Transcendentalism is considered by many to be the first truly American literary movement, and has influenced a great deal of writing since its birth in the mid nineteenth century. Though it drew from its roots of English Romanticism, Transcendentalism was developed largely in America, and has been one of the most influential literary movements in American history. One of the most well-known Transcendentalist writers was Ralph Waldo Emerson, who penned the essay “Nature”, describing Transcendentalism. The philosophy of Transcendentalism promotes the idea that nature provides a physical representation of the human mind, and that through observing nature humans can work toward a better understanding of the universe and themselves; it also states …show more content…
These two women represent traditional southern maternal figures, as they are determined to civilize Huck and indoctrinate him with conventional southern values and religion, thereby suppressing his individuality and preventing him from developing his own moral compass. The Widow represents the more positive aspects of southern society, as she has Huck attend school and is not terribly strict with Huck. According to Huck, “The Widow Douglas, she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me” (Twain 1). Though the Widow was relatively gentle in her control of Huck, she represents society’s influence on Huck, and she has a majors impact on Huck’s life, educating him and teaching him manners. Miss Watson on the other hand, attempts to control even Huck’s smallest actions, saying “‘Don’t put your feet up there, Huckleberry;’ and ‘don’t scrunch up like that, Huckleberry - set up straight;” and pretty soon she would say, “Don’t gap and stretch like that, Huckleberry - why don’t you try to behave?’” (Twain 2). She also attempts to teach Huck how to pray, although Huck eventually decides that praying will not do any good for him. These two women pressure Huck to change his actions and habit in order to conform to society, representing a part of the influence of society on the …show more content…
When Pap returns and discovers that Huck has learned to read and write, he becomes angry, as he is determined to force Huck to conform to their family tradition of illiteracy. “‘You’re educated, too, they say—can read and write. You think you’re better’n your father, now, don’t you, because he can’t? I’ll take it out of you’” (Twain 14), he threatens. Pap represents another form of societal pressure on Huck: family tradition. Pap then goes as far as to kidnap Huck and keep him captive in a cabin in the woods, and begins beating Huck frequently. “But by-and-by pap got too handy with his hick’ry, and I couldn’t stand it. I was all over welts. He got to going away so much, too, and locking me in. Once he locked me in and was gone three days” (Twain 18). Pap strips Huck of his independence, keeping him a kind of slavery inside the cabin that includes torture. Pap is a corrupt part of society that has a very negative influence on Huck’s life, demonstrating the Transcendentalist ideas present in Huckleberry