In Chapter 21 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Colonel Sherburn murdered Boggs. I believe the colonel had no problem doing this because he considered Boggs menial. After all, Boggs is a drunk, trash and good for nothing. Sherburn never gave shooting him a second thought. He concluded that he was doing society a favor by killing him.
             Sherburn knew that Boggs would never really kill him. Boggs was all talk. Sherburn felt he was superior to everyone. He thought he had power over the town. If someone did not listen to him, then that person was abominable. When Boggs did not listen, Sherburn felt he was being disrespectful.
             Twain is trying to show that even the best and good-hearted person means nothing to an "upper class" if he doesn't meet certain standards. The southern society was more interested in what kind of clothes a person wore, than what was in their soul. When Sherburn retreated to his house and the mob came to kill him, he had no problem confronting them. He did not consider the act a crime. He thought he had performed a good deed. The mob changed its mind too. At first, it thought Sherburn was rotten; but once he delivered his speech, the mob was convinced that Sherburn was correct.
             Twain is depicting the south as a herd of cattle. Everyone followed one another. Nobody possessed opinions of their own. The authority figure is always obeyed.
             In this case, Sherburn is the leader. He has power because he is rich, and supposedly smart. Everyone else is subordinate to Sherburn, and therefore is stupid. Lower classes of the south have been taught their whole lives they were trivial. Sherburn has so much pride he fears nothing. He makes people feel so insignificant they even change their morals to match his. The people lead such small lives that they'd do anything for a little excitement and this is what has become of today, thanks to the "great" Colonel Sherbu...