Naivety of Huckleberry Finn
The dialect that Mark Twain used in "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" mocks the poor education and incompetence of the South in the late 1800's. As the narrator of the novel, Huck Finn, fits the exemplary part of a young and naive boy. He does not comprehend the immensity of the world but, rather the small portion that he sees.
As Huck takes the reader through each episode of the book, he does not perceive any kind of humor in the word devices he uses. He takes them quite seriously and is portrayed as a naive character to the reader. Mr. Twain has purposely given the readers reason to believe he is mocking the characters in the book with this audacious
comedy.
Huck Finn says out of the ordinary things that most people would not have the slightest idea about. At the beginning of chapter one, the Widow Douglas tells him of Moses and the Bulrushers. He is eager to hear all about the stories of Moses until he finds out that Moses has been dead a "considerable long time." Huck tells the reader that he "don't take no stock in dead people." To him, there is no lesson in these stories unless the person is alive and is related to someone.
The novel places realistic views and does not hold romantic value besides that of the character Tom Sawyer. Huck does not understand why Tom makes every task so complex yet, Huck is very admirable of Tom's ideas. Throughout the book Huck asks himself if Tom Sawyer would approve of the way he deals with certain matters. This shows dramatic irony because Tom would not be stuck in these situations that Huck is in, in turn adding to Huck's naivety.
This brings the readers to the Dauphin and Duke, who take advantage of Huck because of his gullibility, tricking him into thinking they are of a royal class and deserve superior care. As readers, we see the entire picture, past the fraud's act. Huck goes along with the low life and cunning ways the Duke and King make money. A classic example of this is when the Duke and King, the scoundrels that they are, put on the stage production of "The Royal Nonesuch," making their own success from the foolish townspeople.
Jim, the runaway slave displays a naive humor laced with superstition.
When Huck and Jim sink the boat they start to gather some valuables on the robbers boat. They noticed that everything that are taking is just almost everyday materials such as clothes, cigars, and a bunch of books. Huck and Jim bring their raft to the shore and stop and sleep in the woods for the night. When they were just sitting their Huck opened up one of the books and started to read it. As he was reading it, he thought of Widow Douglass and how she would be proud of Huck for reading. While reading the book, Huck also realizes a name in the book the name is Dauphin, and was told that he is out in America wandering around. But Jim just sits back and doesn’t believe what Huck is saying at all.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a novel about a boy named Huck who fakes his death and travels down the Mississippi River with a runaway slave named Jim. Throughout the novel they encounter many different characters, most of whom Twain uses to satirize the South. The definition of satire is “a technique employed by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an individual or a society by using humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule. It intends to improve humanity by criticizing its follies and foibles.” Twain satirizes the values, and intelligence of the South through the characters of the Shepherdsons and Grangerfords, Colonel Sherburn and Boggs, and the people scammed by the King and Duke.
Jim and Huck’s friendship evolves throughout the novel and Huck changes the way he treats Jim. Huck started off this novel by playing practical jokes on Jim with Tom Sawyer. Huck was taught that there is nothing wrong with mistreating blacks. After journeying down the Mississippi river with Jim Huck knows he can’t always listen to society.
Upon arriving at Cairo, Huck must decide if he should go along with society and turn Jim in as a runaway slave, or keep his promise to his friend, and see him through to freedom. Huck feels guilty not turning Jim in when he hears him talking about hiring an abolitionist to steal his family. He does not think it is right to help take away slaves from people that he doesn 't even know. To turn Jim in for these reasons would be the influence of society on Huck. Huck 's decision on this matter marks another major step in Huck 's moral progression, because he decides not to turn in Jim on his own. This is the first time he makes a decision all on his own based on his own morality. They stop at Grangerford’s Farm, in Tennessee, after the raft is temporality destroyed. With Huck busy with the Grangerford family, Jim was able to rebuild the raft. Huck just met the Grangerfords, but fits right in immediately. He later feels that someone should take the time to write poetry about Emmeline Grangerford, recently deceased, since she always took the time to write about other people who died. He even tries to write the poetry himself, but it doesn 't turn out right. Then he also sees people shooting at each other makes him sick to his stomach. He sees it as an act against humanity and he simply cannot relate or understand how humans can treat each other in such an uncivil
One aspect of the novel in which Twain uses satire is the idea of family feuds. Mid-way through the novel, Huck meets young Buck Grangerford. Huck soon learns of an everlasting feud existing between the Grangerfords and the neighboring family, the Shepherdsons. Buck explains to Huck his fierce hatred for the Shepherdson family, but also that he truly doesn’t know why there is a feud or how it came to be. The reader finds out that the two feuding families essentially switch off killing members of the opposing family. As Huck experiences first hand a skirmish between Buck Grangerford and Harvey Shephardson, in which Buck tries to shoot Harvey, he asks Buck what Harvey had ever done. Buck responds with, “Him? He never done nothing to me(120).” Confused, Huck then asks what he wants to kill him for. Buck answers, “Why nothing- only it’s on account of the feud(120).” In this instance, Huck questions the logic behind such foolishness. He is young, but he understands that this feud has no point. He represents Twain’s own questioning of man’s preoccupation with brutality, and his illusion of false honor and chivalry. Taken at face value, the few Shepherdson-Grangerford scenes seem nothing more than a meaningless cameo on Twain’s part, however with closer inspection, we see the true motiv...
When the middle of the novel comes around Huck begins to distinguish what is right and wrong in life and begins to mature and do the right thing. He shows this when he chooses not to partake in the scam that the King and the Duke are playing on the Wilks family. Instead he takes the money back from the King and Duke to hide it because he believes it is only fair to the family. "I'm letting him rob her of her money...I feel so ornery and low...I got to steal that money somehow; and I got to steal it some way that they wont suspicion I done it" (Twain 133) This shows that Huck is starting to see the line between games and real life.
Huckleberry Finn, “Huck”, over the course of the novel, was faced with many obstacles that went into creating his moral compass. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn begins with Huck, a 12 year old boy heavily swayed by society and by Tom Sawyer, a fellow orphan. His opinions and depiction of right and wrong were so swindled to fit into society’s mold. Throughout the story Huck Finn’s moral compass undergoes a complete transformation in search of a new purpose in life. Huck was raised with very little guidance from an alcoholic father, of no mentorship. He was forced to live with Widow Douglas and with Miss Watson’s hypocritical values. Upon learning of God and Heaven from Widow Douglas, he remarks that he is unable to see the benefits of going
Huck faces many dangerous situations throughout the story and must use deceit to save himself from a racist society. Huck travels with an escaped slave putting him in fatal danger. When traveling with Jim on the river, Huck runs into a serious problem. Men searching for escaped slaves, wish to search Huck’s raft where Jim is hiding. If Jim is found, Huck could possibly be killed or be in terrible trouble. Facing a life or death situation, Huck uses the only thing that can save him. Huck deceives the men by lying to save himself. Huck tells the men, “He’s sick- and so is mam and Mary Ann”(Twain 95). The men are terrified that Huck’s family is sick and continue on without searching Huck’s raft. Jim is saved but more importantly, Huck has saved himself from any danger. Huck later runs into more trouble from slave hunters. The hunters have received word that Jim is hiding out possibly in a cave. Huck knows they are being tracked and nee...
...ndons his effort to escape society and its imposition (by becoming Tom Sawyer’s sidekick again). His conflicted nature serves as the novel’s tragic aspect: although he had resolved to decide his morality independent from society, Huck’s freedom will be limited once Aunt Sally adopts him, a result of his choice to comply with Tom instead of freeing Jim and leaving on the river, where they have both lived freely throughout the novel.
Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is an American classic which analyzes and satirizes most if not all of the major issues at the time of its making. These issues are viewed through the eyes of the twelve-year-old Huck who has a unique perspective on the world due to his lack of family and overall wild nature. Huck’s innocence supports the novel as a whole through supporting Huck’s perspective on people, and his innocence also helps begin his journey and transforms as he grows throughout the novel.
Before Huck sets out on his raft adventure, he is exposed to the values and morals of his poor, drunken father. Pap Finn instills a "Southern race prejudice" and leads Huck to believe "that he detests Abolitionists" (374). Huck comes into conflict with this philosophy as he journeys on the raft with Jim. He can not decide if he is wrong in helping Jim escape slavery or if the philosophy is wrong. The education of Huck also stirs some values from Pap. When Pap tells him that education is useless, Huck is confused because the Widow Douglas told him that education was important. As a result, Huck's values towards education are uncertain. Pap Finn, as a figure of the lower class, does his part to confuse the growing morals of his son.
Huck Finn, a narcissistic and unreliable young boy, slowly morphs into a courteous figure of respect and selflessness. After Pap abducts the young and civilized Huck, Huck descends into his old habits of lies and half-truths. However, upon helping a runaway slave escape, Huck regains morality and a sense of purpose. Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck lies to characters, casting the authenticity of the story into doubt but illustrating Huck’s gradual rejection of lying for himself and a shift towards lying for others.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written in 1885, is a literary satire written by Mark Twain. The setting of the novel takes place prior to the Civil War along the Mississippi River. This novel presents moral and ethical problems that southern culture placed on individuals during the time period it was written. Twain wrote his Realist period novel to criticize what he believed was wrong with the society of his time. Twain presented his novel through the eyes and speech of the twelve year-old Huckleberry Finn to show his criticism towards this society. Although the novel has been criticized since its publication, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is still considered one of the greatest American novels ever written. Twain uses Huck to create a satirical imitation of the early American culture of the South through the themes of social class, racism, conscience, and religion.
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.
Mark Twain was known as a humorist and in fact, humor was a tool he used to strengthen his points about what he saw as the major problems of the day. Living at the time of the Civil War, he clearly saw and chose to address such problems as slavery, child abuse, religion and feuds. In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain expresses his loathing for some of these serious social problems and yet in general, he never loses his humorous touch. Nonetheless, when he deals with the ills of society that particularly anger him, he chooses not to use humor; rather this is reserved for other areas of his work.