ipl-logo

Examples Of Satire In Huckleberry Finn

869 Words4 Pages

The Use of Satire in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain wrote the satirist novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and in doing so exposed the many ills of American society. Satire is a technique writers use to poke fun at individuals or society. Throughout the book, Mark Twain sneaks these remarks into his work to entertain readers and point out the social tribulations of that time. In Mark Twain's book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, satire is used as a prominent vehicle to mock racism, honor, and religion.

Huck Finn depicts the period when blacks were treated as property opposed to equals. Many of the book's characters are slave-owners, such as Aunt Sally, in controversy to her Christian upbringing. A small case in point is when Huck …show more content…

When talking about Jim, a slave, he says "...he was almost right; he had an uncommon level head for a nigger" (Twain 87). Huck automatically thinks Jim is unintelligent because of his race and is surprised when he has a "level head." As Huck befriends Jim he changes his prior prejudice opinions, and he rebels against his society and religion to save Jim from slavery. This use of satire points out the racial problems, including slavery, of that …show more content…

Freedom is the common goal for both Huck Finn and Jim throughout the story. Jim desires freedom from the confines of slavery and to be with his family again. "Jim said it made him all over trembly and feverish to be so close to freedom" (Twain 98). Jim is excited because he is close to freedom and happiness.

Huck wants freedom from the confines of civilized society, such as the expectations of religion. He runs off in order to do this. Towards the end of the novel Huck states, "But I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can't stand it. I been there before" (Twain 305). Huck makes the choice of being free from his past ties for his own self-happiness. Both Jim and Huck Finn want to achieve their own form of freedom and happiness.

In conclusion, Mark Twain was a remarkable author. In Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain's use of satire is used to expose the wrongs of society and add to the theme of the novel. The satire of religion, racism, and honor are used to portray this humorous

Show More
Related

Examples Of Satire In Huckleberry Finn

715 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout Huckleberry Finn, the author Mark Twain showcases his beliefs about religion through satire and satirical properties. Mark Twain himself was a Christian, so his exposure of satire to religion wasn't out of disrespect. He satirizes throughout the book the fact that many people during the 1800’s did not practice what they preach. Instead, they were doing it for show. He also satirizes religion to show how hypocritical and absurd it could be.

Read More

Similarities Between Huckleberry Finn And Frederick Douglass

1353 Words | 6 Pages

At this point in the story the relationship between Huck and Jim further develops as having Jim as the closest thing Huck has to a real “father figure”. In his life Huck is learning that freedom by allowing himself to have a relationship with Jim. The changes Huck’s character went through was important as it allows for him to understand how being vulnerable with others can benefit him. Freedom at the end of the book for Jim is no longer about fleeing from New Orleans, but rather his perception of freedom is changed to the unimaginable.. escaping slavery while receiving help from a young white boy.

Read More

How Does Jim Change In Huck Finn

740 Words | 3 Pages

The book, The Adventures of Huckleberry and Finn, plays with many different controversial topics such as slavery, racism, abuse, and religion. The topic most talked about in this book is slavery/racism because of Huck’s relationship with Jim, a runaway slave. Throughout the book Huck struggles with how he should treat Jim and if he should stick to his morals and what his conscience is telling him or if he should stick to his heart and do what he personally believes is right. He can either turn Jim in back to his owners and into the slave trade, or he can continue to travel with him and help him gain his freedom. Because of this struggle, Huck’s view of Jim changes based on where he is and who he is associating himself with and these factors

Read More

Examples Of Satire In Huckleberry Finn

511 Words | 3 Pages

Satire in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Satire is a tool that is used throughout the novel The adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, in order to critique religion, society, and its justification of slavery. During the time of slavery and quite a few years after that, black people were considered to not be “whole men” and were described as “immature, irresponsible, unintelligent, and physically strong.” (Race and Racism) What Twain did with his story was to comment on the duplicity of “the whole man”. The scene that will be focused on is found on page 51, when Huckleberry describes his life at the Widow Douglas's home, and it is said that in the evening Miss Watson would call their slaves into the house and pray before it was time retire for the evening.

Read More

Examples Of Alcoholism In When By Rhy Wynn

824 Words | 4 Pages

In 2012, 3.3 million deaths, or over 5.9 percent of all global deaths were attributed to alcohol consumption. And as we see, since 2012, these numbers still continue to increase. According to these percentages, alcoholism has become a very major problem in our generation. Yet despite the warnings, people still continue to drink and slowly harm themselves. In our day to day lives, we see people drink on social media very often.

Read More

Examples Of Satire In Huckleberry Finn

989 Words | 4 Pages

Edilson Roy Mrs. Daniels English III Pre-AP 1 August 2016 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Interestingly enough, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” (book) was indeed an excellent novel to read. It had tons of satirical elements being used that came upon in my reading. For instance, the tone of the story caught me as humorous at first, there were plenty of parts where the characters exaggerated way too much that made me chuckle some bits. The king and duke, two criminals that Huck invited to his raft when they were escaping the law, were talking about a play.

Read More

Examples Of Satire In Huckleberry Finn

659 Words | 3 Pages

Moreover, Twain uses satire and irony to give his novel depth and a truly deeper meanIng than just a clever boy and his friend who is a slave. Romanticism, religion, and the legal system are excellent examples of satire used throughout the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. “Ransomed, What’s that? I don’t know but that's what we do.

Read More

Examples Of Satire In Huckleberry Finn

902 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More

How Does Mark Twain Use Satire In Huckleberry Finn

544 Words | 3 Pages

Mark Twain uses satire to portray different issues that were going on during the time period. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, author Mark Twain uses Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer to represent romanticism and realism. Doing so formed the characters into two drastically different persons. Mark Twain uses satirical elements to contrast the two main characters in their personalities and views. Tom Sawyer is a child who is blinded with fictional literature and the worlds view on slaves.

Read More

How Does Mark Twain Use Satire

887 Words | 4 Pages

Mark Twain in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, uses satire to mimic many of the characteristics of the modern world. Throughout the novel, Twain’s main characters, Huck and his black friend Jim, encounter many different situations and people throughout the entirety of the novel. Mark Twain designs and uses all of these hilarious situations to mock the American people and American lifestyle during the nineteenth century. Furthermore, these primary plot stories contribute to what he thinks are the three most egregious and irrational human behaviors practiced by the American people at this time. Twain satirizes the practice of slavery, the core nature of a human being to “go with the crowd” instead of thinking for itself, and lastly how desperate

Read More

Examples Of Satire In Huckleberry Finn

661 Words | 3 Pages

In 1885, Mark Twain wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn which is known to be a very ironic novel. The author uses satire to promote multiple different messages to the readers. A common theme throughout Twain's satire is human stupidity as this theme is satirized many times in this novel. Mark Twain does this to promote ideas of education and intelligence in society. Religion is a theme that is a main target of Twain's satire throughout the novel.

Read More

Examples Of Satire In Huckleberry Finn

738 Words | 3 Pages

"Satire also allows you to make fun of every different aspect. It allows you to make fun of both sides. It allows you to make fun of everything, really, so you can do it in a harmless way" (Neill Blomkamp). Satire is the use of irony, humor, or exaggeration by writers and is used to demonstrate the absurdity and corruption of an individual or society. Mark Twain notably uses satire to express his criticisms of American society in his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Read More

How Does Twain Use Satire In Huckleberry Finn

835 Words | 4 Pages

In his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, acclaimed author, Mark Twain, satirizes the moral conditioning of society that justifies slavery and extreme racism in the South prior to the Civil War. Twain adopts a critical tone to expose how society is at fault in misleading people to conform to its so-called moral rules, rather than staying true to their values. Twain employs satirical devices including irony, stereotypes, and absurdity to ridicule the attitudes of Americans and the hypocrisy that exists among them. Twain utilizes irony to demonstrate that society’s teachings are unethical and tend to stray away from what is morally correct.

Read More

Huckleberry Finn Satire Essay

1914 Words | 8 Pages

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses the main characters, Huck and Tom, as conduits for his satire. Twain uses Huck as a way for satirizing the aristocratic society of the South by embodying Huck to be a backwoods, lower-educated child refusing to be educated in the conventional sense of the aristocratic society of the South. Furthermore, Twain uses Tom’s characterization to satirize the aristocratic society of the South as well as satirize the romantic folly that he associates with adventure books. Moreover, though Twain’s novel has been revered as an influence on American history, critics have argued over the validity and plausibility of the ending. Critics who oppose the ending of Huckleberry Finn, such as Leo Marx and John Earl Bassett, have argued it does

Read More

Mark Twain's Use Of Satire In Huckleberry Finn

939 Words | 4 Pages

Mark Twain's Use of Satire in Huckleberry Finn Throughout his pieces of literature, the famous American author Mark Twain portrays his personal views of society using satire and irony in his stories. He makes fun of broken parts in the American society relentlessly and makes sure the readers understand how outrageous some acts were during the early-to-mid 1800s. Twain seems to target specific aspects in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn such as how young people could be conflicted between morality and legality, the loss of self-respect for money, and the effects of herd mentality. He has an interesting approach at giving the reader insight, but his main ideas for the theme shine through and are clearly depicted.

Read More

More about Examples Of Satire In Huckleberry Finn

Related Topics

Open Document