Huck Finn Satire Analysis

The use of Satire in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In his novel the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, published in 1884, Mark Twain uses satire frequently as a medium to display his feelings on a range of issues related to society at that time. Throughout the book he ridicules many aspects of society, including the prevalent views on slaves and religion, and their social structure. Even though the novel was set fifty years before it was published, the themes still held true for contemporary society. This led to the novel being criticised widely as a result of it condemning the very society it was presented to.

The book introduces Huck as the first person narrator which is important because it establishes clearly that this book is written from the point of view of a young, less than civilized character. His character emerges as a very literal and logical thinker who only believes what he can see with his own eyes. In this section Huck’s life with the Widow Douglas and her attempts to raise him as a civilized child sets up the main theme of this book which is the struggle or quest for freedom. Huck’s struggle for freedom from civilized society is paralleled by Jim’s struggle to escape from slavery. Irony as a key literary

Jim, who becomes Huck's friend as he travels down the Mississippi river, is a man of intelligence and consideration. "An understanding of Jim's character is by no means a simple matter; he is a highly complex and original creation, although he appears at first sight very simple" (Hansen, 388). Jim has one of the few well functioning families in the novel. Although he has been estranged from his wife and children, he misses them dreadfully, and it is only the thought of a lasting separation from them that motivates his unlawful act of running away from Miss Watson. Jim is rational about his situation and must find ways of accomplishing his goals without provoking the fury of those who could turn him in. Regardless of the restrictions and constant fear Jim possesses he consistently acts as a gracious human being and a devoted friend. In fact, Jim could be described as the only existent adult in the novel, and the only one who provides an encouraging, decent example for Huck to follow. The people that surround Huck who are supposed to be teaching him of morals, and not to fall into the down falls of society are the exact people who need to be taught the lessons of life by Jim. Jim conveys an honesty that makes the dissimilarity between him and the characters around him evident.

The novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, covers the situations and people Huckleberry Finn encounters after he runs away. Huck prevents his alcoholic father from getting his fortune and is able to run away after his father, Pap, kidnaps him and leaves town. It has many colorful characters that exhibit several facets of society at that time in history. It is anti-racist although it uses the word "nigger" frequently. Huck seems to struggle throughout the book with what he has been taught and what is morally right. His main and most consistent interaction is with Jim, a runaway slave. Although he had been taught differently throughout his entire life, he eventually makes the choice to go against what society deems to be right and be Jim's

A satire, by definition, is a way of using humor that shows the weakness or bad qualities of person, government, or society (Merriam-Webster). Satires are used in everyday life to make fun of someone or a society. We see it used in newspapers, magazines, and on television shows. This element is used in literature, as well. Many authors have used this element in their books, such as Mark Twain in his classic novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn satirizes gratuitous violence, excessive greed, and racism. First, Twain illustrates the satire in the gratuitous violence with the backwater families and the rural country people starting with the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons. Huck first meets the Grangerfords when Huck and Jim’s raft breaks apart and Huck ends up on a shore. Huck meets Buck Grangerford who asks if Huck is a part of the Shepherdson family, in which Huck responds that he is not. Buck explains to him that the Grangerfords and the Shepherdson’s have been in a feud with each other for as long as the families can remember, however, no one knows or can even remember how or why these two families are fighting. Twain goes on to explain that the two families even go to church with their rifles while the priest preaches about love and peace. Twain also uses Boggs and Sherburn to further satirize these nonsensical violent habits. Boggs, who is very drunk, keeps causing a ruckus and speaking ill of Sherburn. Sherburn tells him to stop, but Boggs does not listen, so Sherburn shoots and kills Boggs. Soon after a mob forms declaring that they must kill Sherburn in retaliation. Sherburn tells the mob that they do not have the prowess to go through with their plan to kill him. He says that “Because you’re brave enough to tar and feather poor friendless cast-out women that come along here, did that make you think you had grit enough to lay your hands on a man? Why, a man’s safe in the hands of

The Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, sisters who adopt Huck, have a slave by the name of Jim who, on the outside, appears to be both unintelligent and foolish, as by the impression received when Jim first speaks, “Who dah?” (Twain 6).

According to Ernest Hemingway, "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn." Along with Hemingway, many others believe that Huckleberry Finn is a great book, but few take the time to notice the abundant satire that Twain has interwoven throughout the novel. The most notable topic of his irony is society. Mark Twain uses humor and effective writing to make The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn a satire of the American upper-middle class society in the mid-nineteenth century.

Miss Watson and the Widow “took me[Huck]for her son” as an attempt to “sivilize”(Twain 1) cleanse him show the social and religious reforms of the society imposed on Huck. The attempt to civilize Huck as a means to conform and change his unbiased clarity confirms that society is what silently corrupts the innocent minds of children. However, not being excessively shaped by the pressures of society, Huck experiences episodic moral dilemmas of deciding what is right for the society or what is right for his personal conscience. Helping Jim, a runaway slave, escape into free land is outlawed during the pre-Civil War time period, but after Huck had promised to not alert the authorities of Jim’s whereabouts, their adventure through the islands and down the river on the raft commenced, strengthening their relationship shown through Huck expressing how he believed Jim is free: “it made him all over trembly and feverish to be so close to freedom... because I begun to get it through my head that he was most free” (Twain 88). If it were not for their secured connection, Huck would have abandoned Jim to venture off in solitude; however, guilty conscience would have revealed the moral dilemma of his morals conflicting with the moral standard enforced by society.

Much of the book focuses on the white people, which seems to make them the protagonists and therefore the “good” people but Twain actually makes the white people “bad” overall.  In general, the white people of the story show many bad qualities including being prejudice and selfish.  Right from the beginning of the story, one of the worst characters is introduced as Huckleberry’s dad, Pap.  Pap is both egotistic and prejudice.  He only comes to find Huck because he wants to take all of  Huck's’ money for himself.  Although Pap is not able to take all of Huck's money, he does force Huck to give him small increments of money from time to time.  Once Pap is kicked out of the town, he kidnaps Huck to impose what he thinks is the correct lifestyle on Huck.  Not only is Pap a bad influence because he is always drinking or drunk, but he also

In the novel, all characters are flawed, and face internal struggles about their moral conscience and actions. The conflicts Huck faces within himself are used to highlight the racist mentality that has infected the South. For example, when he lies about his “family” in the raft being terribly contagious in order to keep Jim from being discovered, the protagonist feels “bad and low” thinking “[he] has done wrong” (Twain, 1344). Huck’s warped conscience, but good heart shows how the prejudicial attitude of this region is deeply ingrained within people who are truly good at heart, and have been conditioned to believe that the nature of slavery is not cruel. Huck’s initial conversation with Ms. Sally demonstrates this. For example, when reporting about a steamboat accident to her, Huck and Ms. Sally share a great amount of relief that “only a nigger” was killed in the wreck (Twain 1422). Twain’s racist, yet kind characters are deeply flawed by the mentality which permeates society. However, these individuals can have a greater effect of and connection with the reader, as audiences tend to empathize with these characters, especially when they are able to overcome personal struggles. Huck’s decision to “go to hell” and “steal Jim out of slavery” no matter the cost, represents the protagonist’s transcendence of his initial conscience

Although the characters are fictional the messages and motives behind them are not. Throughout the story Twain satirizes much of what is happening. Twain shines a light on the hypocrisy that goes on in the lives of the “model adults” that Huck encounters. Miss Watson being a prime example, to Huck she preaches endlessly about honesty

Huck's father is absent until he finds out that Huck has found some money.  Pap is an outcast full of hate for blacks and pretty much for all of society.  Huck, as a product of his society, speaks the language of his society.  By choosing as his point-of-view a young boy from the slave south, Twain is able to present and challenge the values and assumptions of this time.  Among the assumptions and values of the time that the reader encounters in the book are the strict definitions pertaining to Huck's world and the people who inhabit it:

Twain ironically highlights the clash between racial segregation and personal morals, through which he focuses on Huck’s development as a character. Because of Huck’s natural inclination of doing well, we can analyse how he acknowledges and responds to humanity in society through a conscious movement. As irony is presented throughout the book, Mark Twain emphasizes Huck and his development by giving us an insight to his mind. After being helped by Miss Watson and the Widow Douglas, Pap, Huck’s dad, ends up taking him away. Huck, fearing his alcoholic dad, eventually ends up giving up school and education, something that Miss Watson and the Widow Douglas deemed important.

An issue of central importance to Huckleberry Finn is the issue of race. The story takes place in a time of slavery, when blacks were considered inferior to whites, sometimes to the point of being considered less than fully human. But Huckleberry Finn challenges the traditional notions of the time, through its narrator and main character, Huckleberry Finn. While in the beginning, Huck is as unaware of the incorrectness of society’s attitudes as the rest of society is, he undergoes many experiences which help him to form his own perspective of racial issues. Through the adventures and misadventures of Huck Finn and the slave Jim, Twain challenges the traditional societal views of race and