NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
In less than two years the twentieth century will come to an amazing finale. Racism, prejudiced feelings and hate almost no longer exist. These changes can be attributed to the education people now have by reading such novels as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain addresses these issues of racism, slavery and education in a humorous, almost childish way, yet the effective themes are clearly visible.
Twain utilizes Huck Finn and Jim as the ideal characters because they are the ones at the end of the novel who realize slavery is wrong. Mark Twain establishes the ideals by portraying them through the protagonists and criticizes the failure to live up to them by portraying them through the antagonists. Prejudice can be observed throughout the novel by the way the other characters treat Huck. Twain portrays Huck as a average boy of his time, being mischievous, adventurous and funny. The society Huck lives in labels him uncivilized because he has an abusive, drunk father.
by and by pap got too handy with his hickory and I couldnt stand it. I was all over with welts. Here the reader can observe the ultimate failure of an uncivilized person. Pap is an alcoholic, a dead beat and a racist. Nevertheless, society also considered Huck uncivilized because he did not wear shoes, did not always attend school and he smoked. Society criticized Huck as uncivilized due to physical appearance when really Huck turned out to be more civilized than any other character in the novel because he learns how to respect Jim.
Through the ironic criticisms of society trying to civilize Huck, Huck teaches us a lesson on being civilized. In the novel, Jim runs away from his slave owner Miss Watson. By doing a thing like that Jim could have been killed or beat. The people of Jims society would not have even listened to him or even considered his reason. Well, you see, it uz dis way. Ole missus-dats Miss Watson- she pecks on me all de time, en treats me post rough, but she album said she would sell me down to Orleans.
but she could git eight hand dollars for me Twain wanted to show through Jim just how cruel people were in the past and how those feelings remained in his society. Twain also shows the ideal of freedom through Jim and the failure to live up to that freedom when Miss Watson sells him. Ultimately Twain tries to point that we can still make up for the injustices just as Miss Watson did when she set Jim free. Twain's contemporary society did not react well to the hidden messages in the novel, which would explain why people banned and burned the novel. The people of Twain's society did not like being told they were wrong and they made that fact known. Another ideal Twain emphasises is the idea that one should recognize their own fault and learn from their mistakes.
One way to solve this would by setting aside prejudice feelings and just move on. An example of someone in the novel doing this is Miss Watson, Ole Miss Watson died two months ago, and she was ashamed she ever was going to sell him down the river, and said so; and she set him free in her will. Like many people Miss Watson finally realized the wrong she did and put her racist views aside. Here Twain shows how despite some people fail to live up to their ideals it is never to late to make up for those failure and make them ideals. Now that society has advanced more in its ways, and the Civil War has ended, society should concentrate on moving into the twenty-first century not as whites, blacks, hispanics, niggers, waps, micks or wetbacks but as human beings sharing this precious world. People who have a strong dislike for a certain race of people still exist today.
Through out history there have been a lot of people who wanted an end to racism and prejudice. Mark Twain was one of them. Through his simple novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Twain establishes the ideals of society through his main characters and shows what happens when these ideals fail. One lesson the reader gets is if a child who goes by the name of Huck Finn can learn how to love some one criticized and hated by society, so can we.
Free research essays on topics related to: huck finn, twain, mark twain, miss watson, adventures of huckleberry finn
Research essay sample on Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn Huck Finn
