Morality as a Social Construct in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the Rise of Silas Lapham and the Awakening

The definition of morality varies across different levels of society. In order for a member outside a certain societal level to be properly integrated, it is vital that he or she learns the moral code of that class. In this essay, three novels that deal with societal integration of an outside member will be examined: Mark Twain 's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, William Dean Howells ' The Rise of Silas Lapham and Kate Chopin 's The Awakening. These three works were written during the tumultuous period that followed the American Civil War, when realist novels rose to dominate the literary circle. As a genre, realism dealt with real individuals in society in a realm where people were the judges of their lives and determined their own moral code. Realist novels were intended for the common man, and documented the individual struggles of people attempting to enter a new world while they reconcile their personal morals with those of the new code. In each of the works examined, the issue of moral dilemmas, decisions and reconciliation arises within figures outside of the society they are thrust into. Mark Twain 's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written during the post-civil war period but was set in a time that preceded the Civil War. Slavery abounded in the traditional South while abolitionism gained popularity in the North. The protagonist, Huck Finn, is a poor white adolescent who happened to come across a fortune, gaining entrance into a higher class through the ministrations of a local widow wishing to civilize him. Huck was raised by his father, an infamous delinquent known as Pap. Pap is a raging alcoholic with a very shaky moral code that involves satisfying personal needs through any means necessary. Huck spent his childhood outside, fending for himself; he did not attend church or receive a proper education, learning only methods of survival. When Huck enters the widow 's house, he is faced with a new set of moral rules based on

Cited: Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. The Heath Anthology of American Literature: Volume C. Ed. Suzanne Phelps Weir. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 2006. 363-453. Howells, William Dean. The Rise of Silas Lapham: A Norton Critical Edition. Ed. Don L. Cook. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 1982. Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Penguin Books, 2003.