Free Huckleberry Finn Essays: The Fault In Our Society
The Fault in Our Society
There is both good and bad in modern day society; there would be no good without the presence of the bad. Violence, racism, and poverty, have not loosened their grip on civilization since the dawn of man; however, these issues may be a product of society itself. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, author Mark Twain uses minor character Pap Finn to account for the flaws within society, and to explore the evils of human nature.
To begin, Pap Finn is the embodiment of the defects within modern civilization; the purpose of his presence is to provide stark juxtaposition from the good in Huck’s life. Pap is a horrendous excuse for a father, Huck cites that he “hadn’t been seen for more than a year, and that was comfortable for [Huck]” (Twain 22). No child should be satisfied with the absence of their parent. The fact that Huck is, raises a red flag for the reader; it indicates neglect and abuse. Pap was also a thief, …show more content…
Judge Thatcher states that “a body could reform the old man with a shotgun, maybe,” because he believes Pap is a failure as a result of his own mistakes (33). It makes him feel better about himself however, it is not true. Pap Finn is the product of social injustice not his own mistakes. Pap goes off on a drunken tangent about a highly educated African American man. He is terribly disgusted and declares that “when they told [him] there was a state in this country where they’d let that nigger vote, [he] drawed out” (37). Since he is considered inferior to those with more assets than him he needs to feel that there is someone who is of less value than him. The members of society need to feel like they are above someone to fulfill their superiority complexes and escape feelings of inferiority. Pap is the same; he and his racist tendencies are the products of the vicious cycle of social
There is both good and bad in modern day society; there would be no good without the presence of the bad. Violence, racism, and poverty, have not loosened their grip on civilization since the dawn of man; however, these issues may be a product of society itself. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, author Mark Twain uses minor character Pap Finn to account for the flaws within society, and to explore the evils of human nature.
To begin, Pap Finn is the embodiment of the defects within modern civilization; the purpose of his presence is to provide stark juxtaposition from the good in Huck’s life. Pap is a horrendous excuse for a father, Huck cites that he “hadn’t been seen for more than a year, and that was comfortable for [Huck]” (Twain 22). No child should be satisfied with the absence of their parent. The fact that Huck is, raises a red flag for the reader; it indicates neglect and abuse. Pap was also a thief, …show more content…
Judge Thatcher states that “a body could reform the old man with a shotgun, maybe,” because he believes Pap is a failure as a result of his own mistakes (33). It makes him feel better about himself however, it is not true. Pap Finn is the product of social injustice not his own mistakes. Pap goes off on a drunken tangent about a highly educated African American man. He is terribly disgusted and declares that “when they told [him] there was a state in this country where they’d let that nigger vote, [he] drawed out” (37). Since he is considered inferior to those with more assets than him he needs to feel that there is someone who is of less value than him. The members of society need to feel like they are above someone to fulfill their superiority complexes and escape feelings of inferiority. Pap is the same; he and his racist tendencies are the products of the vicious cycle of social