Themes Taught through Individual Characters and Society in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The book introduces Huck as the first person narrator which is important because it establishes clearly that this book is written from the point of view of a young, less than civilized character. His character emerges as a very literal and logical thinker who only believes what he can see with his own eyes. In this section Huck’s life with the Widow Douglas and her attempts to raise him as a civilized child sets up the main theme of this book which is the struggle or quest for freedom. Huck’s struggle for freedom from civilized society is paralleled by Jim’s struggle to escape from slavery. Irony as a key literary

Although The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an exciting and seemingly light-hearted story, Mark Twain wrote the book to expose the systemic flaws in antebellum American society. One of its major themes is hypocrisy. Twain used a satirical approach to uncover the racial and religious hypocrisy of the South.

Jim is a typical slave yet he represents morality in the community. Located in the south, slavery was widely accepted and a part of southern culture. When people see him, they think of a slave, not a person. While on the Mississippi, Huck begins to realize Jim is just another human being. Both Huck and Jim are running from society towards freedom. This is what the Mississippi offers them, freedom.

In Mark Twain 's satirical essay, “The Damned Human Race,” Twain critiques human beings by declaring that “The human race is a race of cowards; and I am not only marching in that procession but carrying a banner.” The motif of cowardice and the cruelty of humanity is also present in another one of Twain’s most famous works: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Throughout this novel, Twain passionately decries the immorality and corruption of society through the employment of rhetoric and themes. He utilizes irony to draw attention to the hypocrisy and self-righteousness of many Christians and the detrimental effects this hypocrisy can have on society. He implements pathos to highlight the greed and

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a book about a boy who travels down the river with a runaway slave. Twain uses these two characters to poke fun at society. They go through many trials, tribulations, and tests of their friendship and loyalty. Huck Finn, the protagonist, uses his instinct to get himself and his slave friend Jim through many a pickle. In the book, there are examples of civilized, primitive, and natural man.

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 also demonstrates how undesirable civilized society really is. Both Huck and Jim desire freedom, which greatly contrasts the existing civilization along the river. They both turn to nature to escape from the unprincipled ways of civilization. Huck wants to escape from both the proper, cultured behavior of Miss Watson and Widow Douglas and the tyranny of his father. Jim, on the other hand, hopes to escape from slavery and start a new life as a free man, hopefully with his own family eventually. Throughout the novel, the raft enables Huck and Jim to escape from the barbarism of their society to a place of serenity and peace, which is always on their raft, away from any other people. Through the duration of the story, Huck learns and does many things that would be contrary to the beliefs of society such as helping Jim

As human beings, we all have the right to be our own independent individuals; we are all entitled to our own beliefs and rights under the constitution and declaration of independence. Throughout all the writings studied by different authors, they all reflect the spirit of individualism in the wake of cultural and political change. Depicted in Mark Twain's satiric novel,The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn (1885), the 14 year old advocate huck exposes the hypocrisy of white society's morals during his childhood in the Antebellum South widow douglas his care taker attempts to civilize him by trying to save his soul, because she believes that she has to help him live a better mannered life like herself but, he will not conform to society he rather be himself. The author's purpose for authoring his writing is to inform individuals about racism also to show individuals that it is wrong and how people use religion as an excuse to justify it. Illustrated in Walt whitman's poem ¨Song Of Myself¨ from book Leaves of Grass the poet explains that every individual has a purpose and a journey they must follow and find, also that every individual is made up of the same things so there should be no reason for anyone to feel belittled.the author's main purpose for writing this was to get individuals to enjoy life and not fear death. James McPherson published a nonfiction novel called What We Fought For to help Americans understand why Union soldiers fought against the

Freedom plays a significant role in the story because Huck is trying to free himself from Widow Douglas and his father and Jim is escaping from slavery. When Miss Watson and Widow Douglas took Huck in, they were determined to make him more civilized. They don’t allow him to smoke and they’re constantly reminding him to stop scrunching up

He tells Huck of his plans to be a free man and make his way to the Cairo, Illinois – a free state. Initially Huck is opposed to the Jim’s quest for freedom. Their meetings together, however, radically changed not only Huck’s perception about slavery, life and people as a whole. Jim and Huck reside on Jackson Island for a time as they wait out bad weather. One night they come upon not just a raft but an entire house floating down river which eventually becomes their mode of transportation. While inspecting the house, Jim discovers Pap’s dead body in one of the rooms. He hides Pap’s face from Huck and does not reveal his true identity. Huck decides he wants to find out the latest happenings in the local area so he disguises himself as a girl and travel into town. He learns from a woman that Jim has been accused of killing Pap and that there is a $ 300.00 award for his capture. The woman is suspect of Huck’s identity and forces Huck to reveal himself when he has trouble threading a need. Fleeing before she can take further action, Huck returns to Jackson Island. He and Jim hurriedly load up and set adrift down the Mississippi for Cairo.

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.

In Mark Twain’s classic novel, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, freedom is the prominent theme. Written over a ten year period, and completed in 1884 during post-civil war re-construction, the novel focuses on American society in the pre-civil war period (c. 1840), and in particular the issues of race and slavery. The novel’s two central characters, Jim a runaway slave and Huck a runaway boy are both seeking freedom. “ It is, as Marx so capably argued, what the book is about, but his own judgment that freedom in Huckleberry Finn "specifically means freedom from society and its imperatives," (Schmitz). For the two, freedom from “society’s imperatives” has very different meanings. Huck seeks freedom from civilization and the rigors of life with the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson as they try to make him into a young gentleman. Jim seeks freedom from slavery and the opportunity to reunite with his wife and children. Although neither attains the freedom they were seeking, the journey down the river allows Huck to develop as a human being and attain an “inner freedom” from the pro-slavery attitudes and prejudices in which he was raised.

The following paper will briefly show arguments, and conclusions within the writings of Mark Twain’s story Huckleberry Finn. I will discuss the various themes that Mark Twain is bringing to light within his story. This paper will show how Mark Twain uses those themes within the story, and how they are specifically used. I will also briefly discuss the life of Samuel Clemons, the author known as Mark Twain, and give the reasoning behind choosing the name of Mark Twain when writing his novels. Themes of escapism will be discussed.

The early theme introduced in the novel Huckleberry Finn, stand the conflict between civilization and natural life. Huck performs as natural life through his freedom of spirit, uncivilized ways and his desire to escape from civilization. Besides, he was raised without any rules or discipline and had a strong protection to anything that might have humanized him. Also, this conflict was presented in the first chapter over the effort of the Widow Douglas by trying to force huck to wear new clothes, give up smoking and learning the bible. The second theme was hypocrisy and society. Huck lived in a society based on decrees and traditions, many of which are both ridiculous and inhuman. His keepers which were the Widow and his sister, Miss Watson, again tried to civilize huck by teaching him manners and Christian values; but huck noticed that these lessons take more formal in the dead than in living people. Also, that they make him uncomfortable, bored lonely etc.

The novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain follows the adventure down the Mississippi river, and through life, of the protagonist Huckleberry Finn, or “Huck”. The narrative is written from the perspective of Huckleberry as he details the events which happened to him throughout this journey. The novel first starts off in St. Petersburg, Missouri during roughly the 1830s/40s. Slavery ,at the time, was legal, and was common practice in most parts of the United States, especially in rural areas due to the attraction of a cheap labor force. This period of time specifically generates a large amount Internal conflict with the protagonist as the events in the novel unfold because of the moral dilemmas Huck finds himself in. As the story progresses, due to an abusive, drunken father, Huck runs away, traveling south of the river. Along the way, he meets an escaped slave by the name of Jim. They find out that they are in similar circumstances, and agree to work together.