Morality In Huck Finn

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 derives from antbellum south in a time the basis for morality was given to whites once they were born. This was pretty much summed up in, "white is good, black is bad." This type of society was exremely norrow minded and ignorant which eventually made it a normal concept in which morality was based of of. One of the major places where this is seen is in church, where these ignorant morals were instilled in people of these churches which somehow was justified by religion, more specifially Christianity for timing purposes. This use of religion was highly hypocritical in that the means for justification contradicted many of the moral principles of the religion. "Love your neighbor" became "Love only your white neighbor." In fact they saw it as their duty and as a good deed to own blacks and pieces of property.
It is also a concept prominently shown from beginning to end with Huck Finn. When the story commences, his morals are a result of his direct environment and the absence of his father, who merely seems to appear to instill morals contradicting that of the Widow's, who is responsible for the boy. The Widow wan...

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... decide whether or not he should help Jim.
Because Huckleberry and Tom Sawyer were raised in a racially prejudice timeframe, they had grew up believing that slavery was justified. Every white member in his community, family, and society had shaped their original belief that black slaves are inferior to the white men and women. Huckleberry Finn’s personal experiences from seeing slaves being treated like property also shape his mind as a young boy. Even though they were taught to behave according to society’s decorum, Huckleberry and Tom’s morals evolve from their own experiences and instincts. By taking control of their own lives and choosing to save Jim, Mark Twain shows that there is a misconception that a person’s morals develop from their background. Man is always capable of making a better judgment and choosing to act against the public’s views.