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Selfishness In Mark Twain's The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer

435 Words2 Pages

Man is undoubtedly kind hearted because they will always help others who are down and in worse condition than themselves. Man is instinctively selfless as well. They will put their protection and safety in jeopardy to ensure the well being of another individual. The nature of man is kind hearted and selfless. Others will argue that humans are actually selfish, and only do good for personal gain. Ultimately, however, human nature’s goal is to seek and care for an individual in peril or danger and to do anything needed and possible to help. No matter the situation or cost. Human nature has a kind, caring heart for others. Mark Twain would agree with this because, in his book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the main character, comforts his girlfriend, Becky when they are lost in an unexplored cave. Becky broke down quite often and "Tom tried to think of some way of …show more content…

Bernard Mandeville believed that man is “extraordinarily selfish, cunning, and stubborn" (Mandeville). However, he ignores the fact that even if man is selfish, that man will stand in the way of danger, to save another person. Man will put another human before him, fully accepting the dangers and costs that will come with it. Twain exemplifies this trait in human nature with Tom, once again. Tom is called to testify for a falsely accused man that has been charged with murder, and Tom was at the site, unnoticed when it happened. With the true murderer in the courtroom, Tom "was badly scared" (Twain 214) and conflicted on whether or not to tell the whole story, knowing that Injun Joe would without a doubt, kill him. "Tom began-hesitatingly at first" (Twain 216) and decided to put the wellbeing and condition of the falsely accused man before his own safety and life. Understandably, Tom only hesitated because he was very nervous and traumatized by the whole situation, as any 11-year-old boy should

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Huckleberry Finn was quite the mischievous kid. In fact, in our culture today, he would be found atrocious. Huck may act in misconduct, but he didn 't have much guidance growing up. His family certainly didn 't provide leadership. Huck, being in such a situation, doesn 't seem to have faith.

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Jim Inside every man lies the excitement of childhood burdened with responsibility. In the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain, Jim is thoughtful, logical, and superstitious. The first reason Jim is considered thoughtful is because he offers to help people without anything in return. For example, in the book Jim and Huck take turns doing night watch duty, so Jim will often tell Huck that he will wake him up when it is his turn, but let him sleep all night long, “I had the middle watch, you know, but I was pretty sleepy by that time, so Jim he said he would stand the first half of it for me” (p. 127). Jim offers to take the whole night shift, and not sleep at all that night, that act of kindness proves that Jim is thoughtful because he let Huck sleep becauses he knows that he is tired and wants to let him rest.

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Morals create stories and stories create novels, but can a novel be written without morals? Mark Twain states within his notice that no morals or motives prevail in the scripture of the novel. However, support for reasons towards believing otherwise, once having read, verbatim, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, succeeds. Mark Twain’s original viewers may have been scared due to the repercussions at stake, but followers now can collectively discuss whether or not discovered morals exist, disregarding his drastic warning against the pondering of these scenarios. Although Twain’s “Notice” explicitly states the absence of moral expression within the making of Huck Finn, morals intertwine themselves within the ignorance of the population and the wrongfulness of racism.

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In his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Huck), Mark Twain satirizes falsehood, and dishonesty through Huck’s vernacular voice in order to show the ignorance of the shameful southern culture where the values consist of greed and manipulation. Although Twain criticizes this seemingly mendacious behavior of lying, he argues that there are circumstances in which deception is acceptable. He adopts a typical southerner mentality through Huck’s genuine voice for the purpose of expressing to the audience that lying is appropriate in situations where the lie gets someone out of trouble, protects somebody’s feelings, or doesn’t cause any damage to others, and it is inappropriate when it has immoral intentions. Throughout the novel, Huck learns

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It is often said the right way is not always the popular way. Standing for what is right, despite it being frowned upon, is the true test of one’s moral character. This relates to the moral growth that Huck Finn experiences throughout his journey. Mark Twain’s controversial novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is a compelling story about how one individual, Huck Finn, goes against society’s ideals. One’s moral development is often defines as how one will act towards others based on his or her own beliefs.

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“Lord, Tom, they're coming! They’re coming, sure. What’ll we do?” This quote is said in the book “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Tom’s friend Huck. When Tom and his friend Huck are in the graveyard talking they see three figures and immediately become scared and hide.

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Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name, Mark Twain, was as world renowned author that was said to be “nothing less than a national treasure.” When he was only four years old, he and his family moved to Hannibal, a small town in Missouri on the Mississippi River. This is a very important location because it is the town where Huckleberry Finn lived in before he ran away in the novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This novel that takes you on an adventure down the Mississippi River and all that comes along the way. The story’s narrator, a 12-year-old boy named Huckleberry Finn, is a very independent boy.

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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, follows the life of a young lad in rural America during the 1840s. In an attempt to escape the abuse of his father, he fakes his own death and begins a journey down the Mississippi River. However, he soon encounters a runaway slave belonging to a lady that had taken him under her wing while his father was absent. He initially feels responsibile to return the slave, Jim, back to his owner, but he ends up helping him escape. They travel down the river on a raft together, experiencing many adventures in small towns and families along the way.

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When one reads The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, themes involving morality and conscience become heavily prevalent. The protagonist, Huckleberry Finn, portrays a manifest dynamic character. His actions and statements, ranging from the outset of the novel through its ending, show Huck’s development of a more concise sense of morality and conscience, which prevails over the societal influences of “right and wrong”. In the nineteenth century American South, the inescapable system of slavery and social hierarchy would have discouraged an interracial bond. Yet Huck, while escaping from his father, chooses to befriend Jim, the runaway slave he encounters, and shares a pivotal stage in his life with his companion, whereby

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Although many people believe it is a person’s upbringing to act certain ways, in Twain’s book it shows that it is in fact people’s nature. Tom said “Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence everyday?” This quote proves nature because Tom was never taught to lie, he was taught by Aunt Polly to be kind to others and never to lie. If Tom was never taught to do those things then it must have come from his genes, proving nature.

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