Mark Twain of Huck Finn - Satire

Mark Twain, a famous American writer and satirist, wrote many highly acclaimed books throughout the world. His masterpiece, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, earned him recognition as one of the greatest writers America would ever produce. The novel follows a teenage boy named Huck Finn, whose father is an alcoholic. Due to his father's violence, Huck runs away and meets a runaway slave named Jim. Instead of turning Jim in, Huck goes against society and decides to help Jim break free from slavery. As they travel together, Huck learns more about Jim and realizes that the common stereotype of black people is wrong. He sees that there is no difference between Jim and any white man he knows except for skin color. Despite risking his life and overcoming many difficulties, Huck succeeds in freeing Jim. Focusing on racism, alcoholism, and mob mentality, Mark Twain uses his enthusiastic writing style to satirize these three traits throughout the novel. Although the book contains many words full of vivid disgust towards black slaves, it also shows that there is more to people than looks and race, emphasizing the importance of beliefs and character. Alcoholism is another human weakness that Twain satirizes in his novel, constantly accentuating the drunk and violent behavior of Huck's father in a negative manner. For example, Pap says, "I was just about to go and vote myself if I warn't too drunk to get there," (Twain 27) with a racist remark, implying that he will never vote anyway just because the government let one very intelligent black professor vote.