Theme Of Violence In Huck Finn

For quite some time, Huck’s father disappeared from town only to arrive later when he heard that his son had acquired a small fortune. He then threatens to beat Huck “down a peg” so that he would remind him of his status in the family only hoping to get the fortune for his booze. Things only get worse when Pa learns that Huck has become the first member of the family to learn to read, and consequently takes him away from town down the river into a small cabin. Cleverly, Pa doesn’t want to abandon Huck just yet for he continuously threatens the Father about the fortune he has hidden until Huck finally fakes his own death. Pa would be a fine example of a specimen who was unworthy of his breath by the way he treated Huck.

There is a quote, at the base of the Statue of Liberty that reads; “Give me your tired, your poor. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...” This quote reflects the feeling of great opportunity many immigrants felt they would receive upon coming to America. This was also the mentality many American believed all received through our constitution's promise of; life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In Mark Twain’s novel, Huckleberry Finn, the structure of the main character’s relationship with society is made to show the reader the toxicity of the Reconstruction Era showing that despite what people believed about the time period after the civil war was a lot like the period before. Par consequence of Huck Finn’s structure, the era twenty-five years later known as the Progressive Era could also be used as a location for a similar novel. The important aspects of Huck Finn that would go towards any paralleling novel, would be, the elements of a young child torn between their society and themselves, the themes of racial intolerance, and the themes of societal corruption. Like Huck Finn, this novel would be read differently by different people of different descents of the year 1900, and the people of today.

In the beginning of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Huck mentions how abusive his father Pap is, “Pap he hadn’t been seen for more than a year, and that was comfortable for me; I didn’t want to see him no more. He used to always whale me when he was sober and could get his hands on me;

Even though Pap is Huck’s biological father, he is everything a father shouldn’t be. For example, he constantly leaves Huck home alone, confined in his cabin for a long period of time. "Every little while he locked me in and went down to the store, three miles, to the ferry, and traded fish and game for wiskey and fetched it home and got drunk and had a good time, and licked me."(Twain 35) This quote not only shows that Huck was left on his own, it also shows that Pap is not a suitable father because of his drinking problem, and also his abusive behavior. His drinking problem is not only a waste of money, but it is a dangerous addiction not only for Pap’s health, but for Huck’s. "He chased me round and round the place with a clasp knife, calling me the Angel of Death, and saying he would kill me, and then I couldent come for him no more. I begged, and told him I was only Huck; but he laughed such a screechy laugh, and roared and cussed , and kept on chasing me up." (39) This quote shows that during one of his hallucinations, he almost kills Huck. Alcohol

In the story we find that Huck has been living with a lady named Willow Douglas, who happens to be his legal guardian. She is the reason Huck is civilized but he is truly agitated by her because he cannot live freely and always has to follow her rules and manners. In chapter 8 Pap tells Huck that people think there should be another trail so your guardian can be the Widow, Huck is shaken by this through and says “I didn’t want to go back to the widow’s any more and be sivilized” (Twain 134). Huck also wants to free from his father because he does not like the way his old man treats him by locking him up and physically abusing him. We notice the insane violence when Huck says Pap “chased me round and round the place, with a clasp-knife, calling me the Angel of Death and saying he would kill me and then I couldn’t come for him no more” (Twain 138).

Depicted in Mark Twain’s satiric novel The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, the 14 year old protagonist Huck exposes the hypocrisy of white society's morals during his childhood in the Antebellum South. The author’s purpose of authoring his work is to criticize white society and how they’re ignorant about their religion or using it as a justification. Portrayed in Walt Whitmanś poem, ¨Song of Myself¨ from book Leaves Of Grass (1855), intuitive poet , Huck shows us his affection for the grass being a symbol of life and death and how his individuality was praised because as he remained an individual Whitman was trying to tell us to follow our own journey and

The first contrast between Jim and Pap is the initial reaction Huck has when encountering them. When Huck is on Jackson’s Island, presumably alone, but then comes across a smoldering fire, he is at first frightened, but once he sees that the other refugee is Jim, he pops right out of the bushes and greets him. He is glad for his company. However, when signs of Pap being around are apparent, Huck is seen to panic, and rushes off to rid himself of his fortune. He knows that Pap is greedy enough to steal from anyone, even his own son. When they come face to face, it becomes clear that Huck is afraid of his father, who used to beat him while in a drunken state. During this confrontation, it becomes clear that Pap resents that Huck is being educated, and feels threatened by it. On the contrary, Jim teaches Huck what he knows, and is proud of him for thinking up schemes, such as faking his death to escape his father’s grasp. As Jim and Huck travel together, Jim shows more consideration and a protective nature for Huck, and he tries to act, as much as he can, as a shield between Huck and the corrupt world, which is something Huck’s father never did. On the contrary, Pap exposed Huck to more corruption than most others his age, such as Tom Sawyer, were expected to have been exposed to.

Pap shows the effects of “barely there” parenting. In fact, it’s difficult to truly call Pap a parent, except in the biological sense. He abandoned his child and then took advantage when he thought he could benefit monetarily. Readers see the impacts this type of parenting can have. Huck is not as developed or as well read as his friend Tom, however he has learned great lessons in practicality and survival skills. This can be seen when Huck fakes his death and through his ability to survive adult-free, with the exception of Jim, for an extended period of time. During Huck’s stay, or hostage-situation, with Pap in the cabin we see Huck’s childlike nature as he enjoys the structure-free world without religion or education. Ultimately, however Pap’s alcoholism and abuse of Huck causes Huck to flee this situation as well.

T.S. Elliot said, "Huck is alone: there is no more solitary figure in fiction. The fact that he has a father only emphasizes its loneliness; and he views his father with a terrifying detachment" (329). Most parents like to see their children excel in life and become productive members of society, but Pap is thinking only about himself. Instead of wishing the best for his son, he is angry because he is becoming a better person than his father. This man would be an awful influence on any child, and should be kept away from Huck.

Huck has had enough with their failed relationship, deciding he can handle such an atrocity, he decides he will run away from his monster of an alcoholic father. Pap will never be able to have a relationship with his father, because he was probably drunk, got into an argument and was shot and killed. Alcoholic parents’ actions often hinder the child’s ability to tell what is right from wrong.

Another possible reason for Huck’s passive judgement is his limited experience with people other than Pap. Huck’s mind embodies English philosopher John Locke’s theory of tabula rasa, which refers to “a state where in which a child is as formless as a blank slate” (Duschinsky 1). Life experiences are what eventually fills up their blank slates, and Huck’s ‘blank slate’ is only filled with his unstable home life with his drunk father. Thus, Huck is at a loss when confronted with different people such as the slave hunters, and prefers to do “whichever come handiest at the time” (Twain 344), and filling up his ‘blank slate’ with the experience.

Huck's father is absent until he finds out that Huck has found some money.  Pap is an outcast full of hate for blacks and pretty much for all of society.  Huck, as a product of his society, speaks the language of his society.  By choosing as his point-of-view a young boy from the slave south, Twain is able to present and challenge the values and assumptions of this time.  Among the assumptions and values of the time that the reader encounters in the book are the strict definitions pertaining to Huck's world and the people who inhabit it:

The relationship between Huckleberry Finn and Jim are central to Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". Huck's relationships with individual characters are unique in their own way; however, his relationship with Jim is one that is ever changing and sincere. As a poor, uneducated boy, Huck distrusts the morals and intentions of the society that treats him as an outcast and fails to protect him from abuse. The uneasiness about society, and his growing relationship with Jim, leads Huck to question many of the teachings that he has received, especially concerning race and slavery. Twain makes it evident that Huck is a young boy who comes from the lowest levels of white society. Huck's father, Pap, is a drunk who disappears for

In comparison to the book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, society has gotten worse with violence over the years. It seems that people care less and less about the consequences of violence. People will try and get away with any types of violence; murder, domestic violence, things like that. The things people do, have gotten worse, from when we look back at the time period Adventures of Huckleberry Finn took place.

Huck gets abused from his father “pap”. In the book, Huck mentions “ He abused me a little for being so slow” (44). Pap tends to get drunk and beat Huck, or abandon him. Since Huck is taken into a cabin he doesn't have the schooling anymore and is now behind and slower. Huck likes not having that responsibility anymore. He likes not being civilized, and not doing school work. He tends to smoke whenever he wants. The only problem Huck has is the abuse. Huck is abused in many different ways. One way of abuse