The Moral Maturation of Huckelberry Finn
A novel structured on the theme of morality, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain focuses on Huck Finn’s multifaceted growing up process. Huck, through his escapades and misfortunes is obliged to endure the agonizing process from childhood to adulthood where he attains self-knowledge and discovers his own identity. Throughout the journey down the Mississippi River, Jim, Ms. Watson’s runaway slave, accompanies Huck, and is later joined by two con men. It is during this journey that a great moral crisis in Huck’s life occurs where he must make a painful decision as to whether he is going to give Jim up to the slave hunters or notify Ms. Watson about Jim’s whereabouts and assist him to
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But that was enough. It made me feel so mean I could almost kissed HIS foot to get him to take it back.
It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warn't ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didn't do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn't done that one if I'd a knowed it would make him feel that way.”
As a reader, you can noticeably see the number of lies Huck tells, even conning a few people. However, you can understand the importance of his white lies that led to the protection of Jim against slave-hunters by telling them his “father was ill with the smallpox.” Huck is also burdened with the fact that Jim considers him his best and only friend in the whole wide world, making him consciensously aware that he must now keep Jim protected under whatever circumstance. Pages 87-88 quotes Huck’s attempt at keeping the slave-hunters away from the raft.
“…"Only one, sir."
"Well, there's five niggers run off to-night up , above the head of the bend. Is your man white or black?" …
"He's white."
"I reckon we'll go and see for ourselves."
"I wish you would," says I, "because it's pap that's there, and maybe you'd help me tow the raft ashore where the light is. He's sick—and so is mam and Mary Ann." …
"Set her back, John, set her back!" says one. They
says, “My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an that nigger oughta hang from the water-tank!”
Along the path of self-discovery, challenges constantly present themselves as opportunities to grow intellectually and as a chance to succeed. Often times, the use of personal judgment and self-understanding is necessary in order to overcome these challenges. In Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck experiences difficulties which compel him to use his moral judgment. Huck, a young boy in search of freedom, is accompanied by a runaway slave named Jim as he embarks on a treacherous journey down the Mississippi River. During his adventure, Huck must determine the fate of the runaway slave. However, as his relationship with the slave deepens, he comes to realize this task is far from simple. Huck faces this life-defining yet
Living in the 1800's wasn't an easy task. There were many hardships that a person had to endure. In the novel, The Adventures of Huck Finn, the author Mark Twain portrays the adventure of a young boy. Huck, the young boy, goes on a journey with various dilemmas. The novel starts off in Missouri on the Mississippi River. Huck is taken from his guardians by his father and then decides to runaway from him. On his journey, he meets up with his former slave, Jim. While Huck and Jim are traveling down the Mississippi River, they meet a variety of people. Throughout the novel he takes on many different tasks which help shape his moral conscience. Taking on a new friend which society
A big man took me by the arm and pulled me to the door. “We don’t serve niggers.” He said.” They were all stripped of their dignity, hope and faith.
“ Then this colored champion lets those same white boys call him Shine — or Sambo at the Officers Club. They laugh at his blues songs, and he just smiles— can’t talk, barely read or write his own name — and don’t care! He’ll tell you they like him — or that colored folks ain’t supposed to have but so much sense, (intense) Do you know the damage
In this short story, it is clarified that Richard Wright's editorial on racial connections amongst white and dark individuals amid the day and age this story was composed was not one of uniformity. This is clarified in David's way to deal with a white possessed shop. Richard Wright expressed, "He felt extremely sure until he saw fat Joe stroll in through the back entryway, then his bravery started to overflow"
Following Huck’s escape from his father’s cabin, Huck escapes with Jim, rafting the Mississippi while he becomes his older self who helps others, a sharp contrast to the kidnapped Huck who only aided himself. When Huck encounters Judith Loftus, he lies, telling her that he is a girl by the name of Sarah Mary Williams, and later that he is a runaway apprentice called George Peters (69). Huck continues lying for himself, reflecting the depth of Huck’s descent while with his father; however, the lie also helps Jim, so Huck displays a tiny amount of selflessness. Farther down the river, Huck lies to several men and tells them that Jim is a white man who has smallpox (101). By this point in the story, Huck begins lying to help others such as Jim, not just himself. He slowly loses the overwhelming desire to protect only himself that he developed while with his father. Huck
“But one hundred years later, the negro still is not
Morality plays an important role in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huck Finn is an uneducated, thirteen-year-old boy who does not necessarily know the difference between right and wrong, yet often makes the right choices throughout the novel. While Huck often accidentally does good, some people do not see this as an indication that he is a morally good person. Jim, on the other hand, is a slave who almost always does the right thing, but we are not inclined to see Jim as a moral model because he is a slave. Therefore, those who focus too heavily on Huck’s morality misunderstand Twain as Jim, not Huck, is the moral model of the novel.
Moral Growth in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Moral transformation takes place in individuals who challenge conventional institutions and ways of thought. Mark Twain demonstrates such a statement in his book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, in which the main character, Huck, is an embodiment of moral development. As the story progresses, Huck’s relationships and friendships significantly affect his moral identity. His established relationships throughout the story—a runaway slave Jim, the notorious troublemaker Tom Sawyer, and two other troublemakers, the Duke and the King—present readers with concrete evidence that signify his transformative personality.
"She said she never kissed a grown man before an' she might as well kiss a nigger. She says what her papa do to her don't count."
“It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warn 't ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didn 't do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn 't done that one if I 'd a knowed it would make him feel that way” (89).
“Watch yourself,” the bartender mutters at a black slave clearing a table at the local tavern. “Damn niggers can’t even walk in a straight line nowadays.” Kevin, sitting at the bar, stares down, unsure of what to think. He looks around and notices another white man at the bar, nodding in agreement.
Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is a pivotal piece to American literature that furthers realism and the exploration of the countryside. The novel follows fourteen-year-old Huck on his journey down the Mississippi River accompanied by Jim, a runaway slave. Huck and Jim’s journey down the Mississippi River allows the readers a very personal look into Huck’s life as he matures and begins to think for himself, rather than complying with what society has told him is correct; it is Huck’s journey to find his own morals and ideas through his experiences that really make this book a lasting piece of American fiction.
“Yes that I am Black Wing would you be able to tell me where I can find him?”