Satire In Huckleberry Finn

The use of Satire in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In his novel the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, published in 1884, Mark Twain uses satire frequently as a medium to display his feelings on a range of issues related to society at that time. Throughout the book he ridicules many aspects of society, including the prevalent views on slaves and religion, and their social structure. Even though the novel was set fifty years before it was published, the themes still held true for contemporary society. This led to the novel being criticised widely as a result of it condemning the very society it was presented to.

A satire, by definition, is a way of using humor that shows the weakness or bad qualities of person, government, or society (Merriam-Webster). Satires are used in everyday life to make fun of someone or a society. We see it used in newspapers, magazines, and on television shows. This element is used in literature, as well. Many authors have used this element in their books, such as Mark Twain in his classic novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

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

The Grangerford's have been in a family feud with Shepherdson's for as long as they can remember. The feud has been going on for so many generations that the reason they are fighting is unknown. Twain used humor by adding the fact that they are fighting for no apparent reason. This targets the many family feuds in America. Families go above and beyond to torment each other. Twain accomplishes what he is targeting by showing how far the families would go. "It was young Harney Shepherdson. I heard Buck's gun go off at my ear, and Harney's hat tumbled off from his head" (Twain 118). Buck has never had a problem with Harney, but Buck still nonchalantly shoots him because he is a Shepherdson. People reach the extent of killing innocent citizens because of a dispute that occurred many generations

In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain used a lot of satire. Throughout the book readings discover many different themes. One of the motifs is freedom. People see examples of freedom in everyday life. Throughout Huck’s trip to Mississippi he realizes how much freedom he has.

Molly Ivins once said, "Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful". This quote explains how the use of satire, which is the use of humor or irony to point out or mock someone's stupidity, could be used as an insult to point out the obvious in any situation. The use of this figurative language technique is portrayed perfectly in Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The three most prominent examples would be the way African Americans are viewed in that time period, the situation when Huckleberry pretended to be a girl, and the way Huckleberry talks about Pap verse how he actually acts. Twain's use of satire is used perfectly in this novel; these are only three examples out of the millions in the story.

Although people disagree over what makes someone morally “good” or morally “bad,” most people can agree that caring and compassion are good qualities while intolerance and selfishness are bad qualities.  Mark Twain uses satire in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to amplify the good and bad qualities of people.  Adventures of Huckleberry Finn exposes Twain’s thoughts on human nature by showing undesirable qualities of people in the racist white people and showing preferable qualities in the African-American slave, who is a victim of racism.  The racist white people are portrayed by Twain as prejudice and egotistic while Jim portrays compassion.

Huck, the narrator of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is young, naïve, and rather an outsider of society; this allows Twain to impart stronger commentary on society. Huck’s outsider status and naïveté presents a forgivable narrator, one who saying something crass or shocking about society is not a product of their character, but one of their situations. Readers are more apt to forgive comments on society if they perceive them as “innocent” in this case that the narrator, Huck, doesn’t truly know what he’s saying. Huck’s naïveté allows him to convey Twain’s comments on society based on his experiences and without judgment, allowing the reader to form their own judgments, such as when Huck “wanted to smoke and asked the widow to let me.

In the late 19th century, Mark Twain wrote the book “Huckleberry Finn” to highlight the exaggerated racism during the mid 1800’s. Racism was a major conflict in the 1800’s and 1900’s. Mark twain noticed the issue and wrote the book “Huckleberry Finn” in which he highlighted the matter of racism. In the book, Huck is the main character who flees home with a runaway slave, which, is very out of the ordinary for a young white boy to be with a black man. Huck's dad, Pap, is an ignorant alcoholic. He shows excessive racism in his rant against black people. Through the exaggeration of Pap’s rant against black people, Mark Twain is satirizing racism in the south as being harsh and irrational.

The desire for power is one of the strongest drives in the human nature. This is evident in the vast amount of literature with the themes of gaining power and freeing oneself from a higher power. In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck and Jim find themselves struggling to free themselves from higher powers. Huck tries to free himself from the tedious living in “sivilization,” while Jim tries to free himself from literal slavery. The power struggle in this novel helps to enhance the exigence of it; Mark Twain is able to satirize the irony of civil living, while at the same time, revealing the moral issues of slavery.

In many books, the author will use literary devices to enhance their writing. Literary works are used to bring out the author’s ideas in a creative, meaningful way. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, he uses satire and symbolism to express that his motivation for writing is to reveal nastiness of society.

A major theme in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is slavery and our evolvement towards the institution. “In fact, Twain’s novel is often taught as the text that epitomizes this tradition, with Huck held up as its exemplar: a boy courageous enough to stand against the moral conventions of his society. . .” (Bollinger, 32 – Say It Jim) In the beginning of Huckleberry Finn’s relationship with Jim, he has little respect for him and as their journey progresses he

In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain presents the problem of slavery in America in the 19th Century. Twain poses this problem in the form of a character named Huckleberry Finn, a white boy raised in the antebellum South. Huck starts to question his view regarding slavery when he acquaints himself more intimately with a runaway slave while he himself tries to run away. Huck’s development as a character is affected by society’s influence on his experiences while growing up in the South, running away with Jim, and trying to save Jim. Although Huck decides to free Jim, Huck’s deformed conscience convinces him that he is doing the wrong thing.

Mark Twain uses satire to bring forth the argument of the innocence and the intelligence in children. Satire is showing the use of irony and humor throughout the text, Twain uses that through Huck Finn as a child who has been through several tough experiences, such as his father's beatings, and moving from place to place not having a home of his own. This brings together the conflicts Huck has faced and his safe places in the world.

The reason Twain’s humor is so powerful and meaningful is because he uses it in a way that is timeless. Humor is usually lost when analyzed, but this is not the case for Twain’s writing, as his humor is abiding and genuine. In one of his best known works, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a prominent theme was on morality and ethics. In the story, Huck begins to distinguish the difference between morality and ethics. He begins to make up his own mind on what is right or wrong and even begins to have his own opinions on what society has wrong when morality comes into play. In this story, The main character’s sense of morality and ethics are put to the test when he meets a runaway slave. As their friendship blossoms, he is confronted by the idea that the beliefs he was raised by might not be as true as he once thought. One passage states “What's the use you learning to do right when it's troublesome to do right and ain't no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same?” This is an example of the humor Twain uses in this novel to reach out and connect with the reader on these topics. This passage is significant because its strikes true for many young adults in a no nonsense, humorous kind of way. Throughout this novel, Twain builds a connection with the reader by using this type of genuine