In the novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck is considered a moral person in an immoral society because he was raised in a different way than all the other people he encounters. Unlike the other people that were born and raised with certain biased opinions, Huck had to make his own moral compass because he doesn’t trust other people’s judgment because most of the time they’ve let him down many times. There are several times in the book where Huck’s good morality is shown, one of them is that as he continues his journey with Jim, they develop a bond. This bond becomes so strong that he begins to listen to his own conscience and see Jim as an equal to himself, there is even a point in the story when Huck would rather “go to hell” for saving Jim, even though at first they were “awful thoughts and awful words” he knew he’d “let them stay said; and never thought no more about reforming” (207). …show more content…
The reader starts to see that unlike other people Huck becomes more and more selfless and is willing to give himself up for other people. On the other hand, society is messed up in so many ways, for example like when Huck is placed to live with his father and his prejudice rant show how most people during this time feel about blacks. He yells to Huck that the government has done wrong by letting this one black man from Ohio have nice clothes and belonging and allowing him to vote. Then, when Huck visits the town that tried to kill Colonel Sherburn, the reader sees how savage and absurd people can be when confronted with difficult situations, their first instinct is to “’Tear down the
to help them in any way. On the other hand, inside Huck thought that Jim
In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, author Mark Twain uses Huck to demonstrate how one’s conscience is an aspect of everyday life. The decisions we make are based on what our conscience tells us which can lead us the right way or the wrong way. Huck’s deformed conscience leads him the wrong way early on in the chapters, but eventually in later chapters his sound mind sets in to guild him the rest of the way until his friend Tom Sawyer shows up. Society believes that slaves should be treated as property; Huck’s sound mind tells him that Jim is a person, a friend, and not property. Society does not agree with that thought, which also tampers with Huck’s mind telling him that he is wrong. Though Huck does not
American author Mark Twain was one of the most influential people of his time. Twain is perhaps best known for his traditional classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a novel about an adventurous boy named Huck Finn as he traverses about on the Mississippi. Under first impressions, Huckleberry Finn would be considered nothing but a children’s tale at heart written by the highly creative Mark Twain. However one interprets it, one can undoubtedly presume that Twain included personal accounts within its pages, humorous and solemn opinions on the aspects of the diverse societies around him during his life. Throughout the entire story, Huck Finn would often come into conflict between choosing what was consciously right and what was morally
Along the path of self-discovery, challenges constantly present themselves as opportunities to grow intellectually and as a chance to succeed. Often times, the use of personal judgment and self-understanding is necessary in order to overcome these challenges. In Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck experiences difficulties which compel him to use his moral judgment. Huck, a young boy in search of freedom, is accompanied by a runaway slave named Jim as he embarks on a treacherous journey down the Mississippi River. During his adventure, Huck must determine the fate of the runaway slave. However, as his relationship with the slave deepens, he comes to realize this task is far from simple. Huck faces this life-defining yet
Huck Finn, a narcissistic and unreliable young boy, slowly morphs into a courteous figure of respect and selflessness. After Pap abducts the young and civilized Huck, Huck descends into his old habits of lies and half-truths. However, upon helping a runaway slave escape, Huck regains morality and a sense of purpose. Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck lies to characters, casting the authenticity of the story into doubt but illustrating Huck’s gradual rejection of lying for himself and a shift towards lying for others.
This can be clearly shown when Jim gets bit by a snake after Huck makes the mistake of not getting a rid the one that he killed. “Then I slid out quiet and throwed the snakes clear away amongst the bushes; for I warn’t going to let Jim find out it was all my fault, not if I could help it” (40). When he says this he is beginning to it sort out in his head that it was his fault that Jim had gotten bitten by the snake and that he feels bad about it. Although he feels bad about it at the same time he is also doing it so that Jim doesn’t get mad or upset with him. This shows an improvement in his sense of morality for Huck while he is with Jim. When with Jim he starts to see that he isn't that different from him and that he should be nicer to Jim. Another good example of this is when Huck learns that people are heading over to the island to search for him and Jim and he took the chance to go back and get Jim when he knew people were on their way. He easily could have just left but after spending time with Jim and seeing him as a friend he goes back to get him. “Git up and hump yourself, Jim! There ain’t a moment to lose. They’re after us!” (47) This shows a big moral leap with Huck as he could have left Jim to fend for himself when he had his own boat and could easily have fled and escaped. As a friend of JIm you see him feel for someone who isn't the same race which is unheard of and looked down upon at this time. This varies vary much from earlier
In order for Huck to challenge any of the values and assumptions of the time he must first be acquainted with them. And he is not only intimately acquainted with the values of his society but he holds many of its beliefs himself. But Huck longs for freedom away
“The situation of the orphan is truly the worst, you’re a child, powerless, with no protectors or guides. It’s the most vulnerable position you can be in, to see someone overcome those odds tells us something about the human spirit. They are often depicted as the kindest or most clever of characters.” Michelle Boisseau describes how important these types of characters are. In a Sunday Times article, she states that a lot of the stories and novels are considered to be apologues about orphans becoming the hero of the book. Huck’s story is quite like this subject. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel written by Mark Twain, it’s about a boy named Huckleberry Finn, who sets
Close relationships can affect many individuals, allowing them to see different perspectives on society. Morality plays a significant role in how people act, and also provides reason behind how they treat others as well. In addition, individuals can find freedom through forgiveness and honesty. People who face harsh circumstances may suffer, but end up taking a high moral ground even after these hardships. Hence, the people with hardships often have superior principles to those without several problems in life. A person’s position in society does not determine his or her moral or ethical status. In Mark Twain’s historical novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jim plays a significant role by representing a moral figure while he also
Often times Huck found himself in a moral dilemma on whether to do what society instilled in him or to do what he thinks should be done. Huck betrayed those feelings of “what society would want” him to do in order to be a good friend to Jim, putting his own self up at risk again for Jim. Jim was being held captive by Huck’s current host and Huck, abandoning his duties of his superior race and being a good Christian, as the Widow called it Huck suddenly has an epiphany “All right then, I'll go to hell!” as he goes to “steal Jim out of slavery” (212). Seeing the situation through Huck’s perspective it gives the reader every little detail that goes into his thought process in his decision making. These types of actions were considered wrong by society at that time and place but Huck sets that all aside and does what he feels is the right thing. Most of the time Huck has to think on his feet making the decision making process even more difficult, like the time when Huck was going to give Jim up as a runaway slave. “Then I thought a minute, and says to myself, hold on, s’pose you’d ‘a’ done right and give Jim up, would you feel better than what you do now? No, says I, I’d feel bad---I’d feel just the same way I do now” (91). Even through Huck’s dialect you can see him argue with himself on what the right thing to is, but he throws out what society would do and does what his heart tells him. Through Huck arguing
One of the main major themes in the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is about a boy’s “coming of age.” Huckleberry Finn’s mentality goes from boyhood to manhood. Huck experiences a moral transformation upon having to make his own decisions throughout his voyage for a new better life. Huck appears into the novel with an inward complex caused by his past life of having to live with an abusive father who would always be drunk. Meaning that this was the first time where Huck was seen without any knowledge of knowing what rights and wrongs were. Fortunately Huck is later helped by the guidance of Jim, a runaway slave who helped Jim and joined him on his journey. Jim helps Huck gain his own perception of morality. All the way
People often hesitate to accept what they do not understand. In the absence of love and compassion, it is no question that fear, ignorance, and hatred, all contribute to a melting pot of negativity in the world. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, is about the love and friendship cultivated by a young boy and a black slave on the Mississippi River. Despite the pair’s differences, they are able to endure the struggles and difficulties that the toilsome journey brings. Mark Twain, in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, emphasizes the shift in Huck’s view towards slavery by contrasting Huck’s initial tone of reflectiveness to his assertive tone, both collectively addressing the issue of racism in society.
Huckleberry Finn made the staple moral decision of the novel regarding his traveling companion Jim. As described earlier, Huck grew up in a time of prevalent racism. He realized as he was taking part in this journey with Jim that he was actually helping him to escape from slavery, and become a free man. Everyone from his hometown would forever look down upon him for carrying out such an action, for Miss Watson never did anything to deserve her slave to be stolen. Huck knew this was the case, and was truly stuck at a crossroads. He could presumably go to Hell for assisting in such a sin, or stop the adventure and return Jim to his state of slavery. Initially, he wrote a note to Miss Watson describing to her the current situation, would have sent it to her, which would have resulted in Jim becoming captured and sent back up to his previous owner. However, Huck began to think about how important he had become to Jim, and really how much Jim meant to him. “But somehow I couldn’t seem to strike no places to harden me against him, but only the other kind…and said I was the best friend old Jim ever had in the
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
Morality has always been defined as having either a good or evil conscious. There is always a choice that a character makes that defines their moral integrity in a literary work and distinguishes them as the hero. In Mark Twain’s story, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, not only does Huck encounters a number of moral circumstances where he or other characters displays situations in which moral ethics is called to questioned, but it proves that despite the religious influence and social expectation, it is through Huck that in order to do what is morally right, one must challenge the moral teaching of the world. Through observation of his world, Huck makes morally ambiguous choices that though may be against his moral teachings. Choice