Huckleberry Finn Values

Modern-society's morals and values differ greatly from those in the time of Huck Finn. In his time, African Americans were deemed to be less than human and this widely affected how they were looked at, talked to, and treated. In the novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain does an excellent job of showing his audience the ways in which society treated black men, women, and children. Families in slavery were torn apart because society believed they were not "human" and they did not have the same emotions white people had for their loved ones, but of course that was not true. African Americans were dehumanized and treated more like animals than people. If a white man was caught helping a black man escape to freedom, he would be deemed

These methods included making other people do the work for them. Throughout history, slavery has been used as a means to an end, and has been idolized for its ease and efficiency. In most cases, people are quick to turn a blind-eye to wrong doing if they are benefiting from it. In chapters 22 and 23, the Duke and Dauphin scammed the men of a one-horse town in the state of Arkansas. Once they cheated the men for all they were worth they skipped town. Huck and Jim knew that the Duke and King were no good, but they did not want to ditch them at first because they were making them rich. On more than one occasion, Huck nearly compromised his personal values for what society deemed appropriate. For example, when Huck became overburdened by guilt because he was helping Jim escape, he almost turned Jim in even though he felt that it was wrong (161). After a moment of contemplation, Huck determines that his conscience would also make him feel just as bad if he went through with it because he had developed a friendship with Jim (162). Twain's depiction of Huck's constant, inner conflict between turning Jim in and helping him escape sheds light on how Huck's view of morality was changing. At the beginning of his journey, Huck viewed the "right" thing as whatever was most beneficial to himself at the time, but by the end of the novel Huck's consideration of other's feelings shows how much he has grown. On their little raft on the Mississippi River, Huck and Jim are free from society's judgement and peer pressure, so Huck is able to independently develop his own morals and values. His views are greatly impacted by those around him and by his upbringing, but on the Mississippi he is able to decipher what he feels to be right and wrong. Throughout the book, Huck proves that he would rather do what his conscience is telling him, rather than what society is telling