Huck Finn Conformity

Aside from the scientific aspect of social influences, we can observe this habit in fiction as well, like Huckleberry Finn. In the novel, the whole society follows a collective reasoning and collective values, specifically around slavery. Blind conformity was not a rare2 theme in this novel, as well as going off of what was learned and taught. This is represented through Huck when he chooses to listen to others on slavery until he has a personal experience with Jim, a slave, and begins to change his mind. The transition between blind conformity and independent thinking shows that Huck begins to think for himself and follow his conscience instead of following what he was told instead.

Huck as a boy part of the poor white society, highlights that moral values can differ even within the same race. As a child, Huck represents a character not yet manipulated by society. At the beginning of the book, Huck is not yet influenced by Tom Sawyer, his id’s, romanticizing of stereotypical society. When individuals attempt to civilize Huck through warning him about the “bad place”, Huck exclaims that “all he wanted was to go somewhere; all he wanted was a change” (Twain 2). Huck does not believe in a stereotypical heaven or hell as portrayed in religion.

In the middle of the book, Huck starts to distinguish what is the right thing to do. He starts to think if all the things he was doing before with Jim and Tom were too mean and stupid to do. One specific example is when he decides to steal the money that the king and duke have, “I got to steal that money somehow; and I got to steal it some way that they wont suspicion I done it." (Twain 133) After Huck stole the money Huck and Jim didn’t feel bad at all, and knew that they did the right thing after all. He learns that not everyone can be scammed on, that the real life is important and that you can’t do anything stupid like that. He sees eye to eye with Jim and realizes that he cant have someone taken advantage of just because of their

Huck’s moral development decreases, returning him into his old self, since he doesn’t want to be civilized. In the beginning Huck was taken in by the Widow and Miss Watson, who will always ask Huck, “why don’t you try to behave?”, showing that Huck had his own kind of moral understanding (Twain 2). After Jim is freed and Huck is on his own again, Aunt Sally wants to take him in, like the Widow, but Huck rejects the offer since, “[he] can’t stand it. [he’s] been there before”, this shows the reader that he is not going to change, but keep running away from those who want to civilize them (Twain 220). As we saw Huck’s moral development decrease, there is still a question to answer, should the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn be read in

Despite Huck’s initial intention to write to Tom Sawyer convey him of Jim’s location; therefore allowing Miss Watson to retrieve her “property”, Huck decides to follow his increasing sense of his conscience. Huck does expresses some worries that are selfish, such as the shame and isolation he would experience if anyone found out that he followed his moral compass and helped Jim reach freedom. Although Huck questions his conscience with these selfish thoughts, Huck worries equally as much for Jim in the fact that he may be condemned a slave forever. Huck decides to follow his moral compass and plans to free Jim from his confinement. This experience proves that Huck doesn’t follow the rules of society, but rather follows what he knows is the right thing to

In order for Huck to challenge any of the values and assumptions of the time he must first be acquainted with them.  And he is not only intimately acquainted with the values of his society but he holds many of its beliefs himself.  But Huck longs for freedom away

Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is a very well thought out book about a kid trying to gain freedom from being ‘sivilized’ by his legal guardians by running away and eventually acquiring a friendship with his guardians ex-slave. Mark Twain, however, is a hypocrite because he breaks numerous literary rules that he wrote about another author’s book, basically acting as if he is better than the other author (James Fenimore Cooper), which was not appropriate since he proved he was not in his own novel. This was done in a professionally documented list called “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses.” I will now dissect it and ruin your experience. One of the biggest hypocrisies that Mark Twain is guilty of is the first one

Huck is a child who raises himself therefore he relies on his own instinct to get him through life. Although many try and civilize Huck, he chooses to rebel not knowing that his own instincts are more moral than societies. Huck’s role in the novel Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is an innocent child which illustrates how society constraints the individual from thinking for themselves in the civilized world. Society and Huck’s point of view on slavery, Huck’s point of view on civilization, and Huck’s relationship with his father depict the effects of a constraining society.

In the first several chapter Huck was living with Miss Watson and Widow Douglas and they tried to teach him right and wrong, they tried to teach him morals. Huck did not agree with how they were attempting to make him a more civilized person, and when his father, Pap, returned Huck no longer had to meet the expectations that Miss Watson and Widow Douglas had set for him. Huck has become

In any society, there are certain standards and ideas that are commonplace. Individuals living in a particular society must conform to these standards, or be branded as the minority. During the 19th Century, slavery was widely practiced and accepted in Southern society; and to conform to Southern society meant accepting its ideas about slavery. However, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain relates the main character Huckleberry Finn’s struggle to be an individual and not conform to Southern society regarding slavery. In his novel, Mark Twain uses the issue of slavery to convey the theme that individuality wins over conformity to society.

The conflict between society and the individual is a theme portrayed throughout Twain's Huckleberry Finn. Huck was not raised in accord with the accepted ways of civilization. Huck faces many aspects of society, which makes him choose his own individuality over civilization. He practically raises himself, relying on instinct to guide him through life. As portrayed several times in the novel, Huck chooses to follow his innate sense of right, yet he does not realize that his own instincts are more moral than those of society.

He like the majority of the Deep South’s population was forced to submit to popular religion in the form of Christianity, being racist and not being able to criticize the institution of slavery, as well as acting like a “proper” boy and being civilized with manors, rules, and restrictions. However, he is the polar opposite of the ideals expressed by his society. Huck is forced to reside with Widow Douglas, he describes the experience in the first chapter, “She took me… allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time … I wanted to smoke, and asked the widow to let me. But she wouldn't. She said… I must try to not do it any more.” (Twain, 2). In this particular environment, Huck is forcefully civilized by the Widow Douglas as well as Miss Watson. This essentially shows an indirect form of slavery in which Huck is forced to do as society and his elders dictate regardless of what he believes in which many of us are also subject to. This enslaves him and leads him to decide that he needs to relocate himself as far away from society as possible. Therefore, he forges his death and runs away meeting Jim on the way. This idea of Huck being controlled by society influences him through the novel, for instance he thinks about turning Jim in because it is wrong to steal since Jim is

From the early stages of his life, Huck was raised in a lifestyle that society deemed was the “Truth” and the “right way”, but as Huck grows he had adventures through nature and that taught him lessons that he himself accepted. Conflicted by these two polar opposite lessons, he chose to end up with nature as he leave most of society’s “way of life” behind and proceeds to exploring nature’s. From the very start, Huck never really belonged in society because Huck “..said I wished I was there. [Miss Watson] got mad then, but I didn’t mean no harm. All I wanted was to go somewheres; all I wanted was a change, I warn’t particular” (Twain

Huck Finn knows that he made a promise and he values that above all else. Earlier on Huck made a promise with Tom Sawyer and the rest of their gang in which they swore on their families lives, but in this promise he is being forced contradict society and go against what he has been taught his entire life. Huck is supposed to be a rebel and and go against the ideas and beliefs of civilization, but no one, not even the most individualistic of us all, can avoid the manipulation of society. Society’s influence is insidious and it has very clearly shaped Huck’s ethics, as he remarks that an abolitionist is one of the worst insults to be called. The influence of society is

In the beginning, Huck is like all the town people and a follower that went with the norms of society he didn’t want to stand out. One example is when Huck’s morals seem to show no concern about Miss Watson’s ownership of Jim. Huck’s mentality thought it was perfectly normal to treat the slaves as a piece of property, play tricks for one’s personal amusement, and have the slaves do all the work. Huck uses his moral sense to expose hypocrisy in others and to try to correct such situations if possible. It’s very ironic that Miss Watson claiming to be Christian lets society norms influence her. Not only that, society was a hypocrite, love your neighbor and have an African-American as your slave. Huck let’s go of all the misguide concepts from the society. Huck could see how wrong his action towards Jim has been. Without the pivotal scene Huck wouldn’t have a stand up and truly analysis the norms of society. There is an evolution between the old Huck we meet in the beginning. Now, he slowly starts to change and matures “I know’d [Jim] was white inside,” indicates that Huck sees Jim as a human. Huck see’s Jim through the eyes of a human not as a white man. He is beginning to slowly escape the attachment of the white’s see. Twain want Huck to overcome all racists thinking and look at African-Americans as people with feelings, families, and friendships, even with