Preview

American Experience in Huck Finn

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1737 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
American Experience in Huck Finn
“All modern American Literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn..” claimed Ernest Hemingway, a American author and journalist. This quote represents the idea and perception of Huckleberry Finn as a defining moment in American Literature, a time when a new culture was being formed west of the Atlantic that had many different subjects and characteristics than that of the literature in Europe. What makes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn so original and such a representation of America is that whatever Huckleberry Finn, the character, is about or can be defined by, is what America was all about. Through this complex character, Mark Twain was able to create a new American experience and show the reader all about it. The main characteristics of the American experience that Mark Twain represented through this character included a social commentary on the southern culture and its response to slavery and its general antebellum culture, the nature that defines America and how America defines its nature and the freedom from it, and the new anti-materialistic hero.

The opening of the book deals with the most serious issue depicted; the idea of slavery and the response of the southerners to its injustices. The majority of the American experience of slavery and its response are shown through the relationship between the main protagonist, Huck and his friend Jim. When Jim first approaches Huck to tell him that he has run away from his master Huck replies, “People would call me a low down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum- but that don’t make no difference. I ain’t agoing to tell..” (1379). In a time when it was illegal to aide slaves in their escape, Huck was just beginning to start his moral dilemma of his loyalties to the law, and his friendship with Jim. This brings about a side note on the American experience of slavery that is not as developed as the response to slavery in Huck and that is: how does a person act and feel in a



Cited: Twain, Mark. “ The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” The Harper Single Volume American Literature. Ed. McQuade et al. New York: Longman.1999. 1355-1522 Walter Johnson, Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999, p.2 and 6.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain follows the story of a young white boy, Huckleberry Finn, as he travels down the Mississippi River. Twain uses the experiences of Huck as he travels down the river to comment on society. His opinions of many topics are given by satirizing other characters or events. An element this satire that twain uses is the depiction of the characters in a humorous manner. Throughout the novel the use of this satire is clear and express Twain’s opinions on American culture in the antebellum period. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an effective piece of satire on American culture during the 1800s. Twain satirizes feuding, Pseudo-intellectualism and Greed in his story.…

    • 1094 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    And at its attendance, Huck 's one last dim vestige of pride of status, his sense of his position as a white man, wholly vanishes (Trilling.1950, p.35-38)." "It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I wasn 't sorry for it afterwards either (Twain, p.95)." in this one act, Huck has become a heroic character. "When, in the urging of affection, Huck discards the moral code he has always taken for granted and resolves to help Jim in his escape from slavery. The intensity of his struggle over the act suggests how deeply he is involved in the society, which he rejects (Trilling.1950,…

    • 1473 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Satire in Huck Finn

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages

    During the mid-1800’s there was many “imperfections” in the world, and Samuel Clemens better known as Mark Twain decided to write a book to ridicule some problems concerning religion, greed, civilization, romantic literature, and Melodramatic art. Huckleberry Finn goes on a very complex and intense journey which helps him build a perspective on life as opposed to the ones dictated by those older than him. Throughout Huck encounters situations with problems that mimic actual problems in Twain’s world. Twain makes them look extremely pointless and senseless.…

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huckleberry Finn is a novel set in the rural south of the United States during a period in history when slavery and racism were part of everyday life. The novel introduces two main characters: Huck Finn, an adventurous but naïve, white boy, and Jim, a runaway slave whom is travelling with Huck down the Mississippi River. Throughout the course of the novel, both characters are faced with their individual internal struggles; Huck in particular is faced with the pressing notion of whether or not he should turn Jim in to his rightful owner and do the “right” thing, or disobey the law and help Jim obtain his freedom. Being nothing more than a foolish and naïve boy, Huck does not know the meaning of true love and friendship, until Jim opens up to him and they begin to bond no longer as white boy and black slave, but as humans.…

    • 873 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Constantly feeling pressured to give Jim up and return him to his owner, Miss Watson, Huck writes a letter to his previous owner, making sure to include Jim’s location. However, the guilt he would experience for surrendering his friend causes him to tear it up, as he would rather “sin” than destroy Jim’s freedom. The protagonist was shown to experience an ethical predicament, in which he would have to decide whether to stay true to his friend, or to the whitewashed opinions created by the culture surrounding him. In the course of the novel, Huckleberry is fighting an internal conflict on how he views Jim and other characters of African descent. These beliefs and opinions formed by Huck are tested at this stage in the story, allowing him to decide between what is legally right, and what is morally right. His ability to withhold these unforgivable actions allows the reader to see how greatly Huck’s character has matured throughout the novel. As the nineteenth century progressed, it was very difficult for a slave to become a free man or woman. Many slaves became free through manumission, the voluntary emancipation of a slave by their owner (United States History, n.pag). If Huck were to turn Jim in, it would completely extinguish his likelihood of obtaining the status of a free man at any point of his life. Furthermore, the author shows the reader how…

    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Censorship in Huck Finn

    • 1676 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a young boy named Huckleberry Finn runs away from his life and travels down the Mississippi River with his friend Jim, a runaway slave. The story follows Huck 's moral growth and maturity throughout his many adventures and experiences. The major turning point of the book is when Huck realizes that Jim cares about him, and that he cares about Jim in return. As a child, Huck is taught that Jim isn 't a person because of his skin color and that he does not deserve respect, but Huck discovers that Jim is a person and deserves more respect than most people Huckleberry met on his journeys. He comes to this decision because Jim cares for him and treats Huck better than his own father. Huck says “All right, then, I 'll go to hell.” when he decides to go against the racist teachings of his childhood and help Jim get his freedom (Twain 216-217). The book was written to show what life was like in the 1840s and successfully revealed the way people viewed each other and people of other races. In the beginning of the story, Huck treats Jim poorly because he is taught that…

    • 1676 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mark Twain’s The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn is an American masterpiece. Contrary to The Algerine Captive Mark Twain‘s satire and irony is emphasized through the style and the use of the American “vernacular” dialect for the first time as well as the use of the African-American dialect. Therefore Huckleberry Finn remains the work that elevates this onetime rustic humorist into the ranks of literary genius. It is considered by Satirist Dick Gregory once said that Twain “was so far ahead of his time that he shouldn’t even be talked about on the same day as other people Huckleberry Finn is considered as the first American Novel and aimed at forging an American identity independent from the European one. The Novel, hence, satirize the paradoxical issues of slavery and the hypocrisy of the society as well as the deep intuitions of America.…

    • 1160 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The novel is written in a way to not only document the evils of slavery and the existence of racism in the South, Twain also shows that the use of what we consider to be inappropriate language today is a true representation of language considered to be appropriate during the period of slavery. Lastly, the book is a symbol of humanity as a deep, unlikely relationship forms between a white boy and a slave. Huck protects Jim and helps him to escape, while Jim will risk his own freedom for Huck. In the end, freeing Jim from slavery helps Huck to free himself from the hatred of slavery in the…

    • 935 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huckleberry Finn Criticism

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain in 1884 is a classic example of American literature. It depicts the bond of a fourteen-year old boy and a runaway slave’s as they venture up the Mississippi River with hopes of finding better lives in the free North during the pre-Civil War era. One of the common criticism of the novel is Huck Finn is too wise beyond his years. Twain purposely depicted Huck to be this mature to attempt to change the American society through his art.…

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an important novel that shows how the two worlds of Huck and Jim collide to bring out the problems of racism and slavery before the civil war. Huck was a young, naive boy who is oblivious to the outside world. Jim was a slave with a big heart who looked at the world in a whole different perspective. Throughout the journey together Huck and Jim’s relationship was shaken by the cold reality of racism and slavery, thus slowly opening Huck's eyes to the world around him and creating a new foundation for friendship. When Jim and Huck go on their journey outside of St.Petersburg, Missouri a whole new world was opened up to them, they saw the country like never before.…

    • 912 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the pre-civil war era, southern America was prevalent with slavery and racism towards African Americans. As a result, young children would be exposed to the racism and generate hate directed towards the slaves. This ideology heavily influenced the protagonist, Huck, in the novel even though his natural instinct told him that the slave hunters and owners were in the wrong for their intentions towards a slave named Jim. Huck constantly second guesses himself; hence, he is unsure of what to do in most situations until he is put on the spot, then thinking impulsively, he makes the better decision. Many times in the novel, the setting has a large negative influence on Huck through the law, the way of life, and the opinions of the other characters…

    • 1241 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn Essay

    • 1613 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Twain presents man versus self conflicts in the novel. Huck constantly faces internal conflicts, especially when it comes to Jim. While looking for Cairo, Twain illustrates Huck’s dilemma. As they float down the river, Jim expresses his excitement and says “he would go to saving up money...he would buy his wife…and then they would both work to buy the two children” (75). The way Jim talks horrifies Huck; Being raised in a society that taught people that slaves were property, Huck realizes just what he has done by helping Jim to freedom. Twain uses this scene to emphasize how much Jim’s race affects Huck. Although Twain lays out the story as an adventure, there are much deeper concepts brewing beneath – especially the clash between Jim and Huck. Twain captures this when Huck thinks, “I was sorry to hear Jim say that, it was such a lowering of him” (75). In the next part of the scene, Huck takes their canoe to shore and faces the decision of whether to turn Jim in or not when he runs into two white men inquiring about his raft. Just minutes before it would have been an easy decision for Huck, but when he comes across the men he begins second-guessing himself. Twain embodies Huck’s internal conflict in this scene. The reader’s see Huck’s thoughts when he says:…

    • 1613 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is often considered the greatest American novel ever written. In writing Huck Finn Twain explores many different themes. Among the themes he chooses to expand on are the Mississippi River, the intellectual versus moral education of Huck, the hypocrisy of civilized society, childhood, lies and cons, superstitions, the value of money, religion, and racism and slavery. This paper will explore the theme of racism and slavery. Racism and slavery is shown throughout the novel by being expressed through different characters opinions, and the moral of what is right and wrong in Huck’s time era. In this novel Huck has to make the hardest decision of his life based on the theme of racism and slavery.…

    • 852 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn Satire Essay

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Many authors use satire to discuss issues in society that they have opinions on. These authors express their opinions by mocking the issues in a subtle way in their writing. Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain satirizes many societal elements. Three of these issues include the institution of slavery, organized religion, and education.…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Although he understands the laws of society, he struggles to understand the reason behind the laws. This is obviously portrayed through Huck’s continuous friendship with Jim, a runaway slave. He knows that society would expect him to turn Jim into the authorities, but his own moral code stands in the way of what society views as “right”. While speaking with Jim, he talks to him as if were his equal. After Jim confides in Huck, Huck promises that he will not tell anyone about his whereabouts. Huck says, “Honest injun, I will. People would call me a low-down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum – but that don’t make no difference. I ain’t a-going to tell, and I ain’t a-going back there, anyways” (Twain 53-54). Huck displays his maturity through this by making a moral decision concerning another equal human being’s life. Huck’s morality is portrayed through his involvement in helping Jim to freedom and racist tendencies of society. Although Huck helps Jim escape, he feels that he is doing something that the society he grew up in would view as wrong. In Huck’s mind, he believes that he has stolen someone’s property. He even has an inner debate with himself while questioning what he has done. Huck conscience speaks to him and asks, “What had poor Miss Watson done to you that you could see her nigger go off right under your eyes and never say a single word? What did that poor old woman do to you that you could treat her so mean?” (Twain 98-99). Henry Nash Smith states in his essay, “A Sound Heart and a Deformed Conscience”, that it is “the memory of Jim’s kindness and goodness” that “impels Huck to defy his conscience” (Smith 370). Through this, Huck’s sound heart is reinforced. Huck is also conflicted with society’s Christianity. Huck is aware of the standards of the society that he was brought up in, but he ultimately does not agree with these views. Therefore, he…

    • 1536 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays