Huckleberry Finn Satire Essay
Nam Mai
Mrs. Moore
English III
27 April 2012
Satirical Elements in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn It is obvious that Mark Twain intended for readers of Huckleberry Finn to discover the hidden messages, meanings, and lessons within the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. At the beginning of the novel, Twain states that “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot” to cause the curious reader to search for such things. Most of these secret messages are written through satire, allowing Twain to point out and ridicule societal ills at the time. Racist, ignorant, and cruel thoughts or individuals are …show more content…
Pap was wearing, “just rags, that was all. He had one ankle resting on t’other knee; the boot on that foot was busted, and two of his toes stuck through” (Twain). “You’re educated, too, they say – can read and write. You think you’re better’n your father, now, don’t you, because he can’t? I’ll take it out of you. Who told you you might meddle with such hifalut’n foolishness, hey? – who told you you could?”, says Pap to Huck. This quote is ironic because most parents would be proud of their child when he or she is educated, rather than condemn them. Since the reader knows this, they understand that the previous quote was an example of irony and satire Twain used to condemn ignorant and cruel individuals. In the same way, Twain uses satire to ridicule hypocrites, and racist ideas in the South, in places like the Mississippi River town of St. Petersburg, where the story is …show more content…
One Sunday, both families go to the same church with “the men [carrying] their guns along, so did Buck, and kept them between their knees or stood them handy against a wall” (Twain). After listening to the preacher’s sermon, “all about brotherly love, and such-like tiresomeness; everybody said it was a good sermon, and they all talked it over going home” (Twain). The church appears to be the only place both families can peacefully co-exist, ironically, with guns between their knees. The satire ridicules the hypocritical families, who have an ongoing murderous rivalry, yet discussed how much they enjoyed the preacher’s sermon on brotherly love. Twain’s story of the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons shows the readers the cruelty of man’s inhumanity to man, the absurdity of violence, and the hypocrisy of people who think their behavior is “honorable” or
Mrs. Moore
English III
27 April 2012
Satirical Elements in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn It is obvious that Mark Twain intended for readers of Huckleberry Finn to discover the hidden messages, meanings, and lessons within the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. At the beginning of the novel, Twain states that “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot” to cause the curious reader to search for such things. Most of these secret messages are written through satire, allowing Twain to point out and ridicule societal ills at the time. Racist, ignorant, and cruel thoughts or individuals are …show more content…
Pap was wearing, “just rags, that was all. He had one ankle resting on t’other knee; the boot on that foot was busted, and two of his toes stuck through” (Twain). “You’re educated, too, they say – can read and write. You think you’re better’n your father, now, don’t you, because he can’t? I’ll take it out of you. Who told you you might meddle with such hifalut’n foolishness, hey? – who told you you could?”, says Pap to Huck. This quote is ironic because most parents would be proud of their child when he or she is educated, rather than condemn them. Since the reader knows this, they understand that the previous quote was an example of irony and satire Twain used to condemn ignorant and cruel individuals. In the same way, Twain uses satire to ridicule hypocrites, and racist ideas in the South, in places like the Mississippi River town of St. Petersburg, where the story is …show more content…
One Sunday, both families go to the same church with “the men [carrying] their guns along, so did Buck, and kept them between their knees or stood them handy against a wall” (Twain). After listening to the preacher’s sermon, “all about brotherly love, and such-like tiresomeness; everybody said it was a good sermon, and they all talked it over going home” (Twain). The church appears to be the only place both families can peacefully co-exist, ironically, with guns between their knees. The satire ridicules the hypocritical families, who have an ongoing murderous rivalry, yet discussed how much they enjoyed the preacher’s sermon on brotherly love. Twain’s story of the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons shows the readers the cruelty of man’s inhumanity to man, the absurdity of violence, and the hypocrisy of people who think their behavior is “honorable” or