Jim And Huck example essay topic

Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn Essay, Research Paper The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Throughout the Mark Twain novel, The Adventures of HuckleBerry Finn, the author shows a simple view. His point of view is that of a cynic; he looks at society's flaws and makes fun of them It is when they stop off at various towns along the river that various human character flaws always seem to come out. Twain's main purpose in writing this work is to inform the reader of these many flaws. Through his characters and by using sarcasm, the author portrays the violence, ignorance, and especially the racism in the novel. Many of the characters in the book show cruelty, violence, and immorality to others. Cruelty is shown in the beginning of the book when Pap, Huck's father comes back to visit him.?

Don't you give me none o' your lip,' says he. "You " ve put on considerable many frills since I been away. I'll take you down a peg before I get done with you. You " re educated, too, they say – can read and write. You think you " re better'n your father, now, don't you, because he can't? I'LL take it out of you.

Who told you you might meddle with such hifalut'n foolishness, hey? – who told you you could?? (Pg. 19) Instead of being proud of his son learning to read and write he is angry and he then proceeds to beat Huck. Pap is completely antisocial and wishes to undo all of the good that the Widow and Miss Watson have taught Huck. When Jim and Huck are rafting down the river they come up on a steamboat that has crashed. Huck decides to sneak on to the boat.

While he is on the boat he hears two men talking about how they are going to kill somebody. "Well, my idea is this: we " ll rustle around and gather up whatever picking we " ve overlooked in the state- rooms, and shove for shore and hide the truck. Then we " ll wait. Now I say it ain't a-goin' to be more'n two hours befo' this wrack breaks up and washes off down the river. See?

He " ll be drownded, and won't have nobody to blame for it but his own self. I reckon that's a considerable sight better ' n killin' of him. I'm unfavorable to killin' a man as long as you can git aroun' it; it ain't good sense, it ain't good morals. Ain't I right?' (Pg. 69) The men believe it is better let a man drown then to shoot him. Twain was satirizing the ignorance and cruelty of society in general. The Duke and King take advantage of the ignorance of the people in the towns.

These two con artists would make up schemes to take the cash of the unsuspecting townspeople. The Duke and King showed that people are gullible and often easily led, when they are in-groups. The fact that, after losing all their money, the towns people sent rave reviews of it to their friends to avoid admitting they had been conned. Mark Twain shows racism in the treatment of Jim, a black slave, by white characters in the novel. Huck finds Jim on Jackson's Island because the slave has run away-he has overheard a conversation that he will soon be sold to New Orleans. Soon after joining Jim on Jackson's Island, Huck begins to realize that Jim has more talents and intelligence than Huck has been aware of.

Huck says, ? he judged it was all up with him anyway it could be fixed; for if he didn? t get saved he would get drownded; and if he didn? t get saved, whoever saved him would send him back home so as to get the reward, and then Miss Watson would sell him South, sure. Well, he was right; he was the most always right; he had an uncommon level head for a nigger.? (Pg. 81) Although he is complimenting Jim's intelligence Huck is saying that Jim is smart for an uneducated slave, which is racist. Later in the book, Huck assumes that people can spot a black person from far away when he states.? When we was ready to shove off we was a quarter of a mile below the island, and it was pretty broad day; so I made Jim lay down in the canoe and cover up with a quilt, because if he set up people could tell he was a nigger a good ways off.?

(Pg. 58) At that point in the book Huck still holds the belief that blacks are different from whites. Huck might have gotten that belief from his Pa who was also racist against blacks. One night when Pa came home drunk he said, "Oh, yes, this is a wonderful gov ment, wonderful. Why, look here. There was a free nigger there from Ohio – a mu latter, most as white as a white man.

He had the whitest shirt on you ever see, too, and the shiniest hat; and there ain't a man in that town that's got as fine clothes as what he had; and he had a gold watch and chain, and a silver-headed cane – the awful- est old gray-headed nabob in the State. And what do you think? They said he was a p'fessor in a college, and could talk all kinds of languages, and know ed everything. And that ain't the west. They said he could VOTE when he was at home. Well, that let me out.

Thinks I, what is the country a-coming to? It was ' lection day, and I was just about to go and vote myself if I warn't too drunk to get there; but when they told me there was a State in this country where they'd let that nigger vote, I drawer out. I says I'll never vote agin.? Twain through Huck voices his extreme opposition to the slave trade and racism. The author wants the reader to see the foolishness in this statement. Huck's father believes that he is superior to this black professor simply because of the color of his skin.