How Does Mark Twain Use Satire In Huckleberry Finn

Twain’s Use of Satire in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

All throughout history, society has suffered from an extreme lack of insight; most people are unconscious to the skill of self-examination and, thus, have an inability to discover and accordingly mend the flaws within themselves. Oftentimes, they habitually ignore their faults until they forget that they exist altogether. This deficit of awareness has lead to a society with a considerable amount of faults and a minuscule number of people to which are mindful of these faults. As a result, authors and entertainers frequently use satire to mock society and expose the vices that people are so often oblivious to. For example, in the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses several

forms of satire to ridicule the many societal issues of his era, the most prevalent being gullibility, hypocrisy, and brutality.
Throughout his novel, Twain humorously attacks the gullibility and ignorance of the general public.

In one instance, two unconvincing con-men, the King and the Duke, decide to impersonate the grieving brothers of a recently deceased man, Peter Wilks, in order to steal his fortune. Their facade goes undisputed until a family friend to the Wilkses, Dr. Robinson, begins to challenge their fraudulent behavior.

‘Keep your hands off me!’ says the doctor. ‘You talk like an Englishman, don’t you? It’s the worst imitation I ever heard. You Peter Wilks’s brother! You're a fraud, that’s what you are!’ Well, how they all took on! They crowded around the doctor and tried to quiet him down, and tried to explain to him and tell him how Harvey’s showed in forty different ways that he was Harvey, and knowed everybody by name, and the names of the very dogs, and begged and begged him not to hurt Harvey’s feelings. (Twain 165).

Twain paints society as being a majority of foolish, oblivious people. This occasion is only one of the many in which Twain mocks society, attempting to show his readers an unkind reflection of what they truly are: unquestioning and trusting to the point of naivety. Moreover, through his depiction of the townspeople's rebuke of Dr. Robinson rationale, he demonstrates the way that individuals actively reject reason. How they, even when presented with logic, inevitably succumb to

idiocy.
Twain also makes a point to mock the evident hypocrisy that oft occurs within his society; particularly the hypocrisy of proclaiming oneself as a Christian whilst simultaneously owning slaves.

Throughout the novel, Huck Finn struggles with his conscience; he believes God will punish him for helping a runaway slave. Eventually, he breaks down and writes a letter to Miss Watson, informing her of Jim’s location. Before sending this letter, however, Huck reflects on the many times Jim has been kind to him, and begins to have second thoughts about turning him in. Huck states, “I couldn’t seem to strike no places to harden me against him [Jim], only the other kind...It was a close place I took it [the letter] up, and held it in my hand. I was a-trembling because I got to decide forever betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied it a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then I says to myself: ‘All right, then I’ll go to hell’—and tore it up.” (Twain 205). Society has misguided Huck Finn, making him feel as though it is blasphemous to aid a runaway slave. He is convinced that he's sinning by refusing to turn Jim in, nevertheless, the reader can clearly recognize that Huck is doing the right thing. Through this illustration, Twain emphasizes that, although Christians typically consider themselves to be very principled people, they often support slavery, a practice that is obviously

immoral.
Additionally, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn satirizes the cruelty of humanity and the way that seemingly civilized people are able to mercilessly commit horrible atrocities. On one occasion, the King and the Duke endeavor to con a town by putting on a phony play; however, their plans go awry when the townsmen form an angry mob and tar and feather them both. Huck Finn bears witness to this event and afterward, he states, “Well, it made me sick to see it; and I was sorry for them poor pitiful rascals, it seemed like I couldn’t ever feel any hardness against them any more in the world. It was a dreadful thing to see. Human beings can be awful cruel to one another.” (Twain 220). The King and the Duke may be vile people, but even Huck Finn, who is horribly mistreated by them, has the decency to be appalled by the gruesome way they are put to death. Brutality like this can occur when humans decide to take justice into their own hands; when they decide that petty crime permits the use of unnecessary force. Twain scorns those who justify their brutality by convincing themselves that they are patrons of righteousness, and he makes the case that needless violence is more despicable than a violation of the law.
To conclude, Mark Twain’s novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not simply a story about boyhood or adventure; rather, it is a criticism of the author’s society. Twain uses the novel as a means to satirize the corruption of the general public. He especially targets society’s gullibility, lack of reason, blatant hypocrisy, and capacity to be cruel and callous. His censure is harsh, but by bringing to light these issues Twain brings society a step closer to eradicating them.