Karsyn Gillen
Mrs. Golema
English 11
February 17th, 2023
Most people have heard of the adventurous tale of Huckleberry Finn, but were you aware of the story’s message about civilization? Mark Twain brought a new perspective to civilized and uncivilized individuals in his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain details the explorations and mishaps that Huck Finn experiences, but he also establishes a sense of moral rectitude in Huck when compared to the other characters. Huck shows the readers that uncivilized is not synonymous with immoral, and being civilized doesn’t always mean someone is a good person.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has a plethora of side characters that Huck interacts with throughout the book; one such character
…show more content…
Huck and Jim were joined by two con men on their adventure down the Mississippi river, who were referred to as the Duke and the King. These two men didn’t appear to be uncivilized or unintelligent, but they were unethical scammers who used their charisma and cunningness to swindle and steal from innocent townsfolk. The King and the Duke knew how to act civilly and were therefore accepted into each town they passed by; this came in handy when they pretended to be the brothers of a deceased man for their personal gain. Huck was involved with the scam until he talked to the nieces of the dead man and realized that “They were so sweet that I began to feel bad about cheating them” (Twain 29). Huck knew that the right thing to do was to reveal the frauds and give the money back to the family. He consistently opposed the iniquitous actions of people who were more educated and wealthy than he was, therefore showing that being uncivil and being morally correct are not mutually exclusive. Huck realized at the end of the novel that society didn’t suit his self-righteous nature and that he’d prefer to live on his own than be