Examples Of Religion In Huckleberry Finn

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, the topic of religion is touched upon frequently. Many characters such as Miss Watson, the Widow Douglass, and the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons consider themselves religious people. They attend church and claim to live by the words of the Bible. However many of them do not practice what they preach. Throughout the novel, Huck realizes some of the flaws in their religious practices, and he begins to disagree with their beliefs. Twain expresses his rejection of religion by exploring the hypocrisy of the religious principles enforced in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. One the main beliefs practiced by Christians is the concept of tolerance, however the characters in this novel

Miss Watson, the sister of Huck’s primary guardian, the Widow Douglas, plays a great role in expressing religious hypocrisy. Being the so called devout Christian that she is, Miss Watson attempts to inform Huck about Heaven and Hell. Even though Miss Watson considers herself a good Christian, she owns slaves. The church preaches tolerance, yet she is completely intolerant of people with a different skin color. In chapter one, Miss Watson, “ Fetched the niggers in and had prayers” (Twain 3). She enforces prayer in her home yet she does not treat everyone with the decency that they well deserve. Another example of prejudice is represented through the acts of the duke. To ensure that people do not think Jim is a runaway slave, the duke paints him blue and puts a sign on him that reads, “SICK ARAB—BUT HARMLESS WHEN NOT OUT OF HIS HEAD”

In the Christian faith it is essential to love thy neighbor. Nevertheless, the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons seem to struggle with grasping this principle. Both families attend church every Sunday and listen to sermons about this very topic. Even though the families were at church learning about brotherly love, “The men took their guns along and kept them between their knees or stood them handy against the wall” (Twain 109). It appears very hypocritical to learn about these Christian beliefs, while directly engaging in a practice that undermines all of these religious principles. In addition to that, Christians live by the rules set forth by the Ten Commandments. One of the most valued commandments is “thou shalt not kill”. Still, the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons see no wrong in their actions. When Huck asks Buck Grangerford if he wanted to kill Harney Shepherdson, Buck replies, “ “Well I bet I did’ ” (Twain 107). After that, Buck even admits to not having a real reason on why he wanted to kill him. He simply blames his desire to kill on the family feud. Twain uses these two families to highlight how truly messed up the Christian belief system was. Just because someone goes to church, it doesn’t make them a good person or a good Christian. Twain made that point very clear by demonstrating the deadly relationship between the Shepherdsons and the