Huck Finn Stuff

A Study of Philosophy
1. Society is defined differently for different people and each person’s view of society is seen through his or her actions. Most people hold a rather high vision of society; however that is not always the case. Mark Twain uses the novel, Huckleberry Finn, to portray an evil connotation of society. Throughout the book, Twain uses description and symbols to show the inherent greed harbored in society. In the very start of the novel, Pap is described as a drunkard, who is greedy for Huck’s money. In fact, he demands Huck to bring him the money and stops beating him only after he passes out (Twain 21). The greed that drives people to obtain money at any cost is a major issue that Twain disapproves of. There are of course other times throughout the novel where Twain shows the greed of society. Both the king and duke, in their greed, carry out many cons on innocent people. They con the Wilks family in to giving the inheritance money because a member of their family died. This is another example of Twain showing the reader how people in society act.
2. When Twain related the stories of cutting infants in half, and babies being found in bulrushes, it is quite easy to understand Twain’s view of religion. Both Huck and Twain are skeptical of religion. When the widow tells Huck that Tom is going to Hell, Huck responds by saying he would love to go to Hell and be with his friend Tom. In fact, Huck must renounce his attachment to religion in order to accept helping Jim. The fact that Huck is the protagonist in the novel, further shows Twain believes religion is not all good.
3. Another name for man as part of a group is the civilized man. Throughout the novel, Twain looks upon civilized man as a merciless, cowardly, unchangeable person. One of Twain’s main purposes of his work is to show some of man’s concealed faults. Twain uses sarcastic tones of writing to show contempt for some of society and disgust for the other part of society, harboring people like Pap. As shown by Twain, the violence and tyranny of man is caused by their assimilation into society. However, the individual man is more valued by Twain. People like Huck and Jim are the type of people who are really free, open, and can actually contribute meaningful ideas. Twain satires the Widow’s belief of Heaven and Hell, and shows absolute disgust towards the beatings carried out by Pap. Through his novel, Twain tells the reader to be aware of who they are and what becomes of humanity.
4. Nature is a very important idea in Huckleberry Finn. The Mississippi River is a place of sanctity for the two runaways, Jim and Huck. In this sense nature is a place of freedom and safety. Twain shows this through his description of the river’s tranquility and how it gives relief to both Huck and Jim. This is in direct contrast with human nature. In the novel, Twain reveals that human nature cannot be changed. This is seen with Pap and how he never learns to stop beating Huck and being a drunkard. Human nature is also seen to be foolish because they have herd mentality. This is seen in Twain’s satire of the congregation of people for religion. Huck further proves this point when he says he would go to Hell to be with Tom rather than Heaven and be with the Widow Douglas.