Nature Vs Nurture In Huckleberry Finn

As Huck’s parental figure, Jim has the obligation to serve as Huck’s moral compass, guiding him with his decisions. Jim is the closest thing to a father to Huck and it is his duty to protect him and guide him in the right direction. When Jim realizes that Huck had pranked him into thinking they got separated from each other in the fog, Jim tells Huck, “What do dey stan' for? I'se gwyne to tell you. When I got all wore out wid work, en wid de callin' for you, en went to sleep, my heart wuz mos' broke bekase you wuz los', en I didn' k'yer no' mo' what become er me en de raf'.

In Huck’s society, many of the town’s people own slaves and are racist. This includes Huck’s guardian Miss Watson, who owns a polite slave named Jim. Later on in the novel, Huck befriends Jim and tries to get him out to slavery. Twain satirizes how the people were racist and treated slaves cruelly, when really they are friendly people. For example, Pap (Huck’s father) displays his racism towards black people. In chapter five, Pap gets drunk and starts to complain about the government in Ohio and how a black man is allowed to vote. He displays racism by saying “It was ‘lection day, and I was just about to go and vote myself if I warn’t too drunk to get there; but when they told me there was a state in this country where they’d let that nigger vote, I drawed out… I says to the people, why ain’t this nigger put up at auction and sold?—that’s what I want to know” (Twain 27). Another obvious example is the fact that they refer to them as “niggers”, rather than by their

Because of being portrayed during the 1830's and 1840's, racial prejudice was unrestrained. The reason why racism was such a prevalent part of society was due to slavery. Under this oppressive system, whites were deemed to be masters over blacks, and African-Americans were portrayed to be inferior to whites. In fact, whites perceived blacks to be tools to use at their leisure. Consequently, these thoughts of superiority were the fuel needed to light the fire of racism prejudice towards of African-Americans. In fact, various forms of dialogue emanate how whites this oppressive ideology. For example, Huck's father demonstrated these ideals, when he stated, "here was a free nigger there from Ohio—a mulatter, most as white as a white man. He had the whitest shirt on you ever see, too, and the shiniest hat; and there ain't a man in that town that's got as fine clothes as what he had, and he had a gold watch and chain, and a silver-headed cane—the awfulest old gray-headed nabob in the State. And what do you think? They said he was a professor in a college and could talk all kinds of languages, and known everything. And that ain't the worst. They said he could VOTE when he was at home. Well, that let me out. Thinks I, what is the country a-coming to?”(Twain 27) Because of Huckleberry’s father overall mood towards African-Americans, readers can

Huck absolutely hated how they are forcing him to follow a bunch of rules. The Widow Douglas teaches Huck the Bible, which he doesn 't mind but he doesn 't like how she 's forcing it on him. One of the rules was Huck was not aloud to smoke. Miss Watson told Huck that he had to get an education. She tried to teach him how to spell but he had no interest. She also gave him lectures on good behavior because she said that 's how he would go to heaven. He told her he didn 't believe that, he thought hell sounded more fun than heaven, so he 'd rather go to hell instead. Even though he doesn 't like either one of the women, he does like Widow Douglas more than Miss Watson. She gave him encouragement even though she had strict rules. And she took care of him, like buying him clothes even though he didn’t want them. Huck respects Widow Douglas because she gives him good advice and is not so harsh on him about certain things. Huck ran away, and they sent Tom to search for him. Tom convinced him to come home, but he still complained about having to wear new clothes and eat only when the bell rang for dinner. He didn 't like their rules because he wasn 't used to it growing up with his Pap. One of the examples is that his Pap forbid him from going to school, yet they want him to be

Your heart tells you one thing and your mind tells you to do the opposite. Which takes priority? When making a decision, people base it off of the guidance given to them and their own morals. These two things is what makes decisions worthwhile or one to regret. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck finds himself in a battle with what he was taught and what he himself thinks. So, it comes down to that age old question. Do you follow your nature or your nurture? Huck’s progression throughout the novel was due more to nature than nurture. However, one cannot be displayed without the other.

Many view Huckleberry Finn as a racist book for the portrayal of the runaway slave, Jim, but Twain writes from Huck’s point of view, who was a product of his society. In the book, while using dialect and actions accurate for the time and location, Twain never portrays Jim in a negative light. In contrast to Huck’s father, Jim cares about Huck. For example, when Jim and Huck are reunited after getting lost in the fog, Jim tells Huck, “my heart wuz mos’ broke bekase you wuz los’, en I didn’ k’yer no mo’ what become er me en de raf” (p. 157), as opposed to Huck’s father who only wants him around to prove he has control over Huck. This shows the difference between his white father who should be a strong male figure in his life, and a black man who actually looks out for Huck. Throughout the book, Huck comes to realize more and more that Jim is human just like

Pap returns to town, when he does he started causing trouble and drinking all over town, he wanted custody over huck which he got and started to abuse huck as soon as he got huck out of sight from the public. “he kept me with him all the time, and never got a chance to run off. we lived in that old cabin, and he always locked the door and put the key under his head, nights”. (twain

Pap is only stuck on having power and he gets it by treating blacks like the lower class citizen. Twain uses his characters in this book to show that the stereotypical southerner is irrationally greedy. He begins to show the reader this by first using Pap. The character Pap is Huck’s father and is labeled the town drunk.

In Jim, he sees kindness, compassion, and integrity. Ultimately, this is what dissuades him from turning Jim in - Huck remembers Jim 's company, "Jim would always call me honey and do everything he could think of for me, and how good he always was" (Twain 95). Jim treats Huck with kindness and respect. Huck slowly realizes that even Jim, a slave, is a human-being. He questions the beliefs that had been inculcated in him from an early age. He goes on to help Jim evade imprisonment by lying to men who are trying to capture runaway slaves. Huck tells the men that his father has smallpox and deceives them into letting him, and Jim, leave. Huck’s action goes against everything he knows. He feels guilty for tricking the men (not turning in Jim), but conclusively states, “So I reckoned I wouldn’t bother no more about [right and wrong], but after this always do whichever comes handiest at the time”(Twain 120). Huck begins to realize that he should not feel shame for something that he feels is right. He learns that as an individual, he has the right to a set of beliefs - molded from his experiences - and that he does not have to do what is “socially acceptable”.

Pap has differences that cause pain and neglect to Huck Finn. He is contributes to the conflict by forcing Huck Finn to take major action. Pap wants to use Huck for all he is worth. Pap says this to his son, ““Looky here - mind how you talk to me; I’m a-standing about all I can stand, now - so don’t gimme no sass. I’ve been in town two days, and I hain’t heard nothing but about you bein’ rich. I heard about it away down the river, too. That’s why I come. You git me that money tomorrow - I want it.” Pap only wants to use Huck. Everything in Pap’s life is about him and only him.

He constantly found himself battling on whether to help Jim or turn him in, which would be more sociably acceptable. But as Huck befriended him, he came to realize that Jim was more like him than he previously assumed. And after witnessing Jim's emotional outburst concerning his daughter, Huck thought that Jim "cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their’n. It don’t seem natural, but I reckon it’s so" (Twain 117). But this goes against everything he would have been taught to support slavery. One of the rationales behind slavery is that black people aren't humans, but "animals"/"savages". But by Twain showing Jim as having emotions that even a white person can identify with, he displays how the conception that blacks are emotionless animals is untrue. And later on, when he once again struggles with turning in Jim, Huck's actions sheds light on how cruel slavery is and the worth of a black persons life. He came to the decision that he would even risk going to hell to set Jim free, as he stated "All right, then, Ill go to hell" (Twain 162). After experiencing how Jim treated him and how much he acted like a normal "white person" would, Huck was able to realize that Jim's life was equally as valuable as his own and that forced labor would be injustice. Additionally, Twain used Jim's actions in contrast to characters such as the king, Duke, and Pap to further prove his

For instance, the Grandford family had slaves for every one in the family. Also, Pap would not vote because a black man could. Huck uses the word nigger to play on other people’s viewpoints, not because he thinks Jim is inferior. Huck breaks racial barriers by looking past Jim’s skin color, and focuses in on Jim as a whole person, including his emotions. Huck expressed that “‘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.

After being part of the duke and dauphin’s con to make off with 6,000 dollars, Huck comments on the situation, “It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race” (162). Huck feels truly ashamed that lying could be used to trick others and exploit their weaknesses. Huck came to the conclusion that not only is taking advantage of people bad, but lying about it can leave the liar with a hole in their gut that cannot be filled by anything accept the truth. In a perpetual state of unhappiness, Huck takes it upon himself, as his friend Tom Sawyer would, to run away from his problems. While on the Mississippi River, Huck encounters Jim, a slave of his previous caretaker Miss Watson; Huck takes Jim under his wing and decides it

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:

Despite an ardent view on slavery evident through interactions with Jim, Huck’s slowly shifting view of Jim from that of ignorance to seeming acceptance expresses his ability to stray from flawed societal values to his own developed moral code of conduct. This becomes evident when Huck protects Jim from men who board his raft, by hinting he has smallpox. Although one can see this as compassion for Jim, Huck questions with racist undertones, “s’pose you done right and give Jim up; would you felt better than you do now? No, says I, I’d feel bad” (Twain 127). However, he later affirms himself to “do whatever come handiest at the time.” (Twain 127). At this point, society still influences Huck, but his statement marks his decision to detach from societal values, and eventually allows him to form his own views on Jim. This comes slowly, as Huck cannot shake free from racism.