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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Literary technique
Mark twain's satire in huckleberry finn
Huckleberry finn rhetorical analysis
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Racism is a prominent theme that is seen throughout Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and it is most shown through the character of Pap. Pap’s words and actions reveal the heavy influence of racism that he embodies in the story. In chapter six of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain used the description of Pap’s character and appearance, ironic juxtaposition, and the pattern of Pap’s speech to lead the reader to adopt his repugnant views of racism.
To help build his argument against racism, Twain effectively used the depiction of Pap’s physical appearance and personal character to influence the reader’s opinion. The audience quickly becomes familiar with Pap’s past of being a drunk, abusive, and constantly absent father. Huck discloses
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In regards to the principles of slavery, Pap attempts to lead the audience to believe whites are the superior race and that African Americans are inferior in every way. Although, in his speech Pap mentions a mulatto with the description of “there ain’t a man in that town that’s got as fine clothes as what he had…[and] they said he was a p’fessor in a college, and could talk all kinds of languages, and knowed everything” (Twain 20). In this juxtaposition between Pap, the supposed superior white, and the mulatto, the inferior black, it seems to be that the mulatto is the one who is in fact far superior to Pap. This situational irony causes the reader to gain yet another example as to why Pap’s racist beliefs are incorrect and should be disregarded in his …show more content…
If a person is shown to follow a specific trend extensively, then it is often safe to assume that they will continue to follow that pattern. Pap’s trend of untrustworthiness is highlighted when he breaks a promise to reform his old ways, which he made that very night, when he “traded his new coat for a jug of forty-rod [whiskey]” (Twain 17). This further proves that Pap cannot be trusted and will continue to tell lies; therefore, the reader learns to discredit anything Pap says including all of his racist pro-slavery views. Pap’s pattern of misinformation continues into his speech where his accusations toward the government are blatantly false. By that time, the reader has learned from Pap’s untrustworthy history to notice his exaggerated remarks and reject the future racist comments that Pap
Huck Finn thinks about his father in an unusual way. Huck does not like his father, which makes sense because his father is a greedy drunk, however Huck still looks up to his father as a role model. Pap is not a good role model for Huck because of his history of abusing Huck and his random disappearances. When Pap tries to gain custody of his Huck, the judges side with him just because he is the father. This is shown when Huck says “The judge and the widow went to law to ge...
Pap, or Huck’s father, is an excellent example of Twain’s stereotyping, superior characterizations, and his irony.
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
Mark Twain's novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn depicts how he is a racist. He shows it in many ways in which his characters act. All of the people in the towns are slave owners, and treat black slaves with disrespect. In the time period of the novel slavery was not legal, but racism was. Many scenes in his novel make slaves look like fools. Mark Twain does this purposely to make colored people look and sound like fools, because he is a racist person.
Mark Twain, in his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn describes two different “Jims:” one being Huckleberry Finn’s biological father, and the other the slave of Miss Watson. Each of the characters are developed throughout the context of the story leading the audience to determine which Jim serves as a better father figure to Huck. Through Twains narrative, Jim Finn or “Pap” becomes infamous for his abusiveness toward Huck. Jim the slave serves as Pap’s antithesis throughout the story however; he is a benevolent man and helps Huck change his morals that have been instilled in him by Pap. It is the compassionate man, Miss Watson’s slave, who obtains the qualities that allow him to be considered Huck’s “true father” over Pap.
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,
Epps is a cruel master he whip his slaves all the time Northup describe his life with Epps in this statement, “It was rarely that a day passed by without one or more whippings. This occurred at this time the cotton was weighed. The delinquent, whose weight had fallen short, was taken out, stripped, made to lie upon the ground, face downwards, when he received a punishment proportioned to his offence. It is the literal, unvarnished truth, that the crack of the lash, and the shrieking of the slaves, can be heard from dark till bed time, on Epps’ plantation, any day almost during the entire period of the cotton-picking season.” (179) relating stories of abuse, humiliation, and dispossession among all the slaves. A slave girl named Patsey gets the worst treatments from Epps Patsey has been raped and whipped a lot of time because of his jealous wife. Patsey went to visits her friend to get a bar soap because Epps wife won’t allow her to have any, when she returns Epps thought she were having an affair, therefore; Epps forced Northup to whip Patsey while she’s naked and screaming for mercy. Years are passed by and Northup almost lost his hope to see his family again and having a free black man life. Northup met a carpenter named Bass abolitionist from Canada. Northup start telling his story from the beginning until where he’s now to Bass and after Bass heard his story he decided to help him, by sending letter to Northup friends in the North asking them to rescue slaves in the
Whereas a reader in the 1880s might have overlooked the moral absurdity of giving a man custody of another man, however, the mirroring of this situation in the granting of rights to the immoral Pap over the lovable Huck forces the reader to think more closely about the meaning of slavery. In implicitly comparing the plight of slaves to the plight of Huck at the hands of Pap, Twain demonstrates how impossible it is for a society that owns slaves to be just, no matter how "civilized" that society believes and proclaims itself to be.
Mark Twain had written two very similar novels that are based on the ideas of racism, or prejudice against certain races,(in this case, Afro-American during his lifetime. These two novels, Huckleberry Finn and Pudd'nhead Wilson, depict a very satirical yet realistic view of the way society behaves and how people in general live and grow in different social systems or positions. Huck Finn depicts a strong basis on racism and society, where as Pudd'nhead Wilson illustrates how slavery and racism are portrayed in his society.
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.
Pap Finn instills a "Southern race prejudice" and leads Huck to believe "that he detests Abolitionists" (374). Huck comes into conflict with this philosophy as he journeys on the raft with Jim. He can not decide if he is wrong in helping Jim escape slavery, or if the philosophy is wrong. The education of Huck also stirs some values from Pap. When Pap tells him that education is useless, Huck is confused because the Widow Douglas told him that education was important.
Almost immediately we are introduced to the drunken, deranged man who is Huck?s father, Pap. Pap is an alcoholic who roams from place to place buying up booze and sleeping wherever he can. Huck has never viewed him as a real father figure because Pap has almost never been there for Huck, except when he is ?disciplining? him. Pap is uneducated and disapproves of Huck attending school. Pap tells Huck, "you're educated...You think your're better'n your father, now, don't you, because he can't?" (14) Huck puts up with Pap?s numerous beatings because he does not want to be the cause of any more controversies between himself and Pap. Huck explains, "If I never learnt nothing else out of pap, I learnt that the best way to get along with his kind of people is to let them have their own way" (95). Pap?s addiction to alcohol is how Twain views the affect that alcohol can have on a person. He believes that alcohol is a money waster, can affect the sanity of people, and how it can turn even decent men into complete scoundrels.
In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Pap is a horrible parent to Huck, and constantly berates him. When he hears about Huck's new 6000 dollar fortune, he comes back to town to get back his son and the money. He is furious when he finds that he cannot get the money, and he becomes even more enraged when he finds out that Huck is going to school and living a civilized life. He says to Huck
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.
Slavery has held good men like Jim captive in society. Slaves are not given any of the rights that the white people receive and have virtually no freedom. Men like Pap, being on a lower scale than most of the other white folk as he may be, his views do accurately depict and even parallel those of the average white person at the time. Pap is disgusted with the government and wont stand for the fact that they give the right to vote to blacks. He has the basic white supremacist beliefs and believes that it is a travesty that a black man should have the right to choose his senator or president. Jim, being a slave that he is, is stereotyped as being of a feeble order of humanity. The fact of the matter is though that he shows himself to be a better father to Huck t...