PlanetPapers.com RSS Feedhttps://www.planetpapers.com/ The Jouney of Huckleberry Finn In many stories, the main character undergoes certain changes through his or her experiences. These changes occur because of a major event or journey in the character’s life that causes the character to have a different perspective and think independently. Mark Twain shows this type of change in his work. The book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, shows the development of a young boy, Huck Finn, as he experiences many situations during a life-altering journey. At the beginning of the novel, non-conformity does not exist in Huck’s character. Huck Finn seems conforms to what people tell him to do. When the widow and Miss Watson try to civilize Huck and send him to school, Huck reluctantly does so, and comes to like it. A little while later in the story, Huck says “I [don’t] see how I’d ever got to like it so well at the widow’s” (24). When Tom Sawyer wants to start a gang, Huck does not understand some of Tom’s ways, but conforms anyway. Also, after Pap kidnaps Huck and takes him to a cabin in the woods, Huck comes to like it there as well, saying, “I [am] used to being where I [am], and [I like] it” (24). This shows that early in the story, Huck’s character has yet to develop into his own. Soon after, however, this transformation into a non-conforming individual begins to take place. Huck formulates a plan to escape from the rule of his father, as he decides he does not enjoy his father’s rule any longer. His plan seems intelligent, and works out perfectly. This marks the beginning of a change in character and judgment for Huck. Once Huck escapes, he finds Jim, a slave belonging to Miss Watson, hiding on an island. For a moment Huck thinks that Jim’s running away was wrong, but then begins using his own judgment and decides not to tell on Jim, saying “’I ain’t a-going to tell, and I ain’t a-going back there anyways’” (43). Huck however believes some of Jim’s superstitions, showing some naivety and inability to think freely. A major change in Huck occurs when Huck and Jim take the King and the Duke aboard. Huck then realizes, on his own that the King and the Duke are frauds, and begins 2005-01-31T21:58:28-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Jouney-of-Huckleberry-Finn-6018.aspx Why Huckleberry Finn Crossed the River Why Huckleberry Finn Crossed the River During the latter part of the 19th century, the American public was still engrossed with the seemingly innocent ideals of romantic novels. Particularly in the South, where chivalrous acts were still commonplace, children and adults alike enjoyed reading the exciting exploits of such stories as Ivanhoe by Walter Scott. Despite its popularity, romantic literature was deemed worthless by many authors like Mark Twain who decided that it was not only useless in modern society, but also harmful and dangerous. Consequently, Twain wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in a very realistic fashion with even the dialogue between characters matching the intended historical period. However, despite his realist biases, Twain allows the novel to develop romantic aspects by exposing the natural and uncivilized tendencies of the main character, Huckleberry Finn, in order to eventually show the folly in exclusively adhering to a romantic style of writing and living. Immediately introducing the reader to the most natural and unaffected persona in the entire novel, Twain establishes his intent of trying to present a reality that is predominantly realistic but unavoidably romantic. After cleverly escaping from his abusive father and the choking etiquette of the Widow Douglas, Huckleberry Finn, the young protagonist in the novel, spends the morning relaxing “in the grass and the cool shade thinking about things, and feeling rested and ruther comfortable and satisfied” with his decision to run away (36). Entirely intentional, Twain juxtaposes Huck’s dissatisfaction with society with his intrinsic connection to a cool summer morning. Huck’s romanticized return to nature is almost like a biblical migration to the Promised Land, with society representing Egypt and Jackson Island the land of milk and honey. Interestingly enough, it almost seems as though Huck, in declaring that he does not “want to be nowhere else” than the island, has reversed the detrimental aging process that threatens to “sivilize” him, erasing all the innocence and goodness that naturally comes with childhood (49,1). His vehement desire to feel “lazy and comfortable” and “very well satisfied” combined with his longing for the past and preference for the uncivilized perfectly parallels that of the Romantic Movement (36,37). Furthering his use of society as a disservice to human nature while still adhering to the realist boundaries of a young boy, Twain supplements Huck’s metaphorical rebirth with a more specific and physical manifestation of freedom. While “[l]iving in a house 2004-02-06T06:21:16-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Why-Huckleberry-Finn-Crossed-the-River-5437.aspx Huck Finn Essay Life, despite all of its intricacies, can make human beings long for the simplest things. There are pleasures in life that seem so simple yet people spend their entire lives searching for these pleasures. Perhaps the greatest pleasure of all is finding out who one really is. The discovery of where a person belongs in the world can bring great joy, but to attain that joy a journey must be completed. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a story about that journey. For Huck Finn, the journey itself is a quest for freedom and at the same time a search for identity. Huck is seeking to be free from the pious demands of society while at the same time trying to find his place in the world. Huck is attempting a search in life that every human, at one point, will attempt. These searches can only be successful if there is a journey that is successfully completed. Meaning, on that journey there must be growth on an emotional and mental level. One’s perspective of the world around him should change if the journey is rightly carried out. In order for one to complete a journey, a course must be plotted and a navigator must be existent. The navigator in Huck’s journey is, of course, the river. It is only inevitable that the river be Huck’s guiding light simply because of what the river stands for. The river is that great symbol in Huck’s world, which represents everything pure that Huck is trying to keep intact. The river represents nature; it represents, to Huck, what should be sought after. It has not been molded or conformed by the rigors and restrains of civilization. Rather, it has withstood the test of time and is the ultimate symbol of what Huck is pursuing, which would be freedom and a true identity or knowledge of who Huck is. Therefore, Huck uses the river to complete his quest because he is familiar with the river. He has lived on it all his life and when you’re lost you try to find your way by using things you’re familiar with. Things that you can put some sort of trust in. Huck trusts that the river will help him find his freedom. Why would he use it if he didn’t trust that the river would be useful? Also, it is already known that Huck is a practical boy 2002-11-05T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Huck-Finn-Essay-5114.aspx The Contrasting Personalities of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn Samuel Clemens begins his great American novel by stating “You don’t know about me, without you have read a book by the name of ‘Adventures of Tom Sawyer’, but that ain’t no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly”. Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer are two friends growing up in the Mississippi Valley around 1835 to 1845- well before the Civil War. The two friends have very different personalities, each bringing their own unique characteristics into this exciting and ironical story. Tom and Huck are both adventurous and energetic young boys but in very different ways. Huck’s idea of adventure is to escape from society, its beliefs and all of its restraining and contradicting conformities, but he does it in a way that is both level-headed and sensible. Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer are both compulsive liars. This is continuously seen throughout the book as Huck makes up all kinds of wild tales pertaining to who he is and where he has come from, when questioned by the people he meets. With Mrs. Judith Loftus (who was going to try and catch Jim for the reward money), he had dressed up as girl by the name of Sarah Mary Williams, a young lass who had walked seven miles from her town. After being caught in his lie, he covered it up with another and became George Peters, an apprentice from the country. When caught sneaking on a boat full of raftsmen, he became Alec James Hopkins, a boy from a trading scow. His lies however, did occasionally catch up with him. In one instance while staying with the Grangerford family, Huck recalls “ When I waked up in the morning, drat it all, I had forgot what my name was”, being resourceful, he bet his new roommate Buck that he couldn’t spell his name. After Buck spelled out G-o-r-g-e-J-a-c-k-s-o-n for him, Huck tells his readers “I set it down, private, because somebody might want me to spell it, next, and so I wanted to be handy with it and rattle it off like I was used to it.” Huck Finn lies for survival of himself and others. He shows he has compassion for his nigger companion several times by using his skills and deceit to keep them both safe. Tom Sawyer, on the other hand, is more likely to make up an adventure based 2002-10-12T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Contrasting-Personalities-of-Tom-Sawyer-and-Huck-Finn-5043.aspx Individual v Society Forged in the fire of revolution and defined by manifest destiny, America has always been the land of the individual. Although the American dream has not always been coherent, (married with 2.5 kids, 2 cars, a dog and a satisfying job), the spirit of innovation, individuality and progress remains unchanged. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was born in era of racial turbulence and literary genius. Mark Twain, a famous American writer-satirist wrote many books highly acclaimed throughout the world. For his masterpiece, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he was recognized by the literary establishment as one of the greatest writers America has ever produced. Mark Twain definitely has a style of his own that depicts a realism in the novel that is reminiscent with society in antebellum America. Through various literary devices, he characterizes the protagonist, the intelligent and sympathetic Huckleberry Finn, by the direct candid manner of writing as though through the actual voice of Huck himself. Every word and every thought expressed by Huck is so precise it reflects even the racism and black stereotypes typical of the era. And this has lead to many conflicting battles by various readers since the first print of the novel. Some are outraged by the incessant use of the degrading and white supremacist word ‘nigger.’ Others feel this novel sets the basis for all modern literature, earning its place among the many great American classics. The controversy behind the novel has been and will always be racism. Twain surely does use the word ‘nigger’ often, both as a referral to the slave Jim and any African-American that Huck comes across and as the epitome of insult and inferiority. However, the reader must also not fail to recognize that this style of racism, this malicious treatment of African-Americans, this degrading attitude towards them is all stylized of the pre-Civil War tradition. Racism is only mentioned in the novel as an object of natural course and a precision to the actual views of the setting then. Huckleberry Finn still stands as a powerful portrayal of experience through the newfound eyes of an innocent boy. Huck only says and treats the African-American culture accordingly with the society that he was raised in. To say anything different would truly be out of place and setting of the era. This amalgamation of fiction with non-fiction invites the reader to take a realistic viewpoint of the novel. 2002-02-15T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Individual-v-Society-4379.aspx Satire In Huck Finn Mark Twain uses his novel the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to exaggerate and make fun of the many problems facing American society. Twain uses many of the characters in his novel to express satire. Some of the major views of society that Twain attacks are religion, slavery, and human nature itself. Religion is one of the main victims of Twain's satire. The satire is visible when the Widow Douglas tells Huck about Moses. It is obvious that Huck does not care to know when Huck states, "Here she was a-bothering about moses, which was no kin to her, and no use to anybody, being gone, you see..." Later in the novel Huck realizes that prayer has never done anything good for him and he can not see that it has done anything for many others either. Through Huck, Twain is able to attack the blind faith that civilized society places towards religion. The King and the Duke are perfect people for Twain to express his satire. They are frauds who make their money by ripping people off. Twain goes on to satirize human nature through the town's reaction to the Royal Nonesuch with the King and the Duke. Instead of running the frauds out of town as soon as they realized they were being robbed, the towns people let them stay and encouraged others to go see the show as well so that they would not be the only ones taken in by fraud. At this point Twain exaggerates the distance people will go so that they will not be the only ones fooled. However, when the King and Duke are finally caught they pay for their sins by being tarred and feathered. Even though Huck knew the King and Duke were frauds, he still felt sympathy for them, "It was a dreadful thing to see. Human beings can be awful cruel to one another." Through the actions taken by the towns people, Twain shows that criminals and crooks are not the only ones that can be cruel. The towns people who consider themselves to be civilized and oppose to any type of cruelty, commit a cruel act themselves. Twain demonstrates how a society that sees themselves as civilized can display such irresponsible behavior. Society's cruelty is visible again when the man with Packard says "He'll be drownded, and won't have nobody to blame for it but his own self. I reckon 2002-02-15T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Satire-In-Huck-Finn-4386.aspx Twain: Genius Realist, Anti-Romanticist Stories have existed since the beginning of mankind. Going back as far as ancient Greece in history, or even further back, one can examine the many different types of stories that have been passed down to us. The ancient Greeks wrote about gods and developed drama; the Romans passed down biographies of Caesars containing their life achievements as well as their failures; numerous stories questioning the institution of slavery were produced here in America; and finally, due to the development of technology, stories have transformed from merely writings into movies in our society today. Why have tales such as these intrigued us since the beginning of time? Was it merely due to the entertainment aspect, or was it something else? Usually by reading a work of an author, one is able to find a message or moral hidden beneath the storyline. Although Mark Twain’s Adventure of Huckleberry Finn deals with the immorality of slavery, by delving in deeper one can clearly see that Twain is a Realist who despises Romanticism. One can clearly see Twain’s strive for Realism by examining the dialect used in his book. Even before the story of Huck Finn starts, Twain has an explanatory section explaining his use of dialects. He states that “[the] shadings have not been done in a hap-hazard fashion, or by guess-work; but pains-takingly, and with the trustworthy guidance and support of personal familiarity with these several forms of speech.” By examining Pap’s famous speech about the “govment”, one can see that Twain’s use of dialect brings life into his story by making the reader feel as if he/she is actually there in the cabin listening to Pap speak. “Oh, yes, this is a wonderful govment, wonderful…There was a free nigger there, from Ohio…they said he was a p’fessor in a college, and could talk all kinds of languages, and knowed everything. And that ain’t the wust. They said he could vote, when he was at home…they told me there was a State in this country where they’d let that nigger vote, I drawed out. I says I’ll never vote agin” (Twain 20). Not only can the reader actually hear Pap’s southern dialect but the reader also becomes aware of his ignorance and his prejudice towards African-Americans. Furthermore, Twain amplifies Pap’s ignorance by using misspelled words and poor grammar such as “and knowed everything” and “govment” making the reader believe that this would 2001-09-17T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Twain-Genius-Realist,-Anti-Romanticist-3731.aspx Huckleberry Finn - social and literary aspects Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel about a young boys coming of age in Missouri of the mid-1800s. The main character, Huckleberry Finn, spends much time in the novel floating down the Mississippi River on a raft with a runaway slave named Jim. Before he does so, however, Huck spends some time in the fictional town of St. Petersburg where a number of people attempt to influence him. Before the novel begins, Huck Finn has led a life of absolute freedom. His drunken and often missing father has never paid much attention to him; his mother is dead and so, when the novel begins, Huck is not used to following any rules. The book’s opening finds Huck living with the Widow Douglas and her sister, Miss Watson. Both women are fairly old and are really somewhat incapable of raising a rebellious boy like Huck Finn. Nevertheless, they attempt to make Huck into what they believe will be a better boy. Specifically, they attempt, as Huck says, to "civilize" him. This process includes making Huck go to school, teaching him various religious facts, and making him act in a way that the women find socially acceptable. Huck, who has never had to follow many rules in his life, finds the demands the women place upon him constraining and the life with them lonely. As a result, soon after he first moves in with them, he runs away. He soon comes back, but, even though he becomes somewhat comfortable with his new life as the months go by, Huck never really enjoys the life of manners, religion, and education that the Widow and her sister impose upon him. Huck believes he will find some freedom with Tom Sawyer. Tom is a boy of Huck’s age who promises Huck and other boys of the town a life of adventure. Huck is eager to join Tom Sawyers Gang because he feels that doing so will allow him to escape the somewhat boring life he leads with the Widow Douglas. Unfortunately, such an escape does not occur. Tom Sawyer promises much but none of his promises comes to pass. Huck finds out too late that Toms adventures are imaginary, that raiding a caravan of "A-rabs" really means terrorizing young children on a Sunday school picnic, that stolen "joolry" is nothing more than turnips or rocks. Huck is disappointed that the adventures 2001-09-07T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Huckleberry-Finn-social-and-literary-aspects-3684.aspx A Father Does Not Always Know Best The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain brilliantly illustrates a boy's travels down the Mississippi and the trials and tribulations that occur as a result. Having a runaway slave as a companion and being set in the South during slavery only forebodes trouble. The many characters and stunts that Huck's pulls provides for an interesting depiction of a young man's venture down a river. Huck lives in a small town and has only one drunken parent, which supplies Huck with many problems. His biological father, Pap, wanders from town to town, begging for money and drinking; and every once in a while pops back into Huck's life to beg money and to scold his son for going to school and becoming ‘sivilized’. However, there is also another male figure that acts as a father to young Huck. Miss Watson's slave Jim travels along with Huck and befriends the boy. Because Jim is a role model and mentor to the young Huck, he is more of a father figure than his biological father. Jim also teaches him principles directly through their conversations and debates. "Jim said he reckoned that the widow was partly right and that Pap was partly right, so the best way would be or us to pick two or three things from the list and say we wouldn't borrow them anymore” (Twain, 49). Jim taught Huck how to combine what he had been taught so far and how to rationalize. He also taught Huck little fables and old wives tales such as the 'bad luck if ya touch a rattlesnake' and 'a hairy breast mean ya gonna be rich sumday...(Twain, 40, 34) "Jim says you mustn't catch a bird cause it's death and you mustn’t count the thing you're ganna cook for dinner cause it's bad luck" (Twain, 34) Jim teaches him both lessons that are essential to life and ones that are amusing and make life interesting. Fathers satisfy the needs of their sons. Jim satisfied Huck’s need for exploration and his quest for knowledge and also satisfied his need for pleasure and enjoyment. A father teaches his son lessons. Jim taught Huck many lessons both unintentionally and directly. Jim shows Huck that slaves are human people. Huck learns that slaves are capable of human emotions such as love and compassion because Jim talked of buying his wife out of slavery and stealing his children out of bondage. 2001-06-03T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/A-Father-Does-Not-Always-Know-Best-3444.aspx Huck’s Moral Lessons and His Changing Attitude Toward Jim In many ways, to understand the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, the reader must also know a little about the author. Mark Twain was one of the many pen names of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He was born in 1835 and grew up in the Mississippi River town of Hannibal, Missouri. Twain is considered the father of modern American literature, primarily because of this novel. Numerous schools have banned this novel from their reading lists because they believe it to be racist. The ironic part of this is that Clemens was an abolitionist. He hoped that people would understand and be able to see the unfairness and horrors of slavery by reading his book and seeing what slavery does to people. This book is set in the year 1852 in the south. It is a coming of age novel about an adolescent boy named Huckleberry Finn. In this early stage of his life, Huckleberry is taught many of life’s lessons that will help him deal with events that may occur later on in his life. Huck fakes his death in order to run away from his alcoholic father and his caretaker, Mrs. Watson, and also to escape from being “sivilized”. While floating down the Mississippi River, he meets Jim, the runaway slave who is owned by Mrs. Watson. His life begins to change when he is faced with many moral struggles along the way. He has to fight against society’s views, which conflict with his views. One of the most significant moral struggles that confronts him is the issue of slavery. Throughout the novel, Huck Finn becomes more self-reliant and mature. He begins to understand the evil in slavery and he realizes that he must follow his own conscience in his actions towards Jim. Even at the beginning of the novel, before Huck has gotten a chance to explore what he believes is right, Huck has grown tired of dealing with society and what society thinks is right and civilized. He says, "The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me...I got into my old rags and my sugar hogshead again, and was free and satisfied (1)." Huck prefers living free and being able to think what he wants, rather than being “sivilized.” When Huck escapes from society, he runs into Jim at Jackson Island and is very happy to see 2001-03-17T13:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Huck’s-Moral-Lessons-and-His-Changing-Attitude-Toward-Jim-3057.aspx The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - An Obvious Depiction of Romanticism and Realism Mark Twain used the contrast between the characters of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn to illustrate a romantic and realistic imagination. Tom is spectacularly imaginative in the boyish, romantic sense. Tom has filled his head with romantic adventure novels and ideas; this has shaped Tom's worldview and feeds his fantasies, which he is constantly trying to act out. After reading about gangs and highwaymen, Tom decides to build a gang wishing to rob people and become successful highwayman. Tom's gang would kill or ransom the men and get the women to love them. Often times Tom's romantic imagination is not just silly, but downright dangerous. An example of this dangerous romantic imagination was when Huck wanted to free Jim and Tom was enlisted to help. Tom, knowing full well that Ms. Watson had released Jim prior to her death, did not disclose this information to Huck; he wanted to have an adventure helping Jim "escape". During the elaborate escape, Tom wanted Jim to train animals in his prison and have a coat of arms. Tom also sent Jim's captors warning of the upcoming escape attempt. Tom didn't know of the necessity to get Jim out now and not later. Because of Tom's dawdling, Jim's life was put in danger when they finally did escape. As they were running away, bounty hunters were chasing them and shooting at them. Knowing the reader would be in need of a breathe of fresh air between Tom's elaborate schemes, Twain created Huck. Huck's desires are indeed remarkably few and simple. Huck wanted only to be wild and free. Huck often escaped from Ms. Watson by running to the woods and going exploring. Ms. Watson tried to "sivilize" him, but he didn't like to learn about dead people or other such "nonsense". He saw no point to education other than to spite his father. Huck would rather be out fishing or playing in the woods. The final, and best, example of Huck's desire to be free was the ending line in the book. "I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can't stand it. I been there before." Huck hates to be oppressed by society and their views on life. This 2001-02-26T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Adventures-of-Huckleberry-Finn-An-Obvious-Depiction-of-Romanticism-and-Realism-2937.aspx Huckleberry Finn - Conflict Between Society and the Individual The theme of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn is that the ideas of society can greatly influence the individual, and sometimes the individual must break off from the accepted values of society to determine the ultimate truth for himself. In Huckleberry Finn's world, society has corrupted justice and morality to fit the needs of the people of the nation at that time. Basically, Americans were justifying slavery, through whatever social or religious ways that they deemed necessary during this time. The conflict between society and Huckleberry Finn results from Huck's non-conformist attitude. This attitude is a result of his separation from society at an early age. With a highly abusive drunkard for a father, Huckleberry Finn is forced from childhood to rely solely on himself. As a result of this, he effectively alienates himself from the rest of society. Society continues to try to "reform" him, but Huckleberry Finn shows his lack of appreciation in that effort from the very beginning of the story when he says, "The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me I got into my old rags and my sugar hogshead again, and was free and satisfied." His actions are based on instinct and his own experience, rather than conventional conscience. As a result, he makes up the rules for himself as he goes along, forming a conscience that is keenly aware of society's prejudices but actions based on that which he has experienced. Ironically, often his own instincts hold him to a higher moral standard than those of society. His decision to help free Jim, a slave, is an example of one such instance. Huckleberry Finn recognizes Jim as a human being, but is fighting the beliefs bestowed upon him by a society that believes slaves should not be free. However, it is important to realize that although Huckleberry Finn's decisions create the conflict between society and himself (and that this conflict forms the theme of the novel), Huck is oblivious to the justice, the righteousness, and even the heroism of his own actions, they are simply in accordance with his own conscience. The climax comes in chapter thirty-one of the novel, when Huckleberry Finn's moral development reaches its peak. Up until this point in the novel, Huckleberry Finn has been experiencing internal conflict concerning his treatment of Jim. Society has brought him up to believe that Jim is nothing 2001-02-24T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Huckleberry-Finn-Conflict-Between-Society-and-the-Individual-2909.aspx Huck Finn Two people taking a trip down a river, is rarely thought of as anything more than just an adventure. Mark Twain, however, uses his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, to explore and makes fun of many problems facing American society. Huck, the main character, is considered a boy who is under pressure to conform to the aspects of society. Jim, who comes along with Huck, is a runaway slave seeking freedom from the world that has been denied it to him for so long. Throughout the entire novel Twain uses satire to show problems with society. Early in the novel, Huck scampers away with his good friend Tom and his other buddies. The boys form a gang and then decide one of their tasks in the gang will be to kidnap people and, hold them for ransom. The problem with their plan to kidnap people and hold them for ransom is their misunderstanding of the word “ransom“. Tom has a relative idea what the word means, "But per'aps if we keep them till they're ransomed, it means that we keep them till they're dead."(12) All of the boys go along with Tom‘s meaning because he is the leader. In this part of the novel, Twain uses satire to show that even though something may be truly wrong, if society adopts it to be true, then it is known to be true. Throughout the book Twain‘s issue is with slavery, in this instance of satire. During the time period in which The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written, religion was as much an integral part of civilization, as was an education. Religion is one of the key victims of Twain's satire throughout the novel. This satire is no more apparent then when Huck's guardian, the Widow Douglas, preaches to him about Moses. Huck didn't think very much of her lecture; "Here she was a-bothering about Moses, which was no kin to her, and no use to anybody, being gone, you see..."(3) Twain uses Huck to exhibit his objection to the blind faith that "civilized" society places towards religion. During Huck and Jim's journey, they encounter two men who refer to themselves as the Duke and the King. Theses characters make their living swindling people out of their money. When they are eventually caught, they pay for their sins by being tarred and feathered. Huck expresses his thoughts on the subject by 2001-02-13T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Huck-Finn-2867.aspx The Role People Play The qualities of people are distinguished mostly by the impact others have upon them when they are children. These role models shape everyone’s life into the person we are to become, whether positively or negatively. In Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck Finn’s role models all impact Huck’s life and the way he lives throughout the novel. Miss Watson, Widow Douglas, and Jim give Huck positive support, while pap Finn impacts Huck’s life negatively. Miss Watson and Widow Douglas guide Huck throughout his early years when he is without family support by improving his way of life, his religious aspects, his educational outlook, and protecting him from dangers in his life. These two women help to improve his way of life by trying to “sivilize” him. (1) Although Huck does not like this, he goes along with what Miss Watson says because Huck believes that “she's smarter than [him]. Maybe she's right." (8) Although Huck believes Miss Watson is smarter than he is, he does have an education because of the Widow and her support. He learns how to read and write, and realizes how much he actually enjoys it when he confronts his Pap with his literacy, a gift his father is not blessed with. Huck’s guardians also protect him from his drunken father. They had taken him into their home and given him so many gifts as if he was their own child. Along with education, guidance, and protection given to Huck by the two spirited women, the Widow and Miss Watson also show Huck values through regular prayer. They teach him and important lesson in life, that Huck should pray for “spiritual gifts [and] help other people, and do everything do everything [he] could for other people, and look out for them all the time, and never think about [himself].” (8) This is saying more than the two ladies had meant it to. Since to Huck “people” included blacks, Huck is able to bring himself to aid even a runaway slave through Miss Watson and Widow Douglas’ leadership. Through these two women’s leadership and positive influence on Huck leads him on his adventures and led him to be able to trust men that are least likely to be trusted. This is the case in the runaway slave, Jim. Although the least likely person to be a role model in the life of a young white boy 2000-12-09T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Role-People-Play-2655.aspx Satire in Huck Finn The journey taken by two people down a river, is rarely thought of as anything more than just an adventure. However, Mark Twain uses his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, to explore and poke fun of many problems facing American society. Huck, the main character, is considered an uneducated boy who is constantly under pressure to conform to the "civilized" aspects of society. Jim, who accompanies Huck, is a runaway slave seeking freedom from the world that has denied it to him for so long. In his novel, Twain uses satire to demonstrate many of "civilizations" problems. In the beginning of the story, Huck sneaks away from his home to play with Tom Sawyer and his friends. The boys start a gang and decide that one of the things they will do is kidnap people, and hold them for ransom. The boys quickly discover that they cannot ransom anyone because they don't know what "ransom" means. Tom has a theory as to the meaning of the word, "But per'aps if we keep them till they're ransomed, it means that we keep them till they're dead."(12) Without any doubts, all of the boys agree with this meaning of the word. In this segment of the novel, Twain uses satire to demonstrate that even though something may be truly wrong, if civilization or society adopts it to be true, then it is believed to be true. Twain may be specifically using the issue of slavery as his target, in this instance of satire. During the time period in which The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written, religion was as much an integral part of civilization, as was an education. Religion is one of the key victims of Twain's satire throughout the novel. This satire is no more apparent then when Huck's guardian, the Widow Douglas, preaches to him about Moses. Huck didn't think very much of her lecture; "Here she was a-bothering about Moses, which was no kin to her, and no use to anybody, being gone, you see..."(3) Twain uses Huck to exhibit his objection to the blind faith that "civilized" society places towards religion. During Huck and Jim's journey, they encounter two men who refer to themselves as the Duke and the King. Theses characters make their living swindling people out of their money. When they are eventually caught, they pay for their sins by being tarred and feathered. Huck expresses his 2000-11-24T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Satire-in-Huck-Finn-2565.aspx Huck Finn Huckleberry Finn provides the narrative voice of Mark Twain's novel, and his honest voice combined with his personal vulnerabilities reveal the different levels of the Grangerfords' world. Huck is without a family: neither the drunken attention of Pap nor the pious ministrations of Widow Douglas were desirable allegiance. He stumbles upon the Grangerfords in darkness, lost from Jim and the raft. The family, after some initial cross-examination, welcomes, feeds and rooms Huck with an amiable boy his age. With the light of the next morning, Huck estimates "it was a mighty nice family, and a mighty nice house, too"(110). This is the first of many compliments Huck bestows on the Grangerfords and their possessions. Huck is impressed by all of the Grangerfords' belongings and liberally offers compliments. The books are piled on the table "perfectly exact"(111), the table had a cover made from "beautiful oilcloth"(111), and a book was filled with "beautiful stuff and poetry"(111). He even appraises the chairs, noting they are "nice split-bottom chairs, and perfectly sound, too-not bagged down in the middle and busted, like an old basket"(111). It is apparent Huck is more familar with busted chairs than sound ones, and he appreciates the distinction. Huck is also more familiar with flawed families than loving, virtuous ones, and he is happy to sing the praises of the people who took him in. Col. Grangerford "was a gentleman all over; and so was his family"(116). The Colonel was kind, well-mannered, quiet and far from frivolish. Everyone wanted to be around him, and he gave Huck confidence. Unlike the drunken Pap, the Colonel dressed well, was clean-shaven and his face had "not a sign of red in it anywheres"(116). Huck admired how the Colonel gently ruled his family with hints of a submerged temper. The same temper exists in one of his daughters: "she had a look that would make you wilt in your tracks, like her father. She was beautiful"(117). Huck does not think negatively of the hints of iron in the people he is happy to care for and let care for him. He does not ask how three of the Colonels's sons died, or why the family brings guns to family picnics. He sees these as small facets of a family with "a handsome lot of quality"(118). He thinks no more about Jim or the raft, but knows he has found a new home, one 2000-09-07T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Huck-Finn-2226.aspx Escape: A Comparison between Huck and the narrator of "Sonny's Blues" Both the narrator in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin and Huck in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain feel the urge to escape from their reality as a means of attaining happiness and finding their way in life. However, their reasons for escaping are completely different and so are the ways in which they manage to do so. The aim of this essay is, therefore, to discuss the how and why the Narrator in “Sonny’s Blues” and Huck escape. We will start by briefly looking into both characters’ backgrounds in order to be able to understand the reasons and circumstances that led them to escape. First, it is worth mentioning that while “Sonny’s Blues” takes place in New York in the mid 20th century, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is mostly set in the Mississippi River (as it runs deep into the south) before the American Civil War in the mid 19th century. Despite the fact that the Narrator in “Sonny’s Blues” and Huck belong to different places and times, both societies in which they live are plagued with discrimination against black people who are regarded as second class citizens having to endure violence and injustices from the white community . Both characters belong to low social class families. However, the Narrator in “Sonny’s blues” is a black middle aged, well educated man who has a family whereas Huck is a white child of about 12 years of age who is uneducated and does not have a family. Pap, the village drunkard and Huck’s only blood bond, is an absent parent who only comes back to town when he learns that his son has become rich. Given a short account of their social backgrounds, it is not surprising that they be driven by different urges to escape the situation in which they are. On the one hand, the Narrator in “Sonny’s Blues” is evidently trying to escape the black people’s burden which is illustrated in the following excerpt: “ So we drove along [...] killing streets of our childhood. These streets hadn’t changed, though a housing project jutted up out of them now like rocks in the middle of a boiling sea. Most of the houses in which we had grown up had vanished, as had the stores from which we had stolen, the basements in which we had first tried sex, the rooftops from which we had hurled tin 2000-09-07T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Escape-A-Comparison-between-Huck-and-the-narrator-of-"Sonny-s-Blues"-2227.aspx Huck Finn - Life on the river The difference between life on the river and life in the towns along the river is an important theme in the novel ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ by Mark Twain. Twain uses language to draw the contrast effectively as well as through the atmosphere that has been created, the diction, the punctuation and the figures of speech employed. The two paragraphs, which most effectively display this contrast, refer to the peaceful life on the river and the vile nature of the streets and lanes of a town. In the fist paragraph Huck describes in mostly monosyllabic and colloquial expressions how pleasant life on the river is. At the beginning of the passage Huck uses the image of swimming peacefully to describe how the time passes, ‘you might say they swum by, they slid along so quite smooth and lovely. The alliteration of swum, slid and smooth helps to formulate a mental semblance of the swift and steady motion of the river and like the rivers flowing the words also seem to easily flow. This image is appropriate as it directly relates to the motion of the river on which they are travelling. ‘Here is the way we put in the time.’ Presents Huck’s idyllic life on the river is as routine. The words ‘then’ and ‘next’ are repeated several times in the first half of the passage, their function and effect is ensure that the passage flows, much like the river, in a slow and constant sequential manner. A sense of relaxed movement is conveyed and emphasised by diction and alliteration throughout the passage ‘then a pale place in the sky; then more paleness’. The use of onomatopoeia ‘swift’ allows the passage to progress in the same continuous and serene motion as the river. The words and phrases ‘nice breeze springs up’ and ‘smiling in the sun’ particularly emphasise the freshness of the scene. Huck’s use of personification ‘everything smiling in the sun’ depicts the contentment that everything around him is experiencing as a new day begins and the sun comes out. A direct contrast to the first paragraph is the second, describing the disgusting nature of a town along the river and the streets within it. The paragraph begins with ‘mud’ being used repeatedly to convey an image of filth. The simile ‘as black as tar’ represents the image of darkness and evil. Huck describes a sow feeding her young, ‘wave her ears 2000-08-05T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Huck-Finn-Life-on-the-river-2177.aspx The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a renowned novel by Mark Twain, is the story of a young boy, who, in a desperate attempt to escape his abusive and poverty stricken home, escapes and seeks help with the Mississippi River, where he experiences many different trials. The novel was finally published in 1885, being written on spurts of inspiration interrupted by long periods during which it sat on the author’s desk. Now it is published in at least twenty-seven languages. Samuel Clemens, the name that lies under the pen name of Mark Twain, was born in Missouri in 1835. The town where he lived, Hannibal, Missouri, became the model for St. Petersburg, the fictional town of Huckleberry Finn. Missouri was a slave state during this period, and his family owned a few slaves, who worked as domestic servants rather than working on the large agricultural plantations as most slaves in the deep South did. The institution of slavery is prominent in the development of the themes and characters of the novel. Twain received a brief formal education before going to work as an apprentice in a print shop. He later found work on a steamboat in the Mississippi River where he took his pseudonym, “Mark Twain,” from the call a steamboat worker would make when the ship reached two fathoms. He eventually went to work as a journalist and then as a humorist. Twain is also known to have written The Gilded Age (1873), The Prince and the Pauper (1882), Life on the Mississippi (1883), and Tom Sawyer (1876). The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn outlines the different experiences and developing friendship of the novel’s two main characters, Huck and Jim. Huck, a young boy trying to escape from his life, and Jim, a black slave, wanting to escape from being sold to a farmer in the deep South, join together to sail on the Mississippi River to the Ohio River, which would lead to their freedom, but they miss it in the dark. Huck faces a moral dilemma in helping a slave, but never finds a good enough reason to turn him in, and as a result, the two develop a special bond. Written with much dialogue from the southern dialect, the story depicts a southern society from the mid-1800’s, which is very gullible, and easily manipulated. The tale is full of humor in its accounts of the pair of escapees, but 2000-07-02T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Adventures-of-Huckleberry-Finn-2138.aspx The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Critical Essay The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the noblest, greatest, and most adventuresome novel in the world. Mark Twain definitely has a style of his own that depicts a realism in the novel about the society back in antebellum America. Mark Twain definitely characterizes the protagonist, the intelligent and sympathetic Huckleberry Finn, by the direct candid manner of writing as though through the actual voice of Huck. Every word, thought, and speech by Huck is so precise it reflects even the racism and black stereotypes typical of the era. And this has lead to many conflicting battles by various readers since the first print of the novel, though inspiring some. Says John H. Wallace, outraged by Twain’s constant use of the degrading and white supremacist word ‘nigger’, “[The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is] the most grotesque example of racist trash ever written” (Mark Twain Journal by Thadious Davis, Fall 1984 and Spring 1985). Yet, again to counter that is a quote by the great American writer Ernest Hemingway, “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn…it’s the best book we’ve had…There has been nothing as good since” (The Green Hills of Africa [Scribner’s. 1953] 22). The controversy behind the novel has been and will always remain the crux of any readers is still truly racism. Twain surely does use the word ‘nigger’ often, both as a referral to the slave Jim and any African-American that Huck comes across and as the epitome of insult and inferiority. However, the reader must also not fail to recognize that this style of racism, this malicious treatment of African-Americans, this degrading attitude towards them is all stylized of the pre-Civil War tradition. Racism is only mentioned in the novel as an object of natural course and a precision to the actual views of the setting then. Huckleberry Finn still stands as a powerful portrayal of experience through the newfound eyes of an innocent boy. Huck only says and treats the African-American culture accordingly with the society that he was raised in. To say anything different would truly be out of place and setting of the era. Twain’s literary style in capturing the novel, Huck’s casual attitude and candid position, and Jim’s undoubted acceptance of the oppression by the names all signifies this. Twain’s literary style is that of a natural southern dialect intermingled with other dialects to represent the various 2000-06-16T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Adventures-of-Huckleberry-Finn-Critical-Essay-2113.aspx The Conflict Between the Individual and Society 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. From the very beginning of Huck's story, Huck without a doubt states that he did not want to conform to society; "The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me... I got into my old rags and my sugar hogshead again, and was free and satisfied"(Twain, 2). Miss Watson lives with Huck and she is always picking at him, trying to make him become conventional. According to the essay, The Struggle to Find Oneself Huck has become so used to being free that he sees the Widow Douglas' protection solely in terms of confinement. She doesn’t let Huck smoke when he wants and she is always nagging. “Miss Watson would say, "Don't put your feet up there, Huckleberry;" and "Don't scrunch up like that, Huckleberry -- set up straight;" and pretty soon she would say, "Don't gap and stretch like that, Huckleberry -- why don't you try to behave?"(Twain, 3). We get the feeling that Huck is an individual, a person who is independent and has the willingness to live a life free of complications. According to Ryan Schremmer’s essay Examination of Freedom as an Overall Theme in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the theme of freedom is shown in Huckleberry Finn, which parallels to his distancing from society: One of the most prominent and important themes of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is freedom. Freedom not only from Huck's internal paradoxical struggle in defining right and wrong, but also freedom from Huck's personal relationships with the Widow Douglas and his father, as well as freedom from the societal institutions of government, religion, and prejudices. When Pap returns for Huck, and the matter of custody is brought before the court, the reader is forced to see the corruption of society. The judge rules that Huck belongs to Pap, and forces him to obey an evil and abusive man. One who drinks 2000-05-30T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Conflict-Between-the-Individual-and-Society-2039.aspx Huck's Moral Dilemma - Slave or Friend? Throughout the incident on pages 66-69 in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck fights with two distinct voices. One is siding with society, saying Huck should turn Jim in, and the other is seeing the wrong in turning his friend in, not viewing Jim as a slave. Twain wants the reader to see the moral dilemmas Huck is going through, and what slavery ideology can do to an innocent like Huck. Huck does not consciously think about Jim’s impending freedom until Jim himself starts to get excited about the idea. The reader sees Huck’s first objection to Jim gaining his freedom on page 66, when Huck says, “Well, I can tell you it made me all over trembly and feverish, too, to hear him, because I begun to get it through my head that he was most free-and who was to blame for it? Why, me. I could get that out of my conscience, no how nor no way.” Huck is hearing the voice of society at this point, not his own. He does not see a moral dilemma with Jim being free; he is opposed to the fact that he is the one helping him. This shows Huck misunderstanding of slavery. Huck does not treat Jim like a slave when they travel together, this shows the reader that Huck views Jim as an equal in most ways. Huck sees having a slave only as owning the person, not actually being a slave to someone. Therefore, when he helps Jim runaway it would be like stealing. This conscience is telling him that Miss Watson, Jim’s master, never did anything wrong to him and that he shouldn’t be doing a wrong to her by helping Jim escape. This is a totally different view of Miss Watson from Huck’s perspective. Huck always disliked Miss Watson, but now that this society voice plays a part in Huck’s judgment his views are changed. This society views allows Huck to see Jim, a friend, only as a slave and Miss Watson, almost a foe in his young views, as a dear friend. Twain is showing the reader the gross injustices of slavery in this little incident, as well as his moral opposition to slavery. Twain wants the reader to see how slavery ideology changed people, even those who didn’t understand it fully. Twain wants the reader to see how unfair slavery was in how it could even 2000-02-16T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Huck-s-Moral-Dilemma-Slave-or-Friend-1656.aspx Huckleberry Finn: Racism In Mark Twains’ The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the main character Huck, makes two very important decisions. The first one is how he treats Jim when he first meets him at Jackson’s Island and the second is to tear up the letter to Miss Watson because he cares deeply for Jim. When Huck first runs away from Pap he goes to Jackson’s Island and thinks that he is the only person there. He soon finds out that this is not true, and that "Miss Watsons Jim"1 , is taking crap there as well. Many people would hate to be alone on an island with a "nigger"2 , but Huck is happy to have someone to talk with. At first Jim thinks he sees Hucks ghost and is scared. Huck gets Jims feelings by changing the subject and saying "It’s good daylight, le’s get breakfast"3 , showing that Huck is not only real but he does not mind that Jim is black. Jim feels that Huck might tell on him for running away, but he then decides that it will be okay to tell him why he ran away from Miss Watson. Jim keeps asking Huck if he is going to tell anyone about his running away, and Huck say’s "People would call me a low down abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum but that don’t make no difference I aint gonna tell"4 . Hucks response truly shows that his ignorance has no showing over his kindness. When taken into consideration good decisions are much more important in the long run than being the smartest person. After traveling with Jim for quite some time Huck begins to feel bad about harboring a runaway slave. He decides to write a letter to Miss Watson explaining the whole story, because Jim had been sold and he does not know where he is. Huck was indeed confused about what he should do so he dropped he dropped to his knees and began to pray. He felt by helping Jim he was committing a sin, but he later realized "you can’t pray a lie"5 . Huck saying this shows that he feels what he has done for Jim is not wrong; instead what others had done to Jim is wrong. Still not sure of what to do about the whole situation Huck writes the letter to Miss Watson, thinking he will be "cleaned of 2000-01-18T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Huckleberry-Finn-Racism-1585.aspx The Concluding Sentence of the Book: What It Means The last sentence in the book "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain reflects the tone and character of Huck, the main character. "But I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can't stand it. I been there before." (497) The language and grammar reflect the manner of an "unsivilized" stray child. Huck want to remain the way he is - wild and crude, wants to keep his jargon and his lifestyle, without the decency that Aunt Sally wants to impose on him. Huck is not only driven by the fear of being domesticated by Aunt Sally, but also by his love for freedom, the ability to love, and being a survivor. Huck is a child of the wild and feels displaced and uneasy in a decent atmosphere of a house of Aunt Sally or Miss Watson. He has never had a home, and the house of the widow Miss Watson is no cozier to him than the empty barrels he used to sleep in or the woods. He feels even worse in the house because he has to play by the foreign rules. He has to accept Christianity, has to follow a rigid etiquette at dinner, wear clothes that are too stiff and clean for him, and he is not supposed to smoke. "I went up to my room … and tried to think of something cheerful, but it warn't no use. I felt so lonesome I most wished I was dead. The stars were shining, and the leaves were rustled in the woods ever so mournful; and I heard an owl, away off who-whooping about somebody that was dead." (219) Huck's own environment is the uncultivated wild. Huck is a roving character. Most of the time of the story Huck spends on the river on the raft with Jim. The raft on the river is their safe shelter, their only home. "I was powerful glad to get away from the feuds, and so was Jim to get away from the swamp. [Jim and Huck] said there warn't no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft." (327) The character of Huck is like the river - flowing and 1999-12-21T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Concluding-Sentence-of-the-Book-What-It-Means-1518.aspx The Conflict Between Society and the Individual 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. 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. From the very beginning of Huck's story, Huck clearly states that he did not want to conform to society; "The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me... I got into my old rags and my sugar hogshead again, and was free and satisfied." When Pap returns for Huck, and the matter of custody is brought before the court, the reader is forced to see the corruption of society. The judge rules that Huck belongs to Pap, and forces him to obey an obviously evil and unfit man. One who drinks profusely and beats his son. Later, when Huck makes it look as though he has been killed, we see how civilization is more concerned over finding Huck's dead body than rescuing his live one from Pap. This is a society that is more concerned about a dead body than it is in the welfare of living people. The theme becomes even more evident once Huck and Jim set out, down the Mississippi. Huck enjoys his adventures on the raft. He prefers the freedom of the wilderness to the restrictions of society. Also, Huck's acceptance of Jim is a total defiance of society. Ironically, Huck believes he is committing a sin by going against society and protecting Jim. He does not realize that his own instincts are more morally correct than those of society'. In chapter sixteen, we see, perhaps, the most inhumane action of society. Huck meets some men looking for runaway slaves, and so he fabricates a story about his father on the raft with smallpox. The men fear catching this disease and instead of rescuing him, they give him money and advise him not to let it be known of his father's sickness when seeking help. These men are not hesitant to hunt slaves, yet they refuse to help a sick man. This is contrasted to Huck's guilt felt for protecting Jim when he actually did a morally just action. Huck's acceptance of his 1999-11-25T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Conflict-Between-Society-and-the-Individual-1298.aspx Superstition in Huck Finn In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, there is a lot of superstition. Some examples of superstition in the novel are Huck killing a spider which is bad luck, the hair-ball used to tell fortunes, and the rattle-snake skin Huck touches that brings Huck and Jim good and bad luck. Superstition plays an important role in the novel Huck Finn. In Chapter one Huck sees a spider crawling up his shoulder, so he flipped it off and it went into the flame of the candle. Before he could get it out, it was already shriveled up. Huck didn't need anyone to tell him that it was an bad sign and would give him bad luck. Huck got scared and shook his clothes off, and turned in his tracks three times. He then tied a lock of his hair with a thread to keep the witches away. "You do that when you've lost a horseshoe that you've found, instead of nailing it up over the door, but I hadn't ever heard anybody say it was any way to keep of bad luck when you'd killed a spider."(Twain 5). In chapter four Huck sees Pap's footprints in the snow. So Huck goes to Jim to ask him why Pap is here. Jim gets a hair-ball that is the size of a fist that he took from an ox's stomach. Jim asks the hair-ball; Why is Pap here? But the hair-ball won't answer. Jim says it needs money, so Huck gives Jim a counterfeit quarter. Jim puts the quarter under the hair-ball. The hair-ball talks to Jim and Jim tells Huck that it says. "Yo'ole father doan' know yit what he's a-gwyne to do. Sometimes he spec he'll go 'way, en den ag'in he spec he'll stay. De bes' way is tores' easy en let de ole man take his own way. Dey's two angles hoverin' roun' 'bout him. One uv'em is white en shiny, en t'other one is black. De white one gits him to go right a little while, den de black one sil in en gust it all up. A body can't tell yit which one gwyne to fetch him at de las'. But you is all right. You gwyne to have considable trouble in yo' life, en considable joy. Sometimes you gwyne to git hurt, en sometimes you gwyne to git sick; but every time you's 1999-11-25T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Superstition-in-Huck-Finn-1299.aspx Satirical Plot in Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain, a famous American writer-satirist wrote many books highly acclaimed throughout the world. For his masterpiece The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn he was recognized by the literary establishment as one of the greatest writers America would ever produce. This novel is about a teenage boy by the name of Huck Finn whose father is an alcoholic. Because of his violence, Huck runs away and finds a runaway slave Jim. Instead of turning Jim in, Huck goes against society and makes a decision to help Jim break free from slavery. As they travel together, Huck learns more and more about Jim and starts to understand that common stereotype of black people is wrong. Huck sees that there is no difference between Jim and any white man he knows except for skin color. Risking his life and overcoming many difficulties on the way, Huck succeeds in freeing Jim. Focusing on racism, alcoholism and mob mentality, Mark Twain uses his ardent style of writing and satirizes the three traits throughout the novel. Many words the book contains are full of vivid abhorrence towards black slaves. Every single line talks about how white people despise and refuse to accept the black race. Answering Aunt Sally's question about whether or not anyone is hurt Huck answers, "no mum, just killed a nigger."(Twain 213) This is the one and only acceptable way to talk about black people in the "white" society. In addition to this, not only is the black people treated differently from the white, they are also considered to be one's property. "He is the only property I have," (Twain 122) Huck is perforced to say in order to save Jim. This is the only way to get through without the essence of suspicions. Though Huck shows racism in public as society teaches him, deep inside he understands that Jim is a great person. Through the eyes of Huck Finn, Mark Twain shows that there is more to people then looks and race, showing the importance of beliefs and character. Alcoholism is another human weakness Twain satirizes in his novel, constantly accentuating the drunk and violent father of Huck in a very negative manner. "I was just about to go and vote myself if I warn't too drunk to get there,"(Twain 27) said Pap with a racist remark, implying the fact that he will never vote anyway just because the government let one very intelligent 1999-10-20T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Satirical-Plot-in-Huckleberry-Finn-1065.aspx Twain's Huck Finn compared to the movie The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a classic novel about a young boy who struggles to save and free himself from captivity, responsibility, and social injustice. Along his river to freedom, he aids and befriends a runaway slave named Jim. The two travel down the Mississippi, hoping to reach Cairo successfully. However, along the way they run into many obstacles that interrupt their journey. By solving these difficult tasks, they learn life lessons important to survival. The reader will find Huck and Jim more knowledgeable at the conclusion of the novel, and notice their love for life and for each other. After reading the novel and watching the Disney film Huck Finn, one will find many dissimilarities. Many of the classic scenes have been switched around and combined in the 1993 version. There are a few scenes in particular that I will focus and comment on. The major difference between the movie and the book is an important character named Tom Sawyer, who is not present or mentioned in the film. It is evident from reading the story that Tom was a dominant influence on Huck, who obviously adores him. Tom can be seen as Huck's leader and role model. He has a good family life, but yet has the free will to run off and have fun. Tom is intelligent, creative, and imaginative, which is everything Huck wishes for himself. Because of Tom's absence in the movie, Huck has no one to idolize and therefore is more independent. Twain's major theme in the novel is the stupidity and faults of the society in which Huck lives. There is cruelty, greed, murder, trickery, hypocrisy, racism, and a general lack of morality. All of these human failings are seen through the characters and the adventures they experience. The scenes involving the King and Duke show examples of these traits. The two con-artists go through many towns playing the same tricks and scams on the gullible townspeople hoping to make money. They put on acts in the novel such as the "Nonesuch" that get them almost killed as they run out of each town. These scenes, which prove as examples of the foolish society are not in the film. The naiveté of the Wilks sisters is disturbing to Huck who attempts to help them stop the frauds from stealing their inheritance. The movie is dissimilar to the book in that it concludes 1999-08-06T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Twain-s-Huck-Finn-compared-to-the-movie-783.aspx 'Nature' in Huckleberry Finn In his novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1999-05-11T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/-Nature-in-Huckleberry-Finn-678.aspx Early Influences on Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel about a young boy's coming of age in the Missouri of the mid-1800's. The main character, Huckleberry Finn, spends much time in the novel floating down the Mississippi River on a raft with a runaway slave named Jim. Before he does so, however, Huck spends some time in the fictional town of St. Petersburg where a number of people attempt to influence him. Before the novel begins, Huck Finn has led a life of absolute freedom. His drunken and often missing father has never paid much attention to him; his mother is dead and so, when the novel begins, Huck is not used to following any rules. The book's opening finds Huck living with the Widow Douglas and her sister, Miss Watson. Both women are fairly old and are really somewhat incapable of raising a rebellious boy like Huck Finn. Nevertheless, they attempt to make Huck into what they believe will be a better boy. Specifically, they attempt, as Huck says, to "sivilize" him. This process includes making Huck go to school, teaching him various religious facts, and making him act in a way that the women find socially acceptable. Huck, who has never had to follow many rules in his life, finds the demands the women place upon him constraining and the life with them lonely. As a result, soon after he first moves in with them, he runs away. He soon comes back, but, even though he becomes somewhat comfortable with his new life as the months go by, Huck never really enjoys the life of manners, religion, and education that the Widow and her sister impose upon him. Huck believes he will find some freedom with Tom Sawyer. Tom is a boy of Huck's age who promises Huck and other boys of the town a life of adventure. Huck is eager to join Tom Sawyer's Gang because he feels that doing so will allow him to escape the somewhat boring life he leads with the Widow Douglas. Unfortunately, such an escape does not occur. Tom Sawyer promises much-robbing stages, murdering and ransoming people, kidnaping beautiful women-but none of this comes to pass. Huck finds out too late that Tom's adventures are imaginary: that raiding a caravan of "A-rabs" really means terrorizing young children on a Sunday school picnic, that stolen "joolry" is nothing more than turnips or rocks. Huck 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Early-Influences-on-Huckleberry-Finn-147.aspx Huckleberry Finn Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a true American classic. Twain weaves a tremendous story about a boy, Huck, and a slave, Jim, who together overcome obstacles, and eventully reach their goals. Huck is boy who was made for the frointer, where he grows up. He is very practical, and has superb common sense, allowing him to think situations through, and decide on the best path to choose. Yet Huck's best quality is his deep caring for other human beings, and this is what makes him such a classic american character. Huck will stop at nothing to help other people, as shown in his aiding the king and the duke from escaping the posse, who wanted to kill them, and of his bringing Jim from slavery. Huck helps so many others despite leading a dreadful home life. Huck is forced to fake his own death, and run off from Jim, in order to escape his drunk and disorderly father. Jim is the other major character of this novel. He is a slave who is befriended by Huck, and with Huck's help, he escapes 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Huckleberry-Finn-148.aspx The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn E.M. Forster makes a bold statement when he declares that he would rather betray his country than betray his friend. Forster takes a very moral stand on the issue and states that a friendship is often more important than a government's actions or society's beliefs. His opinion regarding the value of friendship is a common theme shared by many authors throughout history, including Mark Twain, and Alexandre Dumas. Mark Twain's classic novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, describes a young boy torn between what he feels his country and society expect of him and what his heart tells him is right. Society believes that slaves should be treated as property; Huck, who had befriended a runaway slave, sees Jim as a person, not property. In the end, Huck Finn decides that he would rather disobey society's teachings about slavery, than betray his friend by returning him to his previous condition of servitude. Further reiterating Forster's conception of the proper order of one's loyalty is a product of English folklore, Robin Hood. According to legend, Robin Hood robbed from the rich and gave to the poor in an effort to bring happiness to the peasants of Nottingham in an otherwise dreary time under the tyrannical rule of Prince John. A childhood friend of Robin, Maid Marion places her friendship with Robin Hood above loyalty to the crown. She has numerous opportunities to betray Robin Hood, but she does not. She sees the good he is doing for the land and the lone resistance he and his band of Merry Men provide against the evil Sheriff. Had she been loyal to her country, Robin Hood would have never been successful against the Sheriff of Nottingham and the citizens of her kingdom would have had to endure even greater injustices. Sharing many of the same principles Robin Hood embodies is Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers. The famous trio of noblemen battle against the villainy of the Court of King Louis XIII. D'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis fight to preserve the honor of their Queen, Anne of Austria, against the Cardinal Richelieu. Their famous motto " All for one and one for all!" illustrates the value they place on their friendship. Efforts to maintain their close ties of friendship help them in resisting an immoral government. Had they chosen to remain in adherence to the Cardinal's oppressive rule, they would have been unsuccessful in effecting change. The 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Adventures-of-Huckleberry-Finn-149.aspx The Uniting of Theme and Plot in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In Mark Twain's novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain develops the plot into Huck and Jim's adventures allowing him to weave in his criticism of society. The two main characters, Huck and Jim, both run from social injustice and both are distrustful of the civilization around them. Huck is considered an uneducated backwards boy, constantly under pressure to conform to the "humanized" surroundings of society. Jim a slave, is not even considered as a real person, but as property. As they run from civilization and are on the river, they ponder the social injustices forced upon them when they are on land. These social injustices are even more evident when Huck and Jim have to make landfall, and this provides Twain with the chance to satirize the socially correct injustices that Huck and Jim encounter on land. The satire that Twain uses to expose the hypocrisy, racism, greed and injustice of society develops along with the adventures that Huck and Jim have. The ugly reflection of society we see should make us question the world we live in, and only the journey down the river provides us with that chance. Throughout the book we see the hypocrisy of society. The first character we come across with that trait is Miss Watson. Miss Watson constantly corrects Huck for his unacceptable behavior, but Huck doesn't understand why, "That is just the way with some people. They get down on a thing when they don't know nothing about it" (2). Later when Miss Watson tries to teach Huck about Heaven, he decides against trying to go there, "...she was going to live so as to go the good place. Well, I couldn't see no advantage in going where she was going, so I made up my mind I wouldn't try for it." (3) The comments made by Huck clearly show Miss Watson as a hypocrite, scolding Huck for wanting to smoke and then using snuff herself and firmly believing that she would be in heaven. When Huck encounters the Grangerfords and Shepardsons, Huck describes Colonel Grangerford as, "...a gentleman, you see. He was a gentleman all over; and so was his family. He was well born, as the saying is, and that's worth as much in a man as it is in a horse..." (104). You can almost hear the sarcasm from Twain in Huck's description of Colonel Grangerford. Later Huck is becoming 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Uniting-of-Theme-and-Plot-in-The-Adventures-of-Huckleberry-Finn-150.aspx Huckleberry Finn Huckleberry Finn provides the narrative voice of Mark Twain's novel, and his honest voice combined with his personal vulnerabilities reveal the different levels of the Grangerfords' world. Huck is without a family: neither the drunken attention of Pap nor the pious ministrations of Widow Douglas were desirable allegiance. He stumbles upon the Grangerfords in darkness, lost from Jim and the raft. The family, after some initial cross-examination, welcomes, feeds and rooms Huck with an amiable boy his age. With the light of the next morning, Huck estimates "it was a mighty nice family, and a mighty nice house, too"(110). This is the first of many compliments Huck bestows on the Grangerfords and their possessions. Huck is impressed by all of the Grangerfords' belongings and liberally offers compliments. The books are piled on the table "perfectly exact"(111), the table had a cover made from "beautiful oilcloth"(111), and a book was filled with "beautiful stuff and poetry"(111). He even appraises the chairs, noting they are "nice split-bottom chairs, and perfectly sound, too-not bagged down in the middle and busted, like an old basket"(111). It is apparent Huck is more familar with busted chairs than sound ones, and he appreciates the distinction. Huck is also more familiar with flawed families than loving, virtuous ones, and he is happy to sing the praises of the people who took him in. Col. Grangerford "was a gentleman all over; and so was his family"(116). The Colonel was kind, well-mannered, quiet and far from frivolish. Everyone wanted to be around him, and he gave Huck confidence. Unlike the drunken Pap, the Colonel dressed well, was clean-shaven and his face had "not a sign of red in it anywheres"(116). Huck admired how the Colonel gently ruled his family with hints of a submerged temper. The same temper exists in one of his daughters: "she had a look that would make you wilt in your tracks, like her father. She was beautiful"(117). Huck does not think negatively of the hints of iron in the people he is happy to care for and let care for him. He does not ask how three of the Colonels's sons died, or why the family brings guns to family picnics. He sees these as small facets of a family with "a handsome lot of quality"(118). He thinks no more about Jim or the raft, but knows he has found a new home, one 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Huckleberry-Finn-151.aspx