Huck Finn :: essays research papers

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn          The conflict between society and the individual is a very importanttheme portrayed throughout Mark Twains The Adventures of HuckleberryFinn. some(prenominal) people see Huckleberry Finn as a mischievous boy who is a badinfluence to others. Huck is not raised in agreement with the veritable waysof civilization. He practically raises himself, relying on instinct to guide himthrough life. As seen several times in the novel, Huck chooses to follow hisinnate mother wit of right, yet he does not realize that his own instincts are moreright than those of society.          Society refuses to accept Huck as he is and isnt going to multifariousness itsopinions about him until he is reformed and civilized. The Widow Douglasand Miss Wat male child try to "sivilize" Huck by making him stop all of his habits,such as smoking. They try to nullify all of his teachings from the first twelveyears of his life and force him to become their stereotypical good boy. However, from the very beginning of the novel, Huck clearly states that hedoes not want to conform to society. "The Widow Douglas she took me forher son, and allowed she would sivilize me...I got into my old rags and mysugar hogshead again, and was free and satisfied." (page 1) Huck says thisshortly after he begins living with the Widow Douglas because it is rough forhim to be absorbed to a house and the strict rules of the Widow Douglas.      Hucks father, a dirty and dish peerlessst d occurk, was also a problem. Hewas so angry that his son could read, that he severely beat him and thenforced him to stay in a secluded cabin. Huck then devises a plan to escapeand heads buck river were he teams up with Jim, a runaway slave.           The theme becomes even more evident once Huck and Jim set outdown the Mississippi. As they run from civilization and are on the river, theyponder the social injustices forced upon them when they are on land. Theriver never cares how saintly they are, how rich they are, or what societythinks of them. The river allows Huck the one thing that Huck wants to be,and that is Huck. Huck enjoys his adventures on the raft. He prefers thefreedom of the wilderness to the restriction of society.           Also, Hucks acceptance of Jim is a total defiance of society. Societyautomatically sees a black person, and even further, slaves, as inferior. Theynever think of slaves as human beings, only as property.