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Examples Of Irony In Huckleberry Finn

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Huck Finn Essay: What is irony? Irony is when a criminal robs a police station. It’s ironic because police are the ones who are supposed to prevent criminals from stealing and from attempting other crimes, so for someone to target an area full of policemen is the opposite of what most people would expect. In other words, irony can be words, actions, or even situations that suggest one thing, but in reality means the opposite. This essay will evaluate the use of irony in Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is about a 13 year old boy who prefers living life freely without the rules of society weighing him down. He faked his own death to run away without having to worry about being …show more content…

Throughout the story, Mark Twain sprinkles in different types of irony, to shine light on how absurd the societal norms are. One example of irony is when Huck believes that he will be sent to Hell for not turning in Jim, the runaway slave. In a society where slavery is considered morally okay, Huck's decision to help Jim can be seen as an act that took courage and compassion. “Well, I did,” he said. I said I wouldn’t, and I’ll stick to it. Honest injun, I will. People would call me a low-down abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum—but that doesn’t make any difference. I ain’t a-going to tell, and I ain’t a-going back here, anyways.” Twain 210 Huck goes against these norms and develops a deep bond with Jim based on mutual respect and friendship. This ironic situation lets us see the internal conflicts within society's views on race. Another example of irony would be when Huck meets the Grangerfords, who appear to be a very civilized and respectable family but it is soon revealed that they have been involved in a 30 year feud with another family that has caused many deaths on both

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Twain uses Verbal Irony through Huck when he reveals how Tom Sawyer was the "gladdest" of all when Tom has a bullet in his leg. Normally, most people wouldn't be happy to have a bullet in their leg, so it was ironic for Tom to be so happy with a bullet in his leg. This verbal irony was used to show the readers Tom Sawyer's tendency and passion for romanticizing and exaggerating a situation. It also reveals Tom's love for adventures as he was willing to sacrifice his life and get hurt to go on life threatening adventures.

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He would not ever get the treatment Huck did, and Jim’s character was never allowed to grow. Smiley catches the audience’s attention as she recognizes the racist remarks that Twain uses through his character, Huck, and how he forms Jim’s character. Smiley says that, through the book, Twain creates Jim “more and more passive and never minds, just like any good sidekick” (Smiley 460). As Huck and Jim never cross the Mississippi to Illinois, a free state, Jim just stands in Huck’s shadows as he is along for the journey, never getting his own voice in the book to stand up for himself and his freedom.

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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an American classic, it was the starting point for all great American Literature. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been awarded all of these honorable titles because of its abnormal and controversial plot line. During the time period when the book was written, it was unacceptable to view African- American’s as anything other than slaves. They were viewed as inferior to whites and were treated like property, they had no rights. The main character of the book, Huck, disagrees and disobeys these norms and pushes the boundaries of society when he becomes friends with a slave from his childhood; Jim.

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In the beginning of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain proscribes his audience from finding a motive, moral, or plot. In using rhetorical strategies such as satire, irony, and humor he challenges the reader to look for deeper meanings not only in the Notice, but throughout the whole novel. His purpose was to shed light on the false ideals that society represents as seen through the eyes of young boy. The ironic events that prohibit Huck from being a dynamic character suggest the inadequacy of blind faith in society. Twain uses satire to show the conflict between slavery and Christianity.

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Here, Huck clings to his own understanding of what is right, instead of accepting what others believe to be true. This is especially evident when he realizes, “But somehow I couldn’t seem to strike no places to harden me against him…” (Twain 215). Despite what he has been taught, Huck knows that Jim is a good person, and is just as human as a white person.

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Mark Twain, well-known American author, ridicules the self destructive nature of greed upon man in his controversial novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry and Finn. Twain criticizes the society he lived in, noting the “superficiality and meaningless” lives of people. Mark Twain utilizes situational irony, farce, and exaggeration in order to compare two situations in the novel where characters illustrate upon themselves the negative effects of greed. Twain establishes a critical tone to bring attention to even modern day readers that greed will eventually result in punishments and consequences. First, Twain utilizes situational irony to analyze the ongoing feud between the Shepherdons and Grangerford family.

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They wrote these novels during the reconstruction period about the pre civil war era, and used them to get their opinions on the time period across. While some may say that Twain and Douglass used irony for many purposes , they mainly used it to expose the downfalls of society by critiquing hypocrisy, conformity, and the cruelty of slavery. While some may say that Twain and Douglass used irony for a humoristic purpose, they actually did it to expose the downfalls of society because of how they critiqued hypocrisy. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck had his epiphany and decided that he did not want to be a part of the scheme and ruin three innocent lives, he went to the rooms of the King and the Duke. At some point, they walked in, and as he hid, Huck heard them say that “Mary Jane ‘ll be in mourning from this out; and first you know the nigger that does up the rooms will get an order to box these duds up and put ‘em away; and do you

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It is ironic because we, as the readers know that Huck is actually doing the right thing in freeing Jim and that slavery is a wrong act. Huck 's maturity progresses throughout the novel to this moment. At the beginning of the novel, he thought that nothing was wrong with slavery and it was okay to own slaves , but he has grown morally to oppose slavery and be willing to risk his own life for a black man who has protected him. 3.When the duke and the king sell Jim, that shows how bad they are and how they have the ability to cruelly take advantage of every situation they are in. By betraying people, they have lived with in the process.

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Mark Twain writes, "... he was so grateful, and said I was the best friend old Jim ever had in the world, and the only one he's got now..." (Twain 204-205). This quote shows that Huck is realizing that slaves and white folks aren't much different.

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Throughout the book, Twain incorporates irony every time he informs us about Huck’s conscience. For example, Huck helps Jim from men looking for runaway slaves by spinning lies about his “pap” having smallpox which drives them away successfully. While Huck is unsettled because he perceives his actions as wrong, but we are aware that he took the morally right approach. Twain uses irony again when Huck decides to steal Jim from the Phelps’ but perceives his actions as that of a sinner, but again we are aware he is doing the correct thing even if he isn’t. Twain’s setting is an essential element to the story.

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Mark Twain uses Satire to highlight the problems and social issues in America before the Civil War. Throughout the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, there are many characters and situations, that Mark Twain uses to expose the problems that are happening during this time period. These situations are illustrated when Mark Twain shows the Duke and the Dolphine wasting their time and talents by conning people. Huck's Pap drives home this example when he says that a person with dark skin should not be able to vote even though the black man has more education than Pap. And finally, Mark Twain shows that social class does not equal morality when you meet the Grangerfords and the Sheperdsons who have been feuding for years, over reasons that no one

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1340 Words | 6 Pages

Jim, a black slave in a journey for freedom, is a representation of compassion, loyalty and determination. Those are the characteristics that are the foundation of his friendship with Huck. The essence of the book does not lay on racism or slavery, but in how despite the situation of the era, a white kid guided by his recklessness and tender heart, builds a friendship with a black slave. This represents how most human beings have managed to set our differences aside, forgetting society’s racial implements. Twain’s book repeatedly establishes a tone of equality and empathy in his novel through the dialogues between the two main characters.

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He included multiple types of irony, and using Huck, showcased his theme of morality over legality perfectly. Huck's innocence is a dramatic irony in a way that only the reader knows that what he does is actually right when he is told and thinks otherwise. The reader is also able to infer that personal beliefs can trump herd mentality any day, and that insight can only come through first-hand experience. Twain's impact of theme affects the reader just as heavily as it does Huckleberry Finn, crossing the barrier of fact and fiction. He is able to enlighten readers that a better world is among them, although they may need to sift through the cesspool of a poorly influenced society, just like Huck

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The movie “Independence Day” gives a lot of insight on how the decisions are made by the elite policy maker aka “the government officials”. These officials are influenced by many reasons for the actions they take. Some are making decisions based on their liberal ideals while others follow different ideals such as realist ideals. The clash between two different ideals in the movie showed the effectiveness of each of them. Liberal ideals are a form of an identity and they are really hard to be implemented on.

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