Obama addressed to a crowd of mixed gender, race, and understanding of their own feelings towards our country. He spoke of the American Identity and story and how it defines the people who live in America. He said, “Look at our history. We are Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea, pioneers who braved the unfamiliar, followed by a stampede of farmers and miners, and entrepreneurs and hucksters. That’s our spirit. That’s who we are… We’re the immigrants who stowed away on ships to reach these shores, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free –- Holocaust survivors, Soviet defectors, the Lost Boys of Sudan. We’re the hopeful strivers who cross the Rio Grande because we want our kids to know a better life. That’s how we came to be… We’re the slaves …show more content…
They venture through the currents of the Mississippi River to get Jim to a free state so he can gain his freedom. Throughout their journey, Huck learns how he was taught as a child are all wrong. He learns that Jim isn’t a person who is under him, he is equal to Huck. When Huck attempts to trick Jim and when he catches him he says, “What do dey stan’ for? I’se gwyne to tell you. When I got all wore out wild work en wid de callen’ for you, en went to sleep, my heart was the most broke bekase you wuz los’, en I didn’ k’yer no’ mo’ what become er me en de raf’. En when I wake up en fine you back ag’in, all safe en soun’, the tears come, en I could ‘a’ got down on my knees en kiss yo’ foot, I’s so thankful. En all you was thinkin’ ’bout wuz how you could make a fool uv ole Jim wid a lie. Dat truck dah is trash; en trash is what people is dat puts dirt on de head er dey fren’s en makes ’em ashamed.”(Twain, 91) After that, Huck realizes that Jim was his friend and he had no right to try and trick him when he was worried for him. Jim taught Huck that whoever tries to fool their friends are trash and should be ashamed of themselves. The American story is about what true friendship is, it is not about fooling others, it is about caring and respecting your friends no matter what race they …show more content…
Some others, however, were not as successful moving up the social class. Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman was about a 60-year-old man named Willy Loman, who is at the end of his career at his job as a salesman. Willy has suicidal tendencies and tends to hallucinate about his old colleagues and relatives who are long gone. He believes that if you are well known and handsome, you can be successful and survive in the business world. He tells his sons Biff and Happy, “Benard can get the best marks in school, y’understand, but when he gets out in the business world, y’understand, you are going five times ahead of him… Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead.”(Miller) He talks about how he so successful at his job he denies how bad his life truly is and it affects his family very much. The American story is about how people believed in success back then, and how it was hard to move up and succeed in
Huck rushes back to the island and demands that Jim be ready to run with him, meaning that Huck has risked his own freedom to save Jim. “Git up and hump yourself, Jim. They’re after us,” Huck finds out they are looking for Jim on Jackson’s Island and he rushes back to let him know (Twain 63). Huck could’ve easily ran and left Jim, but he didn’t. This is the first time where Huck begins to change and value Jim as a companion and friend. Huck realizes the value of Jim, outside of being a slave, and risks his own freedom in order for Jim to remain free. Huck realizes that Jim is a good and true friend and that lying is what will keep them safe and together in the society that they are living in. “He’s sick--and so is Mam and Mary Ann,” Huck lies to the men who want to search the raft for slaves (Twain 90). He says his family has smallpox which is what drives the slave searchers away. Huck knows they must lie about their intentions and who they are in order to be successful. This also proves how awful society was, they would have taken away Jim, no questions asked, and it just simply becomes easier to hold their tongues. This is when Huck first begins to protect Jim and defy society once again. Huck later hurts Jim’s feelings by playing a cruel trick on Jim and feels bad. Huck knows white people aren't supposed to, but he apologizes to a slave
And When Huck came back and tricked poor old Jim of that he just had a dream of that Huck was gone, Jim cried he was really taking it seriously of this relationship. It’s like when a child is gone and their Father is so worried about them and desperately wanting to meet back together again. “What do dey stan’ for? I’s gwyne to tell you. When I got all wore out nd los’, en I didn’t k’yer
Once Huck realizes this, he begins to write a letter to Jim’s slave owner, Miss Watson, telling her where Jim is located. Due to his upbringing, he believes that telling Miss Watson is the right thing to do. Instead Huck says “I’ll go to hell” and decides to do what he believes is right, going against society once again. Huck then goes to the Phelps’ farm and frees his friend Jim once more.
Huck is the only true friend Jim has, and he is sure to make that known to Huck. These few words cause Huck to stop and think. Huck starts to realize that maybe he has been treating Jim wrong all along. Huck begins to realize how wrong society truly is. The more people Huck encounters, the more he acknowledges hypocrisy: “Huck narrates the story of his encounters with various southern types...and at other times, his acute ability to see through the hypocrisy of his elders” (“The Adventures…”10).
Huck finn is a book that mentions many problems of the south in 1980’s. This book adresses racial tensions from many different sides. And the way the book made each tension person and not senseless, it couldn’t be classified as a racist book.
They see a town and decide Huck should go and see if this town is Cairo. Huck plans to give up Jim when they get to the city but Jim says, “Huck; you’s be de bes’ fren’ Jim’s ever had; en you’s de only fren’ ole Jim’s got now” (Twain 135). Huck struggles with whether or not he will turn Jim in. As Huck is paddling to the shore, he meets a few men who want to search his raft for escaped slaves. Huck concocts an elaborate lie and acts grateful to the men, saying no one else will help them. He convinces the men that his family on that raft has smallpox. The men, deathly afraid of smallpox, leave Huck forty dollars out of pity and leave. Here, Huck actively decides not to turn Jim in. Huck gets closer to realizing that Jim is a person that deserves rights. Huck struggles between what he thinks is right and what society thinks is right. Huck starts to think for himself, branching out from what society has told him to do from when he was a boy. This is a great leap for Huck in his growing maturity and morality.
The next major moment in Huck’s education from Jim is when they think they have found Cairo. Huck has just sworn to himself that when reaches land he will tell someone about Jim and get him sent back to be a slave. He reasons this is the “right” thing to do because The Widow and Miss Watson “hadn’t done anything wrong” to have deserved having their slave taken from them. Here we see Huck trying to use the morality he learned from The Widow, however, fails to realize it is tainted with religion and racism. As Huck is canoeing to shore Jim shouts from the raft, “Pooty soon I’ll be a-shout’n’ for joy, en I’ll say it’s all on accounts o ‘Huck; I’s a free man, en I couldn’t ever ben free ef it hadn’ ben for Huck; Huck done it. Jim won’t ever forgot you, Huck; you’s de bes’ fren’ Jim’s ever had; en you de only fren’ ole Jim’s got now.” (Twain 114).
While he chooses not to hand Jim over, his position remains unclear. His moral compass is muddled. “I was stuck…but after this always do whichever come handiest at the time”. (l60). A true turning point reveals itself through Jim’s emotional vulnerability to Huck about Jim’s devotion to his family. While still bound by white southern culture, this added dimension to Jim’s character allows Huck to see past traditional stereotypes. Huck begins to view Jim more as a person and less as a slave. Having said that, Huck never reaches the point that readers so desperately wait for. While he decides to help Jim, Huck views his decision as morally wrong. It is Twain’s way of keeping Huck from overcoming the bounds of his culture, and Huck’s incomplete moral
The geography of Missouri and the Island play a key role in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Over fall break, I went to Disney World. At Disney World, there is an island called Tom Sawyer’s Island. This island is meant to convey the ambiance of the 19th century world of Tom Sawyer. This island’s atmosphere can also be applied to the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that we read in class.
Huckleberry Finn was published on December 10, 1884. The book was Inspired by the character of Huck Finn who is based on Tom Blankenship, the real-life son of a sawmill laborer and sometime drunkard named Woodson Blankenship, who lived in a "ramshackle" house near the Mississippi River behind the house where the author grew up in Hannibal, Missouri. Huck plays part in almost all the major scenarios of the story. Which makes him the most impactful. In my essay I will be talking about who Huck as a person was, what themes he made impactful in the story of Huckleberry Finn, and how he himself can relate to people outside of the story.
After reuniting with Jim on the river, Huck sets out in a canoe to find out if the town they are near is Cairo, Illinois. As he paddles away from the raft, Jim yells that Huck is his best friend, and Huck suddenly comes across a raft with two slave hunters who inquire about Huck’s companion and want to go see him. In a moment of mental and emotional turmoil, Huck tells them about Jim, “‘He’s white. … I wish you would,’ says [Huck], ‘because it’s pap that’s there, and maybe you’d help me tow the raft ashore where the light is. He’s sick—and so is mam and Mary Ann’”
People often hesitate to accept what they do not understand. In the absence of love and compassion, it is no question that fear, ignorance, and hatred, all contribute to a melting pot of negativity in the world. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, is about the love and friendship cultivated by a young boy and a black slave on the Mississippi River. Despite the pair’s differences, they are able to endure the struggles and difficulties that the toilsome journey brings. Mark Twain, in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, emphasizes the shift in Huck’s view towards slavery by contrasting Huck’s initial tone of reflectiveness to his assertive tone, both collectively addressing the issue of racism in society.
In Arthur Miller’s Death of A Salesman and Edward Albee’s The American Dream, Willy Lowman and Mommy possess the trait of superficiality. Their priorities are to look good and be liked, and this contributes to their misguided paths to reach success. This attribute is one of many societal criticisms pointed out by both authors. Arthur Miller criticizes society for perceiving success as being liked and having good looks. He illustrates society’s perception through Willy, who thinks the keys to success are being popular and attractive. Willy transmits this philosophy to his sons by ignoring their education and personal growth and setting an example that popularity is most
Since its first publication in 1884, Mark Twain’s masterpiece The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has proven to be one of history’s most controversial novels; especially recently, the novel has often been banned by schools and censored by libraries. Characters in the book are constantly using disparaging language toward slaves, and the repeated use of the word “nigger” makes many sensitive and offended. Critics denounce the novel and Mark Twain as racist for this word being insulting and politically incorrect and for its depiction of black people and how they are treated. However, Twain was not attempting to perpetuate racism; on the contrary, he used satire to expose the ignorance and paradoxical views held by many in America at that time.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (published in 1885), considered a classic of American-literature, and to some the zenith of American realism in literature and the apex of satirical writing in history, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has proven itself as a milestone in the history of literature and a turning point in American literature. The garnering of such acclaim, and accolades were due to The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn possibly being the most poignant and successful critique on society every put into writing. Twain does not waste any time with sophomoric cant in his meditation, but instead critiques the inherent cant present in society and the people entertaining this cant throughout that time; showing