Moral Development Of Huckleberry Finn Essay Research

Moral Development Of Huckleberry Finn Essay, Research Paper

Darci Ford Mrs. Horton English III-AP Sunday, February 21, 1999Moral Development of Huckleberry FinnMark Twain s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is based on a young boy scoming of age in Missouri of the mid-1800s. The adventures Huck Finn muddles into whilefloating down the Mississippi River depict many serious issues that occur on the dry land ofcivilization better known as society. As these somber events following the Civil War are toldthrough the young eyes of Huckleberry Finn, he unknowingly develops morally from both theconforming and non-comforming influences surrounding him on his journey to freedom.Huck s moral evolution begins before he ever sets foot on the raft down the Mississippi. His mother is deceased, while his father customarily sleeps with the pigs in a drunken state. Huck grows up following his own rules until he moves in with the Widow Douglas and her sister,Miss Watson. Together, the women attempt to sivilize Huck by making him attend school,study religion, and act in a way the women find socially acceptable. However, Huck sfree-spirited soul keeps him from joining the constraining and lonely life the two women have instore for him.The freedom Huck seeks in Tom Sawyer s gang is nothing more than romanticchild s-play. Raiding a caravan of Arabs really means terrorizing young children on a SundaySchool picnic, and the stolen joolry is nothing more than turnips or rocks. Huck is disappointedthat the adventures Tom promises are not real and so, along with the other members, he resignsfrom the gang. Still, Huck ignorantly assumes that Tom is superior to him because of his moresuitable family background and fascination with Romantic literature.Pap and the kidnapping play another big role in Huck s moral development. Pap iscompletely antisocial and wishes to undo all of the civilizing effects that the Widow and MissWatson have attempted to instill in Huck. However, Pap does not symbolize freedom; hepromotes drunkenness, prejudice, and abuse. Thus, Huck escapes the cabin to search for thefreedom he yearns for.It is after Huck Finn escapes to Jackson Island that he meets the most influential characterof the novel, Jim. After conversing, Huck learns things about the runaway slave that he had neverbeen aware of. Jim has a family, dreams, and talents such as knowing all kinds of signs about thefuture , people s personalities, and weather forecasting. However, Huck sees Jim as a gullibleslave. He plays tricks on him like the rattlesnake event that nearly gets Jim killed. At this pointin the novel, Huck still holds the belief that blacks are essentially different from whites. Also,Huck s conscience reminds him that he s a low-down and dirty abolitionist for helping Jim runaway from his owner. Huck does not see that Jim is looking for freedom just as he is. The first adventure Huck and Jim take part in while searching for freedom is thesteamboat situation. Huck shows development of character in tricking the watchman into goingback to the boat to save the criminals. Even though they are thieves, and plan to murder anotherman, Huck still feels that the forfeit of their lives would be too great a punishment. Some may seeHuck s reaction to the event as crooked but, unlike most of society, Huck Finn sees good inpeople and attempts to help them with sincerity and compassion. Getting lost in the fog while floating down the Mississippi River leads to a major turningpoint in the development of Huck Finn s character. Up to this event, he has seen Jim as a lesserperson than himself. After trying to deny the fog event to Jim, he says, It was fifteen minutesbefore I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a slave; but I done it, and I warn t eversorry for it afterward, neither. He continues by explaining how he could never do such a thingagain. Huck has clearly gained respect for Jim here, which explains the risks he is willing to takefor Jim later in the book.A short yet significant scene is when the men on shore want to check Huck s rat forrunaway slaves. He escapes by tricking them into thinking that his dad is onboard with smallpox.

This scene shows a negative view of human nature. The men had helped Huck until they realizedthat they were in danger themselves. They put their own safety above that of others, and whilethis is sometimes acceptable, it is by no means a noble trait. On the other hand, Huck risks hisown freedom to see that Jim finds his.The feud between the Grangerfords and the Shepardsons adds to Huck s distaste forsociety and it s teachings. In this adventure, Huck learns what a feud is and also witnesses thehorrid aftermath the hostility brought upon the two families. Another part of Huck s moralmetamorphosis in this event is that he has come to miss the one man that has given him fatherlylove throughout the excursion.The Duke and the King join Huck and Jim in the middle of the novel. The two con-menuse Huck and Jim to fulfill their greed and desires. Like the two men from the steamboatoccurrence, Huck knows that their schemes are wrong. However, Huck insists to help them andconsequently learns the hard way that an individual is judged by his/her company.The con-men s attempt to mascarade as the brothers of the late Peter Wilks is animportant part of Huck s development. The Duke and King try to take Peter s estate, however,Huck decides to return the money to Peter s three daughters. Thi