Reforms In Huckleberry Finn

Authors include struggles from certain centuries, in their stories, to express how people were affected throughout that century. For example, in the novel, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain, he tells a story of the struggle that society can have on living life. Twain uses satire, irony, characterization, and symbolism to express his views on reforms such as politics, education, and women’s suffrage.

First and foremost, the reforms are used in this novel to show the importance of why they were needed. Education reforms were needed to allow every child to have an equal opportunity to gain knowledge. Better education was needed for all children. After reforms, education did get better for all children. Political reforms were

needed to allow equal rights for every race. Slavery needed to end because the blacks were being treated badly. Anti-slavery became big after the reforms. Women’s suffrage reforms were needed to allow equal right for women. Women were seen as inferior to men, so reforms were needed to equal everything out. Women gained more rights after the reforms.
Twain expresses serious situations by using irony and satire to add humor to the effect that the reforms have on society.

Twain uses irony when Huck tries to hides Jim because he is black. When Huck states, “…so I made Jim lay down in the canoe and cover up with a quilt, because if he set up people could tell he was a nigger a good ways off,” he shows that he is skeptical about being with Jim because he is black. Huck is protecting both himself and Jim, but Huck was raised that blacks were different and he still feels that way. He holds on to the belief that blacks are different form whites, so that means they will spot Jim from a distance. Even though Jim and he are developing a relationship, he still sees him as different. Also, irony is used when Jim dresses as a freak. When Huck says, “He said it was a sight better than lying tied a couple of year every day, and trembling all over every time there was a sound,” he shows that even though Jim looks like a freak, it is better than how he use to look. Jim doesn’t care how he looks because he says it’s better than being treated how he has already been treated. Twain use satire to make fun of fake religious people. When Huck states, “poor lost lamb… every time he got drunk he raised Cain… thought he was Adam… I found a rattlesnake in there,” he alludes to biblical stories. This brings up satire because Twain is making fun of religious people who claim they read the Bible and are Christians, but act differently than what they preach. This lead to education reform because the major book was the Bible that everyone should read and learn from. Twain uses family feuds to satirize the civil war. When he says, “Well, then, what did you want to kill him for?” “Why nothing-only it’s on account of the feud,” he shows how the feuds where useless. He made fun of how the feuds represented the civil war because people were killing for no reason. This represents the politics and education reform because it shows the lack of

education that went into a war that was useless. Twain makes fun of the 19th century society standards to justify how the reforms affected society and the people living in it.
Furthermore, Twain uses characterization to help reveal the reforms in people. Jim is very superstitious and lives off of superstitions. Also, when Huck states, “Jim got out his hair-ball and said something over it, and then he held it up and dropped it on the floor,” he shows how Jim’s belief in superstitions takes over his life. Jim is so superstitious that it takes over his life. He lives by the superstitions he believes in, and somewhat expects them to help him with everyday life. The superstitions show that Jim needs to grow because he still believes in them instead of religion, but his reason is because of the lack of education. Being so, it ties in the reform of education because his lack of education causes him to depend on superstitions for his everyday life. Jim was also caring, and he cared for his family and for Huck. When Huck states, “I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their'n. It don't seem natural, but I reckon it's so,” he sees that Jim is caring. Jim being caring is surprising to Huck. Although, Huck doesn’t sees that Jim really cares, he knows by the way he treats him. This represents the education and politic reforms because it shows how slavery makes it hard for blacks to love their family, but somehow they still care. Pap, on the other hand, is a racist man. When he states, “I’ll never vote again as long as I live. And to see the cool way of that nigga,” Pap shows how he is racist because he doesn’t want to vote if a mixed man can also. He doesn’t want a mixed man to be able to vote because that means he is a part of society. A mixed man is half white and half black, but Pap only sees the black man in them. Also, when he states, “I say to the people why ain’t this nigga put up at auction and sold,” he expresses even more racism because he wants African Americans to be sold like they are property. He also belittles African Americans by calling them a “nigga,” and it shows how he degrades them because the color of their skin. This shows how Pap needs to grow because he is stuck in his ways on believing African Americans should be slaves. Pap’s racist personality ties in the reforms of education and politics because he believes in the sense of authority that should be given to certain races. Huck doesn’t want to be civilized, but want to have freedom and liberty. When Huck states, “It was kind of lazy and jolly, laying off comfortable all day…,” he was expressing how he felt about being free. Huck’s personality is freedom, and it makes him happier when he is free. His actions show that he is growing in a way of following what makes him happy, but he needs to grow because freedom isn’t always a part of life. This ties into the reform of education because Huck lacking education causes him to feel a certain way about things, such as with freedom; he feels that freedom is what is best for him. Huck also follows morals of others because he isn’t old enough to know his own. When he states, “I reckoned Tom Sawyer couldn't 'a' done it no neater himself,” he shows that he follows what Tom does. He admired Tom and wants to be just like him, so when does something un-Tom like, he realizes it. Although Tom isn’t all that he is coup up to be, Huck still respects him. This presents education reforms because Huck needs to know that he can’t follow behind what someone else does or says. Huck has to learn to be his own self, and once he does he learns for himself and how he really is.
In addition, Twain uses the symbols of the river and the raft to express the reforms. The river symbolizes freedom for both Jim and Huck. When Huck states, “So in two seconds away we went a-sliding down the river, and it did seem so good to be free again and all by ourselves on the big river, and nobody to bother us,” he expresses how being free on the river made him feel. The river does provide a transportation for Huck and Jim, but it also gets them away from what they were shut in to. For Huck, the river got him away from abuse, being civilized, and being changed. For Jim, it got him away from slavery. Not only did the river show them freedom, but it also allows them to have responsibility because the obstacles they face while traveling down the river. The river represents the reform of education because along with freedom comes learning. Being free isn’t just as easy as it looks, it takes learning to get adjusted to becoming free. Huck and Jim had to learn to be responsible for themselves and their actions. The next symbol is the raft in which they travel on. When Huck states, “we…let her float wherever the current wanted her to; then we lit the pipes, and dangled our legs in the water, and talked about all kinds of things,” he shows how the raft alone showed them being free. The raft also symbolizes responsibility and connection. It shows responsibility because of how many times they lost the raft. It shows a sense of connection because while traveling on the raft Huck and Jim developed a relationship. The raft represents the education reform because the experiences they learned from traveling on the raft. Both symbols also teach Huck and Jim about the real world, because of the irony of the river and raft leading them into struggles. They overcome the struggles and get taught life lessons.
In conclusion, Twain uses irony, satire, characterizations, and symbolism to help present the reforms of the 19th century. He tells the struggle that the characters go through to show how they are impacted by the reforms. He uses irony and satire to humor how the reforms affect society. Twain portrays a realistic representation of the reforms by showing what the characters go through, such as; the struggle of slavery, mistreatment of others, and the authority over someone. Twain believed progress would happen because of how he uses realism and idealism to express what should be and what is.