Hypocrisy In The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

Humans, in general, are horrible creatures. We pollute our land, hurt our own species, and have the nerve to complain about it and put up “Save the Trees” posters in our homes, while tossing a Pepsi bottle into the trash can. It may seem that no one has any moral values anymore, but that is not exactly true. One’s view on this depends on how they view “moral values.” Moral values, according to dictionary.com, “refer to a set of principles that guide an individual on how to evaluate right versus wrong.” But what do we classify as right or wrong? While nowadays it is “disgusting” or “wrong” to urinate in a public street, people in the 1600s may have considered this acceptable. Although the moral values of the community in the 1800s may have differed from that of the 2000s, it is evident that the characters of the novel Huckleberry Finn are lacking in basic moral values, and even show clear signs of racial hypocrisy.
Huck and Jim are the main characters in the novel, and throughout, they encounter many different people. At first, before their journey, Huck

lives with the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, who owns Jim. We meet Pap and Tom Sawyer as his father and friend, respectfully, and the journey begins. Along the journey, they meet the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons, the duke and dauphin, the Wilkes family, and Silas and Sally Phelps. Each of these characters is some kind of adversity for the duo, and each present a common trait.
Each person Huck and Jim encounter usually tend to lack moral values.

When they meet the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons, who are at a family feud with each other, they witness their hatred for each other, and the families begin to kill each other by the time they get out. Murder and assault do not exactly scream moral values. Then they meet the duke and the dauphin, who engage in angering, destructive “joke” pranks that result in many people hating them, all in the name of “good fun.” And, finally, they encounter Silas and Sally Phelps, who kidnap Jim and keep him in the shed. Then Tom Sawyer arrives, and makes the escape a dramatic production, in part at the expense of Jim’s safety. It is evident that many, if not all these characters display signs of being rude, hypocritical, or even despicable. The only exceptions to this are Huck and Jim, who appear to be the only characters who have any sort of moral

values.
While it is clear how little these characters care for others, it could appear in a different light to some others. The Grangerfords and Shepherdsons may have had a valid reason to be killing each other, but the margins for which that is acceptable are insanely slim. The duke and the dauphin may have not realized their own actions and how they cheated, manipulated, and taunted other people because they were somewhat aloof to their surroundings. However, it is hard to believe two people who have a general level of intelligence couldn’t figure that out, especially since there were riots, protests, and mobs of angry people. Silas and Sally Phelps would have been somewhat justified to kidnap Jim, as that would have been the customary action to take in that day in age if you saw a runaway slave. That being said, the two were very rude to Huck and Tom, but especially Tom. And, finally, Tom Sawyer may have wanted to make a little light of the grim situation, but Tom Sawyer isn’t a dumb character, and he was most likely very aware of what he was doing, and just didn’t care. While there are these possible justifications, these cases do not have enough narrative evidence to back them up. Thus, we as readers have no choice but to assume the obvious. It is likely that the author was not thinking of the possible justifications, and was just trying to create antagonistic characters to send a message.
Racial hypocrisy and a lack of moral values are prevalent traits in the supporting characters of the novel. They hurt, taunt, and commit horrible acts upon each other, but have the nerve to say that black people are worse and deserve the treatment they receive. In the meantime, we see, in comparison to these people who lack any kind of moral compass, that Jim, a black man, shows more etiquette and moral values than any other character. He cares for Huck and the other people around him, no matter how bad they treat him. Even so, for at least another half-century, the common person will believe that black people are far less superior than white people, which is a message the author wanted to convey: a message of the twisted, hypocritical minds of humanity in the pre-Civil War era. Even upwards of a hundred years later, this thought process prevailed in humanity, and, thankfully, it is almost obsolete in this day in age. Unfortunately, there will always be someone bitter enough to think this way, which is why we need more books like this one, to ensure the future is bright for everyone, no matter the color of their skin.