Huckleberry Finn Satire

“Among many disparate attempts by scholars and critics to explicate The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, at least two interpretations have met with general acceptance: 1) the feud of the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons...represents a literally fatal flaw in the chivalric code of a decadent Southern aristocracy, and...Huck's desire to escape the strictures of civilization by seeking the relative freedom from social restraint represented by the river and the territories” (Hoy, 17). In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses a satirical approach to initially reveal the truths about the Grangerfords; however, these initial truths build to expose the aristocratic values of a southern family and how their views reformed Huck’s outlook on

As Huck hides in the tree, he watches two boys jump into the river and as they swam down “the men run along the bank shooting at them and singing out, ‘Kill them, kill them’” (106). Twain juxtaposes the explicit and the cacophony of “kill them” with the light-hearted reaction of “singing” to reveal the dramatic irony of the situation. Afterwards, Huck recalls, “It made me so sick I most fell out of the tree. I ain’t agoing to tell all that happened--it would make me sick again if I was to do that” (106). Huck’s light tone shifts from admiration and awe to regret and anger in order to demonstrate the dark truths of society. He emphasizes this change through the repetition of “sick” which reveals how Huck’s character changed from the mindless violence. Although, Huck has difficulty recognizing the ugliness of the house, he shows no problem noticing the ugliness of the feud. Later after Huck finds Buck dead, he states, “I never went near the house” (107). This phrase not only suggests a shift in awareness towards the Grangerfords after he experiences them become ruthless killers, but also his further rejection of the kind of civilization the Grangerfords represent. He affirms this rejection by stating, “I...struck through the woods and made for the swamp” (107). The peace of the “woods” and the “swamp”, becomes more apparent to Huck after Twain reveals the acceptance of violence in society. Later, when Huck and Jim reunite, Huck claims “there warn’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t” (107). By Huck finally admitting to the cramping and smothering he felt at the Grangerfords, he implies that the freedom of the raft is more appealing to him. The passage also suggests an attitude of regret of ever coming to the Grangerford’s house. As a result, Huck is less