Hypocrisy In Tom Sawyer Finn

In society, individuals follow a core set of ethical codes which justify certain behaviors and vilify others. Twain uses Tom’s play world as a parallel to the adult moral code of his era. Tom possesses an infatuation with adventure stories and the common traits that comprise each; his infatuation turns the principles of his books into a code of standards to which he staunchly adheres. He parallels the concept of Southern honor, the

Tom decides to runs away from his punishment for stealing jam, and receives another punishment, whitewashing. “Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush. He surveyed the fence, and all gladness left him and a deep melancholy settled upon his spirit,”

Mark Twain attempts to convey the corruption within society through the adventures that Jim and Huck are confronted with. Twain embodies a set view of conduct that differs from the rest of society within Huck’s character, although he does not fully accept his beliefs to be just. This sets Huck up for difficulties to conform to the standards of society, being that his initial instincts are frowned upon. Twain takes advantage of Huck’s situation and subtly incorporates his own views on society in his present day. It is difficult to alter one’s opinion, let alone the opinion of a whole society, so Twain aims to work in his own beliefs without losing attention of his reader. The moral of the story is obscured in order to communicate these beliefs

Although The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an exciting and seemingly light-hearted story, Mark Twain wrote the book to expose the systemic flaws in antebellum American society. One of its major themes is hypocrisy. Twain used a satirical approach to uncover the racial and religious hypocrisy of the South.

Mark Twain once described his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as “a struggle between a sound mind and a deformed conscience”. Throughout the novel, Huck wrestles with the disparity between his own developing morality and the twisted conscience of his society. In doing so, he becomes further distanced from society, both physically and mentally, eventually abandoning it in order to journey to the western frontier. By presenting the disgust of Huck, an outsider, at the state of society, Mark Twain is effectively able to critique the intolerance and hypocrisy of the Southern South. In doing so, Twain asserts that in order to exist as a truly moral being, one must escape from the chains of a diseased society.

In the prime first half of the book, the author explicates that Tom Sawyer is extremely childish and immature at numerous times throughout the inception of the novel. The readers can lucidly see this even in the first chapter, in which Tom encounters an elaborate, new boy in town and “In an instant, both boys were rolling and tumbling in the dirt, gripped together like cats. . . ” (Twain, 81). Tom also fascinates himself with unconventional things such as: “a large black beetle-pinchbug”, “dead cat”, “doorknobs”, and “a tick”. Furthermore, Tom also tends to do foolish and obviate things in attempts to achieve something and then realizes that these endeavors fail. A definite factor in the development of Tom’s mischievous nature is that his parents

Furthermore, Huck internally criticizes Jim’s talk about “saying he would steal his children—children that belonged to a man I didn’t even know; a man that hadn’t ever done me no harm,” and states that it was a “lowering of him” (16). Huck’s lack of moral development epitomizes here, as he criticizes a “n*****” for his utopian vision of a peaceful life with his family. Huck’s conscience starts to attack him in this moment as he no longer thinks about Jim as his friend and starts to acknowledge that, in reality, he’s a black person. Although it appears that Huck is moral since he helped Jim escape, Huck doesn’t disapprove of the institution of slavery; he only helped Jim because he values their friendship. This is further exemplified when Huck makes the decision to take the canoe and go tell on Jim, though he tells Jim that he will go and check if they’re in Cairo. Twain juxtaposes Jim’s two possible futures, one of freedom, and the other of enslavement, to show the influence Huck’s choice will have. When Jim calls out “‘Jim won’t ever forgit you, Huck;

Tom and Huck contribute to escape Jim from a prison and to fight the gang. When the man come into the cabin, Jim and the boys immediately head for the river, but Tom is shot on the way to the raft while escaping. Tom says everyone to shove off but Jim insists to stay by saying, “I doan’ a budge a step out’ dis place’dout a doctor , not if it’s forty year (Twain, 276 ).” The statement reinforces Jim as a heroic figure of capable to sacrifice himself. Even though Jim successfully escapes and has freedom right in front of him, Jim refuses to “step out” from the place and allows himself to be recaptured despite the fact that freedom is what Jim desperately wants to earn. Jim’s willingness to risk his life to aid Tom shows his kindness and compassion, which is totally different from what Huck’s society thinks of slave’s humanity. People interpret Jim as a runaway slave, because of the prevalent word “racism” that gives a fact that black as an inferior race, but by showing his kindness and loyalty that is different from a stereotypical slave, Jim defies society’s moral code. Jim finely illustrates his veiled heroic figure and society’s ridiculous blindness because of the labeling of

Morality plays an important role in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huck Finn is an uneducated, thirteen-year-old boy who does not necessarily know the difference between right and wrong, yet often makes the right choices throughout the novel. While Huck often accidentally does good, some people do not see this as an indication that he is a morally good person. Jim, on the other hand, is a slave who almost always does the right thing, but we are not inclined to see Jim as a moral model because he is a slave. Therefore, those who focus too heavily on Huck’s morality misunderstand Twain as Jim, not Huck, is the moral model of the novel.

In Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck is using Kohlberg’s stage four moral reasoning when deciding whether or not to turn Jim in for being a runaway slave. Lawrence Kohlberg was a prominent psychologist who created a comprehensive theory of moral development for humans. Kohlberg states that stage four moral reasoning is that

Mark Twain uses Tom to show that not all leaders should be followed without question because if a leader is not questioned than their misshapen beliefs can corrupt the good intentions of the people below them. When Huck originally planned to free Jim he had constructed a simple plan to free Jim from captivity. When Tom became part of the plan he argues that the plan “it’s too blame’ simple; there ain’t nothing TO it. What’s the good of a plan that ain’t no more trouble than that?”. This shows that Tom is fully invested in the story of the mighty rescue of a slave but he was not invested in the true nature of going against society and free a man who they deemed belonged in captivity. Tom is a man who lives to be part of romanticized stories

How has man’s inhumanity towards man shaped society? Man’s inhumanity towards man has played a profound role in humans throughout history. Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huck Finn is an example of him using satire to reach his readers denouncing slavery and religious hypocrisy giving examples of man’s inhumanity towards man. His main objective in using satire in Huck Finn was to protest the evil practices that were so frequent in the Frontier. By using satire this made it more appealing and enjoyable for readers and hopefully more effective in his attempt to change society. Twain depicted it under different forms like slavery and violence, certain targets of his satire were swindling, materialism, and drunkenness. Some of these were

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

Almost all novels depict morals or the author's view on any given subject. Although many people start to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn thinking that it is a simple novel on a boy's childhood, they soon come to realize that the author, Mark Twain, expresses his opinions on multiple important, political issues. Twain touches on subjects such as slavery, money and greed, society and civilization, and freedom. From the time of its publication, Huckleberry Finn has been distinguished as a novel with prodigious political positions and messages. Throughout the novel, Twain continuously shows the hypocrisy and absurdity of civilized society.

Society dictates that adhering to the rules it places indicates a sense of righteousness. In many instances, society imposes rules which are not moral and which unjustifiable. Morality is defined differently from person to person, as the understanding of what is right differs in many minds. After the Civil War, many in the South were stubborn to let go of their “southern traditions” and instead re-defined morality to suit their own needs of adhering to social barriers. In order to mock the concept of Southern morality, Mark Twain utilizes a satiric tone throughout Huckleberry Finn to emphasize that morality can shift based on the environment of an individual: civilization and wilderness. Twain establishes characters such as Huck, Tom, and Jim to highlight their interactions and display the influence of both restrictions and freedom on the views of morality.