It’s 1833 and you just realized the men you were making conversation with made off with your stolen wallet. In Mark Twain’s historically fictional novel,The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, two major characters, The Duke and The King, will stop at nothing to line their pockets with whatever they can steal. They work as conmen on the run from the previous town they swindled, and encounter Huck and Jim along the way. Twain’s portrayal of the Duke and the King is reminiscent of many characters who are out for one thing; they want more money. The Duke and The King’s greatest contribution to the novel was their role in the moral development of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain’s creation of these characters gives an example of how bad people and bad situations can bring out the most compassionate qualities in those who can see the wrongfulness.

The Duke and The King have the designation of major, static, antagonists, and they could also be described as foils for Huck. Throughout the novel, The Duke and The King are consistently bad influences for Huck. They would lie to and steal from innocent, unsuspecting families and towns; they had complete disregard for human life and dignity. While The Duke and The King are conspiring to steal $6000 from an innocent family, Huck sees the malice of their actions and mentally rebukes them. “It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race” (Twain, 168). This is one example of how The Duke and The King’s shameful actions affect Huck. Huck