Huckleberry Finn Rhetorical Analysis

In his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain satirizes society’s romantic exaggeration of human limits to strive for adventurous and improbable situations. Twain was critical of romanticists’ belief of developing a unique form of liberal arts that is highly imaginative within society. He employs a satirical tone to ridicule society’s belief in romanticism. Twain’s use of rhetorical strategies such as exaggeration, dramatic irony, and parody Through Tom Sawyer, Twain uses exaggeration to reveal the absurd ideas of people who believe in romanticism. In the beginning of the novel, Tom creates a band of thieves with Huck, “Tom Sawyer’s Gang.” (pg. 7) During the initiation ceremony, Tom states that “We are highwaymen. We stop stages and carriages on the road, with masks on, and kill the people

During the beginning of their journey, Huck and Jim find a wrecked steamboat named “Walter Scott.” (pg 73) Sir Walter Scott was a famous scottish playwright and romantic author who wrote works such as The Bride of Lammermoor and Ivanhoe, which celebrated individualism. By stating that the “Walter Scott” is “wrecked,” (pg 73) Twain implies that romantic celebration of individualism is also “wrecked” and flawed. Although Huck is oblivious to this, the audience can clearly see that Twain endeavors to attack the romantic ideal that each person is innately divine within this part of the story. Twain was not a fan of romantic works which signifies that the name of the wrecked steamboat expressed his dislike for romantic works. By naming a sinking ship after a romantic writer, Twain ridicules the old world ideas of romanticism that each person has the intuitive ability to discover higher truths. This shows the audience that the romantic ideal of individualism are pretentious and flawed. Twain’s use of dramatic irony directly attacks romantic novelists and scorns the content of their