Huck's Battle with Conscience in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

1156 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The adventures of huckleberry finn themes

The battle between what is right and what is wrong has proven to be a heavy subject from all aspects of history, but in some cases the conflict at hand may be internal. In Mark Twain’s 1884 novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the title character yearns for answers about his own morals and principles. This coming of age novel follows the tale of a young boy, Huck, and a runaway slave, Jim. Mark Twain wrote this book as a direct sequel to his action packed and fun loving bestseller The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, written in 1876. Immediately following the conclusion of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn picks up with Huck and his best friend, Tom, causing trouble just as usual. Huck makes the brave decision to run away and finds his former caretaker’s slave, Jim. The two decide to partake in an adventure together, and learn valuable lessons about each other and themselves in the process. Huck and Jim make transitions together within the novel. Jim makes a shift from a runaway slave to a free man while Huck transforms from a boy to a young adult. As the novel progresses, Huck establishes a new opinion about Jim. Huck perceives Jim as “stubborn and unteachable” towards the beginning of the novel, but over time he starts to realize that Jim is a human being who deserves freedom just like anyone else. Near the end of the novel it is evident that Huck begins to see Jim as a friend and someone he can rely on. (Nelson) Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck battles with his conscience by first giving up and feeling sorry for himself, then deceiving himself by saying he will do what is right, and finally coming to terms with whether he is truly doing right or wrong.
In the first few chapters of ...

... middle of paper ...

...om" in Bloom, Harold, ed. The American Dream, Bloom's Literary Themes. New York: Chelsea Publishing House, 2009. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 14 May 2014
Schmitz, Neil. "The Paradox of Liberation in Huckleberry Finn" in Texas Studies in Literature and Language (1971). In Bloom, Harold, ed. Enslavement and Emancipation, Bloom's Literary Themes. New York: Chelsea Publishing House, 2010. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 14 May 2014
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Bantam Dell, 1981.
Yates, Norris W. "The 'Counter-Conversion' of Huckleberry Finn," American Literature 32, no. 1
(March 1960): pp. 1–4. Quoted as "Huck's Struggle with Conscience" in Harold Bloom, ed. Mark Twain, Bloom's Major Novelists. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1999. (Updated 2007.) Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 14 May 2014

Show More
Related

  • A Relationship that Defies Society in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

    847 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain paints the story of a developing friendship between two entirely different people which at the time society considered unacceptable and taboo. Huckleberry Finn is a white thirteen year old boy and Jim is a middle-aged black runaway slave. They meet by coincidence while they are both hiding out on Jackson’s Island located in the middle of the Mississippi River, Huck is hiding from the townspeople who think he is dead, and Jim has runaway and is hiding from his owner. Throughout their journey together, Huck and Jim’s relationship goes from them being mere acquaintances, then to friends, then to them having a father and son relationship.

    Read More

  • The Contradiction between Beliefs and Actions in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    2137 Words  | 5 Pages

    One of the oldest problems of humanity is the contradiction between beliefs and actions. The Shepardsons and the Grangerfords act out this contradiction in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Contradictions One of the oldest problems of humanity is the contradiction between beliefs and actions. The Shepardsons and the Grangerfords act out this contradiction in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Although these families attend church and pay lip service to the teachings of the church, they do not live by these teachings.

    Read More

  • Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    965 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of the greatest American novels ever written. The story is about Huck, a young boy who is coming of age and is escaping from his drunken father. Along the way he stumbles across Miss Watson's slave, Jim, who has run away because he overhead that he would be sold. Throughout the story, Huck is faced with the moral dilemma of whether or not to turn Jim in. Mark Twain has purposely placed these two polar opposites together in order to make a satire of the society's institution of slavery. Along the journey, Twain implies his values through Huck on slavery, the two-facedness of society, and represents ideas with the Mississippi River.

    Read More

  • Alienation of Huckleberry Finn in the Advertures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain is about the great adventures that Huck finn has with his slave Jim on the Missouri River. The story tells not only about the adventures Huck has, but more of a deeper understanding of the society he lives in. Twain had Huck born into a low class society of white people; his father was a drunken bum and his mother was dead. He was adopted by the widow Douglas who tried to teach him morals, ethics, and manners that she thought fit in a civilized society. Huck never cared for these values and ran away to be free of them. During Huck’s adventure with Jim he unknowingly realized that he didn't agree with society’s values and could have his own assumptions and moral values. Twain uses this realization to show how the civilized and morally correct social values that was introduced to Huck was now the civilized and morally contradicting values.

    Read More

  • Morality In Huck Finn's The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    The book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn tell the tale of a young boy who embarks on an adventure, one that leads him to find himself. Throughout the novel Huck develops a sense of morality that was always there to begin with, but not nearly as developed as it is by the end of the novel. Through living on his own, independent of societal and peer pressures, Huck is able to identify his own morals in defining what is 'right ' or 'wrong '.

    Read More

  • Parallelism In Huckleberry Finn

    1353 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel and sequel through which Mark Twain weaves a consistent theme regarding the battle of right versus wrong. Twain presents Huckleberry Finn, or simply Huck, as the main character who finds himself on a current-driven journey down the Mississippi River to escape the abuse of his alcoholic father. The encounters of Huck and Jim, the escaped slave of the widow Mrs. Watson, serve as a catalyst for the moral based decisions in this MORAL-riddled novel.

    Read More

  • An Analysis of the Most Important Scene Presented in Mark Twain’s Text Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    “She was going to live so as to go to the good place. Well, I couldn’t see no advantage in going where she was going, so I made up my mind I wouldn’t try for it.” (Finn, 12) From the moment Huckleberry Finn is introduced in Mark Twain’s text Tom Sawyer, it is beyond evident that he is a boy that is not like most in this society. Huck comes from one of the lowest levels of the white society in which he lives. The truth of the matter is that this is not at all Huck’s fault. His low place in society stems from the fact that his father is an excessive drunk, that disappears for large periods of time, and when he does surface, he spends almost all of that time alternating between being jailed and abusing Huck. Therefore, Huckleberry Finn has become a bit of a ruffian himself, spending a majority of his time homeless, floating along the river, smoking his pipe and running a small gang with one of his only friends, Tom Sawyer. Throughout the course of this text, we watch as Huck transforms from this mindset of very little capacity for competent judgment and a very narrow minded concept of what is right and what is wrong to one of very broad minded perspective with an incredibly complex idea of the differences between rights and wrong. Within Mark Twain’s text Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huckleberry undergoes a series of very intense events that ultimately lead to a complete change in the development of his character.

    Read More

  • Huck's Moral Journey Down the River

    1289 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is the story of a young southern boy and his voyage down the Mississippi River accompanied by a runaway slave named Jim. Throughout the journey Huck and Jim face numerous obstacles and encounter a variety of interesting characters. These experiences help Huck to develop physically, intellectually, and most importantly, morally. Throughout the long expedition, readers can observe Huck’s transformation from an immature boy with poor values and ethics, to a matured young man with a moral conscience and a heightened sense of what is right and what is wrong despite what society says.

    Read More

  • Huckleberry Finn – Morality

    699 Words  | 2 Pages

    Society establishes their own rules of morality, but would they be accepted in these days?

    Read More

  • Huckleberry Finn

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mark Twain’s masterpiece The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through much criticism and denunciation has become a well-respected novel. Through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old boy, Huckleberry Finn, Twain illustrates the controversy of racism and slavery during the aftermath of the Civil War. Since Huck is an adolescent, he is vulnerable and greatly influenced by the adults he meets during his coming of age. His expedition down the Mississippi steers him into the lives of a diverse group of inhabitants who have conflicting morals. Though he lacks valid morals, Huck demonstrates the potential of humanity as a pensive, sensitive individual rather than conforming to a repressive society. In these modes, the novel places Jim and Huck on pedestals where their views on morality, learning, and society are compared.

    Read More

  • huckleberry finn

    462 Words  | 1 Pages

    Mark Twain creatively invents many settings throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; each setting effects the characters in different ways. One of the many motifs throughout the novel is the idea of freedom versus slavery. Through various incidents, lifestyles, and character developments taking place on land and water, Mark Twain is able to create two opposing worlds; i.e. one of freedom verses one of enslavement. Twain determines the characters' situations in life in accordance with each location and surroundings. Huck and Jim are constantly moving between these two worlds. For the most part, both are presented with the luxuries of freedom and serenity while on the river, which ends up changing both of their characters for the only as more of person, but a reliable friend. The reader gets a sense of Jim's kindness when he is willing to stand watch all night so Huck can get some extra rest.

    Read More

  • The Moral Development of Huckleberry Finn

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    Huck Finn, a narcissistic and unreliable young boy, slowly morphs into a courteous figure of respect and selflessness. After Pap abducts the young and civilized Huck, Huck descends into his old habits of lies and half-truths. However, upon helping a runaway slave escape, Huck regains morality and a sense of purpose. Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck lies to characters, casting the authenticity of the story into doubt but illustrating Huck’s gradual rejection of lying for himself and a shift towards lying for others.

    Read More

  • moralhf Moral Choices in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    572 Words  | 2 Pages

    Huckleberry Finn - Moral Choices There were many heroes in the literature that has been read. Many have been courageous and showed their character through tough times. Through these tough times, they were forced to make important decisions and this is where you get the real idea of who deserves to be called a hero. The most influential though of all these was Huckleberry Finn. Through the innocence of childhood, he is able to break through the societal pressures that are brought on him and do right.

    Read More

  • Morality in Huckleberry Finn

    1280 Words  | 3 Pages

    Morality has always been defined as having either a good or evil conscious. There is always a choice that a character makes that defines their moral integrity in a literary work and distinguishes them as the hero. In Mark Twain’s story, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, not only does Huck encounters a number of moral circumstances where he or other characters displays situations in which moral ethics is called to questioned, but it proves that despite the religious influence and social expectation, it is through Huck that in order to do what is morally right, one must challenge the moral teaching of the world. Through observation of his world, Huck makes morally ambiguous choices that though may be against his moral teachings. Choice proves that to act on one’s own judgement despite societies expectations demonstrates that hypocrisy of the community as Twain clearly depicts and satirizes Southern society, he depicts the violence and racism that was described as “silvilization”(Kelly). As the community in Twain’s novel follows the general religious teachings and distinguishes the binaries associated with good and evil, Huck is forced to forsake these teachings and goes on a journey to discover his own moral understanding.

    Read More

  • Stephen Crane and American Realism

    1508 Words  | 4 Pages

    Solomon, Eric “Love and Death in the Slums”. Bloom, Harold ED. New York: Bloom’s Literary

    Read More

More about Huck's Battle with Conscience in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Open Document