...Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, Huck is just a confused thirteen year old boy growing up in the racist American South. He is the son of an alcoholic and is often misunderstood. Those around Huck consider him to be immature, such as Ms. Watson who acts as a caretaker for Huck throughout his father’s absence. As a child, Huck is able to view the world differently than all the adults around him. His experiences throughout his adventures down the Mississippi river force him to question the things society has taught him. During this adventure, he tends to care more about the opinion of others than his own, however his opinion changes in time. Huck’s biggest test of morality is his relationship with Jim, the escaped slave of Ms. Watson. Huck has always been taught that slaves and those of color are below him just because he is white. This is an internal moral struggle for Huck, because he knows to society he is “wrong,” but to him their friendship makes it “right.” The concept of being wrong in the eyes of society and making it right goes beyond just Huck and Jim’s bond. The relationship that Jim and Huck develop over the course of the story is important because the experiences that they share teach Huck to think for himself, allowing him to trust his morals. Huck has grown up in an environment in which Jim is nothing more than the slave of Ms. Watson. From the beginning of the story Jim is not viewed as an actual human, but “property”. Huck has been taught that...
Words: 2096 - Pages: 9
...Huck Against Society Young and naive, children turn to biggest influences in their life: society and their parents. Children tend to be dependent on others and, therefore, mimic the impression given to them. In his novel Huck Finn, Mark Twain emphasizes the impact parents and society have on them. Adults are expected to educate children with moral lessons and instruct them to know the difference of right from wrong. However, in the novel Huck is the embodiment of a child who lacks discipline and must learn the ways of society. Huck then becomes an example of the hidden conflicts a person fights inside and his version of right from wrong. Although the novel is told from a child’s point of view, Huck Finn is a valuable piece of literature...
Words: 926 - Pages: 4
...Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Thousands of moral stories are continuously being read to children throughout the years. Those stories are used to educate, motivate and inspire them while their heart is still “pure.” The purpose of those stories is to change children and their behavior before they are forced to. They are being spoon fed by what society thinks is “right” and what they expect them to follow. So, what if there was a child who never had the chance to learn about being “moral”, could this child still make the right choices? In the book, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain tells a story through the eyes of an imaginative, free-spirited young boy, Huckleberry Finn. Throughout the book, Huck is frequently faced with different dilemmas which force him to make life- altering decisions. He is relentlessly required to choose between “right and wrong” questioning his personal views on what he thinks is acceptable. Although he is being portrayed as a carefree and wild young boy who just craves adventure, he is actually reasonably mature in the choices that he makes. Although he seems like a child, he makes quite mature choices when faced with hurried decisions. He bases his decisions on what is practical, not what he FEELS is right. He is clever and cunning despite what other people see him as, which is wild and out of control. Huck is only a boy who, as imperfect as he is, still cares and has feelings towards others including slaves as opposed to the rest of society...
Words: 2002 - Pages: 9
...The novel, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain is a very captivating novel with much meaning and interpretations hidden in Twains words. “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is about a young boy, Huckleberry Finn, who fakes his death, tries to escape to freedom from this father, and along the way has an adventurous and unusual journey. Huckleberry Finn befriends a runaway slave trying to escape to freedom. These two travel closely together throughout the novel running into many endangerments and experiences. Huckleberry Finn, other characters, and the novels events in the novel show plenty of characteristics that closely relate to biblical people and events. There are continuous biblical allusions shown throughout the novel,...
Words: 1779 - Pages: 8
...In many stories, the main character goes through changes through his/her experiences. In the book, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain, a young boy named Huckleberry Finn goes on an adventure and fights for what he believes is right. Huck Finn is from St. Petersburg Missouri, right on the Mississippi River. Huck met a friend at the beginning of his journey, named Jim. Jim is a runaway slave. They go on an adventure together. Throughout their adventure, they run into some tough situations and Huck has a different outlook on certain things in life towards the end of their adventure. In the beginning of the book, Huck didn’t think much about the way society viewed slaves, slavery and racism, but towards the end, he had different...
Words: 275 - Pages: 2
...Should Huck Finn be Banned Throughout history there have been various books banned. From religious books like the Bible to books like The Diary Of Anne Frank and the list goes on and on. However the book “ Huck Finn” should not be one of the books added to this list. For a couple of reasons like the life lessons taught in the book, the ability for the author to right about there surrounding, and to see a perspective of a slave trying to escape to freedom. Which leeds me to believe that Huck Finn should not be banned. We all have those moments in life where we do something wrong and learn from it. Just like the life lessons Huck Finn learned on his journey to help free Jim. For instance in chapter 15, page 94, and paragraphs 2 and 3 the author...
Words: 519 - Pages: 3
...shows up on 200+ occasions in the novel (Smith). According to Cassander L. Smith, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a racist book. Its constant use of vulgar language has caused many editors to try and remove the bad words. However, even if the words are all replaced, the message of racism and slavery still shines through (Smith). Even if the word nigger is replaced throughout the novel, the readers would still comprehend what is being said. (Smith). For example if one says “gosh darn” everyone knows what the message is even without the cussing. It is not just language and vocabulary used to get a point across, but tone and sentence structure. Towards the end of the novel, Aunt Sally asks if anyone was hurt and Huck replies, “No’m....
Words: 704 - Pages: 3
...The Credibility of Characters in Twain’s Huckleberry Finn The credibility of a novel is defined as the quality of it being believable or trustworthy. This simply means that the novel provides a story which can essentially take place in the real world. If this were to be the case in a novel, then the many aspects of the story would have to be credible. The novel would have to take place in a realistic setting, for example. Also the events that take place in the novel would have to reflect events which can occur in reality. Other aspects that also need to be credible in a novel are the characters. In such a novel the readers need to be able to relate to the characters. An author that does this successfully with the characters is Mark Twain. In one of his more famous novels, Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain gives credibility to the characters by presenting them with major flaws, which helps readers relate to these characters. These characters include Tom, Huck, and Jim. Tom Sawyer has flaws which come to surface early in the novel. “Because it ain’t in the books so—that’s why. Now Ben Rogers, do you want to do things regular, or don’t you?—that’s the idea. Don’t you reckon that the people that made the books knows what’s the correct thing to do?...No, sir, we’ll just go on and ransom them in a regular way” (p. 12). Twain presents Tom as a character who portrays romantic ideals. When he says he wants to go by the book, he reveals that he is taking many of his ideas from...
Words: 921 - Pages: 4
...Should the book, Huckleberry Finn,be taught in schools today? This question is very controversial across America. Because Mark Twain’s,Huckleberry Finnwasset before the Civil War, in the mid-1800s, Twain writes about slaves and blacks as they were saw in that era. Even though this was just a time in History that the whole world went through, people now want to try and erase that time in History. Huckleberry Finn was written during a time in America that should not be forgotten, but studied and used as a way to improve life today.Huckleberry Finn should be taught and read in schools. Huckleberry Finn is a book written by the famous author, Mark Twain. This book follows the adventures of a young boy named Huckleberry Finn. This book is...
Words: 564 - Pages: 3
...and if you did not become educated then you will not become successful or become the best of yourself you can be. Similarly, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, students should read it whether there be offensive words in it, since there is such a prevalent theme that everyone should know and be able to learn from. Every year the English language is changed whether it be “twerking” or having “swag”; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn features the n-word over two-hundred times. If every book that had derogatory terms was banned, there would be no books for students to learn from. Furthermore, almost every group of people have been stigmatized against and in order to prevent future...
Words: 822 - Pages: 4
...In the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain Huck Finn one of Tom’s good friends is hated and dreaded by everyone in town. Huck is told to be a bad kid even tho he really isn’t, he doesn’t have anyone to tell him what is right and what is wrong. He is a good kid ,even though parents may say he isn’t, because he judges others fairly and he helps others. The first reason why Huck is a good person is because he judges others fairly. Huck rarely says anything bad about another person and always sees the good in people. In the book it states that, “But he’s kind of good--he give me half a fish, once, when there wasn’t enough for two; and lots of times he’s kind of stood by me when I was out of luck.” This quote shows us that Huck likes and treats Muff fair even though he is a town drunk and is convicted of murder. Huck also treats Uncle Jake, who is a slave, really good and sees the good in him even though the town says that no one should talk to him because he is a runaway slave and is different in skin color from everyone else. Huck still continues to sleep in the hayloft with him and eat occasionally to show Uncle Jake that he does like him and that he is a good man....
Words: 439 - Pages: 2
...There has been serious argument over Huckleberry Finn and whether or not it was a racist book which lead to some bannings from school systems and remakes of the book itself. Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not a racist book because of Huck’s developing morals, accurate depiction of the time period, and the overall theme throughout the book. Throughout the book, huck develops his own morals separate from societies. The biggest moment that this shows is when he finally decides to go against society and break Jim out of slavery. He debates in his mind whether he should send this letter to Jim’s original slave owner or to help Jim and eventually says “Alright, then, I’ll go to hell” indicating that he has decided to go against...
Words: 755 - Pages: 4
...belittle others. Looking back a few centuries, racism and bigotry were qualities shared by almost all people, as long as you weren’t the one being ridiculed. Luckily as time passed by and America became industrialized and settled, more and more people began to realize that this hatred towards other people is wrong. Fortunately for humanity, there were some special souls that realized society was wrong way before everyone else did. One of these special souls is an author by the name of Mark Twain, who used satire and moral critique to make fun of race relations and new American culture hypocrisies. Mark Twain was a social critic who observed a society filled with bigotry and racism, even after the abolition of slavery. Twain lived in a time when there were two very separate and also very different belief systems. The first is a world where every man is equal and every person is entitled to his or her freedom. The second, and sadly more common, is the exact opposite of the first. In this system you were looked at as either a legit civilized member of society or on the contrary, a savage. This belief is what Mark Twain boldly opposed and attacks in his story, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Throughout the story, Mark Twain uses satire and moral critique to make fun of the racial, religious, and social hypocrisies present in the characters and their resulting actions. As we all know, race relations have been a huge factor in the foundation of New America. Slaves were brought over by the...
Words: 1729 - Pages: 7
...The Webster dictionary defines conformity as, a state of consistency or the action of following a custom, view or law. Conforming with society means that someone doesn’t want to speak out against their peers wrongdoings in fear of being singled out. They find it easier to not express their opinions and just go with the flow. It’s human nature to live amongst a pack and people will do anything, right or wrong, to feel accepted into a group. Society has the tendency to view people as outcasts because of their different opinions, morals and past experiences. Both Twain and Fitzgerald chose to portray the path of nonconformity throughout their novels in the eyes of their narrators. Over time, Huck Finn’s and Nick Carraway’s written paths along...
Words: 914 - Pages: 4
...According to Merriam-Webster.com, change is defined as “to become something else.” Elie Wiesel in Night and Huck Finn in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn change very much throughout the book in various ways. Although their stories are very different, Huck in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Eli in Night are similar in that they start as young, innocent boys who grow and change throughout their lives. Most importantly, Elie changed drastically throughout the novel Night. First of all, Elie lost his faith. The story states, “For the first time, I felt anger rising within me. Why should I sanctify His name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank Him for?” (33). Elie...
Words: 783 - Pages: 4
