The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn Rhetorical Analysis

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a novel written by Mark Twain, is an important literary work because of it's use of satire. It is a story written about a boy, Huck, in search of freedom and adventure. In the beginning of the story you learn what has happened since The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Huck and Tom found a hidden treasure that was later invested for them. Huck was taken in by Mrs. Watson, who attempted to teach him religion and proper manners, but was taken away when his father returned. Pap, being a drunk and abusive father, imprisons Huck because he wants the money Huck has invested for him. Huck fakes his own death and hides out on Jackson's Island, where he discovers Jim, Mrs. Watson's former slave, is also hiding. Jim

Occasionally there are times when it is more beneficial to do what is necessary or useful to you as opposed to doing what's right. Huck Finn is met with a similar situation when he is stopped on his raft and he is forced to conjure up a lie to defend Jim. After the situation has been resolved, Huck decides that he "wouldn't bother no more about it, but after this always do whichever come handiest at the time".

Part of the reason that makes Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain a masterpiece is because of the way he forced the readers to fondle the details to find a greater meaning. He places details in the language for the readers to further their understanding of the characters and get a good feel for the setting of the novel. Twain places a heavy emphasis on Jim’s dialect, he does this by making Jim’s speech hard to read and digest. He does this to show Jims place in society, his level of education, and to show how most slaves during the time period talked. Twain also uses his language to show how slaves were treated in different states and to show the amount of education they receive. For example

Twain’s purpose in writing that part was to get people to realize and understand how ridiculous it is to treat someone differently just because of the way they look. Twain’s depiction of Huck’s moral struggle has been just one of the ways he gets his readers to understand the idea he was trying to convey. Throughout the book, Huck begins to gradually change his views on the issues of racism and slavery. He is quoted saying, “Alright then, I’ll go to hell.” (p.195) Right before tearing up a letter he wrote to Miss Watson telling her where Jim was. Huck realizes that he would feel even more guilty if he turned in his friend. Throughout the book, it had been hard for Huck to separate himself from society’s view of African Americans, and this part is a definite turning point for him, but also an important lesson. Huck’s decision reminds the reader that society doesn’t always know what is best, and makes people realize that the right decision might not always be the popular one. As Huck’s friendship with Jim begins to form as the book progresses, he soon realizes that his perception of Jim and other African Americans isn’t entirely

In his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain uses colloquialism throughout his writing in order to highlight the time period and setting of the novel. In this passage the reader notices the slang and difference in dialect from other parts of the book. There is a stark difference between how white folks talk and how African-American individuals talk. The purpose of separating the two different dialects is to emphasize the two separate worlds that blacks and whites live in, yet, coexist with each other as well. Furthermore, the reader is able to connect to whoever is speaking. For this specific case we as a reader can connect to the black individuals and how they may struggle in society. Illiteracy and unique diction such as double

In “Rethinking Huck,” Mintz implicated that truly understanding the book is difficult through his use of rhetorical strategies in his writing. Mintz begins by praising Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for its influence on American literature and its superiority compared to other novels, describing it as “a picaresque tale of adventure, a coming of age story, and a novel of escape and liberation” and much more. After praising the book with support from other people, he introduces the negative criticism Twain’s novels receives over “its frequent use of racial expletives, its condescending portrait of the runaway, Jim, and its misogyny, depicting women either as nurturers or as controlling and repressive figures.” Mintz uses a contrasting structure in order to implicate that people cannot see the true purpose of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as an informational, satirical piece of literature tackling the issue of

Huck knows what is acceptable in society, but he constantly finds his conscience pulling him in the opposite direction. For instance, when Huck contemplates the fact that he is traveling with a runaway slave, he resolves to turn Jim in because of that is what society tells him is the right thing to do. He is paddling out to shore when Jim tells Huck that he was his best friend and the first white man to ever keep a secret for him. This deeply affects Huck and he realizes that he cannot turn Jim in, even when he runs into an assemblage of men searching for slaves that have run away. Twain is especially critical of slavery in Southern society in this novel. When Jim tells Huck he plans to earn enough money or find a way to steal his children away from their owner, Huck pities the slaveholder saying, “Here was this [slave] which I had as good as helped to run away, … saying he would steal his children- children that belonged to a man I didn’t even know; a man that hadn’t even done me no harm.” Huck is not a bad person; he is simply blinded by his time. Twain is pointing out the social irony of a man having to steal his children because a white man owned them.

Huck and Jim form a friendship that transcends the boundaries of race and the morals of the society they live in. The strongest example from the text that shows how well their relationship has developed is when Jim is caught due to the duke and the king selling him out. After pondering many ideas and reflecting on his past actions, Huck eventually decides to save Jim and that “[He’ll] go to hell” (195). Even after living his life in a racially ignorant society, Huck still realizes that it’s better for him to save his friend than to give up and let Jim become enslaved again. Along the lines of morals, Huck also makes a good decision when the duke and the king are impersonating the Wilkes brothers.

While he chooses not to hand Jim over, his position remains unclear. His moral compass is muddled. “I was stuck…but after this always do whichever come handiest at the time”. (l60). A true turning point reveals itself through Jim’s emotional vulnerability to Huck about Jim’s devotion to his family. While still bound by white southern culture, this added dimension to Jim’s character allows Huck to see past traditional stereotypes. Huck begins to view Jim more as a person and less as a slave. Having said that, Huck never reaches the point that readers so desperately wait for. While he decides to help Jim, Huck views his decision as morally wrong. It is Twain’s way of keeping Huck from overcoming the bounds of his culture, and Huck’s incomplete moral

Hence Huck's comment “people would call me a low down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum" (Twain 131) shows that his society does not tolerate those who are against slavery. Throughout the novel, Huck is forced to deal with his conscience as to whether or not assisting Jim in his escape from slavery is the right thing to do. Despite what society thought, Huck knew that his intentions were good. Huck also knew that if going to hell meant that he had to turn is back on his true friend, he would just have to go to hell. After Huck disregards the teachings of society and chooses his friend Jim over heaven, he creates his own sense of right and wrong. Huck combining, helping Jim escape slavery, with going to hell, shows readers how engrained slavery was in southern society.

Huck struggles with helping Jim because he believes that freeing Jim is morally wrong. Jim belongs to someone else and helping him is stealing property. Keeping his promise to Jim, Huck says, “People would call me a low-down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum——but… I ain’t a-going to tell” (Twain 43). Huck simply believes the teachings of the other white people around him. At this point, Huck has no concept of Jim being the same as him. He again shows his disregard for Jim as a

He seeks to evaluate his own perspective, society’s perspective, and attempts to find out through religious means although he doesn’t know what to say. Huck’s own experience made him think about these options unlike other people who would just be fine with selling Jim. Huck never really had any person whom he could rely on after he fled away from his abusive father. The relationship between Huck and Jim allowed for them to know and understand each other on a deeper level. Mark Twain might have shown this on purpose as an indirect way to tell his audience that after slaves were freed, they weren’t different than white people, and had the same feelings and

Mark Twain, in his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, describes the adventure of Huck Finn as he helps an escaped slave find his freedom. Throughout the novel, Twain uses various examples of satire to criticize the racist views that were evident in white society. He condemns the common racist mindset many whites have and to make the public realize the unfairness that blacks face solely because of the color of their skin.

Throughout the story, Huck has a moral battle with himself trying to decide whether or not he should help Jim escape slavery. Huck felt bad about taking Jim away from his rightful owner and plans to give Jim back but Jim reaches Huck’s soft side. “Jim won’t ever forgit you, Huck; you’s de bes’ fren’ Jim’s ever had; en you’s de only fren’ ole Jim’s got now,” Jim says with a heart full of gratitude. (205) “I was paddling off, all in a sweat to tell on him; but when he says this, it seemed to kind of take the tuck all out of me,” Huck expressed, showing the vulnerability that I did not know Huck had. (205) I also realized the whole time, the Duke and the King were trying to send Jim back into slavery. One of the signs that seemed suspicious to me was when they asked, “Was Jim a runaway nigger?” (284) The King gets the opportunity and takes it: he sells Jim for “forty dirty dollars.” I felt bad for Jim because nobody deserved to be treated like that but I am glad that he is eventually freed with the help of Huck and

Huck is about to write a letter to Miss Watson saying that Jim is captured and she can come pick him up but instead Huck says, “All right, then, I’ll go to hell”—and [I] tore [my note to Miss Watson] up”(214). At this point Huck still thinks that helping Jim is wrong according to society’s rules, but he does not care. He says that he would rather go to ‘hell’ than see his friend go back into slavery. This is very powerful because it shows that Huck thinks the society he lives in is worse than hell because of the way blacks are treated. Furthermore Huck goes out of his way to help free Jim from his captors. Huck tells Tom, “There’s one more thing - a thing that nobody don’t know but me. And that is, there’s a nigger that I’m a-trying to steal out of slavery, and his name is Jim - old Miss Watson’s Jim”(225). Huck risks his life and reputation to save Jim, which is something that Huck would not even think of doing in the beginning of the novel but now Huck’s morals about slavery and black people have changed and he sees Jim as his