Hypocrisy In The American Civilized Society

Twain satirizes and critiques on the theme of American cultural hypocrisies: civilized society, parent-child relationship and religion. Hypocrisy is the term to describe ones’ claims to have moral standards or belief but do not live up to it, even if they claim to have certain virtues. Huck and Jim are the two characters who travel together while escaping from whom they tried to hurt them: the abusive father, Pap, and the widow and her sisters who wanted to sell Jim. Most people would frawn upon Jim’s situation which hurts him but would offer Huck help for a similar situation. This is known to the American cultural hypocrisy of civilized society. The American civilized society claims that “all men are created equal”, the idea created by the

Twain shows how the character act in front of others and then reveals their true nature. For example, Duke and King are unsavory characters whom meet Huck and Jim and lied being from royal descent. Hypocrisy is a characterization that King and Duke possess that depicts them as low people in the minds of the audience. In one instance, King and Duke steals the money from the Widow´s sister and Duke says ¨Have you seen anybody else go in there? No, your grace, not as I remember, I believe. Stop and think.” (154). This is an example of hypocrisy with identity. When they stole the money from the ladies, they thought of nothing on consequences or how they can get away it without suspicion, revealing their true nature and do not live to their virtues as they claim. When someone else steals the money from them, King becomes worried. Huck asks if there something wrong (155) and King gets upset by replying that is none of his business his business and worry about his ownself and his affairs (155). It is comical that King wanted to wait on him and call him by his noble name only when it suits them at the time. King and Duke have no consequences for their actions and holds other people accountable for theirs. Another example of hypocrisy is the racial hypocrisy. In one scene, Duke says, “…you know the nigger that goes up the rooms will get an order to box these duds up and put´em away and do you reckon a nigger can run across money and not borrow some of it?¨ (24). He states that all black people are thieves but he is the thieves himself along with King and assumes that a black man must have taken the money. It raises why questions on why he says this stereotype about black people if he is a thieve himself. Twain would argue that this does not make sense but people like did exist at his