Introduction When Mark Twain started writing, the era was a realistic era. Mark was considered the master realist as he portrayed realism in most of his novels. He combined wit and criticism to create realistic novels. Mark Twain attempted to discuss real problems concerning the issues of period through portrayal of his characters. He used satire to bring forth the other side of the seemingly simplistic events of the realistic period. The events seem to be simplistic on surface but have multiple layers that talk about the various facets of the realistic society.
Mark made his novels humorous to expose the ridiculous side of the events in the history of realism. In most of the novels, Mark Twain integrated the events of his own life to bring out the realistic touch to the plot and the characters of the novels that he wrote. Two of the prominent works that touch upon realism and religion with the use of wit and criticism are The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras. Abstract The Adventures Huckleberry Finn was published during an era known as the realistic era in the world of writing. Twain was exceptionally talented at creating the realistic novels. Through Huckleberry Finn, Twain talked about the real problems that existed in the period.
In this novel, Mark Twain leads his readers through a story of a young boy Southern boy, Huckleberry, to bring forth the issues of the society and how the society deals with these issues. The boy goes through various adventures in the society to discover how society actually works. In his novels, including the Huckleberry Finn, Mark wrote about the society as it was. The existence of satirical elements in the novels helps in bringing out the true nature of the events. It leads to the irony of the story. The humorous elements expose the ridiculous side of the society and the events in the history.
The Essay on Mark Twain – Racism – Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain depicts an apprehension to racisms through the character Huckleberry Finn. He is a white young boy who comes in contact with the conditions of slavery at a relatively early age. The author allows him to feel uncomfortable with the very process by which humans are classified in civil society. This view is based on how Twain created the institution of slavery to be established at the ...
“The novel is filled with satirical sketches, sometimes subtle and sometimes broad, from the opening pictures of Miss Watson and the Widow Douglas to Huck’s final decision to ‘light out for the territory’ to escape civilization.” (Johnson 224).
Mark Twains Huckleberry Finn is also one of the most controversial novels of the realistic period. The novel was set in that era of America when it was struggling with slavery. Twain uses sharp criticism to bring forth the true human nature and morality of the people of realistic age. Sing the naive voice of the young narrator, that is, Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain cleverly employs disdain and satire. Through the humorous dialogues of the characters, and the seemingly simple musings of Huckleberry, Twain winks at the reader throughout the novel. When the novel begins, Huck lives with the Widow Douglas, who wants to “sivilize” Huck. Huck, the narrator of the story, dislikes the restraints that society exercises on him in the form of stiff clothing, education, and religion.
He is a character that prefers it to going back to living with his drunken father. “There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth.” But before Huck is able to do take any actions, his father kidnaps Huck and locks him up in the house. It if for this reason that the first major chunk of the novel focuses on the abuse Huck experiences at the hands of his father. Huck gets so fed up with the abuse by his own father that he fakes his own murder in order to escape alive from the clutches of the drunken father. After staging his death, Huck runs away from his house where the father had locked him up. On his way, Huck meets up with Jim, who is a runaway slave from the village. Both Huck and Jim decide to travel down the river together. Huck and Finn, both are running away to from their respective captivities to gain their freedom.
The Essay on Relationship Between Huck And Jim
The Relationship Between Huck and Jim By William Reculard In his novel Huckleberry Finn, the relationship between Huckleberry Finn and Jim evolves a great deal, especially during their journey on the raft. The two rely upon each other to survive and keep their mental up. The fact that Huck proves to be willing to sacrifice many things and ideals for Jim, involving honour, pride and even come near ...
Jim runs away from slavery while Huck runs away from his father’s abuse and the Widow Douglas’s restrictive lifestyle. This phase of the novel brings out the slavery and the pains that people suffered in captivities of their owners. The satire and wit is used here to criticize the vices of the realistic society. At this time, Huck is able to realize that he is running away from the restrictions of the Widow Douglas. While travelling on the raft, both enjoy the journey under the clear sky. “It’s lovely to live on a raft.
We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made or only just happened.” As the journey on the raft is long, Jim becomes the father figure for Huck, who views Jim as property. Jim teaches Huck about the rights and wrong of life, another aspect of realistic society that is brought about by the satire and humor in the form of dialogues between the two. Another novel that combines wit and criticism is the Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. The narrator is beffoled by one of his friends and sent on a mission to find out the details about Leonidas W. Smiley, who never existed. I asked old Wheeler about him, it would remind him of his infamous Jim Smiley, and he would go to work and bore me nearly to death with some infernal reminiscence of him as long and tedious.
Wheeler talks incessantly about Jim Smiley. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be said that Mark Twain was exceptionally talented to integrate the experiences of his own life into the characters and plots. He used wit and criticism at the same time to bring forth the true aspects of society in the realistic era. There are instances in his novels where he talks about religion and uses satire to portray the evils of the society. He discussed about various issues concerning the social order of the day and how people dealt with their day-to-day problems. Reference http://www.exampleessays.com/viewpaper/26895.html http://classiclit.about.com/od/adventuresofhuckleb erry/a/aa_huckfinn.htm http://etext.virginia.edu/railton/projects/price/f rog.htm.
