The adventures of huckleberry finn

Deconstruction of Societal Values

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain explores illustrates the theme of
individual conscience versus societal morals. Since this novel takes place in Missouri
before the Civil War, slavery is not only a common practice but also legal. In fact,
Huck Finn himself initially believes in the validity of slavery. However, throughout
the course of the novel, Huck grows by learning to trust his private instincts rather
than societal dictates. The magnitude of this growth is apparent when Huck comes
in contact with ridiculous characters such as the King, the Duke, and Pap whose
backward moral values Twain uses both to embody represent and to satirize society.
Throughout the novel, Huck encounters situations where he is forced to choose
between following his individual instincts or societal values. Initially, Huck abides by
these societal values because he has grown grew up in an abusive environment,
and he finds it easier to follow the corrupt moral values that everyone else follows.
However, as Huck and Jim continue on their journey, Huck begins to listen to his
instincts rather than societal values. Thus, Huck's moral conflict causes allows him
to question the corrupt values of society because he and begins using his instincts.

Huck initially exhibits a lack of compassion for others, which could be attributed to
his upbringing. Throughout his early childhood, Huck was has been educated by
Pap, a dominant figure in shaping Huck's moral values, such as accepting slavery
and the poor treatment of blacks. In addition, Miss Watson also plays a crucial role
in creating his unquestioning belief in the rules of society. Even when Huck is unable
to conform to the rules, he accepts that as his own deficiency. For example, when
Tom Sawyer decides to play a trick on Jim, Huck has given gave into his plan without
much thought. Although Huck first rejects the idea because "he might wake and
make a disturbance, and then they'd find out I warn't in," his reasoning illustrates
that Huck is only interested in how this joke could affect him rather than thinking
about the moral consequences of his actions (5). Huck's lack of compassion towards
others, especially people like Jim with no social rank, eventually causes Huck to
agree with Tom's scheme. Even though Jim is greatly disturbed by this "joke," and
claims that he is bewitched, Huck feels detached from the event and has no
remorse for tricking Jim. Since Huck was brought up to accept slavery, he regards
Jim as less than a human being, and thus believes he can mistreat him Jim. Huck's
passive nature and lack of empathy cause him Huck to do things out of pure self-
interest. One instance of how his self-centered views influence his decisions is when
Huck and Jim encounter the men on the river who are searching for runaway slaves.
Even though Huck obeys his instincts, by saving Jim, he only lies because it is the
most convenient action at the time. Huck even admits he feels like he did
something wrong by saving a slave's life because that is a direct result of the
slanted societal values that cloud his, correct, individual values. Huck decides,
believes, "What's the use you learning to do right when it's troublesome to do right
and isnt no trouble to do wrong? I reckoned I wouldalways do whichever come
handiest at the time" (91). Huck's actions may appear to be out of empathy for Jim;
however, his reasoning shows that he lacks consideration towards others and is
solely interested in what will benefit him the most.

When Huck faces bad choices, he begins to question the societal values he has once
trusted. Once Huck leaves home and starts on his journey with Jim, he is able to
overlook society's morals and begin listening to his individual values. The most
important turning point in Huck's moral development occurs when Huck apologizes
to Jim for tricking him. Huck now feels remorse for his bad choice after observing
how much he hurt Jim. He explains, "It was fifteen minutes before I could work
myself to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I wasnt ever sorry for
it" (86). This scene marks a point where Huck begins to view Jim as an equal human
being. Thus, by apologizing, Huck takes responsibility for his actions. Since Huck is
away from conventional, hypocritical values, like those imposed by Miss Watson and
Pap, he is able to listen to his more honest individual values.

Eventually, Huck listens to his own individual values instead of trusting the
conventional societal mores. Huck's greatest moral triumph comes when he is faced
with the difficult decision to either turn Jim in to Miss Watson, his "rightful" owner, or
to protect his freedom and steal him out of slavery. Huck analyzes many different
factors in making his decision. Societal values tell him that if he chooses to help Jim
escape, it is not only sinful but will also send him to hell. But Huck is able to
disregard his conscience and trust his instincts, this ultimately concludes culminates
Huck's moral growth. He announces this event by shouting, "All right then, I'll go to
hell!" (214). Huck has now stated that he is aware of the possible consequences of
his actions, but he is willing to risk damnation to save Jim. He is now able to make
independent decisions without the effects of societal values. Even though Huck
does, in the beginning, have some trepidation reserves about giving in to his
instincts, his ultimate decision to risk his life to protect another's is evidence that
Huck has experienced some moral growth.

Huck is initially very self-centered and uses common societal values to guide his
decisions. However, Huck's adventures help open his eyes to the flaws in his
society, a discovery that allows him to start trusting his individual instincts rather
than relying on his conscience. Huck begins to call into question the social dictates
he has trusted all of his life because he begins to see the hypocrisy in some of the
actions of characters like Pap, and Miss Watson. This independence from the rules of
the South and trusting his instincts enables Huck to save Jim from slavery. Huck
begins to call into question the social dictates he has trusted all of his life because
he begins to see the hypocrisy in some of the actions of characters like Pap, and
Miss Watson. Values such as slavery, religion, and telling the truth are all values that
the reader questions deconstruct from the event of Huckleberry Finn.

Adam: While I see some improvement in your writing -- for instance, at points your
argument is very coherent, and you seem to have dealt with many of the
mechanical problems that I've seen in the past -- structurally and conceptually
you're still struggling to get your ideas correctly expressed and in order. For
instance, the many word choice and phrasing problems that I see in here indicate
that you don't entirely understand some of the issues at hand, or at least you're
stretching your active vocabulary too far. While I respect your ambition in this
regard, you need to make sure that you always write within yourself in order to
make sure that your ideas get clearly expressed at all points.