ipl-logo

Satire In Huckleberry Finn Research Paper

536 Words3 Pages

Satire is a genre of literature in which individuals are ridiculed. It is used to point out the faults and stupidity of humanity. In the novel The Adventures in Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck gets introduced to the King, Duke, and the Phelps. Huck starts to notice the flaws of humanity. Twain reveals the faults of society and religion. Twain introduces the gullibility of human nature. The King and Duke arrive at a town and found out a man named Peter Wilks who has a lot of fortune. The townspeople are mourning over his death and the King sees an opportunity to get rich. They called themselves the Wilks’ brothers. Huck stated, “Well, the men gethered around, and sympathized with them, and said all sorts of kind things to them, and carried their carpet-bags up the hill for them, and let them lean on them and cry…”(Twain 164). In normal circumstances the townspeople should have doubted the two con men but instead they believed that they were the Wilk’s brother. Twain shows that …show more content…

They got caught when Tom got shot in the leg and needed urgent care. The townspeople found Jim and locked him up again. Tom was upset that their plan did not work and wanted them to set Jim free. Tom states, “I’ve knowed him all his life, and so has Tom, there. Old Miss Watson died two months ago, and she was ashamed she ever was going to sell him down the river, and said so; and she set him free in her will” (Twain 289). Twain illustrates the idea of Miss Watson feeling guilty and freed Jim. Even though she is a christian woman who seems to own a slave, it doesn’t make her a bad person but falls into the conformity of society. Twain used satire throughout his whole novel to reveal the truth about society. He criticized the stupidity of humanity. He also builds the idea of people who do seem to own slaves, are not necessarily bad people. With Miss Watson being a christian women, in the end she feels guilty and does the right

Show More
Related
511 Words | 3 Pages

Satire in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Satire is a tool that is used throughout the novel The adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, in order to critique religion, society, and its justification of slavery. During the time of slavery and quite a few years after that, black people were considered to not be “whole men” and were described as “immature, irresponsible, unintelligent, and physically strong.” (Race and Racism) What Twain did with his story was to comment on the duplicity of “the whole man”. The scene that will be focused on is found on page 51, when Huckleberry describes his life at the Widow Douglas's home, and it is said that in the evening Miss Watson would call their slaves into the house and pray before it was time retire for the evening.

Read More
1628 Words | 7 Pages

In the eyes of a young naive boy- Huck Finn, Twain informs society about the many faults and failings humans have. Through adventure, trials and overall tribulations Huck Finn soon grasps a mentality of understanding that equivalence between race is not only important but crucially substantial. Twain continually uses satire and dark themes as enticements to exposing the truth about how badly “slavery” impacts the rules of society.

Read More
1266 Words | 6 Pages

People would call me a low-down abolitionist and deise me for keeping mum” (43). Huck’s decision to keep Jim’s secret reflects a higher

Read More
498 Words | 2 Pages

People greatly value honor, and they will disregard everyone else and put themselves in danger in order to achieve it. For example, Tom wants it to be harder to get Jim out of his confinements, ignoring the fact that he is a human being and it is essential to his health and well being that he not remain imprisoned. When he encounters Jim’s situation, he says, “‘Blame it, this whole thing is just as easy and awkward as it can be. And so it makes it so rotten difficult to get up a difficult plan.” ’

Read More
744 Words | 3 Pages

A large portion of these scenes was centered around hypocrisy. One of the hypocritical groups Huck encounters in his tale is the Shepherdsons and Grangerfords-two families locked in a family feud. Both of the families have forgotten what the feud is even about, but they refuse to give up, which is costing them many lives in the process. Another fatal flaw- that Twain points out in this scene- of humans is presented in this situation: stubbornness. Huck stays with them for a time before he escapes with Jim again, but what he witnesses reveals a vital flaw in human nature.

Read More
1380 Words | 6 Pages

Internal struggles and morality are popular topics and methods for continuing plot in literature. However, they are very rarely combined with satire. Mark Twain, in his American Realistic novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, utilizes Huck’s morality and crisis of conscience in order to satirize social institutions. Twain uses Huck’s morality to satirize reformers.

Read More
420 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain satirizes multiple behaviors and customs that were common in the South during the 19th century. Twain is able to criticize the flaws of society, including the idea of organized religion, through the eyes of the young protagonist, Huckleberry Finn. Huck Finn is a young boy learning to be “sivilized,” and one of the things he is introduced to by Miss Watson is religion. As an outsider, his voice is utilized by Twain to point out the fallacies of religion through irony and satire.

Read More
923 Words | 4 Pages

Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a satire of the American society and human nature. Written during a period where hypocrisy was prevalent, the novel mocks the slavery, superstition, judicial system, family feuds, racism, ignorance, and the cruelty displayed by a majority of Americans. Twain used many of the characters and situations in the novel to represent pieces of the society he thought were ironic, and he did so in a humorous and hyperbolic manner. One major conflict in the novel that Twain uses for satire is when Pap, Huckleberry's father, reappears after a long abandonment and is angry at Huck for going to school. Pap's character is exaggeratedly used to symbolize illiterate, dead-beat, racist, white, wandering drunkards.

Read More
489 Words | 2 Pages

It is also ironic because Miss Watson tries teaching Huck about being a good kid and Christian but they own Jim as a slave, which isn't very religious. By saying all of this Twain is trying to prove a point that people don't stick to their word when they say they are religious.

Read More
835 Words | 4 Pages

In his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, acclaimed author, Mark Twain, satirizes the moral conditioning of society that justifies slavery and extreme racism in the South prior to the Civil War. Twain adopts a critical tone to expose how society is at fault in misleading people to conform to its so-called moral rules, rather than staying true to their values. Twain employs satirical devices including irony, stereotypes, and absurdity to ridicule the attitudes of Americans and the hypocrisy that exists among them. Twain utilizes irony to demonstrate that society’s teachings are unethical and tend to stray away from what is morally correct.

Read More
835 Words | 4 Pages

The role of Deceit in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, there comes a lot of examples of satire. Deceitful activity is a big part of satire in this classic, used by the characters. Several times throughout this story, there were incidents dating back to when Huck faked his own death, to the Duke and King faking who they are many times over.

Read More
667 Words | 3 Pages

Jim overhears Mrs.Watson talking to another slave owner who would take Jim away, separating him from his family. As a result, Jim decides to escape before Mrs.Watson could sell him to another owner. Wanting to take responsibility for his wife and children, Jim escapes.

Read More
705 Words | 3 Pages

This demonstrates how Miss Watson is trying to stain religion on huck even though she does not fully understand it herself. Huck and Tom clearly demonstrate some of humanitys fault in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain uses diction, dialouge, and characterization to symbolize society through Tom and Huck in order to show the Hypocricy and Blind comformity in an everyday society.

Read More
219 Words | 1 Pages

Humour and Satire are two elements of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn which contribute to its fame. The different kinds of satire present in the novel make fun of the nineteenth century American society in a multitude of ways. Many of the aspects which Mark Twain makes fun of are still present in contemporary America, as example, prejudice and racism. The clever use of satire together with the humorous writing contributes to the timelessness of Huckleberry Finn. The reason why this novel is so beloved is likely because of these aspects.

Read More
907 Words | 4 Pages

ark Twain's, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is a thrilling novel of a young boy who embarks on a journey which will open up his mind and make him more mature as the story moves along. In the novel, Mark Twain uses satire as a way to provoke his criticisms of American society. Satire can be many things, humor, irony, exaggerations, and Twain uses all forms to get points across in the novel. Many times throughout the novel he uses humor to bring social institutions into play, religion, family, and education. Huck, the main character, is highly influenced by two separate groups, while also making his own decisions and his own beliefs.

Read More

More about Satire In Huckleberry Finn Research Paper

Open Document