Organized Religion In Mark Twain's The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been controversial ever since its release in 1884. It has been called everything from the root of modern American literature to a piece of racist trash. Many scholars have argued about Huck Finn being prejudiced. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses satire to mock many different aspects of the modern world. Despite the fact that many critics have accused Mark Twain’s novel of promoting racism, through close analysis of the text, it becomes remarkably clear that Twain is satirical in his writing as he ridicules slavery and the racist attitudes prevalent in his day.

Two people taking a trip down a river, is rarely thought of as anything more than just an adventure. Mark Twain, however, uses his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, to explore and makes fun of many problems facing American society. Huck, the main character, is considered a boy who is under pressure to conform to the aspects of society. Jim, who comes along with Huck, is a runaway slave seeking freedom from the world that has been denied it to him for so long. Throughout the entire novel Twain uses satire to show problems with society.

Mark Twain published The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with sardonic references to acknowledge the errors in his society. During Twain’s time period, the U.S. government and the media slowly began to convince their citizens that they were veracious, however he sought to reveal that they were actually deceptive. Twain was determined to inform the American people about how apathetic the government leaders were, how the judicial system served injustice and how the media would indoctrinate anyone that listened to them.

In Mark Twain’s Novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn there are many controversial topics that he mentions but uses satire as a way to make them seem funny. One of the main themes that are being satirized in the story in the theme of religion. He satirizes this topic through the characters in actions and thoughts. Religion doesn’t not determine the type of person you are; the importance of religion is very debated even today. Other source satirize religion with example of making money, shown in many TV shows today.

In Mark Twain's novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain concentrates on religion and slavery as a social issue that guides people's decisions and lifestyles. Twain satirizes organized religion and slavery through the eyes of a thirteen-year old boy named Huck Finn. Satire and hypocrisy allow readers to understand his opinions on the two topics. Throughout the novel, readers witness the growth of Huck as he battles his ideas of religion and freedom during his many ordeals. His decisions that he made while on his journeys on the Mississippi were impacted by his longing for liberty and the idea of Christianity. In this novel, Twain exploits religion through characters' decisions and exposes their hypocrisy to satirize religion, a critical issue of the past and present.

In the story Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, Huck deals with religion throughout most of the story. He encounters a situation where he is tested on his knowledge of the bible,also runs into a town that is all religious and was fostered by a religious widow. What direction would this book take if Twain did not mention religion throughout this novel.

B. Twain’s main target was romanticism. He mocked the Romantics for their enthrallment and belief in supernatural things. He also seems to be satirizing different religious groups through superstitions.

In the book Huck had touched a snakes skin which Jim believed was bad luck and that the had to do specific things in order to rid the bad luck. The hysteria on bad luck takes control over Jim and even gets Huck into it. After he had touched the snake skin Huck believed it was bad luck that the snake bit Jim's foot. This is using humor to make fun of religion because it is almost like sinning, and God's punishment. There are certain rituals to cure one of those sins, like there was a ritual to get rid of the bad luck that Huck educed. After the ritual there was still a consequence because of stupidity, and not bad luck. Twain used humor because he compares religion to bad luck caused by a snake skin. His results are effective because it was easy to identify his use of satire. It shows that your life can not rely on superstition and belief and you must accept the consequences for your actions.

Not only does Twin satirize slavery and human nature, he also satirizes religion. Religion was a big aspect of life back then and most of the kids including Huck were taught about all the stories even though they never really grasped the full meaning behind them. When Huck was explaining the story of King Solomon to Jim, he was trying to clarify to Jim that King Solomon did not actually want to split the child into two, but did not do a good job of explaining so. Whereas Jim thought it was dumb to split a child into two and how a man with only one child would be more grateful of his child than a man with a million children (78). This is satirizing religion because it shows how many people read religious texts and support a certain religion,

In Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", Twain uses satire to criticize many aspects of American society. His first use of satire may be overlooked by many. Twain's decision to set the novel in a time where slavery was allowed, despite the book being published in 1959, is one of his ways of making fun of American society. This detail mocks how little progress the United States made with civil rights in the century. Twain continues to mock ideals such as religion, family feuds, and greed, all of which were engrained in American society during his life time.

Mark Twain referenced various topics of controversy in Huckleberry Finn. One of the main points was the ongoing conflict between blacks and whites. Another one was the difference of educated and non-educated people. The last point was the stereotypes society held then. Mark Twain mocked prejudices and beliefs of society by showing the blacks vs. whites conflict, the educated vs. non-educated, and the stereotypes.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, depicts religion in American society during the mid-1800s. Throughout the novel, several characters emerge as devout Christians. However, they ultimately contribute to the portrayal of absurd religious values and a sense of religious hypocrisy in the novel. Although the characters of Widow Douglass, Miss Watson, the slave traders, the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons, and Silas Phelps are well-intentioned Christians, Mark Twain uses their actions and beliefs to criticize satirically the concept of religion. Mark Twain begins his critique of religion through Huck Finn when he is introduced to the idea of heaven.

Religion is defined as “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods” or as a “cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith”, while the term mysticism deals with a “vague or ill-defined spiritual belief, especially associated with a belief in the occult, a practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance.” Considering these two definitions, we can state that Huckleberry Finn’s character is rather mystical and that he tends to believe in the power of superstitions. But, throughout the novel, we also discover a religious side of Huck, consolidated on the moral education that Widow Douglas and Miss Watson taught him. In this essay I will emphasize

For generations the idea of satire has been used in hope that society may change, whether it be through writing, television, or even dialect. Mark Twain, a famous satirical writer, publishes yet another book pointing out societies mistakes with the belief that citizens would soon realize that segregation is ridiculous. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin Twain portrays the foolishness of society through a young boy named Huck who travels along the Mississippi River with a run away slave who strives for freedom. Throughout the novel, the slave and Huck run into multiple adventures which reveals several satirical behaviors. Though many would argue that Twain’s novel showed no evidence of satire, through greed, crime, and ignorance he establishes several scenarios which criticizes people’s stupidity.

In the novel, Mark Twain uses satire to mock different aspects of his world. Before Huck and Jim even make it to the Mississippi, In St. Petersburg, Huck encounters many different aspects and situations made to make fun of, and laugh at American society. Through Jim, Twain mocks slavery, and the way that people treated African Americans. Miss Watson is an example, where she is revered as a good, strong Christian woman, with many strong moral convictions, but owns slaves, and thinks nothing of selling them away from family. (Twain 13) Twain uses satire here to show how hypocritical it was, that someone referred to as a “Good Christian woman” can buy and trade people as if they were property. Another one of his targets of satire in this episode is the idea of romanticism. Twain uses Tom Sawyer as a window to the romantic view on life that was running rampant in the South at the time. An example of this is when Tom and his “gang” would supposedly rob, murder, and steal every sunday, to oppose their going to church (Twain 18)