Huckleberry Finn Literary Analysis

     Ernest Hemmingway once described a novel by Mark Twain as, “…it is the ‘one book’ from which ‘all modern American literature’ came from” (Railton). This story of fiction, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is a remarkable story about a young boy growing up in a society that influences and pressures people into doing the so-called “right thing.” It is not very difficult to witness the parallels between the society Huck has grown up in and the society that influences the choices of people living today. However, what is it that gives society the power to draw guidelines to define the norms, trends, and what is morally right and wrong in life? Is it always the best choice to listen

Jim, as a slave, is always in fear. He was afraid of Miss Watson's treatment when he lived with her, afraid of being sent to be a plantation worker, and now terrified of being caught as a runaway (Twain 43). This alone is enough to ruin his humanity, not to mention his physical beatings as well. The only thing he has to hold on to are his various superstitions like, “You musn't count the things you are going to cook for dinner, because that would bring bad luck” (Twain 45), and all of the signs and other things he points out. Huckleberry, even though he is very fond of Jim, constantly refers to him as “Miss Watson's Jim” (Twain), reminding the reader that Huck's society was taught that slaves were just property and nothing more. Because of slavery, the southern society in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has a lapse in morals by almost all of the whites, actually supports the devastatingly inhumane psychological and physiological treatment of humans, and contains seriously horrible false perceptions and prejudices.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been a topic of debate for a long time. The most heated topic of debate is if the novel is racist and if it should then be included in school curriculum whether. Many believe this book should be taken out of school curriculum for being racist. Huckleberry FInn should be taught in schools because of its satire, views on slavery

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain has been banned from many schools and public libraries due to the use of racial slurs. Although these slurs are frowned upon now, they were a normal part of the society shaped Huckleberry (Huck) Finns life. The world Huck Finn grew up in is before the abolition of slavery. This is when the states is begun to separate, but the civil war is not yet stirring. Huckleberry’s life was influenced by his small town of St. Petersburg, the time period he lived in, and certain people.

In the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, Huck matures during his journey on the Mississippi River, alongside his companion, Jim, a runaway slave. At the beginning of the novel, Twain, an ardent abolitionist, characterizes Huck as immoral and ignorant, to convey the racist lens through which whites saw blacks in the 1830s. When Huck escapes civilized society, he begins to form his own opinions, and his eyes open to different perspectives that allow him to develop and reach self-knowledge. As Huck’s character develops, it appears that his morality increases too, since he helps Jim run away, despite the consequences; however, in reality, it is only Huck’s respect for Jim that increases. Twain exemplifies this theme through

The first aspect of society Twain ridicules is its attempt at respectability. Huck Finn, a boy referred to as "white trash," has grown up totally believing what society has taught him. Society attempts to teach the

“The evil that is in the world almost always comes of ignorance….” Albert Camus, a French author and philosopher once made that observation about society. In his mind, a lack of understanding of the issues led to problems for everyone. Mark Twain, an American novelist, saw problems in society and went about to expose the ignorance behind them and encourage change. That is what he was doing in one of his most well known novels, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, three issues, identified by Twain, are explored in education, religion, and conformity that are still relevant today.

“I would go to work and steal Jim out of slavery,” Huck shares, showing that he would be willing to risk his life and reputation to free his friend, Jim (Twain 195). Instead of this institution creating kind, caring, compassionate learners and leaders, the educational institution instills primitive, old world values into its students in the South. However, because Huck escaped this formal Southern education, he has good morals. Southern society considers Huck an uneducated, ignorant boy, but it is he who possesses far more knowledge and compassion than any educated person of the South, showing the hypocrisy of the society in which he lives. Huck relates, "It was kind of lazy and jolly, laying off comfortable all day, smoking and fishing, and no books nor study,” while he is living out in nature with his Pap (Twain 25). He does not enjoy a formal education of books and work, but can still appreciate the beauty and curiosities of the world, in nature and its people. Huck is able to see past the barriers society puts up, as he did not receive a Southern education, which creates people who support slavery and do not think for themselves. The educational institution is like a factory, pumping out identical children all believing in old world Southern values. Huck escapes from this ‘prison’ and only then does he become a better

Social norms are defined as the behaviors and actions that are expected of people in group settings. Specifically, in the mid-eighteen hundreds, constraining social norms and societal beliefs had a great impact on the manner in which one would behave towards or deal with others. The ideas surrounding social norms dictated how people treated one another in that era. However, in both modern society and the past, the ideas associated with slavery, education, religion, societal beliefs, and morals are controversial. Within the context of Mark Twain’s story, the South did not see slavery and racism to be as large of an issue as the practice is seen in modern times. Huck and partners in crime also encounter challenges relating to education, and

Sometimes making a stand for what is right, especially when it is totally against the customary beliefs of your society, is not an easy accomplishment. In the novel Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, the main character Huck encounters many situations where there is a question of morality. Considering the traditional protocol of his society, Huck has to choose either what his conscience feels is right versus what the customary public views are. In many cases Huck goes with what his conscience feels is right, which always is the proper selection. Ironically, what Huck believes in, unapproved of in the 19th century, is the basis of accepted beliefs in our modern world. Huck lives with the

A major theme in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is slavery and our evolvement towards the institution. “In fact, Twain’s novel is often taught as the text that epitomizes this tradition, with Huck held up as its exemplar: a boy courageous enough to stand against the moral conventions of his society. . .” (Bollinger, 32 – Say It Jim) In the beginning of Huckleberry Finn’s relationship with Jim, he has little respect for him and as their journey progresses he

When Huck finds Jim at Jackson Island, Jim has no idea how to survive. Huck has to make a major decision to help the escape slave survive or not. The obvious choice should be to help him but, back in the day it was very illegal to help out an escaped slave. Huck decides to help Jim out and also take him with wherever he goes. During Huck and Jim’s adventures, they get separated from each other on a foggy night. But, the next day, Huck reunites with Jim. Huck tricks Jim into thinking he dreamed it all but, Jim notices the debris on their raft and canoe and figures out that Huck lied to him. Huck has to make a choice to apologize to Jim for tricking him. Huck says “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards, neither.”(86) This shows us that Huck isn’t as racist as most people back then because he is able to apologize to a black slave and felt bad for making Jim seem like a

All children have a special place, whether chosen by a conscious decision or not this is a place where one can go to sort their thoughts. Nature can often provide comfort by providing a nurturing surrounding where a child is forced to look within and choices can be made untainted by society. Mark Twain once said "Don't let school get in the way of your education." Twain states that this education which is provided by society, can actually hinder human growth and maturity. Although a formal education shouldn't be completely shunned, perhaps true life experience, in society and nature, are a key part of development. In the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain throws the curious yet innocent mind of Huck Finn out into a very

Setting: The setting of this story changes throughout because Huckleberry Finn is moving around and exploring. In the beginning he is in a town called St. Petersburg that sits next to the mississippi river in the state of missouri. Which is across from Illinois. At this part he is living with a widow named Miss. Watson. Who owns a slave named Jim. The house is 2 stories with a shed on the outside in front of his bedroom window. Then on behind that there is Miss Watson’s garden and some woods. The mood here is jolly because they are all getting along and are friends. Then Huck’s dad comes to town to take back his son.He sleeps in a pen with hogs. The mood here is tense because they are fighting over who should

it got tiresome and lonesome. . . . I felt so lonesome I most wished I