Huck Finn Essay

Topics: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mississippi River, Mark Twain Pages: 3 (641 words) Published: November 30, 2014

William Capistrano
Mr. Giknis
English 11
12/08/13

In the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Jim and Huck would not have been able to build their friendship on shore, without the insulating presence of the Mississippi River. This is seen through Huck’s prank on Jim, Jim looking out for Huck, and Huck’s guilty conscious. As of a result of this, Mark Twain successfully depicts how two distant personalities come together to form one unique friendship. Huck's mindset towards Jim shifts from him believing that Jim is just property and an uneducated slave, to realizing that Jim is an amazing friend. Huck was born and raised in a community that degraded the humanity of slaves; and had a father that never taught him good morals. The pranks that Huck pulls on Jim reflect Huck’s attitude of the way he was brought up as a person. After the scene where Huck and Jim get separated in the fog, Huck believes that Jim isn’t smart enough to believe that the incident never happened, and that Jim just imagined everything. Jim then finds evidence proving that the separation did happen, and is disappointed by Huck’s actions. Huck then says, “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger... and i wouldn’t done that one if i’d a knowed it would make, him feel that way” (Twain 89). Jim shows that a slave like himself has feelings and Huck’s attitude shifts to becoming a compassionate person. The more Huck tries to figure out himself, the closer he gets to understanding Jim.

Another scene is when they come across a house on a raft and go inside to search if they can collect any materials to help them on their journey. “It’s a dead man. Yes, indeedy; naked, too. He’s ...

Continue Reading

Please join StudyMode to read the full document

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

Huck Finn superstition essay

...Jim and Huck have many different perspectives on superstition. In the story, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, superstition plays a huge role in describing the way of life back in the 1800s. At one part of the book, Huck spills salt and throws it over his left shoulder. “One morning I happened to turn over the salt-cellar at breakfast. I reached for some of it as quick as I could to throw over my left shoulder and keep off the bad luck, but Miss Watson was in ahead of me, and crossed me off.” Even nowadays people still do this, because people are still cautious about having bad luck. The superstition about salt goes back to the biblical days. Spilling salt is considered bad luck because salt was expensive, crucial in preserving food, and was often used as money. It is considered a huge offense to the lord and the devil will take more interest in you. Throwing salt over your shoulder is similar to blessing someone after they have sneezed. It's a way of distracting the devil while you're in an especially vulnerable moment. Depending on your interpretation, the salt is either intended to blind the devil so he can't witness your error, or keep him from sneaking up on you while you're cleaning up your mess. From my perspective, it seems like the superstitions that stick with people are superstitions that take place in the biblical ages. Eighty four percent of people are still religious today, which causes them to still be cautious...

Read More

928 Words 3 Pages
Huck Finn Essay

...Analysis of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of the most controversial stories written. It holds the title number four on the list of banned books for the use of the “N-word” and has been interpreted in many different ways. Some see it as a book about racism, others believe it is about morality and ethics. Many interpret the story as one about adventure and freedom. Critics may disagree about what message Twain was trying to get across, but one thing is clear; Huckleberry’s character changes and develops continuously throughout the story. However, even though he develops new ideas and seems to have a better understanding of morality towards the end of the book, he is quick to return to his old ways when his troublesome friend Tom Sawyer returns. In the end of it all, Huck still has characteristics of a racist and tends puts himself before others. He is only willing to do the right thing if it makes him feel better or if he’ll have a guilty conscience either way. Twain first introduces Huck as a young boy who is being taught how to be ‘sivilized’ by a widow who took him in. The Widow Douglas and her sister Miss Watson tried to educated Huck about society since his alcoholic father was not a good example for him. Huck has learned that in society, African Americans were seen as subhuman and could be owned as property. So naturally, when...

Read More

1108 Words 3 Pages
Huck Finn Essay

...Brendan Long Woldendorp D Period 5/6 11.27.12 Huck Finn Essay: Overcoming Society’s Influence People develop into individuals due to many outside influences. The most significant influence on people is society itself. However, while society influences opinions and ideas of people, the most important morals that people have remain intact despite the disparaging effects of society. Mark Twain demonstrates through the character “Huck” in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” that society corrupts the beliefs and opinions of people, but fails to overshadow their fundamental morals and principles. The effects of society on individuals are clear in the presence of racism in Huck Finn. Huck is a young boy, whose opinions are all based on what society has taught him. He grew up practically an orphan, with a nomadic, drunk father, so his ideas have been instilled on him by his friends, and society, rather than by his family. Society’s dehumanization of the slaves is shown in a conversation between Huck and Aunt Sally. The two converse over if anyone was hurt on the boat, and Huck tells Aunt Sally, “No’m. Killed a n****r” (232). Huck’s statement signifies that a slave had died, however, Aunt Sally replies, “Well, it’s lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt” (232). This statement so blatantly dehumanizes black people that it...

Read More

1057 Words 3 Pages
huck finn slavery essay

...Bragg 1 Mya Bragg Honors English 11 Ms. Miers th February 27 2015 Racism in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn “You don’t fight racism with racism, the best way to fight racism is with solidarity” (Seale 1 ). In a society where racism and slavery are present, Twain shows that racism is extensive in society, meaning racism is even shown in the best people with good morals . Throughout the book, Mark Twain uses Huckleberry Finn and Jim to portray his ideas and issues with racism and slavery . The classic tale, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, reflected the ideas of racism and slavery that he was taught in the deep South, into The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . Initially, Twain’s immense amount of use of the term “nigger” and the many racial meanings that come with that word created problems throughout the novel . Another meaning for the word “nigger”, besides someone who is African American is, “A colored person who has no money” (Wiktionary 1). Twain focused on the definition “ A darkskinned person, especially a person of, or primarily of, Negro descent” (Wiktionary 1). The difference between these two definitions is that the first definition of the term is judging and downgrading a race. The second definition is explaining what type of person they’re talking about without being racist. This ...

Read More

1193 Words 5 Pages
Huck Finn Essay

...Drew Shunkwiler Mr. Hall American Literature 11 November 2011 Huck Finn Essay The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was the first great American novel. Ernest Hemingway went as far as to say that "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn". Mark Twain used literature to express his beliefs about American life and society. Huck Finn is a story of a young boy named Huckleberry Finn finding himself while traveling down the Mississippi River. Mark Twain uses Huck's journey towards maturity to convey his belief in the importance of being independent. Huck's journey to maturity begins with Huck displaying adolescent and dependent behavior. Huck is very immature at the beginning of the novel in the sense that he is reliant on the actions of others in order to dictate the decisions he makes. When Huck asks Tom Sawyer about how they should go about being a gang of robbers, Tom comes up with crazy ideas that do not make sense, but defends himself by saying; "I’ve seen it in books; and so of course that’s what we’ve got to do"(10). At this point, the gang that Tom Sawyer started is following everything he says. Huck and the rest of the boys are not thinking for themselves, but are doing what they are told, even though what they are doing is ridiculous....

Read More

805 Words 3 Pages
Huck Finn Essay

...Huck Finn Essay In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the theme of growth is used to develop Huck. Huck starts his journey as a boy but, by the end he is a man. Huck grew due to the variety of societies that he lived in, even if only for a short time. There were three societies in which Huck grew, whether for the best or for the worst depends on the situations he is in later on. The first place where Huck met a different society is when he lived with Ms. Watson and Widow Douglas. When Huck lived with Widow Douglas and Ms. Watson, he was exposed to various things. Through Widow Douglas he was exposed to society, and how it generally works, “The widow rung a bell for supper, and you had to come to time. When you got to the table you couldn't go right to eating, but you had to wait for the widow to tuck down her head and grumble a little over the victuals, though there warn't (sic) really anything the matter with them” (Twain 2). Through contact with the School, Huck learned how to read and write, this helped him throughout his experiences with other societies. Huck would escape from Widow Douglas and Ms. Watson to play with Tom Sawyer and his gang of kids, later returning muddy and oily. The next day, Ms. Watson berated Huck about the state of his attire. Causing...

Read More

887 Words 3 Pages
Huck Finn Essay

...live and act together. However, in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the reverse is true. The swap in societal stereotypes is apparent in the king and the duke’s production of the Royal Nonesuch as well as Huck and Jim’s pleasant journey down the Mississippi after escaping the family feud between the Grangerfords and the Shepardsons. Leading up to the performance of the Royal Nonesuch, the king and the duke attract an all-male audience in a small town in Arkansas for a so-called “tragedy”, and make signs promising lewdness in the performance. Conversely, the protagonists of the novel, Huck and Jim, are depicted as noble characters on the outskirts of society, as they lead a carefree existence down the Mississippi River. The central irony in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is that in the midst of a “sivilized” society, uncivilized members abound, particularly those who are racist, conniving, and ill-mannered; whereas Huck and Jim, who have escaped society, are more righteous, sincere, and morally sound than any of the other “sivilized” characters who populate the traditional southern communities the novel depicts. Civilization is the most advanced form of human organization, a truth universally acknowledged by society, and one that assumes humans are not savage; the sounds and setting in the river/raft and the Royal Nonesuch passages defy the standard definition of civilization. As...

Read More

1762 Words 7 Pages
Huck Finn Essay

...Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay “The most violent element in society is ignorance” -Emma Goldman. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, it is put in plain sight that ignorance is dominant in the lives of the characters. Through the irony used in Huck Finn, the reader becomes aware that ignorance is everywhere in society, Twain demonstrates this through Pap, Huck Finn, and the feud between the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons. Hucks deformed conscience informs the reader how ignorant Huck truly is. Huck appears to be flabbergasted when Jim says that if he is not able to free his children he will have to steal them. “It most froze me to hear such talk... here was this nigger which I had as good as helped to run away, coming right out flat- footed and saying he would steal his children- children that belonged to a man I didn’t even know; a man that hadn’t ever done me no harm” (79). Huck is viewing the children as inferior blacks, Huck is defending slavery, and treating Jim as a criminal despite slavery being morally wrong. Towards the end of chapter 23 Jim expresses how much he misses his family. To Huck it seems peculiar for a black person to have all of these emotions “I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks do for their’n” (140)....

Read More

889 Words 3 Pages

Popular Essays

Join millions of other students and start your research

Become a StudyMode Member

Sign Up - It's Free