Hypocrisy In Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn
Society is plagued by injustice, cruelty and hypocrisy.Written by Samuel Clemons after the civil war , the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is much more than a time specific commentary on life. Mark Twain’s intention of writing his novel is to show the underlying hypocrisy of everyday life. Twain surfaces this hypocrisy through his commentary on what society deems to be acceptable, scenes of human brutality and the notion of slavery.
To start, Twain’s intent is shown by his use satire to mock the hypocrisy of what society considers to be acceptable. While living with Widow Douglas, Huck wants to have a smoke, but Miss Watson is disgusted by Huck’s uncivilized behavior. Huck narrates, “And she took a snuff too; of course that was all right, because she had do it herself”(2). Even though Miss Watson is a venerated woman, she is holding a discriminatory …show more content…
Even after Jim is freed, Tom’s schemes impede Jim from living freely. Tom says, They always dig out with a case-knife—and not through dirt, mind you. And it takes them weeks and weeks and weeks, and for ever and ever”(). Even though Tom has the intention to free Jim, this is an extremely prolonged process. Much like the fittingly named Jim Crow laws, Tom’s rules and formalities prevented Jim from escaping captivity. Moreover, when Jim is returned to the Phelps's farm, Tom objects, “They hain’t no RIGHT to shut him up! SHOVE!—and don’t you lose a minute. Turn him loose! he ain’t no slave; he’s as free as any cretur that walks this earth!”(). This is another showing of Tom’s hypocrisy because it was Tom, whose ridiculous ploy delayed Jim for months. And yet Tom tells Aunt Sally that they should not waste a minute in freeing Jim. This shows that Tom’s conspiracy to free Jim from the cabin was played merely for his own entertainment. Mark Twain uses the theme of slavery to show the hypocrisy of everyday
To start, Twain’s intent is shown by his use satire to mock the hypocrisy of what society considers to be acceptable. While living with Widow Douglas, Huck wants to have a smoke, but Miss Watson is disgusted by Huck’s uncivilized behavior. Huck narrates, “And she took a snuff too; of course that was all right, because she had do it herself”(2). Even though Miss Watson is a venerated woman, she is holding a discriminatory …show more content…
Even after Jim is freed, Tom’s schemes impede Jim from living freely. Tom says, They always dig out with a case-knife—and not through dirt, mind you. And it takes them weeks and weeks and weeks, and for ever and ever”(). Even though Tom has the intention to free Jim, this is an extremely prolonged process. Much like the fittingly named Jim Crow laws, Tom’s rules and formalities prevented Jim from escaping captivity. Moreover, when Jim is returned to the Phelps's farm, Tom objects, “They hain’t no RIGHT to shut him up! SHOVE!—and don’t you lose a minute. Turn him loose! he ain’t no slave; he’s as free as any cretur that walks this earth!”(). This is another showing of Tom’s hypocrisy because it was Tom, whose ridiculous ploy delayed Jim for months. And yet Tom tells Aunt Sally that they should not waste a minute in freeing Jim. This shows that Tom’s conspiracy to free Jim from the cabin was played merely for his own entertainment. Mark Twain uses the theme of slavery to show the hypocrisy of everyday