to free himself from the hatred of slavery in the…

    • 935 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is about the journey Huck goes through, facing the challenges of living on a raft and constantly looking for food and money. However as Huck makes his journey down the river he makes a moral one as well. In the beginning of the novel Huck’s way of thinking is childish and heavily influenced by the widow and Pap, by the middle of his journey his own morals start to change and he is able to identify right and wrong despite what society thinks, and finally by the end Huck see’s how corrupt civilization is.…

    • 964 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn Hypocrisy Essay

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Huck watches this as it occurs, horrified. With this particular situation, Huck sees that even those society views as being the ‘most’ civilized, may actually be the opposite. He leaves his time with the Grangerfords changed. He goes through the rest of the novel with the knowledge of how hypocritical society can be, and it helps him rationalize his decision to aid Jim’s escape. Finally, at the tailend of the novel, Huck sees the greatest hypocrisy of them all through Tom. Despite Tom flat out stating that he only used Jim to find a sense of adventure, he turns around the next second and acts as though he has only ever been supportive of Jim as a freeman. The hypocrisy is shown in his decision to keep the information that Jim had been freed in Miss Watson’s will to himself, rather than sharing it with Huck and Jim when he reunited with them. Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain satirizes the hypocritical nature of society in the hopes that readers will empathize with the conditions experienced in the pre-Civil War era and apply it to their own…

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Through rejecting an education he is rejecting society and the religious, racist propaganda of the time. Huck paves his own path with help from Jim, a runaway slave and Huck’s most influential teacher. Jim encourages Huck to question many of the teachings he received from both Pap and Miss Watson. Multiple times, Huck chooses to go to hell rather than conform to cultural standards. This journey to maturity and independent thinking is contrasted by Tom Sawyer. Tom lives in the society Huck purposefully avoided and because of that is immature and less morally astute. Huck’s journey down the river with Jim shows that a true education can not be found in formal schooling, but in one’s own mind, one’s relationships with others and contact with the broad…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the pre-civil war era, southern America was prevalent with slavery and racism towards African Americans. As a result, young children would be exposed to the racism and generate hate directed towards the slaves. This ideology heavily influenced the protagonist, Huck, in the novel even though his natural instinct told him that the slave hunters and owners were in the wrong for their intentions towards a slave named Jim. Huck constantly second guesses himself; hence, he is unsure of what to do in most situations until he is put on the spot, then thinking impulsively, he makes the better decision. Many times in the novel, the setting has a large negative influence on Huck through the law, the way of life, and the opinions of the other characters…

    • 1241 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn and Racism

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages

    to look past conformist and the effects of his environment. Huck was born into a…

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Twain immediately makes a point that Huck does not enjoy being a civilized member of society. Huck almost instantly states his annoyances with living in a humane matter “and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was in all her ways; and so when I couldn’t stand it no longer I lit out” (pg.2). Huck feels like he is cramped when he is with the Widow Douglas and he would rather be in tatted up clothing, running free from the stress of wondering when his father is coming back, and becoming someone he doesn’t want to be.…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel which displays a young boy named Huck's dilemma on whether he should turn in a run away slave named Jim, that he has been helping escape to freedom. Huck must decide upon what he feels is the right thing to do, even if that means going against society and changing his own morals. Huck exemplifies how his opinion of society's beliefs changes throughout this novel.…

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    No matter where you are or who you are with, it would be completely unacceptable to act how Huck acts throughout the novel. Even though Twain used Huck as a way to satirize society, he used him as a way to show its okay to go against what other people think. Huck becomes friends with a run-away slave which is never heard of at the time. How that relates to today’s society is, a lot of people are scared to challenge and go against what is known as “correct” in society and it’s really a problem. Huck’s view that he shouldn’t have to shower, eat on a plate, and go to bed and get up regularly is something that is forced in today’s society because it is almost impossible to live without doing these things. Money isn’t a problem when Huck is growing up, it is very possible to live without much of it while today, everyone has enough of it but all they want is more. Greed is something that is evident in today’s society and Twain portrayed that through the King and the…

    • 921 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “What I must do is all that concerns me, not what people think” (Emerson). Emerson had chosen to not follow the majority’s actions, which is the exact mindset Huck reveals throughout the story. These acts of nonconformity are first seen when Huck breaks away from life with his bullheaded caregiver. Huck claims, “The Widow Douglas, she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time...so when I couldn’t stand it no longer, I lit out” (Twain 3). Although Huck was treated well by Widow Douglas, he soon realizes the lifestyle she is instructing is not one that Huck prefers. Adding to that, Huck strays from society’s expectations when he chooses to befriend, and travel with, an African American slave named Jim. This was unheard of at the time because slaves were not even viewed as people. Nonetheless, Huck decides to make Jim his companion and sees Jim for who he truly is. In addition, at the end of the book, Huck makes an obvious point that the life of conformity is not one he desires. He exclaims, “I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me and I can’t stand it. I been there before” (Twain 338). Thus proving, once again, that Huck is denying the standard path that society takes, and chooses to follow his own path…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays