Research Paper Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by the pseudonym Mark Twain, has been central to American literature for over a century. His seemingly effortless diction accurately exemplified America’s southern culture. From his early experiences in journalism to his most famous fictional works, Twain has remained relevant to American writing as well as pop culture. His iconic works are timeless and have given inspiration the youth of America for decades. He distanced himself from formal writing and became one of the most celebrated humorists. Mark Twain’s use of the common vernacular set him apart from authors of his era giving his readers a sense of familiarity and emotional connection to his characters and himself.

It can also be considered an “opposites attract” scheme by Twain. As Tom has a stable, loving family and a home to go too. While Huck who is considered an orphan (due to being the town drunks son) sleeps where he wants, eats what he wants (if he can) and is never forced to go to school or do his “duties”. Most Importantly, Huck has fended for himself for years, and because of it has developed common sense beyond his years and grounding him self in his harsh reality. This is a stark contrast to Tom Sawyer, who creates worlds in his mind and has deep imagination. Even with all these differences Tom still envies the free spirited Huck and will go to great lengths to prove himself, even if Huck sees Tom as his closest friend already.

He also sees how hypocritical they truly are, and, it can be inferred that, Twain wanted them to represent society in the novel. Huck thinks their way of living was ineffective, and that is why he used to sneak out in the middle if the night, skip school, and smoke his pipe. It was difficult for Huck to adjust from an unstructured home, with no training, raised by an alcoholic and abusive father, to two strict, cookie-cutter women in a house with plenty of rules and regulations. After earning a large amount of money as a reward, with his best friend, Tom Sawyer, Huck's abusive alcoholic father, who he calls Pap, comes back to steal his money by kidnapping him, and while Huck is with his father he says, "I didn't see how I ever got to like it so well at the Widow's, where you had to wash, and eat in a plate, and comb up, and go to bed and get up regular, and be forever bothering over a book and have old Miss Watson peeking at you all the time" (Twain p. 37). Huck's view on society is one of dissatisfaction and rebellion, as his opinions reveal how imperfect, and unjust society's rules actually are. Especially after hearing that his behavior will determine whether or not he will go to Heaven or Hell scares him a little bit, because he wasn’t taught right from wrong his entire life up until this point. After this Huck's thoughts are, how can a man not be punished by law (his father), for abusing him, but Huck can be reprimanded for harmless things like

The dissection of the immorality of society is further explored in Tom Sawyer’s scheme to free Jim from the Phelpses’ captivity. Tom, seemingly eager to help Jim escape, creates a plan that seems to exist more for his own amusement than for Jim’s emancipation, a plan that eventually ends in Jim’s recapture and Tom’s injury. Thus, Tom’s plan to free Jim takes on a dark irony as Huck says that Tom is “not mean, but kind”; this is subverted when we discover that Tom has used Jim as a plaything in his game of escape (Evans). Tom and Huck, both boys of about the same age and with similar backgrounds, are a good example of the difference that “sivilized” society makes on the development of the individual. As Tom and Huck plan Jim’s escape, the two represent very different places in their development as individuals; Huck having discovered a new morality through his journey down the Mississippi, and Tom having remained more or less the same as his introduction at the beginning of the novel. While Huck has demonstrated his ability to more fully realize individuals, notably Jim, Tom has been conditioned by society to see slaves as subhuman, and thus has no problem with using Jim as a plaything in his game of adventure. This trivialization of human life, presented by the “civilized” and “kind” Tom, demonstrates the immorality and toxicity of Southern society. Twain also comments on the hypocrisy

     Since Huck is the center piece of the novel people could say that Mark Twain expressed himself through the character. They would use the fact Huck was degrading Jim. As I have said Huck was raised that way from a child, but he evolved to different beliefs. In the beginning after Huck and Jim have run away they find each other. Huck’s first step to overcoming prejudice occurs on that island. Huck feels relief that he is no longer alone and needs Jim for comfort. You start to see a bond form which never forms between man and his "property". This may not be a gigantic step but it is a step. As the story unfold farther they form a rather special bond of needing each other which shows strong when Jim is auctioned off. He decides to save Jim which is totally unheard of for a white to do for a black. At first he challenges his views of religion whether or not he should write Miss Watson, his owner, and probably still lose Jim for good, or go for Jim himself. Huck decides

Everyone in their lives grow and mature. No one takes time to recognize why or how this happens. However, when looking back on life growth is shown during difficult situations leading people to learn from them. In the novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the narrator/main character Huckleberry Finn begins to show growth and maturity within himself. This coming of age in the character is due to his society, family and friends, and realizing what is truthful.

Mark Twain was a world renowned novelist and a beloved American Writer. He wrote things about what was happening in the world around him and is also a huge part of American Literature. Although Mark Twain is a famous novelist his home life, background/achievements, and greatest accomplishments are what made him who he is today.

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

“When Huck plans to head west... he is trying to avoid more than regular baths and mandatory school attendance” (Sparknotes 1). This quote summarizes the whole purpose of Huckleberry Finn’s journey throughout the novel, because even though he is only a young boy and his only concerns should be school and bathing, he has to worry about much more “adult” topics, such as helping an escaped slave and dealing with his abusive, alcoholic father. However, throughout these endeavors, he struggles with his conscience and the ideas that have been placed upon him by the people around him, while also trying to maintain his good heart. Examples of this ongoing battle in Huck’s mind include whether or not slavery is acceptable, the stark difference between the 2 gods that Miss Watson and the Widow argue about, and the seemingly pointless feud between the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons. One may think that these thoughts would take over Huck’s personality and make him into a more hateful, prejudiced, person, but Huck remains good hearted and true to himself until the end of the book, showing that he truly does have “a deformed conscience but a good heart.”

Thirdly, Huck and Douglass are protagonists, each in their own regard. The opening of Huckleberry Finn describes a game of robbers that Huck and Tom took part in. Over the course of the novel, Huck that what mainstream society has engrained in him is not always correct. He must make decisions based on his morals, not on what has been driven into him during his upbringing. When he encounters the group of slave-hunters, he realizes telling a lie is sometimes the right course of action. Huck is given the power to return Jim but instead decides to go against social norms and free Jim. This point marks the finality to his departure from society's expectations. The river helped build his taste for independence and free will. Huck wants to move out to the freedom of the West, thus departing from the civilized world. Huck grows accustomed to Aunt Sally and Silas by the end of the novel. However, he realizes that they are a part of the social order that wishes to impose their will upon others. It is not a part of Huck's nature to be influenced by others, as is displayed by his

In the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn runs away from home in order to not be subjected to beatings and harassment from his father. He then goes to an island and meets Ms. Watson’s runaway slave, Jim. They form a friendship and leave the island to try and find some peace away from the town. They embark on an adventurous journey and meet some con men known as a “duke” and a “king,” who proceed to sell Jim back into slavery to make some quick money. Huck subsequently encounters Tom Sawyer, and the two of them meet at Tom’s aunt’s house. There, they plot to set Jim free, and do it successfully. Despite the hardships they face on their adventures, Huck and Jim each respectively maintain a sense of self: Huck adheres to his own sense of morality rather than following society's rules, and Jim maintains human dignity while knowing that he is a slave and not considered a person.

Romanticism is defined as ¨a movement in the arts and literature that originated in the late 18th century, emphasizing inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of the individual.¨ In the novel,The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain mock romanticism to show the reader the hysterical view of society and civilization from a realist perspective. The first way Twain mock romanticism is through his satirical tone. In addition, he creates a subplot with the Grangerford and Shepherdson. This feud can be compared to Romeo and Juliet, which is a true romantic play. Lastly,Twain includes the ridiculous character Tom Sawyer, who embodies romanticism to its core. Mark Twain's novel, The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, mocks the romanticism time

In every man’s life he faces a time that defines his maturation from boyhood to manhood. This usually comes from a struggle that the boy faces in his life. In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck’s defining moment of maturity is Huck’s struggle with Tom in helping Jim escape. Tom sends Huck and Jim through a wild adventure to free Jim because of his Romantic thinking. Tom represents society and its Romantic ideals while Huck struggles to break away from these and become his own realist individual. These Romantic ideas lead Huck into many dangerous situations that pit Huck and Jim as Realist individuals versus a society infused

Then, Twain figuratively sinks these ideas as Huck and Jim escape the shipwreck. Also, in the ending section of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain satirizes romantic literature by using Tom Sawyer as a representation of romantic ideals. Jim is stored in a shed after being sold by the King while Huck and Tom decide to rescue him. Tom insists on rescuing Jim “the right way”, or by reenacting what he has read in romantic novels such as the Count of Monte Cristo. While Huck and Jim disagree with the ridiculousness of each of Tom’s demands, they follow them no matter what robbery, cruelty or lying they must do to achieve each of Tom’s tasks.

Huck is cherished by Jim, but as a product of his environment and upbringing, Huck is wary about helping Jim escape because he sees it as a crime to free a slave. Huck discerns his actions as traitorous toward Miss Watson, but it is through Huck’s harsh judgment of Jim that the reader sympathizes with the escaped slave, “Jim talked out loud… the first thing he would do when he got to a free State he would go to saving up money… buy his wife,… they would both work to buy the two children… It almost froze me to hear such talk” (91). Huck reacts as if Jim’s plans are malicious and his ideas outlandish although they are entirely sensible. Through Huck’s reaction, Twain shows how insensitive and brutal the Southern society was toward the African American people and how imbedded these ideals have become in influencing the younger