What is right and wrong is often very subjective. What a person values and believes in coupled what they experience helps them piece together their own moral code. Since everyone places values on a wide array of interests, topics and causes, it is impossible to determine which is the quintessential value or the correct way to think. Luckily, Kohlberg’s system of morals, marked by both morals and stages, can help distinguish those who are trying to act as the most upstanding moral citizens. This system can be used to analyze how characters progress morally throughout the course of a story, such as Huck in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huck moves towards being a conscientious and moral member of society as he progresses through the novel even though the odds are stacked against him; raised in a situation where he had no positive influences and faced with countless situations where acting out of self interest was the easier option, Huck became a righteous character who we should all wish to emulate.
Though Huck’s father served as his main, and first, influence, he lacked a moral compass. He was against Huck attending school and often robbed other people and just called it ‘borrowing’. Huck’s dad was depicted “[laying] drunk with the hogs in yard” (8). Since Huck did not have many positive influences growing up, he had to create a moral compass from scratch based on what he thought was right. While he started off rocky, by constantly stealing from other people, following