societhf Rejection of Civilization in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Rejection of Civilization in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

In the novel Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck decides to reject

civilization. At the end of the story Aunt Sally wants to civilize him,

but he refuses. He says "I reckon I got to light out for the territory

ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally, she's going to adopt me civilize me,

and I can't stand it. I've been there before." Huck decides to choose

against society because of all the harsh realities that he has seen first

hand.

Huck's early doubts of the civilized world all started with Pap.

During most of his childhood, Huck had been abused both physically and

mentally by his redneck guardian Pap. This man had walked into and out of

Huck's life on numerous occasions. He was the only father figure in Huck's

life and failed miserably at the job. Pap was the first representation of

civilization to Huck and it was a sour one. It was also civilization that

awarded custody of Huck to Pap. He had been screwed over too many times by

the civilized world, and that was the main reason he decided to leave home.

Huck ran from his troubles at home down the Mississippi River. The

river is where he found his sanctuary. Jim and Huck were always safe,

independent, and free out on the raft. It seemed that every time they

would go to shore, something negative involving civilization would arise.

The dark side of human nature and suffering would meet up with the two of

them. They always stumbled upon the under-belly of society.

The symbol of human suffering was the Grangerfords family. When

Huck found himself in front of their farm after the ship wreck, his first

impression was a positive one. He thought that the Grangerfords were a

pleasant, normal family. However the dark secrets that existed within the

family could make skin crawl. The paintings and writings made by Emmeline

Grangerford, who died when she was fourteen, are of rather morbid subjects.

She was a messed up child that came from a bizarre, disturbed family. They

had a feudal war going with another family where constant deaths and

suffering took place. Just before Huck leaves, his age equivalent and