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Why Is Huckleberry Finn Wrong

Decent Essays

The idea of right and wrong changes constantly in the minds of certain people or societies. Many, if not all, books and stories present a moral for the readers which could be innocent and influential such as a Dr. Seuss story, or the moral could be controversial such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Mark Twain published the story in 1885 twenty years after the civil war when racism and slavery was unconstitutional. He then writes of a young man, named Huckleberry Finn who helps an enslaved friend of his escape slavery before the civil war came about. Mark Twain has his protagonist, Huckleberry Finn, experience many man versus self conflicts where he struggles to resist his upbringing ideas and continue to help Jim, the runaway …show more content…

There are many other clear examples that Mark Twain identifies such as racism and education which have benefited society as a whole.
Racism has always been a curious subject which is today seen as wrong, but Mark Twain decides to speak openly and freely about the matter. In the early stages of the book, Huckleberry Finn finds himself forced to be isolated with his father in a cabin that supposedly nobody knows where to find. Pap decided to isolate his son because of his continued schooling because he believes that his son should not be better than he is. Huckleberry Finn’s father says, “Well I’ll learn her… you drop that school you hear? I’ll learn people to bring up a boy to put on airs over his own father...” Pap seems to be wildly against the idea that his son get an education and become better educated than he is which identifies a grand difference with modern society. In the twenty-first century, the general consensus of many americans would be that the next generation should be educated in order to succeed. Today’s society …show more content…

In the book, after Huckleberry meets Tom on the road to town, he gives Tom and overview of his situation to fill him in and find some help. When Huckleberry Finn tells Tom about his helping Jim get to freedom, at first tom says, “What! Why JIm is --”, then later on says, with his eyes lighting up, “I’ll help you steal him!” Throughout the book Huckleberry hides Jim from multiple people and uses many clever ideas to keep others from finding out. Huckleberry FInn and Tom Sawyer being the next generation get excitement and joy from trying to get Jim to the north. The fact that Huckleberry Finn needs to hide Jim from others and can tell Tom Sawyer as soon as they meet, and have Tom on board immediately, gives proof that the ideas of right and wrong are changing. The younger generation in this case are trying to help out their friend Jim so that he could have a better

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