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The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By William Twain

Decent Essays

Often, the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is regarded with much controversy by parents in America. Aside from the heavy use of the “n-word” in the book, it touches on some rather controversial themes, such as social equality, slavery and many other things. However these themes should not be frowned upon, but rather, they should be analyzed and interpreted for what they truly are; satire against racism in the South. Over the course of the book, the main character, Huckleberry Finn, embarks on an adventure with a runaway slave named Jim down the Mississippi River on a raft. Through the course of their journey, both undergo great changes, especially Huck, who is torn between what he has been taught and what he is constantly …show more content…

This struggle is shown in the quote, “That was where it pinched. Conscience says to me, “What had poor Miss Watson done to you that you could see her nigger go off right under your eyes and never say one single word? What did that poor old woman do to you that you could treat her so mean? Why, she tried to learn you your book, she tried to learn you your manners, she tried to be good to you every way she knowed how. That’s what she done” (Twain 87). Huck’s upbringing in the extremely racist south and his newfound friendship with Jim cause him to clash with himself on his beliefs towards slavery and equality. Another example of Huck struggling with choosing between conformist behavior and individualistic behavior is when he is living with the Widow Douglass, and he often has trouble grasping the “proper” lifestyle she attempts to impress upon him. The Widow Douglass envisions Huck being a behaved, intelligent, and proper southern gentleman. However, Huck develops his own personal opinions that somewhat refute the widow’s stance on religion and behavior. This is all part of Huck’s inability to identify with neither conformism nor individualism. Often in a novel, that which is good and bad is clear to both the audience and the narrator. However, in this particular story, the narrator encounters difficulty in distinguishing what is moral from what is immoral. Similar to his issues with

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