Essay On Superstitions In Huckleberry Finn

Twain argues it was not only the slaves who were bound in slavery but also everyone else around them. Since Jim is a slave who ran away, Huck is socially expected to go and report him, but Huck said he “ain’t agoing to tell” anyone about Jim (32). Huck is breaking widespread belief and not partaking in what is expected of a white boy. Huck’s freedom is more ingrained than any expectations anyone has for him and is one of his greatest qualities. Slavery is a set of rules everyone participates in and to step out of that and treat an African American person as a person is a very difficult thing because society is not accepting of it. Earlier in Huck’s adventure, after he was adopted by a widow, she spoke to Huck about religion and the benefits of prayer, Huck did not seem to understand the purpose of it all. The Widow spoke of “spiritual gifts” that were to be attained by prayer, a concept that confused Huck because he did not see how it helped anyone. Huck quickly finds the flaws within the concept of religion and decides he “wouldn’t worry about it anymore, but just let it go,” especially since it does not help him in any way (8). Huck does not see how praying will benefit him and therefore decides that he will have nothing to do with religion. There is also a social connection through practicing any religion and Huck grew up without any of that. Religion is one of the biggest social expectations, everyone is expected to abide by it, just like any other social standard. Huck’s reaction to religion and the prospect of turning in his friend clearly argue Twain’s point that those who do not benefit from society are the ones who challenge its

Through the theme of rebellion against society, Huck demonstrates the importance of thinking for oneself and embodies the idea that adults are not always right. This is highlighted in his noncompliance when it comes to learning the Bible and in the decisions he makes when it comes to Jim, decisions that prove to be both illegal and dangerous. By refusing to conform to standards he does not agree with, Huck relies on his own experiences and inner conscience when it comes to making decisions. As a result, Huck is a powerful vehicle for Mark Twain’s commentary on southern society and

     All hero’s have one major hurtle to jump over, Huck is no different (Bellamy 98). Although free from most corruption and conformities Huck’s battle with racism was his greatest victory. At the beginning of this book, we noticed the weakness of all Twains characters; race. To the society that Huck was born and raised in, black people were no more than animals. Due to

Because of being portrayed during the 1830's and 1840's, racial prejudice was unrestrained. The reason why racism was such a prevalent part of society was due to slavery. Under this oppressive system, whites were deemed to be masters over blacks, and African-Americans were portrayed to be inferior to whites. In fact, whites perceived blacks to be tools to use at their leisure. Consequently, these thoughts of superiority were the fuel needed to light the fire of racism prejudice towards of African-Americans. In fact, various forms of dialogue emanate how whites this oppressive ideology. For example, Huck's father demonstrated these ideals, when he stated, "here was a free nigger there from Ohio—a mulatter, most as white as a white man. He had the whitest shirt on you ever see, too, and the shiniest hat; and there ain't a man in that town that's got as fine clothes as what he had, and he had a gold watch and chain, and a silver-headed cane—the awfulest old gray-headed nabob in the State. And what do you think? They said he was a professor in a college and could talk all kinds of languages, and known everything. And that ain't the worst. They said he could VOTE when he was at home. Well, that let me out. Thinks I, what is the country a-coming to?”(Twain 27) Because of Huckleberry’s father overall mood towards African-Americans, readers can

Mark Twain’s classic novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn took place during a tense period in U.S. history. Heated debate over the morality of slavery had sparked and deep divisions were emerging between the northern and southern states. Born in Missouri, a slave state, the novel’s protagonist Huckleberry Finn was raised on values of racism and prejudice. He adhered to these principles as they were all he knew. However, over the course of his journey, Huck’s formerly provincial morality was challenged by his real-world experiences, and he was forced to derive a new set of morals for himself. At the start of the novel, a blind acceptance of slavery was present in Huck’s mind. This was revealed when Huck thought, in reference to Jim’s plan to free his children, “Here was this nigger, which I had as good as helped to run away, coming right out flat-footed and saying he would steal his children – children that belonged to a man I didn’t even know; a man that hadn’t ever done me no harm” (137). Although grateful for Jim’s companionship and reluctant to report him to the authorities, Huck still believed slavery to be a moral practice. As evidenced by this thought process, Huck held on to the values of the slave-owning states in the south, believing that Jim’s children, as slaves, were property. He even felt remorseful at the thought of a man’s slaves being stolen. Regardless of his budding friendship with Jim, Huck was still concretely in favor of slavery. This static view on

Some say that superstition is an impractical way of looking at life but the characters in Mark Twain’s, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn beg to differ. Examples of superstition are abundant throughout the novel. Allowing characters in a novel to have superstitions makes their lives more realistic and the reading more enjoyable. Huck and Jim’s superstitions cause them grief, help them get through, and sometimes get them into trouble in their lengthy runaway journey. Although both of these characters tend to be quite rational, they quickly become irrational when anything remotely superstitious happens to them. Superstition plays a dual role: it shows that Huck and Jim are child-like in spite of their otherwise

Dr. T.P.Chia once assured “Superstition is the death of a thinking mind.” This theme is presented in Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, specifically with one character. As Jim and Huck make the journey for freedom, superstition has a heavy response on characters. Jim spills out most of the superstitions, while Huck doesn’t quite seem to agree with some of them. Tom is a dreamer who seems to go along with the superstition world.

In Huckleberry Finn, there are two systems of belief represented in the novel; Christianity and superstition. The “sivilized”, like the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, practice Christianity, whereas the uneducated, like Huckleberry and Jim, look to superstition. Huck, who had pushed towards Christianity by the Widow and Miss Watson, found the act of prayer and “wishing” for other people’s wealth and health, exhausting. Huck also finds the idea of “heaven” overrated and would be bored by the overwhelming population of people like Miss Watson up there. Instead he’d rather go to “hell”, because it seemed more exciting and Miss Watson “reckoned Tom Sawyer would not end up in the good place by a considerable sight.

In Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the young protagonist Huckleberry Finn runs away from his abusive father with Jim, a black slave. Throughout the novel, Huck encounters people that fail to understand the injustice of slavery and violence, despite their education. Although Huck lacks any substantial education, his moral values and judgment are highly developed. In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses uneducated, colloquial diction and deliberate syntax to provide ironic contrast between Huck’s rudimentary level of education and profound use of moral judgment.

In order for Huck to challenge any of the values and assumptions of the time he must first be acquainted with them.  And he is not only intimately acquainted with the values of his society but he holds many of its beliefs himself.  But Huck longs for freedom away

Finally, Twain shows how the slave were treated in the south. The slaves are shown no respect, the slaves are dirt and property only in the white people's eyes. Huck is saying this because that is what Tom’s aunt would want him to say: “‘No’m. Killed a nigger’” (Twain 221). This quote is showing that the African Americans do not matter to the whites. The slaves cannot fight for their freedom because the whites would lynch them so the slaves cannot save themselves. In the article “The Adventures…” they discuss that the African American community cannot own land: “1840s: Under the Slave Codes, enacted by individual southern states, slaves could not own property” (¨The Adventures…” 11). This is showing that slaves are not no contractions people

Families are the backbone of civilization. The culture and worldview of a civilization are transmitted through families. Often, certain idiosyncrasies, many of which would be considered an abomination in today’s culture, become ingrained in a society. In the antebellum period before the American Civil War, one such idiosyncrasy was that persons of African descent were treated as subhuman. In Huckleberry Finn, Huck realizes the absurdity of these beliefs. When Huck leaves for the western territories, he is leaving behind his family and civilization, along with their deformities. In the end, the light, Huck’s pure heart, overcomes the darkness, his deformed conscience by severing his ties with the society in which he was raised.

In Mark Twain’s book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck constantly doubts his decisions, because he believe it could be wrong in making them, or that they could hurt someone. He needs to make a tough decision, when Jim needs hide in the raft to help them get pass the security that patrol the waters, Huck needs to decide, to save his friend Jim, or to turn him in, he believes that if he lets Jim go toward his freedom that he would commit a sin, he almost confess it maybe costing Jim’s life, “They went off and I aboard the raft feeling bad and low because I knew very well I did something wrong” (Twain 113). He believes that turning him in and make him go back to her rightful owner Ms. Watson would make him feel better because he has been learning it all his life and that freedom could not be allow. The word “negro” use by religious people in the south serve to low class white males meaning that Afro-Americans could never be better than white. Smith explains that “The concept of the Negro serves to justify and disguise selfish, cruelty and exploitative behavior”.

When observing his new situation in the Grangerford family, Huck notes how [his nigger] ‘had a monstrous easy time, because [he] warn't used to having anybody do anything for [him]’ (AHF, p. 238). Rather than take advantage of his superior status as a white person, Huck defies societal expectations and refuses to make use of the slave he has been assigned, this heightened level of morality being suggestive of what ‘feeling can accomplish in opposition to apparently irrefutable fact.’ Much like The Scarlet Letter, the irony arises due to the fact that Huck takes up a position which would not be expected of him in that society, as a consequence of his developed conscience.

Illustrated in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain reveals Huck’s character as honest and transparent; Widow Douglas wants to civilize Huck because he has no manners and she wants to save his soul. Huck portrays to the audience that he is truthful and honest. In Widow Douglas view Huck should be respected by white society which means having to wear new clothes and having to come to supper when called. Huck tries to defy the norms of society by running away from it. As a result of leaving society Huck feels free (para. 2). Huck feels free from society because he feels like society was changing him into someone he is not (para. 2). Society to Huck is condoning slavery and racism. Huck acts “uncivilized” according to Ms. Watson because Huck can’t spell nor behave properly and she is concerned that he will not go to the good place (para. 6). Huck doesn’t want to go to the good place because its is full of white society. Ms. Watson’s interpretation of the good place reveals the ignorance of her society because she believes that in heaven would be a great place with people playing harps and singing all the time (para. 7). Huck doesn’t want to go to heaven because if his best friend wasn’t going he wasn’t going either and he wanted to be with him.