Twain's Use Of Satire example essay topic

In Mark Twain novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the Grangerfords and Pap are the two characters who are used by Twain to condemn the civilized society. Twain tries to express his feeling that civilized society isn't always the prettier thing. Twain uses the technique of satirizing civilized society. Examples of ways he uses satirizing throughout the story are though exaggeration, stereotyping, and irony.

Twain's use of satire exposes the Grangerfords as the typical southern aristocrats and pap as the typical drunken 'white trash'; . After a ferryboat accident, Huck seems to lose his slave companion Jim after coming ashore. Huck then is introduced to Buck Grangerford (about the same age as Huck) and is allowed to stay in the Grangerford household. The Grangerford family consists of Buck, who is a young adventurous boy, Emmiline, a fourteen year old that was dead girl, Bob, Tom, Miss Charlotte, and Miss Sophia.

The Grangerfords showed all the signs of being upper class by having an extremely nice house, acting properly, and each member of the family had their own servant. Eventually it becomes apparent to Huck that the Grangerfords are feuding with a neighboring household, the Sheperdson, this seems to be the central angle Twain uses to satire. The two chapters dealing with the Grangerford and Sheperdson feud allow Twain to satire aspects of civilized culture. The main aspect he satirizes is the feud itself.

The Grangerfords being the representatives of civilization, Twain reveals the senseless brutality and needless manslaughter involved in their arbitrary concept of honor. For Twain, such a feud goes against his common sense and anything that violated his common sense was crazy to Twain. The feud has gone on so long hat the people don't even know why they are fighting; yet, embedded in the feud are artificial concepts of civilized behavior. For Example, Mr. Grangerford tells Buck that he shouldn't shoot from behind the bush but he should step out into the road to kill a Sheperdson.

Also there is a sense of irony because why would such a civilized family be in a feud that they can't remember the origin of. Another aspect of it is the Grangeford's use of hypocrisy. The Grangerfords were 'church goers'; and in one sermon Mr. Grangerford gives he speaks of brotherly love. This while feuding with a family for a reason they don't even remember. Pap, or Huck's father, is an excellent example of Twain's stereotyping, superior characterizations, and his irony. Pap comes into the story when Huck feels that something is wrong but it is confirmed by Jim's hairball.

Twain stereotypes Pap as the typical drunken and abusive 'white trash'; . Pap wants Huck to stop trying to get a better education, stop getting better clothes, and to stop trying to be better than his father. This the first use of irony Twain uses for Pap because Pap is supposed to a grown up and a civilized person and yet he wants Huck to not have anything good or even try to be better than himself, which all parents are supposed to do. The introduction of Pap indicates that Pap is a part of society that Huck wishes to escape. In contrast to Miss Watson's (tried to civilize Huck) hypocrisy, Pap represents the brutality and severity of civilization which threatens to destroy Huck. Pap is eventually forced to kidnap his own son.

Huck then creates a elaborate escape plan which would make it seem as if he is dead. Ironically civilization is not concerned over Huck's suffering at the hands of Pap but in locating his dead body. Clearly, the condemning of the civilized society was well backed up by Twain's use of satirizing. Twain used techniques of hypocrisy, irony, exaggeration, and stereotyping to further his satirization and provided clear examples of it as well. The Grangerfords and Pap thoroughly were represented as the worst of the society and this explained why Huck so much didn't want to be apart of it.