Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn
In "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" Mark Twain argues the force behind slavery is submissiveness by Huck always yielding to adults, Huck being a pacifist by not wanting to cause trouble, Jim's obedience to the white man, and Jim's view on his ascribed status in society. Twain uses these four ideas to portray his view on slavery shortly after the civil war.Huck lets adults walk all over him particularly by pap and the two con men. Pap uses his force and violent words to derive money out of Huck:All right. I'll ask him; and I'll make him pungle, too, or I'll know the reason why. Say-how much you got in your pocket? I want it. (21)I hain't got only a dollar, and I want that to-(21)It don't make no difference what you want it for-you just shell it out. (21)Huck then responds to that by giving Pap the dollar. By the exchange of the dollar to his Pap Twain shows evidence of Huck's submissiveness to adults by just letting
If they wanted us to call them kings and dukes, I hadn't no objections, long as it would keep peace in the family; and it warn't no use to tell Jim, so I didn't tell him. But I never said nothing, never let on; kept it to myself; it's the best way; then you don't have no quarrels, and don't get into not trouble. "By Twain writing this shows that Huck is indeed a person of a pacifist nature because it evidences Huck's view on how he should treat adults no matter who they are. Maybe this could allude to the "Respect your elders" saying, but to me it is a form of slavery through a teen-age white boy. If I never learnt nothing else out of pap, I learnt that the best way to get along with his kind of people is to let them have their own way. Huck did not even put up a fight, which also shows his pacifist ways by thinking that he did not want to cause trouble because according to Huck, "It ain't worth the trouble. He may use the occasional lie in some instances, but for the most part he yields to adults all throughout the book. (126) By Huck saying this Twain portrays Huck as a slave to adults because of his pacifist views. Twain portrays Huck as a pacifist by Huck submitting to people because he doesn't want to cause trouble. Huck adheres to society by not telling Jim and it shows the reader that Huck is a slave in himself, but he does not realize it. Huck's last sentence in the blockquote also evidences the theme of slavery by Huck listening to society and not telling Jim that the two strangers on their raft are con artists. This shows to the readers that Huck seems to just let people who he doesn't even know run his life because he just does not want to cause trouble. Jim in his own respects may not be educated, but this does not mean he is dumb.
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