Mark Twain put very thought provoking themes into the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The book was published in the late 1800 's, but the lessons it teaches are still relevant today. Twain carefully selected themes that made the novel 's readers think about their own actions and how the situations Huck Finn learned from could apply to their lives as well. The theme of morality in the novel shows that Twain desired readers to comprehend the importance of honesty, listening to your heart, and standing up for what you believe in. . Some of the trials young Huck had to persevere through are similar to difficult situations every person goes through in their lifetime. Throughout the book, readers see Huck grow as a person when he learns what morality really means. I think that by taking a closer look at what Huck Finn went through and the excellent examples of how he showed personal growth will assist readers in understanding why Twain chose the theme of Morality.
At times, Twain writes about Huck as if he enjoys messing with people. At other times it seems as if Huck 's lies and ability to think on his feet were the only protection he had throughout his time on the Mississippi River. The instances in which Huck lies are far too many to count, but there is a different reason for every falsehood he tells. Twain wrote Huck 's character as very intelligent for his age. This allows him to think numerous steps ahead of those out to get him or Jim, which more times than not included stretching the truth as a method of protection. Lies had become such an essential part of life to Huck at the point in the novel when the King and Duke are introduced that he did not think twice about being dishonest
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain is about the great adventures that Huck finn has with his slave Jim on the Missouri River. The story tells not only about the adventures Huck has, but more of a deeper understanding of the society he lives in. Twain had Huck born into a low class society of white people; his father was a drunken bum and his mother was dead. He was adopted by the widow Douglas who tried to teach him morals, ethics, and manners that she thought fit in a civilized society. Huck never cared for these values and ran away to be free of them. During Huck’s adventure with Jim he unknowingly realized that he didn't agree with society’s values and could have his own assumptions and moral values. Twain uses this realization to show how the civilized and morally correct social values that was introduced to Huck was now the civilized and morally contradicting values.
The book I am doing my book report on is called “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain. This book revolves around a poor fourteen year old boy named Huck who runs away from his drunk father and finds friendship within a former slave, Jim, trying to escape to the free states. They adventure along the Mississippi River and end up stopping at various places throughout the novel and meet people who are all morally inadequate. “Tom told me what his plan was, and I see in a minute it was worth fifteen of mine for style, and would make Jim just as free a man as mine would, and maybe get us all killed besides. So I was satisfied, and said we would waltz in on it.” This quotes illustrates the dangers that come to Huck and Jim in this novel, but how Huck chooses to go with the plan anyhow, since it causes a sense of ‘adventure.’ The setting of this novel takes place before the Civil War in different towns along the Mississippi River in Missouri. I will talk about how Huck meets Jim, how he and Jim have to escape from their present issues, how they form a friendship and come across evil in their journey, and how they both end up free with a little help from Tom Sawyer.
Society establishes their own rules of morality, but would they be accepted in these days?
People have a general belief that they know right from wrong, but how does one truly know the difference? In the fictional works of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain expertly portrays this idea through his main protagonist Huck. Some people believed that this book was nothing more than a boy 's adventure story, but Sloane discredits this idea by stating “In 1885 the Concord Library Board pulled Huck Finn from its shelves. What could possibly have been so offensive in this humorous book, seemingly directed at children?” (Sloane). Huck begins this novel with the ideals and beliefs that society has forced upon him; a both figurative and literal black and white way of thinking. Before Pap comes along and forces him to run off, he thinks of Jim as one thing; a slave. The longer Huck spends time away from
Mark Twain once described his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as “a struggle between a sound mind and a deformed conscience”. Throughout the novel, Huck wrestles with the disparity between his own developing morality and the twisted conscience of his society. In doing so, he becomes further distanced from society, both physically and mentally, eventually abandoning it in order to journey to the western frontier. By presenting the disgust of Huck, an outsider, at the state of society, Mark Twain is effectively able to critique the intolerance and hypocrisy of the Southern South. In doing so, Twain asserts that in order to exist as a truly moral being, one must escape from the chains of a diseased society.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, shows moments of a lifetime of one boy. As one reads Huck Finn, they begin to grow with Huck , which could be considered good and bad.
Is every law moral? In the American classics The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Grapes of Wrath, the authors extol the main characters in an affirmative manner despite destructive actions they may have committed, throwing this question into a tizzy. By doing so, Twain and Steinbeck creates a biased platform in which the reader supports the protagonist along their journey. Twain and Steinbeck use the characters of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Joad to instill values of morality in the audience. In everyday society, it is debated whether some laws are immoral and that those who break the law may be doing it for a greater good. While Huck and Joad may have broken laws or rules, they outdo their wrongdoing by fulfilling a moral standard.
Studying the novel points out moral issues of the 19th century that cannot be overlooked. This was a time that society created this hypocritical concept of morality that was clearly evident throughout the The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as Huck is influenced by different factors including his caretakers, Jim, Tom, the duke and the dauphin and even the raft one could add. By attempting to uncover the realities and better meanings of the world, Huck molds his own values and morals, but at the same time he creates an identity for himself that is not based on the ideas of those around him.
Huck rejects lying early in the novel, a testament to his successful training bestowed upon him by the Widow Douglass and other townspeople. Huck begins the story by lecturing the reader that The Adventures of Tom Sawyer contained lies about him, and that everyone has lied in his or her lives (11). Huck’s admittance of the lies contained in the previous book about him demonstrates his early dedication to truth in the novel. Later, Tom forces Huck to return to the Widow Douglass where he continues learning how to be “sivilized” (11). When Huck returns, the Widow Douglass teaches him the time when lying is appropriate, improving Huck’s sometimes unreliable moral directions. After Huck spends enough time with the Widow Douglass and her sister, Miss Watson, Huck begins enjoying the routine of his new life (26). Huck, a coarse character prior to the beginning of the novel, enjoys his education more and more, and displays promise for a cultured future. Prior to the arrival of Pap, Huck sells his money to Judge Thatcher avoiding telling his father a lie (27). Even though his father is an appalling man and an alcoholic, Huck respects him and avoids lying to him by selling Ju...
Twain’s famous novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, plays on the mentality and social structure of his time and its people. He saw the critical weaknesses in our values and ideals as a society during his life. He wanted to express his satirical views to the public and bring light to our society’s problems. Twain had successfully accomplished his task when he published the controversial book that is still argued today. Huckleberry Finn shows how major themes like education, religion, and morality, can be seen in his view.
In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck learned from the Widow Douglas, the woman who fostered him; Tom, his best friend; Jim, a slave he helped escape; and his father, a brutal drunkard. What Huck learned shaped his moral and ethical character.
The theme of growth and maturity is portrayed heavily throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain which centers on Huck Finn, a rambunctious boy whose adventures with a runaway slave build him into a mature young man. The novel is a bildungsroman because it depicts the development and maturing of a young protagonist. In the first part of the story, Huck is seen as very immature. He struggles between doing what he wants and what society would have him do. On the raft, Huck realizes what his own beliefs are because of the people he meets in his journey. Huck?s biggest transformation is through his relationship with Jim. Although Huck isn?t a wonderful person, by the end of the book he has matured extraordinarily.
Mark Twain’s famous novel, Huckleberry Finn, was published in 1855. The story was based off a character that was an ornery and crazy boy, but still had a kind heart. In the time period of the novel it was during the movement of slaves becoming their own people, and regaining their freedom. This was a hard concept for the people of America to accept. The story follows Huck as he helps free Jim, a slave who had escaped due to the fact that he was going to be sold. This idea for a novel was a very different idea, and had been one of the first novels to be publicly banned; yet Mark Twain was at peace with it because he understood it would bring up his sales. Huck Finn has an important moral message throughout the novel, and Huck grows into a man through his actions. The highlight of the novel that truly shows Huckleberry realize that Jim is an equal is in the beginning of the novel, Huckleberry Finn, when he put a snake in Jim’s bed and almost causing his death; he learned that Jim was more important to him than originally thought, Huck also started to try to help Jim more, and brings Jim and Huck even closer together.
“Society establishes their own rules of morality, but would they be accepted in these days?”(Rice) In the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain exposes many moral truths through the character Huckleberry Finn and his relationship with an escape slave, Jim. Throughout the novel three distinct moral truths are expressed. The first moral truth is Huck’s conflict with his personal morals against society’s morals. The second moral truth is the subjugation of Huck to his pap versus the subjugation of Jim as a slave.The last moral truth is the Huck realizes that all of his actions have consequences. Although there are many moral truths that can be interpreted through Huck and Jim’s relationship, these three moral truths are more vividly expressed than the others.
Huck does this very well because he gets away with it for a long time until near the end of the book. But not all of Huck's tricks and lies are for himself, nor are they serious. Through society and his experiences with Jim, he learns that some white lies can also protect people as long as it does not lead to more lies that would cause more problems (Ethics 378). Unlike most people who either draw the line between lying is immoral or morally wrong, he draws the line between harmful and harmless lying.