Huck Finn
The Gilded Age was a period of outer glamour and inner corruption in American history. Indeed, when author Mark Twain coined the name "Gilded Age," he sought to bring to light this corruption. Twain's novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is yet another one of his attempts to underscore the problems of the seemingly perfect society in the 1860s. Through conflicts between physical and mental confinement and freedom, Twain portrays Huckleberry Finn's moral confusion and the eventual establishment of his views to be contrary to those of the corrupted South. Throughout the novel, Huckleberry Finn (Huck) is constantly and even subconsciously affected by the prejudices of southern society regarding Blacks. Having been born in the South, Huck is exposed only to the beliefs that slavery is a necessary institution and that slaves are less than human. He subconsciously demonstrates these beliefs through his actions and words to Jim. After a debate about whether or not a Frenchman should talk like an American, Huck affirms that it is impossible to "learn a nigger to argue," (78) implying that Jim has a lower mental capacity than that of a White man. The beliefs are so engraved into Huck's mind that he finds it hard to apologize
" (?) After spending some time with Pap, Huck once again follows Pap's way of thinking, and doesn't want to return to the Widow. As Miss Watson's slave, Jim must do anything she bids him to do, but when she decides to sell him, Jim "lit out mighty quick. However, despite victories of the heart, Huck still finds it extremely difficult to see Jim on the same level as Whites. Jim is bound forever to slavery, and he has allowed this concept to affect his thoughts. For most of the novel, Huck finds it difficult to reconcile the southern beliefs that have been infused into him with Jim's humanly personalities. Huck believes that Jim, the slave, is less intelligent and incapable of being taught. Although his heart knows that Jim is just as human, and in many ways, even more human, than the white people around him, Huck still retains the southern way of thinking. Although he promises Jim that he would never tell anyone of Jim's runaway, Huck realizes that "people would call [him] a Abolitionist and despise [him]. At the beginning of the novel, Huck is a follower. After his argument with Jim about why a Frenchman cannot speak English, Huck affirms that "you can't learn a nigger to argue," (78) implying that Jim's mental capacity is lower than that of a white man. " (?) Although some may argue that he has changed and become more civilized, he is actually following what others tell him to do.
Common topics in this essay:
American Huck,
Widow Throughout,
Miss Watson,
Huckleberry Finn,
Widow Douglas,
Finn Huck,
English Huck,
Gilded Age,
Widow Douglass,
South Huck,
miss watson,
huckleberry finn,
huck's heart,
throughout novel,
southern society,
southern beliefs,
huckleberry finn huck,
78 implying,
huck's mind,
apologize jim,
miss watson widow,
mental capacity,
learn nigger argue,
finn huck constantly,
nigger argue 78,
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