How Does Twain Present Slavery In Huck Finn

As Huck’s parental figure, Jim has the obligation to serve as Huck’s moral compass, guiding him with his decisions. Jim is the closest thing to a father to Huck and it is his duty to protect him and guide him in the right direction. When Jim realizes that Huck had pranked him into thinking they got separated from each other in the fog, Jim tells Huck, “What do dey stan' for? I'se gwyne to tell you. When I got all wore out wid work, en wid de callin' for you, en went to sleep, my heart wuz mos' broke bekase you wuz los', en I didn' k'yer no' mo' what become er me en de raf'.

Throughout the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the main character, Huck goes through major changes. The story is set before the Civil War in the South. Huck is a child with an abusive father who kidnaps him from, Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, the people he was living with. He eventually escapes from his father and finds Jim, Miss Watson’s runaway slave. As Huck travels with Jim, Huck begins to realize that Jim is more than a piece of property. During the travel down the river, Huck makes many decisions that reflect his belief that Jim deserves the same rights he has. Because of these realizations, Huck chooses to do the right thing in many instances. Some of these instances where Huck does the right thing instead of society’s

     The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of the greatest, most daring novels in the world. Mark Twain’s style helps to realistically portray early America. Mark Twain tells the story through the voice of Huck, the very kindhearted main character. Everything that Huck says reflects the racism and black stereotypes typical of the era. This has lead to many conflicts from readers since the novel was first printed. However, the story has inspired some. James W. Tuttleton says in an article he wrote that “Huck Finn is regularly denounced as racist trash” (The San Francisco Chronicle [1885] 6) . Yet, again to oppose that is a quote by a reader, “Anyone who is

     On Huck and Jim’s journey to Cairo, Jim begins to speak about when he is free he will go and find his children and take them from the slave owner. This rubbed Huck the wrong way; his standards of Jim had been lowered because, from Huck’s point of view, why would Jim steal his children away from a man who has done nothing to him? Huck’s conscience began to come into play and he had made up his mind: He was going to turn Jim in when they reach shore. He was sure of it until Jim began to sweet talk Huck, telling him that Huck was the only white man that had ever kept a promise to him. This comment went directly to Huck’s heart; he could not possibly

Some may say that Huck didn’t learn anything from his pranks on Jim, but Huck stops treating Jim as a victim for his pranks. Huck starts to benefit from his relationship with

This change does not occur quickly, as witnessed when Huck and Jim become separated in the river in a thick fog. Eventually, Huck finds Jim asleep and deceives him by telling him that the previous events were merely a dream. After realizing the truth of the matter, Jim tells Huck that “trash is what people is dat puts dirt on de head er dey fren’s en makes ‘em ashamed” (91). In response to these cutting words, Huck says that it took fifteen minutes before he mustered the courage to apologize. Despite the delay, the apology that Huck gives as a result of their physical journey differs greatly from his initial demeanor.

In the book, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, we see how the book can be used educationally inside of the classroom and out. This book shows the prejudice that has existed historically and provides a basis for understanding how such stereotypes can be overcome by recognizing similarities instead of focusing on difference. Therefore, it is imperative that high school students read, analyze, and discuss Huck Finn in school. Huck Finn is in many ways a very racist writing. The book celebrates and promotes racial stereotypes because racial slurs are used often and African Americans are portrayed as dumb and senseless.

Long after his death, American novelist Mark Twain continues to be accused of being a racist writer as a result of his literary masterpiece Huckleberry Finn. Many critics argue his book is offensive, prolongs slave-era stereotypes, and has no place being taught in today’s classrooms. However, what critics fail to realize is that Twain wanted to write a historically accurate book in order to convey to readers how strong the racial clashes between whites and blacks were throughout the hearts and minds of Missourians during this pre-Civil War era. The audience of the novel must remove themselves from modern day perspectives regarding race and view this book through the eyes of a nineteenth century reader if they wish to perceive Huckleberry Finn

As their relationship evolves, the portrayal of injustice and prejudice comes up through the way Huck treats Jim. As they escape, conflicts come up, in which race plays a big factor. One of these disputes serves as a turning point, as Huck lies to Jim about being separated in the fog; in other words, Huck "denies his vulnerability by projecting it onto the slave" (Lott) . Eventually, Huck apologizes to Jim, but it’s only after mentioning that it took him fifteen minutes to “work [himself] up to go and humble [himself] to a nigger” (96). This remark made by Huck enables the understanding that, although he is an outsider himself and he sees things differently than other because of his circumstances, he is still “imprisoned by [his] social milieu” (Evans).

His whole life has been taught that “niggers” are property and are not meant to be free but In his heart he knew helping Jim was the right thing to do, no matter what anybody else says. “both Huck and Jim are depicted as characters who are capable of learning from their own mistakes, empathizing with others, and acting on the behalf of others” (Evans). As the journey down the river continues they run into two con men. These men pretend to be the Wilks brothers in order to rob this family of all of their possessions. Huck couldn’t see them do this poor family wrong. He spends some time really contemplating telling one of the girls, Mary Jane, the truth about these liars (Twain 175). He knows inside that it is the right thing to do but he doesn’t want to put himself at risk. He plans out every little detail of how he is going to tell her and how he is going to expose these men (Twain 175-178). His actions result from his sympathy for others and his conscience and show major growth as the story continues.

Huck is conflicted between his inherited prejudice and racist ideologies and his own personal experiences, When Huck finds and becomes friends with Jim, a runaway slave, he begins to question this way of life he has become accustomed to. Jim, the

Huck was taught by the world that slavery was right. It was the way of life and the way it was supposed to be. "All right, then, I'll go to hell." (206) Even though he thought this way he still knew the kind of man Jim was and disregarded what he knew to be right and wrong to save Jim

In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain presents the problem of slavery in America in the 19th Century. Twain poses this problem in the form of a character named Huckleberry Finn, a white boy raised in the antebellum South. Huck starts to question his view regarding slavery when he acquaints himself more intimately with a runaway slave while he himself tries to run away. Huck’s development as a character is affected by society’s influence on his experiences while growing up in the South, running away with Jim, and trying to save Jim. Although Huck decides to free Jim, Huck’s deformed conscience convinces him that he is doing the wrong thing.

Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain over seven years, is considered one of the best American masterpieces ever published, and a very socially active novel. Through the plot and development of the main characters, Twain discussed the paradox of slavery in a free country, as well as his abolitionist beliefs on slavery. Throughout his life, he witnessed slavery in the United States as a whole and its impact on his life, which was transferred to include slavery in this novel. Throughout the novel Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain discusses the paradox of slavery in a free country and expresses a clear social statement about the immorality of slavery.

Despite an ardent view on slavery evident through interactions with Jim, Huck’s slowly shifting view of Jim from that of ignorance to seeming acceptance expresses his ability to stray from flawed societal values to his own developed moral code of conduct. This becomes evident when Huck protects Jim from men who board his raft, by hinting he has smallpox. Although one can see this as compassion for Jim, Huck questions with racist undertones, “s’pose you done right and give Jim up; would you felt better than you do now? No, says I, I’d feel bad” (Twain 127). However, he later affirms himself to “do whatever come handiest at the time.” (Twain 127). At this point, society still influences Huck, but his statement marks his decision to detach from societal values, and eventually allows him to form his own views on Jim. This comes slowly, as Huck cannot shake free from racism.