Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known for his pen name Mark Twain once said, “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” In this case, clothes symbolize independent thoughts or actions, which in turn influence and advance society. Twain wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a very controversial novel that centers around its titular character and his journey with a runaway slave named Jim. Throughout the novel, Huck finds himself maturing with his own thoughts instead of being tied down by society’s. Using the characters’ voices, Twain incorporates his ideas that morality and society are assimilative, hypocritical, and cowardly. Even though the novel took place a long time ago, people still assimilate to what society deems as “right” and base their choices off of that. In The Adventures of Huckleberry …show more content…
One example is when Colonel Sherburn is threatened and gives a speech of cowardice of the crowd saying, “The idea of you lynching anybody! It’s amusing. The idea of you thinking you had pluck enough to lynch a man! … did that make you think you had grit enough to lay your hands on a man? Why, a man’s safe in the hands grit of ten thousand of your kind- as long as it’s day-time and you’re not behind him” (110). Twain is showing that society will play dirty in order to get what it wants, in this case it would be ambushing a target at night instead facing him head on. Sherburn also states the cowardice in the fact that they got an entire crowd to lynch him, saying, “You don’t like trouble and danger. But if only half a man – like Buck Harkness, there – shouts ‘Lynch him, lynch him!’ you’re afraid to back down – afraid you’ll be found out to be what you are – cowards” (111). This expresses how people like Buck Harkness uses mob mentality into doing what they cannot do alone. Sherburn’s speech to the crowd is used by Twain to suggest that morality and society are
The vast majority of people try to fit into their surroundings; conformity is a huge part of society and, in a way, it is the basis of society. To conform is to adhere to widely held ideas in order to fit in, and everyone does it their own way. Novels, both old and new, often focus on characters who are outside of social norms and show how they interact with society in their own way. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, who was born in 1835 and died in 1910 as one of the most famous American authors. The novel is about a young boy by the name of Huckleberry Finn, also known as Huck, who helps a slave, Jim, escape to freedom along the Mississippi River during the 1830s-1840s. Throughout his book, Huckleberry Finn faces many challenges
Aside from the scientific aspect of social influences, we can observe this habit in fiction as well, like Huckleberry Finn. In the novel, the whole society follows a collective reasoning and collective values, specifically around slavery. Blind conformity was not a rare2 theme in this novel, as well as going off of what was learned and taught. This is represented through Huck when he chooses to listen to others on slavery until he has a personal experience with Jim, a slave, and begins to change his mind. The transition between blind conformity and independent thinking shows that Huck begins to think for himself and follow his conscience instead of following what he was told instead.
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.
Because of being portrayed during the 1830's and 1840's, racial prejudice was unrestrained. The reason why racism was such a prevalent part of society was due to slavery. Under this oppressive system, whites were deemed to be masters over blacks, and African-Americans were portrayed to be inferior to whites. In fact, whites perceived blacks to be tools to use at their leisure. Consequently, these thoughts of superiority were the fuel needed to light the fire of racism prejudice towards of African-Americans. In fact, various forms of dialogue emanate how whites this oppressive ideology. For example, Huck's father demonstrated these ideals, when he stated, "here was a free nigger there from Ohio—a mulatter, most as white as a white man. He had the whitest shirt on you ever see, too, and the shiniest hat; and there ain't a man in that town that's got as fine clothes as what he had, and he had a gold watch and chain, and a silver-headed cane—the awfulest old gray-headed nabob in the State. And what do you think? They said he was a professor in a college and could talk all kinds of languages, and known everything. And that ain't the worst. They said he could VOTE when he was at home. Well, that let me out. Thinks I, what is the country a-coming to?”(Twain 27) Because of Huckleberry’s father overall mood towards African-Americans, readers can
In the appropriately titled novel, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", by author, Mark Twain, a young boy, named, Huckleberry Finn's life is completely changed. The story is basically that, Huck is sent to live with his strict relatives that try to conform him into someone he isn't, but, sequentially ends up traveling down the Mississippi River, with an escaped slave, Jim. As the novel progresses, Jim and Huck develop an extremely close friendship, which makes him change his views on slavery. Despite numerous chances, Huck never turns Jim in, because of his new outlook on slavery. Although slavery is a main theme in the book, it is not the only one. Because, author, Mark Twain creates a social critique by juxtaposing the
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.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is considered one of the most influential works in American literature. During the novel, two characters, Huckleberry Finn and Jim, run away from civilization to pursue adventure. Both characters come from humble roots; Huck Finn is a juvenile delinquent, and Jim, a runaway slave. Throughout their journey, Jim serves as a mentor and a friend to Huck. Together, the two brave the lawless environment of the early 19th-century South. As the story progresses, Huck matures from a delinquent child into a young man with a set of morals. In the essay “The Role of Jim in Huckleberry Finn,” Frances Brownell asserts that Jim is the key to Huck’s character development and moral growth. Brownell’s argument
American author Mark Twain was one of the most influential people of his time. Twain is perhaps best known for his traditional classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a novel about an adventurous boy named Huck Finn as he traverses about on the Mississippi. Under first impressions, Huckleberry Finn would be considered nothing but a children’s tale at heart written by the highly creative Mark Twain. However one interprets it, one can undoubtedly presume that Twain included personal accounts within its pages, humorous and solemn opinions on the aspects of the diverse societies around him during his life. Throughout the entire story, Huck Finn would often come into conflict between choosing what was consciously right and what was morally
Twain uses satire through Sherburn's speech to criticize human nature and the society as a whole. Sherburn describes the mobs and the town people as cowards since they wouldn't be able to lynch him and go against him if they were not in a group. Through this satire from Sherburn's speech, the readers can understand Twain's view on human nature. Twain pokes fun of the fact that in society, people often times follow with whatever the crowd believes in rather than what an individual believes
Mohandas Gandhi once said, “Morality is rooted in the purity of our hearts.” However, it may not hold true in Twain’s novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In the novel, the protagonist Huck Finn’s morality and perception of others is shaped by the society he lives in, demonstrating that an individual’s morality or the epistemological sense of right and wrong can be largely influenced by society and the living environment. Yet despite strong traditions of the 19th century south, Huck is able to live away from the “civilized” world, leaving behind his hometown and travelling down the Mississippi river with Jim, a runaway slave. Huck’s unusual experiences with Jim contrast with his predetermined notions of race and power in the midst of the Jim Crow Era, thrusting Huck into a great crisis of morality dictated by his consciousness instead of his intellect. Through Huck’s journey in the search of morality, Twain conveys the theme that that morality is dictated by society, despite the goodness of an individual’s consciousness, it is difficult for and individual to intellectually challenge societal paradigms.
Set in the Antebellum South, Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn documents a landscape that differs greatly from the poised and picturesque scene associated with the contemporary South. Today’s South is synonymous with with ice cold pitchers of tea, ceaseless etiquette exuded on wraparound porches, and seemingly romantic drawls. However, the South that Huck resides in, tells a different story. Specifically, his South is a place where suitable behavior is associated with the acceptance of slavery, and racist slurs pepper every sentence. As a result, any deviation from these behaviors leaves an individual ironically branded with a connotation of being uncivilized. Due to this distorted view of ethics, any character with even a shred
In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain presents the problem of slavery in America in the 19th Century. Twain poses this problem in the form of a character named Huckleberry Finn, a white boy raised in the antebellum South. Huck starts to question his view regarding slavery when he acquaints himself more intimately with a runaway slave while he himself tries to run away. Huck’s development as a character is affected by society’s influence on his experiences while growing up in the South, running away with Jim, and trying to save Jim. Although Huck decides to free Jim, Huck’s deformed conscience convinces him that he is doing the wrong thing.
Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain over seven years, is considered one of the best American masterpieces ever published, and a very socially active novel. Through the plot and development of the main characters, Twain discussed the paradox of slavery in a free country, as well as his abolitionist beliefs on slavery. Throughout his life, he witnessed slavery in the United States as a whole and its impact on his life, which was transferred to include slavery in this novel. Throughout the novel Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain discusses the paradox of slavery in a free country and expresses a clear social statement about the immorality of slavery.
Of the many themes to be found in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn one of the most prominent, and probably most important, is that of freedom. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written by Samuel Clemens under the pen name of Mark Twain. Twain uses satire to point out the flaws of American society to help the readers see the great need for change. The novel is set right before the Civil War and illustrates the issues of slavery through the story of young Huckleberry Finn and his friend Jim, who is an escaping slave. They have to decide what is right and what they are willing to do to be free. The theme of freedom is shown throughout the novel using the symbol of the Mississippi river, Jim’s attempt to escape the bonds of slavery, and Huck’s desire to have the privilege of doing as he pleases.