Twain Use Hypocrisy To Support Huck's Rejection Of Civilization

Throughout the novel, Twain shows his contempt for corrupt human nature. Although these instances are often satirized and exaggerated, the message is still the same. For instance, when the King and the Duke first start to lie about being the dead Peter Wilks’ brothers to obtain his money, Huck says, “It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race,” (191). In this instance Twain is utilizing Huck to show his aversion to the way people lie and cheat, and how a couple of people can make a bad name for all of us. Another example is when Jim sells the King and Duke out to the townspeople and they are carried on a pole, tarred and feathered. Although Huck, has tried to escape the King and Dukes several occasions and has witnessed the cruelties put on others and lies they tell, he does not think that they deserve similar treatment. In fact, he says, “Human beings can be awful cruel to one another,” (269). Through Huck, Twain is voicing his opposition to how people treat one another, whether they deserve it or not. Thus Twain is using his novel to voice his enmity for the cruelty in human nature.

The particular motifs he uses are the abilities to be unashamed and courageous. The concept of being unabashed shows in the quote, “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble to a [African-American]; but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterward, neither” (Twain 86). Huck’s realization that he is not sorry for apologizing to someone who society perceives as beneath him, becomes a major breakthrough in the story. A second quote that further portrays the motif of being unapologetic also helps support the theme that society’s views must be conquered: “All right, then, I’ll go to hell”-- and tore it up. It was awful thoughts, and awful words, but they was said. And I let them stay said; and never thought no more about reforming. I shoved the whole thing out of my head; and said I would take up wickedness again, which was in my line, being brung up to it, and the other warn't.” (Twain 214). To provide context, Huck had written a letter to send to Miss Watson telling her that he had Jim. After having a moment to comprehend his actions, he reflects on the memories and moments he shared with Jim. Tearing up the letter and acknowledging that he would remain loyal to Jim, even though there is an immense pressure for him to abide by a “civilized” form of rules, displays his strength. Twain writes a final quote, symbolizing his courage, on the same page: “And for a starter, I

A major theme of the novel is the hypocrisy and double standards that are evident in the society surrounding Huck. This trait is found especially within Christian and religious types in the novel. Twain shows almost every good Christian in the novel as having a generous and kind side, which completely contradicts much of their actions. Twain believes that this hypocrisy is the underlining element that makes religion skeptical. As it is seen in the book, almost every good Christian contradicts himself or herself in some way. Perhaps Huck's first example of this was when the Widow Douglas did not allow him to smoke, as it was a mean practice. However, “she took snuff too; of course that was all right, because she done it herself” (Twain 2). Another example was the Grangerfords. Huck described this family as very nice and kind and even considered Buck a good friend. But once again, the hypocrisy of religious types was bound to come into play. These same people are slave owners and have a feud with a similar family, the Shepherdsons for reasons they don't remember. Perhaps the biggest example of this hypocrisy was when Huck went to church with the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons. As Huck explains, “the men took their guns along, so did Buck, and kept them between their knees.... it was pretty ornery preaching all about brotherly love” (Twain 83). It is obvious that the two families had their guns in their laps while the preacher talked about

In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck is constantly fighting the battle of civilization or freedom. Every time they land upon the shore, there is always chaos while on the river there is freedom from said disarray. Therefore, when Huck sees the shore and civilization, he sees chaos and hypocrisy, and nothing more.

Twain uses hypocrisy to support Huck’s rejection of civilization. Pap is an example of hypocrisy, he states, “Pap took it and got drunk… jailed him again for a week… When he got out of jail the new judge said he was a-going to make a man out of him. So he took him to his own house, and dressed him up clean and nice… but was a-going to turn over a new leaf and be a man nobody wouldn’t be

Once back on the river after the Shepherdson catastrophe, Huck meets two characters who make careers out of not being who they claim to be. Huck senses early on that the king and duke were just “low-down humbugs and frauds,” but he resolves not to confront them about it because they remind him of his own father. He reasons that “the best way to get along with [Pap’s] kind of people is to let them have their own way” (125, 126). Huck’s likening of the king and duke to Pap after they first meet shows that he will not be looking up to these characters; his familiarity with their type helps to clue the reader in on these rapscallions. While these men never claim to be morally upstanding, they never acknowledge their unscrupulous way of life as wrong and hurtful to others. They get by on deceiving people, which is an unacceptable way to live. Twain wants the reader to dislike these characters regardless of the entertainment they provide, and they do not end up getting away with all of their cons. Twain illustrates with the fates of the Shepherdsons, Pap, and the king and duke alike that neither those falsely claiming to be pious nor those who are unapologetically corrupt will be fulfilled in the end. Considering Huck

Pap is known by everyone as the town drunk, a deadbeat. Unlike Huck, Pap does not have any education and also does not have any decent clothes. Pap is below any other social class and it is hypocritical of him to treat anyone else as less than since he has nothing but the superiority of the color of his skin. “And to see the cool way of that nigger—why, he wouldn’t a give me the road if I hadn’t shoved him out o’ the way. I says to the people, why ain’t this nigger put up at auction and sold?—that’s what I want to know.” (Twain 35). Pap is angered by the black man who refused to step out of his way simply because Pap feels he is entitled even if he is nothing but a wastrel.

Paradise is often described as the perfect getaway into the utmost luxurious world; in fact, the bare necessity of paradise lies upon civilization. For centuries, most people have seen civilization as a necessity of life. However, in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck holds a starkly contested opinion of civilization, which is society is corrupt and to Huck, unnecessary. He believes in frequent inappropriate and barbaric actions in order to assert his own opinion regarding society and allow himself to depart from the evils of society and civilization. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Twain exhibits Huck’s characteristics of deceit, boorish behavior, and a sense of freedom to allow Huck to combat the evils of society

Society controls an individual of what they want them to think or do. Society shapes and individual of their ideas and morals leading to conflict of what one wants to do but also what society wants him to do. But when one becomes separated from society, they’re able to think for themselves more but are still conflicted by society. Eventually the individual will be able to make their own decisions without having to think about what society want them to do. This is what happens in The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, the main character Huck is conflicted in multiple situations of what he believes is right and what society believes is right. In Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck’s alienation from society illuminates Twain’s central message that being away from society can lead to an individual becoming more independent, following his own ideals and morals.

Therefore, Huck is unable to develop many of his own individual thoughts, and must instead develop those similar to the Widow’s and Miss Watson’s while he remains under their care. Twain is critical of these women in that they both superficially follow the norms of society, unquestioning and enforcing what they themselves have been taught over the years. Under the responsibility of his father, Huck thinks back to the “Widow’s, where you had to wash, and eat on a plate, and comb up, and go to bed and get up regular, and be forever bothering over a book and have old Miss Watson pecking at you all the time. [He] didn't want to go back no more... and be so cramped up and sivilized, as they called it.”

Throughout their travel, Huck gets a first hand glimpse of how unscrupulous society truly is. In fact, almost all of the people they encounter are either portrayed as foolish or malicious. Two of these characters in particular are the con men, the Duke and the Dauphin. Huck learns the con men are pretending to be the British brothers of the deceased Mr. Wilks in an attempt to steal his fortune. He observes them both as they pretend to be someone they are not while creating a series of lies that society falls for. “...and told the King all about his brother’s last moments, and the King he told it all over again on his hands to the duke … It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race.” (Page 165) Huck is disgusted with the dishonesty of the people posing to be wealthy royals, and equally disturbed with the gullibility of the people who are so quick to afford them credibility and special value. This event is the turning point at which we start to see Huck distance himself away from society. While Huck and Jim run from civilization during their journey down the Mississippi River, Huck is once again exposed to the brutal reality of the world. When Huck and Jim get separated, Huck gets caught up in the crossfire between the Shepherdsons and the Grangerford families. Huck observes the blood feud between the families and describes how he wished he never came ashore that night. “The boys jumped for the river—both of them hurt—and as they swum down the current the men run along the bank shooting at them and singing out, “Kill them, kill them!” It made me so sick I most fell out of the tree.” (Page 117) Huck is appalled by this senseless violence and thought of it makes him sick. He once again is exposed to the ugliness of society. Huck’s encounters with these various people start to change his opinion and challenge his

The conflict between society and the individual is a theme portrayed throughout Twain's Huckleberry Finn. Huck was not raised in accord with the accepted ways of civilization. Huck faces many aspects of society, which makes him choose his own individuality over civilization. He practically raises himself, relying on instinct to guide him through life. As portrayed several times in the novel, Huck chooses to follow his innate sense of right, yet he does not realize that his own instincts are more moral than those of society.

He like the majority of the Deep South’s population was forced to submit to popular religion in the form of Christianity, being racist and not being able to criticize the institution of slavery, as well as acting like a “proper” boy and being civilized with manors, rules, and restrictions. However, he is the polar opposite of the ideals expressed by his society. Huck is forced to reside with Widow Douglas, he describes the experience in the first chapter, “She took me… allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time … I wanted to smoke, and asked the widow to let me. But she wouldn't. She said… I must try to not do it any more.” (Twain, 2). In this particular environment, Huck is forcefully civilized by the Widow Douglas as well as Miss Watson. This essentially shows an indirect form of slavery in which Huck is forced to do as society and his elders dictate regardless of what he believes in which many of us are also subject to. This enslaves him and leads him to decide that he needs to relocate himself as far away from society as possible. Therefore, he forges his death and runs away meeting Jim on the way. This idea of Huck being controlled by society influences him through the novel, for instance he thinks about turning Jim in because it is wrong to steal since Jim is

Twain constantly satirizes religion and other social institutions throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He points out flaws and fallacies present in organized religion through the eyes of a young boy, Huckleberry Finn. Since Huck is an outsider and “uncivilized”, Twain can present an objective view of religion and religious practices as they are explained to Huck. This viewpoint is used to criticize the religion and religious people of the South through the use of satire and irony.

“The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of civilization” this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson represents the people in Huck’s town. Most of the citizens in the town where Huck lives support slavery and trick each other. It also represents how Huck did not get his morals from people in his life, he decided to form his own opinions on things and chose to get his morals from his experiences rather than people putting ideas in his head. In a way it is a good thing that he is choosing to form his own opinion, but his choice to reject civilization could be the wrong decision later in life. In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn really rejects civilization.