Wealth In Mark Twain's The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

To Be a Rich Man A diverse set of circumstances throughout history has determined the societal expectation of how to measure wealth. Plumpness was a sign of wealth in the 17th century due to food shortage, while now it is largely an unattractive sign of gluttony. In the Stone Age, whoever held the sharper spear was likely wealthier. As humans grow and evolve, the ever-changing definition leaves members of society trying to discover the right answer. During the 19th century, most of the country saw the American dream as the defining mark of wealth. Mark Twain sought to change that outlook. Twain’s family moved to a Mississippi River port town in pursuit of more opportunity for wealth, to little success. Through his upbringing, Twain came to

By portraying several characters' actions as desirable or undesirable, Twain crafts a narrative where the pursuit of strictly monetary wealth is repulsive to the reader. He utilizes Huck Finn, the narrator, to achieve this outlook. Twain establishes in the novel’s exposition that Huck possesses six thousand dollars as a result of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. As quickly as he does this, Huck says, “I don’t want to spend it. I don’t want it at all- nor the six thousand, nuther” (Twain 18). While other factors motivate Huck's actions, Twain purposefully portrays Huck as utterly impassive about what happens to his money. As the story progresses, Twain displays Huck’s conscience and decision-making as

This fulfillment, unlike the Duke and the King, comes from the pursuit of emotional wealth over monetary wealth. Jim’s aim of inner contentment stems from “saving up money and buy[ing] his wife…and then buy[ing his] two children” (Twain 91). Twain offers an oppressed, pure-of-heart character’s simplistic goals to compare to other more selfish views of emotional wealth. He doesn’t criticize Jim for running away since he’s abandoning the society he’s oppressed in for his contentment. Huck Finn also chases the emotional satisfaction of freedom, despite not being a slave. When Huck claims that he doesn’t “want to go back to the widow’s any more and be so cramped up and sivilized,” he is undermining society’s mindset of what it means to be truly content (Twain 27). Twain suggests through Huck’s actions that the American dream of civilization and monetary success isn’t for everyone, and there’s nothing wrong with living life to your taste. Yet, Twain presents another character who lives life on his terms in a negative light. The difference between Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, however, is Tom’s lack of regard for those around him. When Huck presents Tom with the plan to rescue Jim, an utter betrayal of society’s values, Tom responds, “What! Why, Jim is-,” he stop[s] and [goes] to studying” before agreeing excitedly. (Twain 228). To Huck’s great surprise, Tom makes the same sacrifice