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Huckleberry Finn Religion Vs Superstition Essay

744 Words3 Pages

Religion .vs. Superstition In the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain uses the characters to project various themes. For example, the character Jim expresses the ideas of race and morals, and Tom Sawyer embodies youth and responsibility. He does not just write characters; he writes messengers of more complicated concepts and ideas from the time period. The protagonist Huckleberry Finn demonstrates the differences between faith in religion or faith in superstition, and relates these ideas to the contrast between freedom and civilization. Huck often chooses to trust superstition above religion because it has been more reliable for him in the past. In situations where adults or his role models have advised him to have faith in religion, …show more content…

There is nobody that has authority over Huck’s beliefs or actions other than his own conscience and morals when he is traveling with Jim. Superstition acts as a self-serving belief for Huck because he can make it conform to whatever his opinions are. Religion does not approve of Huck supporting and aiding Jim in being a runaway slave, but there is nothing in his use of superstition as a system of beliefs that can tell him that this is wrong. His morals lead him to help Jim, and he has the freedom and the power to make this decision for himself without the burden of religion or society looking down on him. Both of these things act as a buffer between Huck and doing what he believes to be moral since they have conditioned him to think a certain way. Freedom and superstition synchronize in this same way because they allow Huck to have the flexibility to stick to his ideals while continuing to offer him a backbone of beliefs on which to build his morals. Superstition can dictate what is good or bad in many cases that Huck faces on the river because it coincides so closely with the ideas of freedom in the way that superstition allows any person to chalk anything up to good or bad luck without any input from

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Huck has always seen Jim as a slave until they crossed paths while going down the river. The two develop a friendship and Huck starts to care about Jim and his well being. Although Huck views Jim as someone he cares about, he still sees him as a slave as well. “ I would do the right thing and the clean thing, and go and write that nigger’s owner and tell where he was,” ( Document E). Huck is in a continuous battle with his inner self when it comes to his views on Jim.

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When one reads The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, themes involving morality and conscience become heavily prevalent. The protagonist, Huckleberry Finn, portrays a manifest dynamic character. His actions and statements ranging from the outset of the novel through its ending show Huck’s development of a more concise sense of morality and conscience prevailing over the societal influences of “right and wrong”. In the nineteenth century American South, the inescapable system of slavery and social hierarchy would have discouraged an interracial bond. Yet Huck, while escaping his abusive father, chooses to befriend Jim, the runaway slave whom he encounters, and shares a pivotal stage in his life with his newfound companion, whereby contradicting

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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.

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He wasn’t used to having a father figure in his life because his actual father was an alcoholic and was abusive. “Would always call me honey, and pet me, and do everything he could think of for me, and how good he always was,” (Document E). This shows that not only did Huck care about Jim, but Jim also cared about Huck’s well being, too. Having a father figure was very important to Huck because his actual father wasn’t really a father figure to him at all. Since someone actually cared about him and treated him with respect and care, it meant the world to him.

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Samuel L. Clemens, widely known as Mark Twain, is popular for his work if satrzing common aspects of life such as romantic novels, feuds, and the widely controversial topic, religion. Mark Twain criticizes arranged religion and certain aspects of it quite frequently. He is against traditional rites and often attacks conventional customs where followers of religion often practice. He shows us disinterest in religion and how senseless it can be sometimes His point of view can be displayed in the character Huck Finn from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, , in a compilation of essays written by Twain tilted “The Bible According to Mark Twain” and how Twain narrates events in his novels in a way where he associates religion with negative connotationsand allusion .

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In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck and Jim bond closely to one another, regardless of the fact that they belong to different ethnic groups. Huck, a coming-of-age teenage boy, lives in the Southern antebellum society which favors slavery. At the beginning of the book, Twain claims that “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; and persons attempting to find a plot will be shot” (Twain 2). Ironically, through his experiences with Jim, the uncivilized Huck gradually establishes his own moral beliefs, although sometimes struggling against the influence of society.

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But Huck also feels like he can not turn Jim in because deep down he knows that Jim’s life will be better not being a slave. This shows that Huck battles between himself whether to follow society’s rules or his own morlas. When Huck chooses to not turn Jim in as a runaway slave, that makes it evident that he matures or so it

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That is a question often asked by many but the meaning has considerably changed over the years. Huck’s decisions can often be seen by many and many can argue depending on the perspective, whether it is truly right or not. Huck’s choices, regardless of right or wrong, do have an impact on who he is and each one changes and shapes Huck in a different way. For example, in the book it states that "Dah you goes, de ole true Huck; de on'y white genlman dat ever kep' his promise to ole Jim" (Twain, Chapter 16) - meaning that Huck, one of the only known white people to keep his promise to a black man or a slave, did ultimately what was right but not of that time period. This shows that Huck was not one to conform to society after truly living an experience with Jim.

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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classic novel that takes the reader on a series of thrilling adventures full of life threatening situations, racism, and slavery. The author Mark Twain, uses the novel to highlight the flaws in society by creating a character like Huck, whose personal sense of morals and justice are more noble than those of the very people trying to civilize him. Throughout this captivating novel Huck endures his fair share of trouble and morally challenging decision but he always comes out on top by following his heart and doing what he feels to be right.

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Hypocricy and Blind Faith Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn took place in the eighteen hundreds when religion and reputation were dominant in peoples everyday lives. It was very rare for someone to believe something different than everyone else. In Twain 's novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Tom Sawyer and Huck appear to be very different, but their actions, descriptions, and dialogue bring them together to symbolize society in order to show the blind conformity and hypocrisy that humans often display.

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The religion viewpoint in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is very overlooked, it may not be emphasized as many times as the Huck’s superstitions but it plays a huge part and can really make you look at the story in a whole different perspective. You can really relate to what Huck feels in the beginning of the story, as Widow Douglas tries her best to lead Huck to church and have faith in God. Huck gives a very good impression of how kids today act, for example, today kids are more infatuated with things that only appeal to them, instead of religion or things that are being passed down to them over time. One quote in the book that really stands out is in the first chapter in paragraph four saying, After supper she got out her book and learned me about Moses and the Bulrushers, and I was in a sweat to find out all about him; but by and by she let

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884 Words | 4 Pages

Huck has been burned with the idea that he is to blame for Jim’s escape. Huck ultimately feels guilty because he knows he has not done wrong but he has no reason not to believe what society thinks because he was only taught one way. Huck imagines an alternate scenario, thinking “s’pose [he]’d’ a’ done right and give Jim up, would [he] felt better... No…[he'd] feel bad” (91). Huck is aware that the right decision based on society is to give up Jim.

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Although there are numerous instances where Huck’s moral growth can be seen, the individuals around such as Jim, will influence his moral growth greatly. Jim, a runaway slave, is the most influential individual when it comes to Huck’s moral development. During the beginning of the novel, Huck’s morals are primarily based on what he has learned from Miss Watson. Huck begins to become wary of such ideals that Miss Watson has imposed on him, and decided all he wanted “…was a change” (Twain 10).

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Reading this Essay May Give You Bad Luck Mark Twain uses Superstition in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to show how uneducated Huck and Jim are. Huck is uneducated because he is still a child, and Jim is uneducated because he is a slave. Huck is Superstitious because he doesn’t believe in religion, where as Jim is superstitious because he doesn’t know any better. Three superstitious symbols throughout the novel are the spider, the hairball, and the birds. All of these symbols changed the characters action throughout the novel.

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Naturally, as his bond with Jim cultivates, Huck unknowingly treats him as a human. Through Huck’s sensibility, he states, “It didn’t take me long to make up my mind that these liars warn’t no kings nor dukes at all … I hadn’t no objections, ‘long as it would keep peace in the family; and it warn’t no use to tell Jim, so I didn’t tell him” (Twain 125). Correspondingly, Huck gains a consideration for Jim and his personal feelings, which he expresses nonchalantly through motley aspects of their journey.

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