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Examples Of Conscience In Huckleberry Finn

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The theme of conscience is prominent in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The characters and situations within the novel are the vehicles through which Twain presents satirical observations on society. However, in contrast with writers holding a certain ideological agenda such as Abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, Twain does not utilize The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as a propagandist platform against societal trends but merely an advertisement of them. Twain introduces societal issues by subjecting these characters to various moral dilemmas and develops implicit arguments through their actions and decisions, whether performed within or without of conscience. To act according to one's conscience is to follow the moral statutes and ideals instituted on him by the society in which he resides. Twain expertly employs the protagonist Huck Finn to broach the scenario in which one's own personal morality comes into conflict with his conscience …show more content…

He had no positive parental influences; The death of Huck's mother left with him only the stewardship of his father, a vagrant drunk who was in all ways selfish and hopeless. Therefore, Huck was bequeathed to Miss Watson, an elderly, slave-holding widow. It is through her instruction that Huck is assimilated into Southern society. The flawed Christianity that is accepting of slavery is therefore what forms his perception of right and wrong on the basis of social justice. He wholly believe in the institution of slavery; when asked about the casualties of an accident, he responds that no one was hurt but a slave was killed (197). His callous and nonchalant reply demonstrates his tragic ideology that slaves were not to be fully considered people. Huck's support of slavery is a direct consequence of the culture that instilled this erroneous ideology into him and allows him to act accordingly to a deformed sense of

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