Irony In Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn

It Is Not Funny

Humor is not always used to make people laugh; it can be used to point out how absurd a person or society is acting. Mark Twain wrote Huckleberry Finn between 1876 and 1883 and it was published in 1885, yet he set Huckleberry Finn back some thirty years before slavery was abolished in pre-Civil War Missouri. Mark Twain's use of satire in Huckleberry Finn exposes racial hypocrisy he witnessed in the American South in the mid-19th century. He writes an adventure story filled with biting humor revealing his poor opinion of how his peers treat each other. The absurdity of his characters' actions are humorous; Twain's use of irony also reveals their cruelty via Huck Finn's reflections. Twain's use of irony grossly highlights the

racism in his world through exposing the people's hypocritical actions, the humanity of Jim, and the cowardice of the mob.
Racism was prevalent during Mark Twain's life and many white Christians used religion to justify their beliefs that blacks were an inferior race. The characters are exaggerated representations of the people Huck encounters. Slavery had ended when Twain wrote his book, but Jim Crow Laws and blatant racism still limited or effectively nullified the rights of African Americans. Twain’s novel reflects that he was angry that Americans, especially southerners, had still not changed their attitudes towards blacks. He knew that many whites used religion to validate their prejudices towards blacks, advantageously and wrongly interpreting the scriptures to benefit the white power. Twain exposed this poor logic by including characters like overly religious Miss Watson, who has good traits but is also a slave owner.

Miss Watson advises Huck with lessons taken from the Bible "help other people, and do everything [one] could for other people, and look out for them all the time, and never think about (oneself)"(12). Twain has her say this, not long after she has fetched in her slaves for prayer. Twain’s use of the word "fetch" reminds one of the status the slaves on her land have: slaves are treated like property and “fetched” in like animals. Miss Watson is hypocritical because she poses as a Christian, but does not follow the value that one should treat one's neighbor as oneself. Twain does not allow his characters to get away with using religion to justify their superiority to blacks. Miss Watson represents Twain's use of irony because many people were just like her. They preached religion and yet devalued the merit of African Americans.

During the late 1800s when Twain was writing Huckleberry Finn, science was also wrongly being used to prove that African Americans were an inferior race. Many people in the South viewed African Americans as inferior and they justified their foolishness by the scientific thought called "ethnology.” The science of ethnology was a way southern

whites could justify their inferior treatment of blacks. These whites claimed blacks did not feel emotionally attached to their families like whites, so breaking up families was accepted (Polygenesis and the Defense of Slavery, p.309). Twain uses satire to make fun of this belief that blacks were inferior in the exchange between Jim and Huck over whether a Frenchman can be on the same level as a cat or cow. Since both speak different languages. Jim argues with Huck asking "Is cat a man, Huck?"(74). Twain is poking fun at this racial hypocrisy by stating the obvious: a man is a man. Humans are equal, a black man is the same as a white man. Twain also debunks the ethnological claim that blacks do not feel as deeply about being separated from their families as white people would. Jim speaks lovingly of his wife and daughter and the reason Jim is risking trying to escape is so he can be reunited with his family. Huck comes to understand Jim's feelings after witnessing Jim crying and moaning because he missed his wife and children. Huck states, "I do believe he cared for his people as white folks does for their'n. It don't seem natural, but I reckon it's so"(142). Huck is listening to how his conscience tells him about Jim and not what his racist society instructs him to believe. Jim's kindness is shown in how he cares for Huck and is protective of him. He shields Huck from seeing his dead father and he allows Huck to sleep by taking his look-out shift on the raft. Huck comments, "I went to sleep, and Jim didn't call me when it was my turn. He often done that"(141). Huck's character feels the quality of their friendship when he is searching for an excuse to turn Jim in towards the end of their adventure. Huck cannot, "strike no places to harden me against him, but only the other kind"(193). Jim even sacrifices his hope for freedom, to assist the doctor with saving Tom. Twain has revealed Jim to be a man worthy of an equal place in society. A society that Twain feels needs a lot of improvement. Jim is clearly revealed to be the most selfless empathetic adult character. Twain uses the respectful and loving friendship between Huck and Jim to show the humanity of Jim. Their relationship is contrasted against how the other supposedly “moral” white characters cruelly treat each other through deception and even murder of one another. The characters along the river never show Huck the kindness that Jim does, so Huck courageously stands up to society, follows his own conscience and treats Jim with respect.
Mark Twain's harshest satire is aimed at the mindless people who are easily swayed by public opinion and who unlike Huck, do not question this dishonorable society.

Twain's bitter commentary on this mob mentality is seen in the speech that Colonel Sherburn gives to the mob after they come to lynch him for killing Boggs. Col. Sherburn tells his fellow men they are weak and have no courage: "The idea of you lynching anybody! It's amusing. The idea of you thinking you had pluck enough to lynch a man....The pitifullest thing out there is a mob; that's what an army is - a mob.; they don't fight with courage that's born in them, but with courage that's borrowed from their mass, and from their officers. But a mob without any man at the head of it is beneath pitifulness"(134). Twain uses Sherburn's speech to reach out to his readers, Twain's message comes through Col. Sherburn strongly. Do not allow a mob to influence your actions, have courage to have your own moral code. Twain wants them to be like Huck and not to be swayed by just popular opinion if they know that what they are told to believe is wrong. Twain's white characters mirror all the people in Twain's own community, they range from the poor and uneducated to the wealthy, educated land owners, and none question the societal belief that slavery is wrong. Pap represents the racist ignorant people in society and as Twain points out through Col. Sherburn's speech, there are too many of these ignorant people. Pap falsely

believes he is a better human because of his white skin. Pap drunkenly yells about an educated black man getting to vote in the North, ranting "They said he could VOTE when he was at home. Well, that let me out. Thinks I, what is the country a-coming to. It was 'lectionaries dat, and I was just about to go vote myself if I warn't too drunk to get there; but when they told me there was a State in this country where they'd let that nigger vote, I drawled out. I says I'll never vote again"(26). The illogical statements by Pap highlights how absurd this society is: abusive, drunk Pap has the privilege to vote while many calm, respectable and hard-working African Americans are denied this privilege. Twain points out the racist beliefs of Pap and Miss Watson through out the book and by having Huck reflect on what they have taught him, before choosing his own beliefs. Making fun of their foolishness reflects how Twain views humankind as mindless people who are easily swayed by public opinion.
Mark Twain wrote Huckleberry Finn to influence how society views African Americans. He wanted society to change their racist ways through hearing how foolish and hypocritical the racist words were of Miss Watson and Pap and witness the cruel actions of the characters along the river. Twain allows some hope for humanity with the next generation, Huck. Huck thinks for himself and sees Jim for the good person he is and not as property. Huck is the type of human Twain wishes there were more of in mid-nineteenth century America. Twain's humor is a teaching tool that is to prompt humans to make their own moral decisions and not be weak followers of mob opinion. By exposing white society’s unmerited cruelty toward blacks, Mark Twain’s use of satire was a technique to educate Americans that regardless of skin color, all men have worth.