Mark Twain Criticism Of Society

Despite all the criticism, of racism and other questionable material for young readers, Mark Twain’s The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn is a superbly written novel, which in the opinion of this reviewer should not be remove the literary cannon. Twain’s novel is a coming of age story that teaches young people many valuable lessons and to some extend makes students reexamine their own lives and morals. The most common argument for its removal from the literary canon is that the novel is too racist; it offends black readers, perpetuates cheap slave-era stereotypes, and deserves no place on today’s bookshelves.  However one must ask if Twain is encouraging

Those with the power to speak remained silent--as complacent in the oppression of African Americans as the slave-drivers of years past. The vices of such a society were candidly ignored; indeed, struggling for the rights of others seemed futile. Direct action was social (and, where lynchings were quietly ignored by the law, literal) suicide, yet writers like Mark Twain took to the pen to spread their messages for equality and criticisms on society. Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a fictional tale of a young boy’s adventure. However, this innocuous veneer, much like the Gilded Age itself, hides a deeper, darker theme of the pitfalls of modern society, presented in a mockingly lighthearted, sarcastic tone. As Huckleberry Finn matures throughout his journey, his idealization of what it means to be ‘sivilized’ is battered and broken down into a far more cynical view, revealing Twain’s own criticisms of

The hypocrisy of late 1800’s American society is shown in countless ways, page after page in Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Just like Huck, Twain himself saw the flaws and ignorance in humans:

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

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain uses Huck’s personal hyperboles, irony and an appeal to pathos as he subtly attempts to alter his Reconstruction's audience view on the African Americans role in society. Towards the end of the novel

Mark Twain’s publication of The Adeventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1883 stood as a groundbreaking novel for its time. The book definitely shocked quite a few people, and many were offended by Twain’s criticisms of society. Fast forward over 100 years, and Twain’s book has found itself banned in several areas after being accused of being a racist novel. However, not many realize that Twain’s portrayal of other races in Huckleberry Finn was through a satirical and ironic lense. Twain himself criticized society for several things, but some large critiques of his were of the gullibility of people and of the foolishness of slavery.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Huck Finn) by Mark Twain is a renown piece of literature both for its usage of language and the historical aspects that are heavily embedded in the storyline. Historically, society has looked at itself, each other, and events differently throughout the years. The slavery in the United States that is so heavily involved in Huck Finn was socially acceptable during the period of the book is no longer socially acceptable; both when Twain is writing Huck Finn and in the present time. What society finds acceptable can set the precedent of what is morally acceptable and this affects how Huckleberry Finn views some of the decisions he makes throughout the book. Huck struggles to understand the world he has grown up in and its moral ideas of how people should be treated. Society of the 1830s was a judgemental one due to the different social statuses and judgments people received from society. Huck Finn is a young boy who

In the novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Twain uses irony, sarcasm, and satire to show that slavery and racial discrimination are morally wrong and that people shouldn’t be treated differently because of their ethnicity and race. Twain’s use of irony and ridicule exposes and criticizes the society’s viewpoints of what is right and wrong in contrast of Huck’s conscience and his experience on the journey with Jim to come to find what he believes is right or wrong. While writing the novel, Twain was living in a society where racial tensions and discrimination had a great impact during these times. Twain illustrates the stupidity of slavery and racial discrimination by mocking many different aspects of the society in which Huck grew up in. Throughout Huck’s and Jim’s adventurous journey down the river,

In society, there are always diverse and controversial views on events that not everybody see’s eye to eye with. In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn where the society in the old racial days was such that African American’s were considered to be slaves and were neglected the opportunities that others had, they were not considered to be “free men.” Huck is morally correct by helping Jim escape to be reunited with his family, however, by helping him, Huck is going against the social standards in society of his time. In this novel, the main character and narrator of the story, Huckleberry Finn, is constantly trying to grasp the views of the society in which he is living in.

After endless trials to test Huck’s philosophy, in the final moments of Huckleberry Finn, Huck has a revelation that all this time, his black traveling companion, Jim “was white on the inside.” But say Huck did understand that blacks were not naturally inferior to whites, that he understood the ideals of our founding fathers, that “all men were created equal.” Then, Mark Twain’s story would lead to the birth of a fresh new character, one who differs completely from the initial Huck Finn, a Huck Finn that sees pass a white-proclaimed social ladder. But instead, Mark Twain’s endless on end build up to what seemed like it should have been a powerful positive message about humanity ended up being the opposite. We naturally allow the worse to

Mark Twain, in the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, exposes and criticises a series of flaws that had existed during the atrocities of discrimination and slavery. Throughout the fiction, Mark Twain uses vulgar and improper language to properly provide the reader a full and vividly realistic experience of prejudism during this time; in doing so, he points out the immorality of specific social problems such as the outlook on slavery. Twain leads the reader throughout the novel from the perspective of the protagonist, Huck Finn, who, interestingly, isn’t the average mundane christian child that lived back in the mid 1800s. For example, he didn’t endeavor to perform admirable deeds and reach man’s eternal bliss: heaven; instead, he desires a more dangerous approach of life that resembles a mindset similar to novel-like adventures. Huck even explicitly declares that he mind if he was

When he shows the corruption, materialism, and poor morals of society contrasted with the apparent good morals and lack of issues on the raft Twain argues that people would be better off away from society. After the traumatizing experience of witnessing the murder of Buck and his family, Huck escapes with Jim on the raft. Away from the violence they believe “ there warn’t[sic] no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery” (Twain 117). By juxtaposing this description of the raft with describing the “civilized” society Twain is able to show the ridiculous nature of society. This idea is evident because Huck would rather be on a few pieces of wood strapped together floating down a river than in society. Furthermore, Twain contrasts the materialistic nature of society with the communal economy of the raft to illustrate that man would be better in his natural state than in society at that time. When the King and Duke come onto the raft, they demonstrate the drastic materialism of society. Initially evident when the King claims to be a “changed man”, the materialistic focus of the King and Duke continues as they take advantage of people along their journey (Twain 131). From taking advantage of girls who lost family to make a few thousand dollars to scamming entire towns into paying for poor productions, the King and Duke were “just low-down humbugs and frauds.” (Twain 125) These unadorned attempts at making money are Twain’s attempts to satirize society. Through this satire he highlights the moral failings of society, especially when contrasted with the communal economy of the raft. While on the raft, Huck and Jim have all the supplies they need to survive, but as soon as the Duke and King invade their raft bringing with them the moral failings of society, their entire focus shifts to be solely about obtaining material

Charles Caleb Colton once said “Corruption is like a ball of snow, once it’s set a rolling it must increase.” This is apparent in the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. It isn’t until a young uneducated boy named Huck breaks the chain after running away from society. Once he is away from the corruption he and finally form his own opinions and morals based on his experiences. Even though there is racism throughout the novel, Mark Twain’s message about society and race is effectively conveyed in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through satire, irony, and the narrator.

    In the latter part of his life, Mark Twain developed a deep-rooted hatred for society.  His aphorisms often reflect this contempt: "Every one is a moon and has a dark side which he shows to no one" (Salwen n.pag.).  This disdain for humanity eventually seated itself in complete disapproval for what he called the "damned human race."  Twain's criticism for society appeared in many of his works, growing stronger and stronger as time passed.  Hand in hand with his distaste for society went his hatred for the upper class.  In each of his works, Twain creates a theme of appearance versus reality and ultimately brings out his harsh criticism of monarchies.  Through such

In Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the young protagonist Huckleberry Finn runs away from his abusive father with Jim, a black slave. Throughout the novel, Huck encounters people that fail to understand the injustice of slavery and violence, despite their education. Although Huck lacks any substantial education, his moral values and judgment are highly developed. In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses uneducated, colloquial diction and deliberate syntax to provide ironic contrast between Huck’s rudimentary level of education and profound use of moral judgment.