ipl-logo

Moral Reconciliation In Huckleberry Finn

1380 Words6 Pages

For a novel to truly be great, many critics believe there needs to be a moral reconciliation, or spiritual reassessment, that supports the overall theme. An example of such novel might be The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. As the novel progresses, Huck achieves a moral reconciliation, specifically shown in the improvement of the relationship between Huck and an African American slave named Jim. Through this reconciliation, Twain demonstrates a level of ignorance found in racism.
TS. Towards the beginning of the novel, Huck has similar beliefs to his father mostly due to how impressionable he is at his young age. His father was able to enforce his belief that colored people were inferior to him. By how Huck describes Jim when …show more content…

After witnessing Buck and his family being chased as if animals and by people who acted like animals, Huck ran away looking for Jim. When he heard Jim’s voice, he exclaimed that “nothing ever sounded so good before. [He] run along the bank a piece and got aboard, and Jim he grabbed [him] and hugged [him], he was so glad to see [Huck]” (116). Comparing this to how his father acts towards Huck would show how Jim is more fatherly than Huck’s actual father, it’ll demonstrate how the color of someone's skin has no influence on the emotions or parental actions. After being away for a while, Huck’s father explained that “I’ll take you down a peg before I get done with you. You’re educated, too, they say - can read and write. You think you’re better’n your father, now, don’t you, because he can’t? I’ll take it out on you. Who told you you might meddle with such hifalut’n foolishness, hey?” (19). While Jim is happy to see Huck and hugs him, his actual father abuses him and tries to oppress him through a lack of education. A father should be supportive and caring and, in a way, that’s what Jim does - he cares for him as if Huck is his own - whereas Huck’s father tries to fill his head with ignorant beliefs. Huck’s father is preventing him from really growing in his opinions or just in general, his father should be encouraging him to have a better life than he did but he isn’t. Huck doesn’t really realize how messed up his home life is, it shows the conscience isn’t what it should …show more content…

His father enforced theses ideas when he was younger through oppression and aggression. The improvement in Huck and Jim’s relationship demonstrates a moral reconciliation, it’s Huck beginning to overcome the superior feeling he had before. Twain is then able to show the ignorance in racism. An educated professor shouldn’t vote due to his skin color but many don’t have a problem with someone who may be too drunk to even get there voting. A skin color prevents or implies so much, such as: they don’t have emotions, shouldn’t be or can’t be educated, are animals, are property, are not humans - all of which don’t hold any water with the only reason for these beliefs being the color of their skin. The moral reconciliation of Huck demonstrated the faults in racism through

Show More
Related
933 Words | 4 Pages

Society makes Huck believe that that is correct, and that is all he believes, until he travels along the river with a slave whom he has befriended named Jim. Initially, Huck sees Jim as only a slave, but that relationship builds until the overriding relationship is achieved, in which Jim is a father-figure in the eyes of Huck. " The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" made history because of its promoting of white people viewing African Americans as equal to themselves, which wasn't common in that day and age. Overall, Huck's outweighing view of Jim is as a patriarch, a sort of dad he never got to

Read More
1159 Words | 5 Pages

Jim was with Huck since the beginning and took care of him and cared for him also teaching him lesson on the way. Jim is trying to protect huck from the outside evil of the world. When Jim finds Huck’s dad’s body in the houseboat he would let Huck see the body because he wants huck to be happy “ Come in, Huck, but doan’ look at his face-it’s too ‘gashly’” ( Twain 57). Even though Huck’s dad beat huck all the time Huck still loves his dad.

Read More
1254 Words | 6 Pages

Huck does not see Jim as a slave anymore he sees Jim as a friend and he treats him like a friend. Huck would of never done this at the begning of his journey or when he found out Jim is a runaway. He evolved his morality, Twain finished the book after the civil war he did not believe in slavery it

Read More
864 Words | 4 Pages

In document E Huck is explains how well Jim has treated him, “.... and 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 describes how Jim treated Huck like a good father would treat his child if they

Read More
978 Words | 4 Pages

When Huck finds out who took him, he travels to his home, only to find out that the owner is Tom Sawyer’s Uncle Silas. When Huck runs into Tom’s Aunt, she mistakes him for Tom, and he decides to go along with it. Unfortunately for Huck, Tom arrives a short while after, but they devise a plan, Tom pretends to be a cousin, and together they find a way to get Jim out of custody. I think this section of the book really shows Huck’s care and compassion for Jim and that he’s willing to travel to a complete stranger’s house and pretend to be someone he’s not to save him from slavery. I also think that this relationship between Huck and Jim is Twain’s way of showing that everyone deserves to be loved and care for, no matter they’re race or ethnicity.

Read More
617 Words | 3 Pages

Similarly, Huck’s evolving view of Jim plays into the racist message contained in this novel. At the beginning we can see Huck disrespect Jim, when he is trying to escape Mrs. Watson’s home. Jim and Tom decide to play a trick on Jim, and they tie him to a tree and Tom puts Jim’s hat on the branch above. Huck thinks this is unnecessary because it was risky, not because they were being disrespectful to Jim. Huck does not regard Jim as a human being with emotions.

Read More
835 Words | 4 Pages

At the beginning of the novel, Twain depicts Jim as an African-American slave, who is a superstitious fool and falls for the silly tricks that Huck and Tom play on him, but becomes courageous, intelligent, and thoughtful. Twain presents Jim as a human being who has his own feelings and moral dignity, which he proves when he takes responsibility as Huck’s friend and father figure, and explains his plans to live independently with his family. Society trains Huck to think that white men are superior to black men, but throughout his adventures with Jim, he realizes that there is only a difference between being right and wrong, not black and white, and views both races as equal. Huck identifies himself as part of the black race, boldly asserting, “Well, if ever I struck anything like it, I’m a nigger.”

Read More
1328 Words | 6 Pages

Jim cared for Huck as one would love their own child, “..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). Jim seemed to always be there for Huck, and brighten his day as Jim was very attentive to Huck. Not only that, but Jim would worry and help Huck even when it wasn’t returned, “I’d see him standing my watch on top of his’n, stead of calling me so I could go on sleeping, and see him how glad I was coming out of the fog.” (Document E).

Read More
545 Words | 3 Pages

Huck being a white male, born to be superior (in their mind) by his race, should not associate with Jim, who is an African American runaway slave. Despite the boundaries set by society, they do not follow the norms and befriend each other. They not only act as friends, but as brothers as well, with Jim occasionally playing the role of a father to Huck, who grew up with a careless dad. Having these two characters get along so well proves that Twain does not intend to be racist.

Read More
1387 Words | 6 Pages

Huck is a prime example of being a product of the environment in which you grow up. Although he reflects the cruelty and injustice of the South towards black, he is totally unaware that this is the wrong attitude to take (Fiskin 2), So at first he is unsure how to deal with Jim. First Huck displays the attiude and behavior that are a part of the environment in which was his upbringing. Tricking Jim and trapping him into dialogue that makes the latter appear especially foolish or perhaps, to make Jim painfully aware of his own inferiority.

Read More
847 Words | 4 Pages

Twain concludes the character’s moral journeys by demonstrating how they escape pressures put upon them by society. In Twain’s story, “The conflict between what people think they stand for and what social pressure forces them to do is central to the model” In the end, Tom’s morality is questionable because he focuses on himself instead of Jim thus creating a contrast between himself and Huck and different moralities and characterizing the two boys. A shift in Huck’s character is demonstrated when he tells Tom Don’t do nothing of the kind; it’s one of the most jackass ideas I ever struck. ”By this point in the book, Huck is able to stand up for what he thinks is right.

Read More
686 Words | 3 Pages

Upon closer examination into Huck’s moral transformation, certain aspects of his life have lead him to new outlooks on life and society. These ideas created tension between a new found friendship with Jim and still following the commands of Southern ethics which Huck still holds on to. Even though these perspectives were instilled on him at birth, Huck makes an exception for Jim due to the value Huck has for him as a human but also as friend. Despite Huck’s inability to reject

Read More
976 Words | 4 Pages

If the narrator were to be an adult, then he would have already turned Jim in for being a runaway slave. But, since Huck doesn’t format off other peoples beliefs, he helps Jim escape into freedom. Huck began to “believe [Jim] cared just as much for his people as white folks [do] for their’n. [Huck thinks that] it doesn’t seem natural, but [he] reckon[s] it’s so (Twain 155). We hear Hucks frustration, perspective on everything and that he has no problems with who he spend his time with.

Read More
1083 Words | 5 Pages

(Twain 87-88). At this stage in the novel, it is important to denote his ambivalence toward the situation. Though he helps Jim, he feels a sense of guilt for going against societal standards. Regardless, Huck has a myriad of opportunities to turn Jim in--and doesn’t. This verifies that Huck progresses in developing his maturity and poise.

Read More
1096 Words | 5 Pages

I assume that Huck looked to Jim as a father from time to time however at that point reviewed the unforgiving reality of how society saw Jim. Toward the beginning of the novel, Jim is depicted as clear and trusting, to the point of being easily influenced. These attributes are not balanced over the beginning of the novel; rather, they are fleshed out and end up being positives as opposed to negatives. Jim 's straightforward nature winds up being of sound judgment, and he generally picks the right route for him and Huck to go. I figure this accompanies with

Read More

More about Moral Reconciliation In Huckleberry Finn

Related Topics

Open Document