Theme Of Conscience In Huckleberry Finn

Many people believe that not following the thoughts of society creates a crisis of conscience, but in reality, if one follows what he or she believes, then that person will have less of a struggle with his or her conscience. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck, a young adventurer, is struggling while trying to choose between his opinions and the opinions of the society. After Huck flees from his home, he finds Jim, a runaway slave, creating a difficult predicament for Huck. He helps Jim run away throughout the novel, but battles his conscience as a result. As the novel progresses, his dilemma regarding whether to turn Jim in or to continue helping him becomes more difficult as their bond grows stronger. The progression
When Huck and Jim are on the raft trying to find Cairo, a small town on the shore of the Mississippi River, so that Jim can be a free man, Jim’s excitement about being so close to freedom opens Huck’s eyes to the magnitude of what he has done by helping Jim escape. He does not know what to do about Jim, if he should continue helping him or if he should turn him in. “Conscience says to me, ‘What has poor Miss Watson done to you that you could see her n***** go off right under your eyes and never say one single word?’” (98). Huck feels guilty for helping Jim because he belonged to his caretaker, Miss Watson. The thought of disappointing Miss Watson clouds Huck’s judgment. He believes that he is to blame for Jim’s escape, feeling like he is betraying the ways of his upbringing. Shortly after, slave catchers enter the scene, looking for runaway slaves. They see Huck’s raft and ask if the man on his raft is black or white. He hesitates, having trouble telling the slave catchers. “I warn’t man enough” (100). Huck supposes he cannot make mature decisions because he is still too young to understand the problems of his society. “He’s white”(100). He has weakened and gives up trying to turn Jim in, but feels awful about what he has done. As he contemplates the decision that was made, he realizes that either choice would trouble him immensely. He was stuck between the two choices, but
Huck’s opinions at the beginning of the novel are similar to the opinions of the society. He does not know the magnitude of slavery, unaware of how bad it is to help a runaway. Towards the middle of the novel he realizes that helping Jim goes completely against the ways of society, but he is unsure what the correct thing to do is. He realizes that if he gets caught, there would be grave consequences but if he turns the slave in then he would be filled with regret and guilt. But when he rips the letter to Miss Watson, there is no going back. He believes he sinned too much to be saved, making him think he is actually going to Hell. Throughout the novel, Huck develops a new understanding of what he thinks is the right thing to do, concluding his crisis of