The Expectations Of A True Man In Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn

Is it better to be a “successful” member of society by fitting into one’s set mold, or to individually decided one’s course in life, risking rejection from others? While it is certainly the easier option to mindlessly follow the rules of society, one may argue that a strong, brave, and true man is one who acts as his own person, regardless of the expectations of an average man. In Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Colonel Sherburn gives a speech in which he defines a true “man” as one who acts as an individual with his own ideals, instead of the typical man, who follows the crowd and gives way to a mob mentality. Twain’s accurate definition of a man is displayed in his characters Huck and Jim, as well as the ideas put forth in

The Colonel claims that “the average man’s a coward… The average man don’t like trouble and danger” (Twain 1378). However, Huck is the exact opposite of this description; he is brave, and constantly puts himself in dangerous situations. When Huck is under the care of the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, they force him to wear uncomfortable clothes, eat politely at the table, learn about the Bible, and refrain from smoking and using profanity. He despises conforming to societal standards in these ways and is so desperate to escape that he prefers living with his abusive father, who starves, beats, and isolates him from the world. Huck even more boldly rejects the ideals of society through his relationship with Jim. During the time of slavery, it was not socially acceptable for a white person to view a black person as a fellow human being, let alone befriend him. By the end of the story, Huck deeply cares about Jim, sees him as a father-figure, and essentially risks his life to save him. Through Huck Finn’s individualistic mindset and rejection of society’s standards, he depicts Sherburn’s idea of a true