To begin, Twain illustrates Huck as especially immature and his moral values have yet to fully develop. He is raised by someone of equal maturity. In a conversation with his guardian, Miss Watson, Huck says, “I must help other people and do everything I could for other people and look out for them, and never think about myself… but I couldn’t see no advantage about it - except for the other people so at last I reckoned I wouldn’t worry about it any more, but just let it go” (Twain 15). Like most people of the time, Huck’s only concern was himself. The general consensus was if it did not benefit them, or suit their needs, then they would not think twice on it. Many children, including Huck, were raised this way, not knowing any better. Therefore, …show more content…
Because society has raised Huck to obey what is taught, Huck is scared to go against the community although he disagrees on what is truly just and what is truly immoral. Even today, this is something humans still struggle with; standing up for what one believes in, even if it means they are alone. Twain recognized this in humanity and used Huck’s naivety to show how senseless it seems to sit back and not take a stand against an unethical problem, and also to poke fun at how egotistical and blind mankind can be. Furthermore, Huck’s gradual growth spans out for the majority of the novel. Complementary to the fictional character, it is of likewise value that humans grow, develop, and thrive. A moral turnaround for Huck comes after the funeral; he says, “It made my eyes water a little to remember her crying there all by herself in the night, and them devils laying there right under her own roof, shaming her and robbing her…” (Twain 152). In this story, the King and the Duke represent the immoral side of humanity, and surprisingly, Huck is the righteous side. Huck has progressed so much since the beginning, he is now starting to make his own conscious decisions and determine what is right and what is wrong. …show more content…
He has eye-opening realizations about social ethics and humanity. Huck discovers these through multiple people, but one of the first experiences happens when Jim is sleeping. During a scene when Huck observes Jim, he realizes, “...because he hadn’t ever been away from home before in his life; and I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their’n” (Twain 125). It is during this scene when Huck ultimately understands that Jim is a human, and is not just property. He realizes that every person, even if they are a slave, is human, and has feelings and emotions too. Although he has been brought up to believe that Jim is an inferior, it is now that Huck opens his eyes to the fact that society can be barbaric. In addition to the realization that slaves have feelings too, an article notes, “On their trip Huck confronts the ethics he has learned from society that tell him Jim is only property and not a human being” (The Adventures… 6). During the time period, there were around three million slaves in the United States. The country was built on freedom, yet people insisted slavery was an acceptable happening. They were not mature enough to comprehend what slavery honestly was, and how it contradicted everything they stood for. Huck noticed this, and wrestled with his mind on whether or not it is right, but ultimately decided that humans deserve respect,
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 '.
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
When one is young they must learn from their parents how to behave. A child's parents impose society's unspoken rules in hope that one day their child will inuitivly decerne wrong from right and make decisions based on their own judgment. These moral and ethical decisions will affect one for their entire life. In Mark Twains, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck is faced with the decision of choosing to regard all he has been taught to save a friend, or listen and obey the morals that he has been raised with. In making his decision he is able to look at the situation maturely and grow to understand the moral imbalances society has. Hucks' decisions show his integrity and strength as a person to choose what his heart tells him to do, over his head.
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.
“She was going to live so as to go to the good place. Well, I couldn’t see no advantage in going where she was going, so I made up my mind I wouldn’t try for it.” (Finn, 12) From the moment Huckleberry Finn is introduced in Mark Twain’s text Tom Sawyer, it is beyond evident that he is a boy that is not like most in this society. Huck comes from one of the lowest levels of the white society in which he lives. The truth of the matter is that this is not at all Huck’s fault. His low place in society stems from the fact that his father is an excessive drunk, that disappears for large periods of time, and when he does surface, he spends almost all of that time alternating between being jailed and abusing Huck. Therefore, Huckleberry Finn has become a bit of a ruffian himself, spending a majority of his time homeless, floating along the river, smoking his pipe and running a small gang with one of his only friends, Tom Sawyer. Throughout the course of this text, we watch as Huck transforms from this mindset of very little capacity for competent judgment and a very narrow minded concept of what is right and what is wrong to one of very broad minded perspective with an incredibly complex idea of the differences between rights and wrong. Within Mark Twain’s text Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huckleberry undergoes a series of very intense events that ultimately lead to a complete change in the development of his character.
Twain uses Huck to show the readers how living under an authoritative figure causes one to conform to the ideals and beliefs created by society. He proves to the readers, that while under the care of adults, Huck is forced to follow rules and is limited in his own freedoms. However, in the setting of nature, Twain explains how Huck has more liberties and is free to live his life as he pleases, including “shameful” activities such as befriending Jim. As the story unravels, Twain emphasizes to the audience that society is the cause of one to conform and that action should be taken to permit more liberties and uniqueness within
Huck develops morally from his companion on his journey, Jim, a runaway slave. At first, Huck doesn't respect Jim because he's his slave. "…He slipped Jim's hat off his head and hung it on a limb right over him…" P.6. This shows how Huck likes to trick Jim and play games on him. Later the two meet up on an island and immediately befriend and join up together. "…I didn't do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn't done that if I'd 'a' knew it would make him feel that way." P.86. Huck says this after fooling Jim and telling him that a real event was just a dream of his. He r...
When Huck finds out he has been duped by the King and Duke and Jim has been sold to slave traders Huck goes on a mission to set Jim free stating “All right, then, I’ll go to hell” as his proclamation. Even though society tells him that is the wrong choice Huck believes betraying someone as good as Jim is a worse fate than going to hell. Huck’s transition from prejudice to acceptance of Jim gives light to the immoral act that is slavery.
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
As a result, Twain utilizes Huck to depict an evolving character in the novel. This is made prominent by Huck’s changes in morals against racism and maturity by being able to understand what is right and what is wrong. Which is displayed through the experiences that Huck goes through in the novel. Just as a child gets older and starts to break away from the environment that was given to him and the morals bestowed upon him. When the child begins to create it’s own morals and starts to realize what is right from wrong the child is no longer a child it becomes a mature adult of it’s own in a society. Paralleling to Huck going from an immature child to a mature young adult in the end of the novel.
In Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, the nature of individual and societal morality is a pivotal theme to Huck’s storyline and the lens through which he views Southern culture. Through the storyline, Huck is introduced to multiple renditions of moral codes from pap, the widow, Tom, and Jim. Additionally, Huck is also given an ideal seat to view the motives of the multiple mobs and how they interact as a part of society. In Huck’s narrative, an individual 's morality is directly linked to personal benefit being valued above all else and this shapes how and where Huck applies his moral code. Despite this, Huck is able to cultivate his sense of moral responsibility. Moreover, societal morality is even less developed than personal and
When Huck joined Jim, he struggled to reconcile his actions as white person, with the goals of a runaway slave. Jim was set on reaching the free states along the Ohio river. Huck often found himself having to chose between following the rules of white society or his moral conscience to help Jim escape to freedom. In several instances Huck felt guilty like a low down abolitionist. He worried he was violating Mrs. Watson’s right to property by not turning in Jim. Huck’s guilt was further compounded when Jim told Huck his plans for freedom included eventually free his wife and children (Twain pg. 124,125). At first Huck reconciled these feelings by claiming that he had not turned Jim in yet, but he still could. So, Huck attempted to free himself from his guilt by deciding to turn Jim in at the next town. However, each time Huck was presented with the opportunity to turn Jim in he choose to protect Jim. One example that Jim took notice of was when Huck lied to the two slave catchers up stream. Huck told him his sick family was out on the raft to prevent them wandering out to discover Jim (Twain pg.
...te peoples property. He is told that slaves are simply lesser people than people of the white race. Because it really is what everyone believes, this prejudice is tricky to erase and stays with Huck for a long period time. Soon, Huck starts to realize that this is not true. Jim shows him that although he is a servant, he is a genuine person, not a piece of property. He has emotions, just like Huck himself. Huck continually learns through everyone incident how Jim can be a genuine, caring and beneficial person. Slowly, Huck begins to rethink a few of the prejudice things that he’s been taught most of his childhood life. He becomes his own person by choosing what he knows is right to do, instead of what exactly society says is the right thing to do. This is an example that shows how Huck’s maturity and his capability to think for himself has grown throughout this book.
Morality has always been defined as having either a good or evil conscious. There is always a choice that a character makes that defines their moral integrity in a literary work and distinguishes them as the hero. In Mark Twain’s story, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, not only does Huck encounters a number of moral circumstances where he or other characters displays situations in which moral ethics is called to questioned, but it proves that despite the religious influence and social expectation, it is through Huck that in order to do what is morally right, one must challenge the moral teaching of the world. Through observation of his world, Huck makes morally ambiguous choices that though may be against his moral teachings. Choice proves that to act on one’s own judgement despite societies expectations demonstrates that hypocrisy of the community as Twain clearly depicts and satirizes Southern society, he depicts the violence and racism that was described as “silvilization”(Kelly). As the community in Twain’s novel follows the general religious teachings and distinguishes the binaries associated with good and evil, Huck is forced to forsake these teachings and goes on a journey to discover his own moral understanding.
At the beginning of the tale, Huck struggles between becoming ?sivilized? and doing what he pleases. He doesn?t want to listen to the rules that the Widow Douglas and her sister force upon him, even though he knows the widow only wants what is best for him. Miss Watson pushes Huck away from society even more through the way she treats him. She teaches him religion in such a dreary way that when she speaks of heaven and hell, Huck would rather go to hell than be in heaven with her: ?And she told all about the bad place, and I said I wished I was there?I couldn?t see no advantage in going where she was going, so I made up my mind I wouldn?t try for it? (12-13). Huck is taught a very different kind of morality by his father who believes ?it warn?t no harm to borrow things, if you was meaning to pay them back?? (70). He likes his father?s idea of morality better because he is not yet mature enough to fully understand right and wrong, although living with the widow...