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Huckleberry Finn Moral Development

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Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, certain characters help influence the development of Huck’s morality immensely. For instance, Jim gave Huck a sense of loyalty and respect, Meanwhile Huck’s father and the con men Huck encountered allowed him to see how not to treat others and what not to value. With all these influences weighing on Huck, he was able to progressively learn how to choose between the rights and wrongs amongst the decisions made by himself and others around him. Huck’s moral development as a character is mostly credited to himself in learning how to analyze situations and people in his life and deciding whether or not they keep strong values and morality. Throughout the beginning of the story, Huck …show more content…

I think his new sympathetic trait is proved when he feels pity for the robbers upon the wrecked ship, and tries to save their lives. Even though they were murderous thieves, Huck felt bad for them and feels that one day he could be in a situation just like they had. Huck expresses this sympathy when he states “I begun to think how dreadful it was, even for murderers, to be in such a fix. I says to myself, there ain’t no telling but I might come to be a murderer myself yet, and then how would I like it?” (Twain 71).This plays a huge role in Huck’s character, he is finally able to acknowledge other people and their emotions and experiences. He is also able to put himself into their shoes. I think that he also feels sympathy towards Jim, though they both have very little, Jim has much less than Huck. I believe that Jim helps Huck develop loyalty, which might be unintentional, but still prevalent. Huck feels apologetic towards the widow for he is helping her slave escape, but he couldn’t cease his actions for Jim is his friend and he is loyal to him. This also supports Huck’s journey on the road of maturation. Being able to understand who really deserves your help and faithfulness is an idea even many adults aren’t able to completely …show more content…

The comrades allow the two strangers to ride along, even though they don’t know who they are. The men claim to be a King and a Duke, though Huck quickly figures out that they are con men. Everyone seems fairly oblivious to the fact though so Huck keeps quiet and plays along with their schemes. The men commit fraud and fool a town family into believing that they are to inherit the fortune of their deceased family member. This here is a point in which Huck’s morality comes to play, he is frankly disgusted by the men’s actions. Though he believes what they’re doing to the family is cruel, Huck hasn’t said anything to the family. He observes the situation for a while, to see how far the men intend to go with their schemes. At first glance, this doesn’t seem like a fair display of good morality, but it is in a sense for Huck is able to form the conclusion that these men aren’t good and resolves to return the money back to the rightful owners. This is also another huge milestone, revealing the truth about the men and giving back what they have stolen. Huck is able to identify when someone is doing wrong by harming another person and figures out how to fix it. There are many people who would turn the other cheek for they would believe that it is not their problem, but Huck believes he needs to make things right, and that is a huge display of character on his behalf. In

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