The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Critical Lens
Katherine Kennedy
Huck Finn Critical Lens Essay
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry stated, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly”. He implies that humans understand and comprehend the world by different means and rely on different sources to provide the truth. People use their senses, reasoning, emotion, and what others have taught them. However, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry expressed that in order to understand something for what it is truly, emotion is the most truthful and applicable source of knowledge. This source implies that what is true is equal to what is morally correct and just. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s statement is true and this is represented by the thoughts and actions of the characters throughout Mark Twain’s novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In the beginning of the novel Huck Finn is not able to “see” with his heart because he is taught how to see every other way possible. Therefore he is conflicted and unable to see things for what they actually are. Miss Watson is Huck’s teacher and she symbolizes conventional education. She teaches Huck to view things based on societal norms, this is exemplified by her teachings of Christianity and etiquette. Christianity in its simplest form is a religion based on love, forgiveness, and purity. Overtime the religion was misrepresented and misinterpreted by many people. Heaven, or according to Huck, “the good place”, became some kind of a finish line to the competitive mindset of humans, and also sinning became a very shallow part of the religion. Not meeting the proper standards of society was considered a sin. Mark Twain uses satire to mock how people have changed an innocent sanctity into a competitive and shallow establishment. Miss Watson is reprimanding Huck and explains to him the “good” and “bad” places, and how if he always misbehaves then he will not be able to go to the good place. He thinks to himself, “Now she had got a
Huck Finn Critical Lens Essay
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry stated, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly”. He implies that humans understand and comprehend the world by different means and rely on different sources to provide the truth. People use their senses, reasoning, emotion, and what others have taught them. However, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry expressed that in order to understand something for what it is truly, emotion is the most truthful and applicable source of knowledge. This source implies that what is true is equal to what is morally correct and just. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s statement is true and this is represented by the thoughts and actions of the characters throughout Mark Twain’s novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In the beginning of the novel Huck Finn is not able to “see” with his heart because he is taught how to see every other way possible. Therefore he is conflicted and unable to see things for what they actually are. Miss Watson is Huck’s teacher and she symbolizes conventional education. She teaches Huck to view things based on societal norms, this is exemplified by her teachings of Christianity and etiquette. Christianity in its simplest form is a religion based on love, forgiveness, and purity. Overtime the religion was misrepresented and misinterpreted by many people. Heaven, or according to Huck, “the good place”, became some kind of a finish line to the competitive mindset of humans, and also sinning became a very shallow part of the religion. Not meeting the proper standards of society was considered a sin. Mark Twain uses satire to mock how people have changed an innocent sanctity into a competitive and shallow establishment. Miss Watson is reprimanding Huck and explains to him the “good” and “bad” places, and how if he always misbehaves then he will not be able to go to the good place. He thinks to himself, “Now she had got a