Preview

Huck Finn

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
671 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Huck Finn
Huckleberry Finn essay

The adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel which displays a young boy named Huck's dilemma on whether he should turn in a run away slave named Jim, that he has been helping escape to freedom. Huck must decide upon what he feels is the right thing to do, even if that means going against society and changing his own morals. Huck exemplifies how his opinion of society's beliefs changes throughout this novel. The main dilemma Huck undergoes in the novel is whether he should turn Jim in or not. This theme is dramatized with Huck's conflict with his conscience, Which really means Huck is deciding between if he thinks society is right or wrong. Slavery is such a broad topic of history, that has been studied time and time again. Many people now would disagree with it, but in the 1800's especially in the south (which is when this all occurred), it was very common and accepted. So, the society Huck lives in is pro slavery. Huck, as such a young boy must figure out what he believes is right and act upon it. He would never want to betray a good friend, but he also wants to do what is right. The story takes place while Huck and Jim are traveling down the Mississippi River, heading toward "free territory". Jim tells Huck his plans of working hard in the north and then eventually coming back, to buy his wife and kids. Meanwhile, Huck has a guilty conscience. Huck feels bad that he is helping Jim escape to freedom, when Miss Watson (who was the lady that owned Jim), never did anything bad to him. In Huck's eyes, what he is doing is wrong, and that is why he feels so guilty. People at this time, did not realize that slavery was a cruel thing, because they thought of slaves more as objects. Huck is going against his society because he feels that Jim is rightfully Miss Watsons "property". Huck was raised in a society where slaves were not treated like actual human beings, and throughout the story, Huck starts to see that Jim actually has

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • 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

    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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This story is about a boy who pretty much has a front row seat to witness the horrible things that we see being broadcasted on the news today; such as racism. Huck knows that the racists situations that he is witnessing around him are wrong in the eyes of society, but in his heart he knows what's right, which is why he chose to help Jim. Throughout the adventure , Huck struggles with the thoughts of turning Jim in, not because he knows it's the right thing to do but because he knows what could be the consequences for himself and Jim. The only thing that is holding Huck back from turning Jim in is their friendship and what he feels in his heart.…

    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory 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

    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

    Huck does not consciously think about Jim's impending freedom until Jim himself starts to get excited about the idea. The reader sees Huck's first objection to Jim gaining his freedom on page 66, when Huck says, "Well, I can tell you it made me all over trembly and feverish, too, to hear him, because I begun to get it through my head that he was most free-and who was to blame for it? Why, me. I could get that out of my conscience, no how nor no way." Huck is hearing the voice of society at this point, not his own. He does not see a moral dilemma with Jim being free; he is opposed to the fact that he is the one helping him. This shows Huck misunderstanding of slavery. Huck does not treat Jim like a slave when they travel together, this shows the reader that Huck views Jim as an equal in most ways. Huck sees having a slave only as owning the person, not actually being a slave to someone. Therefore, when he helps Jim runaway it would be like stealing. This conscience is telling him that Miss Watson, Jim's master, never did anything wrong to him and that he shouldn't be doing a wrong to her by helping Jim escape. This is a totally different view of Miss Watson from Huck's perspective. Huck always disliked Miss Watson, but now that this society voice plays a part in Huck's judgment his views are changed. This society views allows Huck to see Jim, a friend, only as a slave and Miss Watson, almost a foe in his young views, as a dear friend. Twain is showing the reader the gross injustices of slavery in this little incident, as well as his moral opposition to slavery. Twain…

    • 936 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
  • 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
  • Better Essays

    Huck Finn

    • 1632 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Old South’s way of life deformed the consciences of the people living there, convincing them of the humanity of slavery. Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn tells the story of Huck Finn, a young redneck boy, who finds friendship in a runaway slave named Jim, despite his own racist background. Though Huck and Jim bond throughout their journey, Huck struggles to overcome the way he was raised and see Jim as a person capable of feelings and emotions. Throughout his journey down the Mississippi, Huck is faced with challenges where he must decide Jim’s fate, but as his bond with Jim grows stronger, he begins to unlearn the racist views he was taught. He begins to mature and follow his heart when he apologizes to Jim, decides not to turn him in, and when he finally has the epiphany that he would rather rot in Hell than turn in his best friend.…

    • 1632 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn

    • 927 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “I couldn’t ever ben free ef it hadn’ ben for Huck; [he] done it. Jim won’t ever forgit you, Huck; you’s de bes’ fren’ [I have] ever has; en you’s de only fren’ ole Jim’s got now,” (Twain 88-89) Throughout Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he puts a heavy emphasis on the relationship of a white adolescent and a black middle aged, father-figured slave. As the novel progresses, Huck debates whether the morals Miss Watson and widow Douglas teach him, abandoning a true friend, are correct or if he should follow his own conscience, which tells him not to desert someone whom is trustworthy and an excellent companion. This young white boy originally learns from these two women that African American slaves are only suppose to work; however, as Huck befriends Miss Watson’s slave, Jim, Huck goes against the original morals that were imbedding in his head by Miss Watson. He takes a stand and runs away with Jim to make a better life for them both. Throughout Huck and Jim’s adventures and struggles, society tests their relationship while their own conscience affects major decisions they make towards each other.…

    • 927 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On the one hand Huck could help his friend Jim escape and become a free man, and quite possibly change his entire future. On the other, Huck could do as society tells him and what Miss. Watson would want and turn Jim in. As the reader finishes the chapter, one can conclude that it is not just about a fight with Huck's conscience but rather Twain trying to point out the great disparity of the times. A time when people were torn between what was right by society, and what was right by heart. Twain masterly crafts what appears to be the conscience of a confused boy to an giant moral question. Is slavery right and should we help the salves escape? Twain says "Conscience says to me" notice he does not say "Huck thought". It would be ridiculous to imply that Twain is not talking about slavery, because slavery is a major theme throughout the whole book, but perhaps Twain is discussing the…

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Huck Finn Symbols

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Themes: Racism and Slavery- how it was still a problem in the south even after slavery was abolished; injustice of slavery…most whites thought it was morally right for African Americans to be slaves. Intellectual and Moral Education-Huck doesn’t trust the morals and views of society that treats him like an outcast; gets abused. Huck learns through experience about society, and his growing relationship with Jim, lead Huck to question many of the teachings that he has received, especially regarding race and slavery. More than once, we see Huck choose to “go to hell” rather than go along with the rules and follow what he has been taught... huck is especially free from society’s rules, able to make his own decisions without restriction. At the end he can tell somewhat right from wrong .Lies and Cons- huck lies and scams for the greater good; lies to slave hunters to save jim. He discovers lies can be good depending on their purpose. while the king and duke don’t care about anything.…

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Huckleberry Finn you can see at the start of the book Huck is being brought up and “civilized” by Widow Douglas and Ms. Watson, who are serving as his parents because of the passing of his mother and his abusive father. Huck is being taught that slavery is a natural part of life and is being encouraged to support slavery by his interim parents. Once Hucks’ father, Pap, enters into the plot of the novel it is easy to see his outlook on slavery, because he is constantly looking down on the black people, cursing and using disgraceful language to describe them. Huck follows suit to his old man because Pap is the only influence in his life. As Huck escapes from his fathers house and moves down river and crosses paths with Jim, the runaway slave, he think that God would want him to turn Jim in because it is the American and Christian thing to do. Huck passes over the idea because he does somewhat like Jim. All though Huck is racist and unkind toward Jim in the beginning of the book, Jim considers Huck a friend. If you dig further into the novel you can see Jim considers Huck a friend not only because Jim tells Huck he is Jims’ one and only friend, but by observing how Jim offers up his raft, food, and clothes to Huck, forgives Huck for touching the snakeskin…

    • 1099 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays