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Literary analysis on the adventures of Hucklebery Finn
Literary analysis on the adventures of Hucklebery Finn
Adventures of huckleberry finn literary analysis
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The novel ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ was published in 1885. It was not until the 1950’s, after Twain’s death, that the novel started getting accused of being racist. Mark Twain had a few messages to get across to his readers, he emphasised on showing that specific society how ridiculous they were treating slaves by using humor and satire. This novel can be interpreted in many different ways, he has many different type of characters that all have different personalities. One of Twain’s biggest goal while writing this novel was to create sympathy for certain characters, specifically Jim and Huck. He effectively used multiple techniques to create sympathy such as, setting, symbolism and style. When writing a book an important technique …show more content…
to use is the setting. Twain puts a lot of emphasis on the setting, especially in the first few chapters. The setting is necessary in the novel Huckleberry Finn because an understanding of the society at that time is needed to be able to make a better connection with the situation and the characters. It helps us create sympathy because we start to relate and think like Huck, so we want to see him succeed. While describing the setting of this novel he doesn’t only show the bad parts of that society but also the good ones. He does that mostly through characters. He starts getting readers to feel sympathy for Huck by describing his relationship with Pap, because Huck is the narrator he can say things like : “Pap he hadn’t seen me for more than a year, and that was comfortable with me; I didn’t want to see him no more.” (Twain p.11) That shows the readers the feelings Huck has for his father and shows the environment in which he grew up.
He also shows early in the novel the influence religion has on Huck and how he wants nothing to do with that stuff. “...she told me about the bad place and I wished I was there… and she went on and told me about the good place.’’ (Twain p.3) The women in Huck’s life try and force religion on him when he wants nothing to do with it. This also helps us understand why Huck runs away. Twain also incorporates the change of setting as they flow further down the river, he shows how they become more racist and their morals have gotten worse. An example is when the Duke and Dauphin put up a poster with : “LADIES AND CHILDREN NOT PERMITTED… “There” says he, “if that line don’t fetch them, I don’t know Arkansaw!”” (Twain p.150) These later chapters with the Duke and Dauphin show that white people are aware of the discriminations that they cause, they just do not realize it is wrong and continue to trick people. That quote mirrors the society, uneducated white men that feel superior. We can see Huck feels different than these men but is stuck in this kind of society and by Huck narrating we can place ourselves in his shoes and Twain wants us to see that and that’s where the sympathy comes into play. However, Twain also adds in some
characters that show the nice side of people in that time. When Huck runs into trouble he adds certain characters that are willing to help him “...if you get into trouble you send word to Mrs. Judith Loftus, which is me, and I’ll do what I can to get you out of it.” (Twain p.62) What Twain is trying to show us here is that there are nice people in the South that are willing to help children. There is also the side that Huck is white and it’s unknown what would have happened if it had been Jim at that door. The setting of the story happens mainly in the introduction of Huck, before Jim is introduced to the story. Then the story continues and we feel sympathy for Huck because of the society that he lives in. Another technique Twain uses while writing the novel Huckleberry Finn is symbolism. He uses Huck as a symbol to represent a good life. Once Jim and Huck escape Jim starts to look up to Huck and see him as a friend. Twain wants us to see that their friends so we feel sympathy for them. His first time he hints at a friendship is in chapter 9 when they see a dead man in the house. Jim knows it’s Pap but protects Huck from seeing his face. In chapter 16 Huck has the chance to give Jim up because of the expectations of society but doesn’t because he would feel bad if he gave him up. These are examples of Huck and Jim showing signs of friendship, they say and do nice things for eachother which makes the reader feel happy for the two of them and have sympathy for them. When readers get attached to characters they want to see them succeed, Jim and Huck have created a bond that can easily be separated so the readers want the two to overcome the standards of society and stay happy. “All right then, I’ll go to hell” (Twain p.214) When he decides to steal Jim out of slavery. In the final chapters Huck is willing to do close to anything and stops Tom from doing unreasonable and unnecessary things to help his friend such as, sawing off his leg. This situation shows how he’s willing to go against society and his family to help a friend. It shows sympathy because of how much we can relate with Huck and wanting to help a friend who is in need.This represents the symbolism that was given to their friendship, which by the end turned into something so much more than a friendship more of a small family and readers can relate that with their own family and appreciate Huck and Jim’s relationship. Twain used style to be able to create a sense of sympathy for his characters. Twain exaggerates certain characters’ behaviors and actions to help us have stronger feeling towards those characters, either good or bad. Pap is a good example, he is an extreme racist and drunk from the South. “... they told me there was a state in this country where they’d let that .n. vote… I’ll never vote ag’in as long as I live.”(Twain p.27) Twain created that character so the readers could get a feel of the typical white male from the South, and help us, the readers, understand why Huck runs away. He added a soft loving character like Jim, who is portrayed by the eyes of society to be a certain type of way, rude, threatening and a menace to society. On page 156 Jim tells the story of his daughter and he breaks down and cries, Huck is there trying to comfort him. Twain knows his readers all have families and he wants us to imagine that pain and feel sympathetic. Twain’s style is a technique that he used well and that technique added a feeling of sympathy to the characters. Twain knows how to get through to the readers and get them to understand the pain those characters are feeling. In conclusion, techniques and devices are an important method to writing a novel. He uses certain techniques and devices such as, setting, symbolism and style. These specific techniques help the readers understand the environment of the novel and the readers are able to feel sympathy for certain characters such as, Jim and Huck. This novel can help the readers today understand how far each society has come in evolution and these situations and events can help educate the next generations and not repeat the same mistakes people have made in the past.
Mark Twain was not a racist because he did not portray Huckleberry Finn as one in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. “People would call me a low-down abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum, but that don’t make no difference”(43). Huck new it was wrong to help Jim escape, but that was his friend and he did not care was the other people thought. “All right, then, I’ll go to hell”(214). Huck decides that he doesn’t want to give up Jim’s locations so he decides to rip up the letter that he was going to send to Jim’s owner Miss Watson, even if it meant that he would go to hell for committing what he believed was a sin. “I saved him by telling the men we had smallpox aboard, and he was so grateful, and said I was the best friend old Jim ever had in the world, and the only one he’s got now”(214).
Why would a man who fought against slavery, injustice, and discrimination write a racist book ? For some time, many students, educators, and scholars debated whether The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain deserves its place in our literary canon. Certain readers find the relationship between Huck and Jim especially problematic due to abundant use of the N word and Twain’s stereotypical depiction of Jim. On one hand, Jim is viewed as an uneducated slave who is always in peril due to Huck’s playfulness and immaturity. Yet, on the other hand, Jim is a complex secondary character crucial for Huck’s development from naiveté into maturity. Despite, the glaring overuse of racial epithets, Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn should remain in the literary canon and continue to be taught as it allows readers to address racial misconceptions, such as racial
In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Twain’s main characters depicted the societal issues of racism in the South. Huck Finn, a poor white boy, and Jim, an African American slave, both encounter situations that cause these characters inter turmoil because of the societal standards of the time. According to Mark Twain in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,
Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is or is not a racist novel. The question focuses on the depiction of Jim, the black slave, and the way he is treated by Huck and other
In the story of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses many different types of symbols to get Twains numerous messages across. Twain signifies the Mississippi river as a symbol to get away from society for Huck and Jim. Twain also criticizes the way society runs and the things it teaches everyone to be. The river vs. land setting in Huckleberry Finn symbolizes Huck's struggle with himself versus society; Twain suggests that a person shouldn't have to conform to society and should think for themselves.Throughout the novel, Mark Twain shows the society that surrounds Huck as just a little more than a set of degraded rules and authority figures. When the new judge in town allows Pap to keep custody of Huck, adopters are things he doesn't need and doesn't care for. Twain gives Huck the power to think for himself, and come to adult conclusions, which show Twains message; think for yourself.Mark Twain's book Huckleberry Finn is for the reader to interpret for him or herself. But any reader could pick up on Huck's struggle with the freedom the Mississippi River gives him, and the society that holds him back. Huck realizes that he shouldn't have to conform, and he refuses to at the end of the book. Huck's trials and tribulations show the reader that he or she to think for themselves and not conform to societies standards from Huck's time period, or now.
When taking a look at Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, racism is a large theme that seems to be reoccurring. What some may think to be racism in Twain's words, can also be explained as, good story telling appropriate to the era the story takes place in. Twain himself has been suggested as a racist based on the fact that he uses the word "nigger" in his book. However, Twain was an avid abolitionist. For those who claim that Twain was a racist, they must have only been looking out for themselves and not those who are willing to learn about the past, whether it be ugly or perfect.
Twain is using the end of the novel as a way to completely reject all societal beliefs on slavery. The audience now knows that Jim and Huck are developing a friendship, against society, but now the audience sees Huck and Jim becoming a family. As the novel comes to a close Twain integrates another major plot twist, the King has sold Jim. When Huck realizes that Jim has been sold he immediately reacts in mourning. Huck angrily utters, “ “ Sold him?” I said and begun to cry”(Twain 163). Here Twain is using Huck’s physical emotions in order to show the audience how much he truly cares about Jim. By showing his physical emotions In the moment, the audience realizes how much Huck is truly developing true, genuine feelings for Jim, against societies wishes. In this moment, Twain is making a strong claim against society. Through Huck, Twain is criticizing society. Huck is now throwing everything he has ever been taught about society out the window in order to help a friend, even though Jim is a black slave. Twain is criticizing that even though you have been taught by society one thing that does not always mean that it is the right thing. Twain is using Huck in this moment to illustrate that society’s racial beliefs are wrong and that they need to be changed. Twain not only develops Jim and Huck’s relationship into a friendship, but he develops a family relationship between the two, one that can never be replaced. One can argue that in this moment, Twain is presenting a racist message when Huck is referring to Jim as his “n*****” in the next line, but ultimately Huck’s emotions over rule showing how much he truly cares about Jim. Twain is using this moment to reject all of societal beliefs on what the
writers who was known around the world for his works like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is considered a classic novel from the realism period of American Literature that accurately depicts social conventions from pre-civil war times. Despite this reputation as a historical lens of life on the Mississippi River, elements of blatant racism overshadow the regionalist and realist depictions. Huck Finn does not promote racism because all derogatory or racist remarks are presented as a window to life during the 1850s, in a satirical context, or to show Mark Twain's moral views on racism. Huckleberry Finn accurately presents the mistreatment, abuse, and hatred that African Americans faced in pre-civil war times. Huck Finn portrays racism as a part of life and as a social normality accepted by most people.
Twain knows that American society still treated black people were treated poorly. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn took place before the civil war, yet the way people treat black people was nearly the same before and after slavery was abolished. Reconstruction was not effective because people were just as racist after the abolition of slavery. The reforms put in place during Reconstruction in the South were not effective and life changed little for blacks as they remained stuck in their master’s farms (as sharecroppers). Twain uses humor and satire to mock American society so people realize that people still treat blacks poorly without directly mentioning it. The variety of situations that Huck and Jim go through points out the injustice and hypocrisy (such as the family feud, hypocrisy of Miss Watson, the King and the Duke). The absurdness of Tom’s dramatic and ridiculous plans to “free” Jim (when Jim is already legally free) show how little respect Tom has for Jim (not treating him like a proper human). Twain is maybe trying to say that hypocrisy and injustice of Southern society stay nearly the same after the Civil
In Huck Finn there are many examples of satire about slavery, but one of the most apparent was the new judge 's decision to give custody of Huck to his father. The judge displays his hypocrisy when he states," courts mustn’t interfere and separate families if they could help it"(Twain 22). Slavery constantly separated families, many times children were taken away from their mothers and fathers. It is illustrates the hypocrisy of the good "civilized" people who claim to be holy and Christian. Another point where Twain shows how slavery is completely ridiculous is through the conversation between Huck and Jim. He illustrates that Huck had been corrupted into believing that Jim and other blacks are just property through Huck 's outrage at Jim 's suggestion of hiring an abolitionist to steal his family back from their "rightful owners" (Twain 92). Twain uses this particular example to show how deep seated the issue was in southern society. It shows the reader that even Huck, a character they are beginning to believe has a good heart, has guilty thoughts about a Jim trying to reunite with his family, even though he really cares for him. Another point where Twain uses slavery to represent all other race problems. Slaves can be used to represent any oppressed or mistreated group of people. He is trying to make the reader see the error in his or her ways and accept all
Satire is defined as, “the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices” (www.dictionary.com). In Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the author Mark Twain, does just that. Satire is used in the novel to mock many different aspects of society. Throughout his trip down the Mississippi River with Jim, Huck encounters a variety of people and situations that are designed to scoff at the American people. Of these situations, the institution of slavery is represented not only by the treatment of African-Americans by their owners but as well as how society viewed them. Satire is used to picture the idea of “American trash” when represented by Huck’s Pap who is seen as a drunk. Satire is also used to
“Good satire comes from anger. It comes from a sense of injustice, that there are wrongs in the world that need to be fixed.” (Carl Hiaasen) Mark Twain uses the literary device known as satire in the classic novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, to expose the irrational views of society during the time of slavery, through humor. Huck exclaiming that he does not want to go back to live with Widow Douglass, Jim explaining how those who have less cherish their belonging more than those who have more, and the cruelty of the white men toward Jim, show how Mark Twain was showing the ugly side of society to the readers with the use of satire and irony. Society in Huckleberry Finn not only outcasted people because of the color of their skin,
Throughout Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a major focus was the issue of slavery and people 's reactions to the African American population. A vast majority of the White American society criticized them for their skin color and forced them into slavery because they were different. Huck, like the people he grew up around, was not friendly towards African Americans. However, his opinion of them changed as he got to know Jim, a slave who ended up being his traveling companion that he was trying to help escape to freedom. He saw the good in Jim when no one else could. Mark Twain poked fun at many groups of people, a lot of them being white. His mockery showed the reader that from slave to royalty, nobody 's perfect. Everyone has flaws. He showed us that their is a darker side to royalty and fathers, and a brighter side to slaves. His satirization greatly impacted a major theme in the story and overall taught his audience a superior
In conclusion, Huckleberry Finn’s endearing qualities and Twain’s humor show the ridiculousness of society’s moral system at the time. Twain's emphasis on Huck's qualities of compassion, practical intellect, and charm make it easy to understand his point of view and criticize the illogical rules of that society. Ultimately, Twain appeals to the reader’s opinion of Huck and their sense of humor to get his point across, and it is clear that he intended to show the incredible flaws in the laws and social conventions of society.