Satire In Huckleberry Finn

The novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain centers around the coming of age of a young adolescent boy, Huck Finn, living in the south pre Civil War. The story focuses on how Huck ran away from his abusive home and the escapades he went on with a runaway slave, Jim. Throughout his adventures, Huck matured and developed his own morals. However, critic Julius Lester does not see this story as one of growth and maturation, but rather as a “dismal portrait of the white male psyche.” This interpretation misses Twain’s message about growth. Twain does portray what one could call an ideal lifestyle of freedom, however throughout Huck’s adventures Twain illustrates flaws in this lifestyle. Twain shows the juvenile nature of those

The eternal paradox is that this is a mockery of freedom, a void. We express the deepest caring for ourselves only by taking responsibility for our and whatever portion of this world we make ours.” In the beginning of the novel, Huck does have the mindset Lester criticizes. Huck only focuses on himself and his freedoms with no regards for anyone else. For example, the widow Douglas took Huck in as a son. She did a great service to Huck as Huck had a drunkard for a father and his mother had passed away. All she expects in return is for Huck to act in a civilized manner. Huck however, does not care about the kindness shown to him, he just wants to not have any responsibilities. “The Widow Douglas, she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was in all her ways; and so when I couldn’t stand it no longer, I lit out” (Twain 3). Here, Huck demonstrates his contempt for responsibilities. He does not appreciate the kindness shown to him by the widow; he only focuses on how he feels