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Examples Of Moral Dilemma In Huckleberry Finn

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Huck’s Moral Dilemma
The Progression of Huckleberry Finn as a Character The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn takes us on a journey with the titular character Huck and an escaped slave, Jim. Coming from less than humble beginnings, Huck must overcome obstacles that no normal boy his age must face. Huck is an orphaned boy with an absent, abusive father and no mother to speak of. He is taken in by his friend Tom Sawyer’s guardian, the Widow Douglas, and the Widow’s sister Miss Watson, who takes it upon herself to civilize him. Huck progresses throughout the novel, not in civility through society’s standards, but in moral civility. Huck’s moral journey is like that of his and Jim’s journey down the river; as they advance down the river, Huck progresses with his morality, and as they face difficulties in their journey, Huck as well faces obstacles that test his moral judgement. The beginning of the novel shows the lack of moral fiber that Huckleberry Finn has obtained over the course of his life. Even though it is evident that Huck has more of a conscience than Tom Sawyer, he still shows his lack of a strong conscience by offering Miss Watson to Tom’s gang just so that he is allowed to play with them (C. Twain 135). After the return of Pap Finn, Huck’s drunken, abusive father, Pap kidnaps …show more content…

Huck tells Tom of his plan to free Jim, and to Huck’s surprise, Tom wants to help. Instead of simply freeing Jim, Tom turns it into a game, and Huck regresses back to his former self in being simply a follower of Tom. They torment Jim, along with Silas and Sally Phelps, by releasing rats and snakes simply for the fun of it. Eventually, they finally free Jim, only for Tom to reveal that Miss Watson had passed away months ago, freeing Jim (273-307). Even though Huck makes questionable choices by going along with Tom’s games, he still has a good motive in trying to rescue

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