Transcendentalism In The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn Analysis

In the novel of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the author Mark Twain portrays Huck Finn as the main character. The setting of this novel took place shortly before the Civil War. The conflict in the novel was that Huck is trying to be civilized by society throughout the entire novel. Later in the novel though, Huck struggles with making a decision to turn in Jim, and stand up for what he believes in and fight against society, rather than conform to society. Huck acts this way to society because he is an extremely independent individual, he is very accepting of all, and he is really mature for his age.

People often hesitate to accept what they do not understand. In the absence of love and compassion, it is no question that fear, ignorance, and hatred, all contribute to a melting pot of negativity in the world. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, is about the love and friendship cultivated by a young boy and a black slave on the Mississippi River. Despite the pair’s differences, they are able to endure the struggles and difficulties that the toilsome journey brings. Mark Twain, in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, emphasizes the shift in Huck’s view towards slavery by contrasting Huck’s initial tone of reflectiveness to his assertive tone, both collectively addressing the issue of racism in society.

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain provided social commentary on southern society and beliefs. Twain addressed a number of significant issues throughout the novel, including religion and slavery. There are a number of instances where Huck, the 14 year-old protagonist, pushes back against the idea of organized religion. Similarly, Huck encounters a personal and moral dilemma when it comes to the practice of slavery. This idea of rebellion against society is a major concept explored in the book. Small instances of Huck’s rebellion culminate with him eventually freeing a runaway slave. The main examples include Huck’s refusal to learn the Bible, Huck’s decision against not to turn Jim in, and Tom and Huck’s choice to set Jim free at the end of the story. Huck’s refusal to conform to and demonstrate the social norms of the South illustrate the theme of rebellion against society.

Many times an authors purpose of writing a fictitious story is to not only create a story for the reader to enjoy, but to allow the reader to get something out of the story that they may not have thought about on their own. Often times the inside meaning in a story may involve something about society that the author either likes or dislikes and wants you to think about the problem yourself. In the story, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” the author, Mark Twain does an excellent job in creating an enjoyable story as well as propose a problem in society. Twain believed that society was corrupt and cruel so he created a fictional story to portray the issue. In order to do this twain created a character and put him in a corrupt society where he went on numerous adventures and throughout the story questioned the ways of society and became transcendental to their ideas.

In the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the main character, Huck, struggles to develop his own set of beliefs and values despite the very powerful social structure of his environment. The people he encounters and the situations he experiences while traveling down the Mississippi River help him become an independent thinker in the very conformist society of 19th century Missouri.

“The evil that is in the world almost always comes of ignorance….” Albert Camus, a French author and philosopher once made that observation about society. In his mind, a lack of understanding of the issues led to problems for everyone. Mark Twain, an American novelist, saw problems in society and went about to expose the ignorance behind them and encourage change. That is what he was doing in one of his most well known novels, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, three issues, identified by Twain, are explored in education, religion, and conformity that are still relevant today.

Huckleberry Finn is a rebellious boy who defies rules whenever he deems it fit. In the satirical novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, a runaway boy befriends an escaped slave in the deep south. The majority of society frowns upon Huck and his choices and he struggles with his decisions the whole novel to reveal thematic subjects such as friendship, love, and betrayal. Throughout the story Huck can’t decide whether to do the right thing or not, but ultimately his heart wins over the views forced upon him by society.

Mark Twain once described his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as “a struggle between a sound mind and a deformed conscience”. Throughout the novel, Huck wrestles with the disparity between his own developing morality and the twisted conscience of his society. In doing so, he becomes further distanced from society, both physically and mentally, eventually abandoning it in order to journey to the western frontier. By presenting the disgust of Huck, an outsider, at the state of society, Mark Twain is effectively able to critique the intolerance and hypocrisy of the Southern South. In doing so, Twain asserts that in order to exist as a truly moral being, one must escape from the chains of a diseased society.

In the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain juxtaposes two environments that tackle many different aspects of life. From Christian reforms, domestic abuse, and slavery to reflective solitude and liberation, Twain brings together a plethora of obstacles for the main character Huckleberry Finn and his companion Jim to encounter and assimilate. The two contrasting settings depict intermingling themes of the repressive civilization on land, the unrestricted freedom on the raft, and the transcendentalism that Huck and Jim experience during their escape from captivity towards liberation.

In Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the young protagonist Huckleberry Finn runs away from his abusive father with Jim, a black slave. Throughout the novel, Huck encounters people that fail to understand the injustice of slavery and violence, despite their education. Although Huck lacks any substantial education, his moral values and judgment are highly developed. In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses uneducated, colloquial diction and deliberate syntax to provide ironic contrast between Huck’s rudimentary level of education and profound use of moral judgment.

Mark Twain, author of Huckleberry Finn, lived in the nineteenth century, an era ripe with slavery, tentative technological advancements and hypocrisy ingrained in religion. His attitude toward various moral dilemmas is manifested in the character Huck, who experiences a life-changing journey that seeks to segregate Huck's moral and religious thoughts. Twain's message in this novel is that morality does not originate from religion, and he uses various examples to illustrate his statement by contrasting the two with various symbols. Mainly, the author indicates the hypocrisy of certain characters, expresses symbolism through natural phenomena and brings his lesson to light via interactions between Jim and Huck.

Twain uses Huck’s former beliefs in comparison with his contemporary assumptions while under the influence of a corrupt society, instilling again how racism is immoral. The role of the main character in identifying the illness of racism to readers is brought to light; Nyirubugara states “Huck Finn had a large part in pointing out the ugliness, falseness, dishonesty and hypocrisy of society. Mark Twain then used the image of the shore being an awful place, and the river a safer and freer one” (Nyirubugara). The author does not use Huck as an outlet to

What does it mean to be a remarkable individual in today’s society compared to the 1800’s? Mark Twain exposes the flaws and morality of white society through fourteen year old protagonist, Huck Finn, in his satiric novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, set during the Antebellum South, Mississippi River published in 1884. The novel criticizes the racism, slavery, and the hypocrisy that existed in the white “civilized” society to provoke a social change. Walt Whitman continues the same ideology in his poem, “Song of Myself,” from the Leaves of Grass collection voices his opinion on the racial prejudice he witnessed through a philosophical point of view about the universe. As a transcendentalist, Whitman strongly advocates for the unity

.” (Twain, ix) He openly and firstly acknowledges the irregularities in this story and explains that it is not on a whim that he uses this specific type of language but with the purpose to expose the world to a new and original form of literary design. The main character in this story is Huckleberry Finn, the complete opposite of a traditional European hero; he is not the typical king or nobleman that traditional stories tell of. He is an everyday boy uneducated and seemingly unworthy, Huckleberry Finn is the epitome of a real American every day hero. Mr. Twain writes this book as a way to show that just by simply maturing and growing up so that Huckleberry Finn can make the right decisions in all aspects of his life; it makes him a noble character. “We are asked to trust this not as a sport, but rather as a well-considered and well-honed document. . . We are invited to experience and to appreciate this narrative in terms of its thought, its thoughtfulness, and its craft.” (Fertel, 159 –Free and Easy”)

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (published in 1885), considered a classic of American-literature, and to some the zenith of American realism in literature and the apex of satirical writing in history, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has proven itself as a milestone in the history of literature and a turning point in American literature. The garnering of such acclaim, and accolades were due to The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn possibly being the most poignant and successful critique on society every put into writing. Twain does not waste any time with sophomoric cant in his meditation, but instead critiques the inherent cant present in society and the people entertaining this cant throughout that time; showing