In the book "The Adventures if Huckleberry Finn", Mark Twain's writing mirrors the society and problems it had in that time. This book promotes seeing African-Americans as people, which is absolutely groundbreaking and unheard-of in the time it was written, right after the Civil War. Throughout the book,, Huck has a complete change in his feelings towards Jim, starting with his highly influenced young mind, only able to view Jim as a slave, all the way to seeing Jim as a father-figure who can protect and provide for him. Although Huck tries to see Jim as a friend and fatherly-figure, society's beliefs don't allow him to see Jim as anything but a slave.
introduction As humans, we contain the ability to analyze, understand, remember and judge situations in ways that other species cannot. Societal constructs remain as ideas found only within human society, and they develop over time. The constructs often cause no adverse effects, yet in the form of objectification and discrimination these constructs possess the capability to degrade the quality of human lives. In the 19th century novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn author Mark Twain develops the relationship between Jim and Huck as they reject societal constructs and search for freedom, which defies cultural appropriations and beliefs at the time and encourages individuals to challenge rules society perpetuates. literary review Critics
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.
Likewise, critic Laurel Bollinger describes Huck as “…courageous enough to stand against the moral conventions of his society…rather than conform to the "sivilizing" process of communities he rejects” (Bollinger). During his epiphany, he truly sees all the flaws in a “sivilized” life and realizes he cannot live his life according to ideals he does not agree with. Consequently, Huck decides, “And for a starter, I would go to work and steal Jim out of slavery again…” (Twain 215). He resolves to ignore what society thinks, because society’s beliefs are fallacious.
In The Laramie Project, by Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Company, we read the story of a homosexual hate crime in Laramie, Wyoming told from many different perspectives. Though discriminatory crimes against homosexuals have largely decreased, discriminatory crimes in general do still exist. This includes crimes against certain races, genders, and religions. America has come a long way since the events in The Laramie Project but we still have a long way to go in terms of women’s health and discriminatory crimes. Religious voices play large roles in The Laramie Project.
Huck Finn is an original story of a boy in racist America who spends enough time with a slave to realize that they are extremely similar to white people. “...he was low and homesick; because he hadn’t ever been away from home before in his life; and I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their’n”(Twain 158). Through small things like seeing him cry over his own family he doesn’t understand why all blacks are slaves even though they act and feel the same way as whites. There is a development in his mind of black people that is slowly disregarding what society thinks.
Huck decides to act on his morals rather than be held captive by society; Huck believes that he has to act in the best interest of Jim and does not consider what society believes is acceptable behavior. By stating that he will “go to hell,” Huck reiterates what he promises Jim in the beginning- that he rather be a “low down abolitionist”; these statements combined supports his feelings to protect Jim from society. When Huck and Tom get back to the house, Huck states, “...it don’t make no difference whether you do right or wrong, a person’s conscience ain’t got no
In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn, the protagonist, develops morally over the course of the novel. In the beginning, Huck is dismissive of morality and sees no value in doing the right thing. As the novel progresses Huck starts to consider what might be the correct action, but only takes into account society’s understanding of what is a correct action. He [Huck] then begins to question society’s standards and eventually progresses to think for himself. Over the course of the novel, Huckleberry Finn matures as he begins to think for himself and question what the world believes to be morally correct.
Twain does his best to deal with the conflict between society and the individual. Huck does not want to abide by society’s laws and does not want to conform in Mark Twain’s, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huck is forced to be civilized in the beginning, so he leaves society for freedom and lives by his own rules but even that does not make Huck’s life easy. Huck has trouble obeying society’s rules from the start of the book. The Widow Douglas takes Huck in to try to sivilize him says Huck in the quote, “The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me”(Twain 2).
Nikki Giovanni has voice that is not afraid to speak what is on her mind. She strives to foster that same confidence in students and listeners through her educational practices and poems. Her methods and ideals are similar to ideas of revolutionizing the education system proposed by the influential educator Paulo Freire. Her powerhouse messages of encouragement and unorthodox learning have influenced the way I see the world around me.
Social Norms in comparison to Honest Morality of Huck Finn Nelson Mandela once said, “No one is born hating another person because of the color of shin, or his background or his religion. People learn to hate, and if they learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than opposite.” Nelson Mandela criticizes society by saying that it is the society’s own fault that people are being discriminated and not strong enough to speak up for their thoughts. He also says that it is possible for society to change but it takes brave challenges to realise it. In the novel the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck escapes society and civilization by fleeing onto the Mississippi river with a slave who becomes his best friend over this adventure in which Huck learns a lot about racism and human behaviors.
Throughout their journey, Huck is aware that Jim has escaped but does not know whether or not to turn him into the authorities. Huck’s mentality about society matures and he realizes his need to protect Jim from dangers. As the novel progresses, Huck begins to realize the flaws in society. Huck ultimately chooses to follow his own
In the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the reader gauges morality through the misadventures of Huck and Jim. Notably, Huck morally matures as his perspective on society evolves into a spectrum of right and wrong. Though he is still a child, his growth yields the previous notions of immaturity and innocence. Likewise, Mark Twain emphasizes compelling matters and issues in society, such as religion, racism, and greed. During the span of Huck’s journey, he evolves morally and ethically through his critique of societal normalities.
Huckleberry Finn and Civilization Merriam Webster defines the act of being civilized as being brought “out of a savage, uneducated, or unrefined state,” (Webster) yet within The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck’s interactions with supposedly civilized society depicts civilization as both savage and hypocritical. Although the members of educated society perceive themselves to be sophisticated and refined, whereas the lowest class members are viewed as barbaric, Huck’s encounters with Miss Watson, the Shepherdsons, and Aunt Sally push him to reject their civilized notions since their beliefs depend heavily on material wealth and not what is right or wrong. In this sense, Huck pushes the ideals of society away with every encounter since
My reaction to these chapters I was very shocked to see the King and the Duke are complete frauds. I didn’t think they would work over towns the way they did. Jim refers to the two as “Rapscallions.” I totally agree with that label, based on how they do things. The King and the Duke seem to be doing what they have always been doing, which is working people over.