Throughout the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn many themes are discussed. The themes as in every case mainly involve issues faced during the duration of the novel such as: racism and slavery, prejudices faced while exploring civilized society, superstition, and the importance of the Mississippi River. Mark Twain does an exceedingly excellent job combining all of these into what is highly regarded as essentially the best piece of American literature according to Ernest Hemingway it is at least: “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called ‘Huckleberry Finn.’” Very early on in the book superstition is established as one of the main themes. It is revisited several times, and is never taken lightly for the most …show more content…
From the start of the book till the end you can tell that many of the customs the people practice and preach are very backwards and hypocritical. The society is depicted as a bunch of concepts that defy logic. This flawed logic appears early in the novel, when the new judge allows Pap to receive custody of Huck not thinking about the welfare of the boy only that Pap has “rights” to his son being his biological father. At the same time Twain is bringing up the fact that this legal system puts the rights of a white man and his “property” or slave over the welfare of a black man. Twain is comparing Huck being forced to go with Pap to the fact that white slave owners forced black men and women into slave labor. Twain implies that it is impossible for a society that owns slaves to be just, no matter how “civilized” that society believes and proclaims itself to be. As the book progresses Huck encounters individuals who appears to be knid hearted on the surface, but are only later revealed to be prejudice slave owners. This shaky sense of justice that Huck repeatedly encounters lies at the heart of society’s problems: terrible acts go unpunished, yet frivolous crimes, such as drunkenly shouting insults, lead to executions. Sherburn’s speech to the mob that has come to lynch him accurately summarizes the view of society Twain gives in Huckleberry Finn: rather than maintain collective welfare, society
Huck Finn does not fully understand religion. The widow tells him he can ask God for whatever he wants so he thinks of religion as asking God for specific items. Religion is actually a more spiritual concept, and Huck is not mature enough to realize this. This is apparent when he mentions “Miss Watson she took me in the closet and prayed, but nothing come of it. She told me to pray every day, and whatever I asked for I would get it. But it warn't so. I tried it. Once I got a fish-line, but no hooks. It warn't any good to me without hooks. I tried for the hooks three or four times, but somehow I couldn't make it work. By and by, one day, I asked Miss Watson to try for me, but she said I was a fool. She never told me why, and I
Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is said to be one of the greatest American novels to ever be written and is what all other pieces of American literature are based off of. The novel has been debated for over an entire century and will continue to be debated for much longer. Never the less, Huckleberry Finn teaches young students and adults the important life lessons. ”The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain should remain required reading in American Literature classes because it enlightens students about the horrors of racism and slavery, familiarizes students with the South during time period, and properly portrays the powers of conformity.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Huck Finn) by Mark Twain is a renown piece of literature both for its usage of language and the historical aspects that are heavily embedded in the storyline. Historically, society has looked at itself, each other, and events differently throughout the years. The slavery in the United States that is so heavily involved in Huck Finn was socially acceptable during the period of the book is no longer socially acceptable; both when Twain is writing Huck Finn and in the present time. What society finds acceptable can set the precedent of what is morally acceptable and this affects how Huckleberry Finn views some of the decisions he makes throughout the book. Huck struggles to understand the world he has grown up in and its moral ideas of how people should be treated. Society of the 1830s was a judgemental one due to the different social statuses and judgments people received from society. Huck Finn is a young boy who
There are many important and historical themes in Mark Twains “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” The one that I found to be the most interesting and the most historically accurate was the controversial racism that is presented all throughout the book. A lot of this time period was predicated on racism, and this book shows it by giving us eye opening examples from beginning to end.
The Pre-Civil War novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, is about a young boy named Huck. His mother is dead and his father is an alcoholic. Huck is now being raised by the Widow Douglass, a woman who is attempting to raise Huck to be a successful, educated member of society, despite his many protests. Because of the violence and forced conformity, Huck runs away and unites with a runaway slave named Jim. Instead of turning Jim in, Huck decides to help him break free from slavery. By doing this, he is going against the societal norm and refusing to follow certain rules just because that’s what everyone else is doing. As they run away together, Huck begins to notice and understand the common stereotypes within society. He
The character development of Huckleberry Finn from Mark Twain’s piece, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” reflects the transition from boyhood to manhood of the main protagonist who is challenged by society to either maintain his own unique perspective and attitude or assimilate into a civilized community that upholds traditional White-American beliefs. Similarly, Kate Chopin in her novel “The Awakening,” utilizes fictional storytelling to articulate the internal struggle of Edna Pontellier on her quest to part from her conventional role as a woman and for the first time since youth, pursue her self interests. Chopin’s work targets current social understanding of morality and ethics, removing the notion that you have to abide by what society demands from you based on predetermined unjustified reason. The development of the characters’ identity in these texts reciprocate the complex nature of living life with society pushing down on you with standards and expectations, challenging your own thoughts and visions. This a persistent topic that Chopin and Twain, both engage in explaining through storytelling to highlight current social issues, where they indirectly reference the American Civil War and Women’s Rights Movement during the mid to late eighteen hundreds. The social conflict in Huckleberry Finn examines the nature of an individual’s process to gain consciousness about their role in life, which enables them to do what they consider morally just. This thinking is also
Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain's classic novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, tells the story of a teenaged misfit who finds himself floating on a raft down the Mississippi River with an escaping slave, Jim. In the course of their perilous journey, Huck and Jim meet adventure, danger, and a cast of characters who are sometimes menacing and often hilarious.
It is a timeless classic that was written over a century ago but its values and life lessons hold as much relevance today as it did when it was written. All throughout our country’s history parents have encouraged their children to focus on their education in order to ensure a bright future for themselves and their families. Like education, morality has also been a focal point of societies all around the world for centuries. Huck learned the challenges of deciphering what the concept of morality was at a young age verses what he perceived them to be later on. On his journey, Huck was forced to confront his preconceived ideas of slavery and how damaging and disturbing the reality of it really is on peoples’ lives. This novel will continue to be studied and read by millions due to the impact the themes have on our thoughts and emotions in relation to our culture
The story is deceptively coy. It depicts a time and characters in an age far removed from our own, and Twain presents his narrative in terms of a young boy who proceeds on a great adventure. That much certainly is true. But what young Huck experiences along the way to adventure is how he learns to deal with his world and its ways as his shucks off his youthful innocence for a too-early adulthood filled with adult dealings. Huck’s relationship with Jim gives Huck ample reason to question his upbringing about “niggers.” He’s exposed to the hypocrisy of slave owners, witnessed crimes unpunished, cruelty, malicious lies and the duplicity of white people.
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
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain has been said as the “pivot of American literature” and has won numerous accolades for its story. One central part of any story is its themes and what it hopes that you get from it. This book was no different. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn developed many important themes throughout the book, including race, morality, and deceit. Race was one topic developed throughout the novel.
To many readers, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is known as the “Great American Novel”. It tells a story about a young boy and an escaped slave who develop an unlikely friendship while traveling down the Mississippi River. Twain explores many American literature themes in his writing. Three themes that appear frequently throughout the novel are freedom, nature, and individual conscience.
Throughout the evolution of the world’s societies, the roles of women seem to act as a reflection of the time period since they set the tones for the next generation. Regardless of their own actions, women generally appear to take on a lower social standing and receive an altered treatment by men. In Mark Twain’s pre-civil war novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, lies a display of how society treats and views women, as well as how they function in their roles, specifically in regards to religion and molding the minds and futures of children. The novel’s showcase of women affords them a platform and opportunity to better see their own situation and break away with a new voice.
History has proven itself again and again with the simple fact that social classes dictate how human lives are treated. The major aspects in life are directly impacted by what social class someone is in. This dictates many things including who this person affiliates himself with and what kind of quality life that person will live. This is very evident in antebellum south. Slavery is at its peak in this time, and half the population are slaves. In the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck and Jim travel down the Mississippi river, and encounter a lot of the aspects of the antebellum south. Because of the society Huck has grown up in, he often overlooks his traveling companion, Jim. Throughout the story, Twain creates a division, that widens as the story evolves, between how Huck views Jim and how the reader views Jim as a person. This theme happens in almost every part of the book and it is very clear that Huck underestimates Jim.
it got tiresome and lonesome. . . . I felt so lonesome I most wished I