Throughout Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck learns a variety of life lessons and improves as a person. Huck goes through a maturing process much different than most, he betters a conscience and begins to feel for humanity versus society. His trip down the river can be seen as a passage into manhood, where his character changes as he can relate with the river and nature. Huck Finn’s adventures start in St. Petersburg, MO which is based on Hannibal, MO. When the widow and Miss Watson try to civilize Huck by teaching him about the Bible, clothing him, teaching him how to read and write, and telling him not to smoke, he goes along with it. Instead of putting up a fight, he conforms to what they want and expect. Huck …show more content…
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 …show more content…
Tom gives him forty dollars for being such a good prisoner. He is so excited and says that he 's rich; he knew he would be rich again one day because of his hairy arms. Tom suggests that they all go and play around in outfits among the Injuns. Huck says that he would like to but he doesn 't have the money for an outfit. And he doesn 't want to go home to get money because he thinks Pap probably stole it all already. Jim tells him that isn 't possible and Pap isn 't going to be coming around ever again. He tells Huck that the dead man he found covered up was
Huck’s situation is so extreme (the mental and physical abuse from Pap) that he cannot take it anymore. He does what he thinks is best; Huck listens to heart rather than his conscience. In order to get away from Pap, Huck organizes an elaborate plan to arrange his own death and run away – both denounced by society - from the prison cell (cabin) and Pap. Huck, for the first time in his life, had felt what it is like to be free: “The sky looks ever so deep when you lay down on your back in the moonshine; I never knowed it before” (Twain 46).
The book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn tell the tale of a young boy who embarks on an adventure, one that leads him to find himself. Throughout the novel Huck develops a sense of morality that was always there to begin with, but not nearly as developed as it is by the end of the novel. Through living on his own, independent of societal and peer pressures, Huck is able to identify his own morals in defining what is 'right ' or 'wrong '.
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.
In chapter 16, Huck goes through a moral conflict of whether he should turn Jim in or not. “I was paddling off, all in a sweat to tell on him; but when he says this, it seemed to kind of take the tuck all out of me (89).'; Right off from the beginning, Huck wanted to turn Jim in because it was against society’s rules to help a slave escape and Huck knew it. But when Jim said that “Huck; you’s de bes’ fren’ Jim’s ever had; en you’s de only fren’ ole Jim’s got now (89),'; made helped Huck to grasp the concept that there is a friendship in the making. Even though Huck didn’t turn Jim in, he is till troubled by his conscience when the slave catchers were leaving because he knows it is wrong to help a slave. Still Huck cannot bring himself forward to tell on Jim, thus showing that his innate sense of right exceeds that of society.
Jim had run away from his abusive father and enabling small town to find himself traveling down the Mississippi on a raft. His traveling partner was a black slave, Jim. Wondering why Jim was there, Huck discovers that Jim had run away from his slave owner, Ms. Watson. Jim had spoken about his harsh life as a slave, and resented talk of being sold down to Orleans for a “big stack o’ money.” Huck felt that Jim’s escape was wrong, but kept his promise of secrecy, like any good friend would.
During his moment of contemplation, Huck exclaims, “Alright then, I’ll go to hell” (242). Despite the fact that we, the audience, and Twain understand how Huck feels about Jim is, in actuality, quite normal and morally righteous, Huck’s mentality still evokes the sentiments of the slave-holding society that Huck had resided in during the entirety of his adolescence. Another aspect of his maturation that Huck needs to reflect upon is his views on the concept of slavery. When declaring his willingness to help Jim escape, Huck states, “...I would go to steal him out of slavery again…” (242). Through this line, Huck apparently expresses the fact that he is willing to “steal” Jim, implying that Jim is property, which ultimately hints at Huck’s failure to make the connection that slavery is unjust. In spite of the fact that Huck has consistently proven to us, the audience, that he is fully capable of positively expanding his knowledge of the world around him, he still has certain notions of his that need to be pondered upon before we can entirely conclude that Huck has separated his personal ideals from the ideals of his slave-holding
Living in the 1800's wasn't an easy task. There were many hardships that a person had to endure. In the novel, The Adventures of Huck Finn, the author Mark Twain portrays the adventure of a young boy. Huck, the young boy, goes on a journey with various dilemmas. The novel starts off in Missouri on the Mississippi River. Huck is taken from his guardians by his father and then decides to runaway from him. On his journey, he meets up with his former slave, Jim. While Huck and Jim are traveling down the Mississippi River, they meet a variety of people. Throughout the novel he takes on many different tasks which help shape his moral conscience. Taking on a new friend which society shuns, being without material possessions, and taking responsibility for his actions help Huck refine and reform the morals that make him a more mature young man.
The Mississippi River, the prominent setting in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was the place that Huck discovered his own logic. The Mississippi River was calm and sweet. Huck especially liked it because it was away from society. “Not a sound, anywheres—perfectly still—just like the whole world was asleep, only sometimes the bullfrogs a-cluttering maybe.” (Twain 108). Traveling on the river, Huck encountered some unlikely companions that taught him lessons about life. The first is when they encounter the two robbers on the Walter Scott, Huck and Finn board not expecting to see them there. They escape by jumping into the robbers’ boat and heading off as quietly as possible. When they are six hundred yards away, Huck feels bad for the robbers that were left stranded on the ship. It is an important aspect of Huck’s character development because he demonstrates that even though the robbers were bad men that did not deserve his compassion, they were also people in need of help. So he sends help for them. Huck reaches the point on the river where he meets the Grangerford family who are pleasant and respectable people. However, ...
Huck exhibits his morality when he hides Peter Wilks’ wealth from frauds. After learning about a large sum of money being inherited by the late Peter Wilks’ brothers, the duke and the dauphin try to steal the brothers’ inheritance; however, their plan is tampered when Huck, feeling mighty terrible, hides the money with the intent of giving the money back to Peter Wilks’ nieces, thus demonstrating that Huck is exceeding moral. Huck recognizes that stealing from these women is wrong and attempts to ensure that their money will be returned. Additionally, Huck proves his integrity when he tries to save robbers off a sinking steamboat. When Huck and Jim are on the Walter Scott, a broken steamboat occupied by three robbers, their raft floats away. Fearing for their lives, Huck and Jim decide to take the robbers’ boat, leaving the robbers to drown. Even though Huck originally puts his own life before the lives of the robbers, he feels remorse about leaving the robbers behind and convinces a ferryboat captain to save the robbers from the sinking ship. Thus, Huck truly demonstrates integrity because he acknowledges that even the lives of robbers have value. Also, Huck Finn exhibits virtue when he determines to help Jim become a free man. Debating whether to turn Jim into Miss Watson after Jim has been sold to the Phelps’ farm, Huck resolves that he must help Jim become a free man regardless of the
Set in pre-civil war America, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn takes place along the Mississippi river. As Huckleberry travels along it he learns lessons about life, society and most importantly; himself. Surrounded by a world of prejudice and racism, Huck is forced to learn to make decisions on his own. He is able to learn from the imperfections in the rest of the world as he views them. While on the river, Huck and Jim are at peace. The river symbolizes freedom for both Jim and Huck. The river is Jim’s path to freedom from slavery, and it is Huck’s freedom from society. When Jim and Huck journey onto the banks of the river they see the inhumanity to man that goes on in the world. This juxtaposition of the river and the land help emphasize the peacefulness of the river in comparison to the crazy society on land. Huck learns to think for himself, and tries not to conform to the ways of the people on the land. Although the world that he lives in teaches him to be a racist, his journey down the river teaches him to use his own mind, and find out what he really believes in.
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...
Under the control of the Widow Douglas and Miss. Watson, Huck is taught how to interpret the world around him. He is not allowed to explore and understand for himself, but rather must follow the path of civilization. His inner conscience is confined to what society wants him to believe. His identity is molded by the principles instilled in civilization, not what he himself believes. He is told to believe that slaves do not care for their family or that they do not have basic human principles. Huck then tunes his outlook on life to match these perspectives, which are not true. Twain reveals that flaw by introducing the character of Jim. Jim is one who cares for his family and has a kind, generous, and caring human nature, which contradicts with what society told Huck. These differences in interpretations and the final culmination of Huck declaring that he will go to hell establishes the idea that civilization wrongly confined his perspective of the world. Him wanting to go to hell confirms the idea that what civilization taught him about slaves is wrong, since he willing to risk his soul for Jim. After the adventure, Huck sees the world for what it truly is, which mostly is different than what the Widow Douglas, and in a civilization in a larger sense, taught him. Twain shows by this change in outlook, that civilization is wrong to limit the freedom of people and that it is flawed to incorrectly
Most of the novel centers around the relationship between Huck and Jim, Miss Watson’s runaway slave. During their first encounter, Huck comments, “I was ever so glad to see Jim. I warn’t lonesome, now” (46). In the beginning of their companionship on the island, Huck sees Jim as a friend, someone that will keep him company. However, later in the story, Huck begins to question whether or not it is right to help Jim. Afterall, Jim does belong to Miss Watson. But in the same respect, besides the fact that Jim is a slave, Huck is also running away since legally, Huck belongs to Pap. So, Huck continues to venture with Jim in hopes that he is doing the right thing. When stopped by men who are searching for runaways, Huck responds that his family, all of them sick with smallpox, is onboard the raft. Of course, the men decide not to check the boat in fear of the infection and even give Huck money for the family. Afterwards, Huck “got aboard the raft, feeling bad and low, because I knowed very well I had done wrong” (101). However, he quickly reevaluates his actions and “says to myself, hold on, - s’pose you’d a done right and give Jim up; would you felt better than what you do now? No, says I, I’d feel bad – I’d feel just the same way I do now” (101).
Our travels start in the Mississippi Valley where Huck Finn is committing schemes and scant adventures with Tom Sawyer and their gang. Huck is also suffering from physical abuse
However Huck is not perfect and he does not always pick the best solution for a problem. He does not have a great life either. “Huck lives with Miss Watson who is trying to civilize him. He and Tom Sawyer become friends with her slave Jim. Huck's drunk father returns to try and take Huck back, but Huck fakes his own murder and runs away with Jim to a nearby island. Jim and Huck discover a raft, which they make their new home and set out to sail down the Mississippi River where they will both be free(The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Bellmore-Merrick Central High School English Department)”. Huck now has to live this out and make the best of it. This is the one major conflict that comes up in the first moments of the book. The first intra personal conflict that Huck is presented with is at the beginning of the book, “Huck ...