The Weakest Link: Man Within Society

The Weakest Link: Man Within Society

Lauren Owen

Mr. James
English III
12 February 2013

Mark Twain strongly believed that society brought out the worst in men. It was he who said, “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” (“Quotes by Teacher” 2) In Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain demonstrated man’s inclination to do as society suggests. He displayed these views in his depiction of the slave hunters, who cared of no one’s well being besides their own, in the senseless bloodshed the feud between the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons brought, and in slavery, with the dehumanization of Jim. His ideas were also shown in the Royal Nonesuch, when the king and duke convinced the men who had been tricked into paying for a horrible show to likewise deceive their neighbors into coming, so they would not be the sole sufferers. Twain revealed his thoughts most clearly when he showed the changes that took place in Huck throughout the course of the novel (“Huck Finn” 1). Also, in Roughing It: Lost in a Snowstorm, another one Twain’s works, three men were caught in a snowstorm, and in fear, promised God that if He would spare their lives they would give up their greatest temptations; yet they did not keep those promises. Twain’s ideas were groundbreaking and shed much light on society’s tendency to make all men think the same. Huck was paddling on the canoe away from Jim, who was on the raft when two men with guns stopped him. They wanted to check his raft to see if there were any black men on the raft. Huck told them he wished they would because his pap was on it and he was sick. After the men heard that his pap was on board with Huck’s mom and sister and they all had small pox they refused to go near the raft. They instructed him,
“You float along down about twenty miles, and you 'll come to a town on the left-hand side of the river. It will be long after sun-up then, and when you ask for help you tell them your folks are all down with chills and fever. Don 't be a fool again, and let people guess what is the matter. Now we 're trying to do you a kindness; so you just put twenty miles between us, that 's a good boy” (Twain 68).
The men did not want to catch the small pox from them but told Huck to get help from the next town. They had no care for their neighbors but only were looking out for their own well-being. Another example about the effects society has on man is when Huck went to the Grangerford’s house. He was very impressed with the appearances they kept. After seeing the house, Huck said, “It was a mighty nice family, and a mighty nice house, too. I hadn’t seen no house in the country before that was so nice and had so much style” (Twain 75). Later Huck also said, “Col. Grangerford was a gentleman, you see. He was a gentleman all over; and so was his family” (Twain 79). Huck was still very much affected by society and his views were shared with most people who viewed the Grangerfords. It was not until Huck witnessed the bloody feud between the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons that his opinions of them changed. The thing that disgusted him the most about the whole feud was they did not remember why they were at war with each other, but only did so because those before them had (Twain 87). Towards the end of the novel, the doctor, who had been known as one of the most individualistic people in the tale, made an assessment of Jim. He had praised Jim, who had willingly sacrificed his freedom to save Tom. After telling the people about how good Jim was, the doctor said, “I liked the nigger for that; I tell you, gentleman, a nigger like that is worth a thousand dollars” (Twain 215). Even though the gentleman was set apart from the rest of society, he had seen Jim as the people did. He saw him as a slave, property. He had put a value on him in cents and dollars without seeing his worth as a person rather than a possession. The Royal Nonesuch performance displayed the heinous degree of corruptness men can have. The king and duke had convinced men into paying to watch their “thrilling tragedy” by putting on the handbill “ladies and children not admitted” (Twain 113). They filled the amphitheater on the first night, and after their terrible performance they convinced the men to go home and rave about the tragedy so all the men would “be in the same boat” (Twain 114). The men agreed that the duke’s idea was certainly the most sensible and proceeded to proclaim to the rest of the town that the show was splendid and they should all go see it. The men of the society lacked the backbone to protest and easily let the duke corrupt them with his ideas. The duke knew how to play on the men’s desire to maintain their status and avoid humiliation. He also revealed the gullibility of people, and their willingness to follow whoever is willing to lead (“Huck Finn” 1). At the beginning of the novel, Huck was fairly immature. He assumed that if people did not think his way, they thought the wrong way. When he asked the widow if he have a smoke and she said no, he told the readers, “They get down on a thing and they don’t know nothing about it” (Twain 2). Huck displayed a further degree of immaturity when he placed a rattlesnake by Jim’s blanket and the snake’s mate came in the middle of the night and bit Jim (“Changes in Huck” 1). Twain shows Huck begin to mature more the longer he is out of society and in Jim’s presence. We begin to see growth when Huck does not partake in duke and king’s scam on the Wilks family. Then, not only did Huck avoid participating but he tried to stop them, and exhibited his development in becoming a man. We see just how much Huck has matured at the end of the novel. Huck realized that regardless of someone’s moral standing, they still have worth (“Changes in Huck” 2). Huck observed the king and duke getting tarred and feathered and he grew sick. “It was a dreadful thing to see. Human beings can be awful cruel to one another” (Twain 174). In Roughing It: Lost in a Snowstorm, three men were traveling in a snowstorm. After following their own tracks for two hours, then following a stage’s tracks and losing them, they eventually decided to make camp (“Roughing It” 502). They tried to build a fire, and decided to test the ways those before them had started a fire. They started with gathering sticks and shooting the pile, yet they merely scattered, rather than lighting (“Roughing It” 504). After that had failed, they decided to attempt the Indian legend of rubbing sticks together. Thirty minutes later, both they and the sticks had simply grown colder. Finally, four matches were found, but, alas, they would not hold the flame. They had come to accept, they were going to die out there, so they began to confess their vices and promise, that if God spared their lives, they would give them up forever (“Roughing It” 505). The next morning, the blizzard cleared and they saw, not fifteen steps away was the stage station. They were joyful with their deliverance yet embarrassed at their stupidity. After the depth of their gratitude had worn off, they all went back to their vices (“Roughing It” 506). Twain revealed two things of the society man in this chapter; men are prone to stupidity and shallowness. The men first, followed their own tracks, around and around, then stopped just before reaching safety. The men also pled God to save their lives, and once he did, gave up all they promised in return. Twain once again proved himself to be exceedingly insightful in the ways of man. Man, apart from society, can grow and learn, becoming an individual, and his own person. Yet, man within society, are much more like sheep than the great thinkers they are, following where everyone else is going, and not seeing where it may lead them. Society corrupts man, and teaches each person to look out for themselves rather than others. Each man should strive to be an individual, rather than simply another sheep in the flock. Twain simply stated, “A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval” (“Quotes by Teacher” 1).
Works Cited
"Changes in Huck Finn 's Character." 123HelpMe.com. 11 Feb 2013 <http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=15651>.
“Huck Finn - Mark Twain 's Views.” Studyworld: Study Guides, Research Papers, Book Reports, Essays. Oakwood Publishing Company. Web. 9 Feb 2013. http://www.studyworld.com/newsite/reportessay/literature/Novel%5CHuck_Finn__Mark_Twains_Views-83.htm
"Quotes By Teacher - en*theos." en*theos - Optimize your life. Change the world. Web.
9 Feb 2013. http://www.entheos.com/quotes/by_teacher/Mark+Twain/page/2
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Ed. Stanley Applebaum. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, 1994. Print.
--- “Roughing it: Lost in a Snowstorm” Prentice Hall Literature: The American
Experience. Ed. Roger Babusci, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Cited: "Changes in Huck Finn 's Character." 123HelpMe.com. 11 Feb 2013     &lt;http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=15651&gt;. “Huck Finn - Mark Twain 's Views.” Studyworld: Study Guides, Research Papers, Book Reports, Essays. Oakwood Publishing Company. Web. 9 Feb 2013. http://www.studyworld.com/newsite/reportessay/literature/Novel%5CHuck_Finn__Mark_Twains_Views-83.htm "Quotes By Teacher - en*theos." en*theos - Optimize your life. Change the world. Web. 9 Feb 2013. http://www.entheos.com/quotes/by_teacher/Mark+Twain/page/2 Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Ed. Stanley Applebaum. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, 1994. Print. --- “Roughing it: Lost in a Snowstorm” Prentice Hall Literature: The American Experience. Ed. Roger Babusci, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.