The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Mark Twain are included in the American Library Association’s list of the ten most frequently challenged books and authors. Why, you might inquire, is this classic often second guessed as a literary masterpiece? Readers in 1885 accused the book of being, “rough, course, and inelegant, and better suited to the slums.” Others felt that Tom and Huck served as poor role models for the youth of the time. Most recently, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been lambasted as a book rampant with racism and political incorrectness. However, upon closer examination, the book and its main character actually offer a realistic role model for young people. Huck is honest and attempts to confront the racism and societal conformity that surrounds him. His moral development progresses throughout the novel with each effort he makes to understand injustices as opposed to swallowing society’s ethics and conforming to the comfortable civil life deemed so admirable. Through his various experiences and interactions with Pap, Miss Watson, Widow Douglas, and Jim, Huck develops a deeper sense of empathy which ultimately shapes his identity and his self image, leading him to understand society’s pitfalls and pursue the life that was truly destined for him.
Huck gains the confidence to fight conformity and spurn physical and emotional violence by combining his true understanding of Pap’s good and bad natures. Due to the severe physical and mental abuse Huck suffered from his father throughout his childhood, he grew up to initially resent his worth and potential as a smart human being. Huck laments,
The Essay on Racism In Huck Finn 2
... a higher ethical level than anybody else in this book including Huck. He is a hero in the novel but not enough ... than all of the white characters in the book. Jim is loyal to Huck, he goes along with him and protects him ... insullt. You can also notice in the book it was not meant offensively by Huck, or taken offensively by Jim. This is ...
“I see it warn’t no use for me to try to learn to do right; a body that don’t get started right when he’s little ain’t got no show– when the pinch comes there ain’t nothing to back him up and keep him to his work, and so he gets beat.” (pg. 95)
Huck’s ability to psycho-analyze himself in these terms speaks multitudes. He recognizes his petty faults and their connection to the unhealthy relationship with Pap, yet fails to see himself realistically, as a remarkably emotionally mature adolescent. Through interactions with Pap, Huck further develops empathy and understanding for the society’s “answer” to drunk white trash. At one point Judge Thatcher attempts to “make a man” out of Pap. Through moral lecturing and grooming, Pap appears to break down and consent to a life of civilized moral structure.
“And after supper he [Judge Thatcher] talked to him about temperance and such things till the old man cried, and said he’d been a fool, and fooled away his life; but now he was a -going to turn over a new leaf and be a man nobody wouldn’t be ashamed of . . . In the night some time he got powerful thirsty and clumb out onto the porch-roof and slid down a stanchion and traded his new coat for a jug of forty-rod, and clumb back again and had a good old time.” (pgs. 30-31)
From this event Huck discovers a newfound respect for his father and a further feeling of detachment and resentment for society. He identifies with Pap’s situation and feels that life should be lived the way you decide. Contrary to the common belief that society should shape the individual, Huck maintains the notion that “society” isn’t necessarily meant for everyone’s spirit. Pap’s brief stint with civilization truly symbolizes Huck’s ethics on life.
Much like the typical teenager of today, Huck feels suffocated by civilized societal manners and ideals. For instance, it is common for adolescents growing up in strict religious families to rebel in angst the concept of God. Under the care of Miss Watson and Widow Douglas, Huck is intensely drilled on the “religion” of civilization and ultimately rejects it entirely. He initially goes through the motions, though rather sluggishly, to test the waters and his feelings on the matter. The strictness of the house leads Huck to constantly ponder the worth of the civilized rituals. Huck explains,
The Essay on Lessons Huck Holden Life Jim
Mark Twain s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and J. D. Salinger s The Catcher in the Rye depict journeys from which the main characters learn many life lessons. Huck traveled down the Mississippi River and Holden wandered the streets of New York City. Even though these journeys are very different in setting, there are similarities in what Huck and Holden learned about themselves, about American ...
“Then she told me all about the bad place, and I said I wished I was there. She got mad then, but I didn’t mean no harm. All I wanted was a change, I warn’t particular. She said it was wicked to say what I said; said she wouldn’t say it for the whole world; she was going to live so as to go to the good place. Well, I couldn’t see no advantage in going where she was going, so I made up my mind I wouldn’t try for it. But I never said so, because it would only make trouble, and wouldn’t do any good.” (pg. 12-13)
Huck makes the sincere effort to respect “civilized” rituals and persons. He yearns to understand the meaning of a pious life, yet can never grasp the true ambition for it. His provoking thoughts display his internal drive to distinguish other people’s personal truths from those of his own. In every interaction with the Widow and Miss Watson, Huck is encouraged to conform to a religiously pure future. Although Huck sees that some morals preached in religion are sensible, the bottom line is that he realizes he cannot fight his individual drive to what is true for him. Grasping empathy from the clash in lifestyle, Huck gains the power to embark on his adventurous journey ahead with Jim.
Huck’s empathy for Jim leads him to tackle the biggest taboo of the time: racism. Understanding and respecting Jim as a person leads Huck to ponder societal opinions he once accepted as the truth. The pinnacle of Huck’s contemplation attacks after he lies to save Jim from slave catchers. He explains to the men that his family is sick with a contagious fever to scare them from approaching closer to the raft and discovering Jim. Huck believes he is committing a sin by protecting a slave because that is all he has ever been told. Yet upon rationalization he comes to a conclusion:
“I was a-trembling, because I’d got to decide, for-ever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied for a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: “All right, then, I’ll go to hell”. . . It was awful thoughts and awful words, but they was said. And I let then stay said; and never thought no more about reforming.” (pg. 210)
The Essay on Huckleberry Finn Voice Huck Jim
Would you just stand by, as Nazis soldiers kidnapped your neighbors just because they were different? If you would, you have no voice and you need to develop one. Many people had neighbors who were taken away and killed by the Nazis. They just stood there, let it happen and did not utter a word. In the book, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by, Mark Twain, it shows the development of a ...
Huck comes to his decision after pondering the sacred friendship he and Jim shared throughout the journey. He reminisces,
“And got to thinking over our trip down the river; and I see Jim before me all the time: in the day and in the nighttime, sometimes moonlight, sometimes storms, and we a-floating along, talking and singing and laughing.” (pg. 209)
Huck realizes that Jim, as a friend and person, is worth more than societal ideals to him. His empathy for Jim leads him to once again resist the conformity of the “civilized” world that surrounds him and embark on his own path of discovery and decision.
One can easily see why The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is deemed controversial, judging it is difficult for many to reconcile individual morals with societal ethics and expectations. Odd as it may seem, when comparing Huck’s moral journey to the lives of today’s teens, Huck proves an excellent role model for adolescents questioning their conscience and society. He was a keen observer, developing empathy and rationalizing his actions through his experiences. Although he was a very backward person, he was also respectful and thoughtful. Huck’s legacy will long live, and hopefully stand as a paragon to seekers who choose to reconsider society.
