Huckleberry Finn Satirical Analysis

he book Huckleberry Finn is a satirical/fictitious book written by Mark Twain as a means of exposing a southern society and it’s culture of racism slavery and so on. The story revolves around a young boy and a runaway slave that are both running from something that haunts. Throughout the story there are many motifs of slavery racism and many others in that category all shown through the eyes of a young boy and an older slave. Through thick and thin the two stay close together as a means of comfort and companionship. Jim being a runaway slave and Huck a young white boy of no higher status, but still higher than the slave takes a long journey along the Mississippi River to a road to freedom that they only feel is true freedom from the chains

Between the conversations that Huck has on his own, and the one he has with Jim. When bounty hunters were passing by Huck he uses the word nigger to refer to Jim, but the way he said it does not make it condescending, or offensive. “Goodbye, sir I says I won’t let no runaway niggers get by me if I can help it”(69). Not once did Huck say no sir I will not let no filthy nigger get past me, nor will I let any monkey niggers past me. Huck used a simple word without any negative context. Out of the multiple times Huck uses the word nigger not once is it to talk down to Jim, or mean any harm towards Jim. Not to mention, it is not entirely Huck’s fault for learning and using the word nigger as it is just the society he was raised in where the word nigger was used quite often, and it was a common thing to say in a regular conversation. He would most often use it as a sort of identification if one wills. He uses it to refer to slaves. Huck does not even know what it truly means when he uses the word to firstly refer to Jim.”Mrs. Watson’s nigger Jim” (13). There Huck goes using the word nigger without even trying to be mean or offensive. One can clearly see that Huck simply says the word, and nothing more. There is no negative context behind it a man can do just the same today get a couple of bad looks and some glares, but in reality he is only

He meant to poke fun of as much as possible it seems when he wrote this book as it is quite the list starting with religion, greed , civilization, romanticism, and the list goes on. Through Huck he shows a young boy being civilized by a society in which slavery exists and of course mistreatment, or a barrier between blacks and whites which affect Huck. “I see it warn’t no use wasting words- you can’t learn a nigger to argue. So I quit”(60). It shows just how much a certain idea can catch considering Huck just called Jim less intelligent than he is which is pretty ironic considering Jim is much older than Huck. Twain just proves that blacks were thought less of during such times, but such a thing was not taken so seriously and with the publishing of this book gave more insight to everything in the south that was a little off. Many instances go farther and show what everyone thinks about blacks in a southern society. Most of what Huck has been taught in the south makes him conflicted when it comes time to decide certain things.”All right then I will go to hell-and tore it up”(162). Huck’s momentary decision here sort of set out how much he was affected by Southern ideology of returning and keeping slaves in check. Huck did start writing to Mrs. Watson in hopes that she would come get Jim. The thought of this really put Huck at such an ease due to the fact that he was used to