Somsack Minakhom
Ms.Smith
Honors American Literature
10 March, 2016
Mark Twain 's Use of Satire
Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, describes the basis of American literature. Twain’s view on society’s flaws are represented within the novel through his use of satire. Within the novel, Huck runs away from society with Jim, a runaway slave. Huck escapes his alcoholic, abusive father and fakes his own death to disappear from society, whereas Jim’s escape from his slave owner to gain emancipation. As they adventure together, Huck spends time with Jim and starts to understand that black people are human beings as well. Huck realizes the only difference separating Jim and anyone else is skin color. They escape the …show more content…
Huck’s father is the town drunk who abandoned Huck at birth, and doesn’t visit him until he realizes that Huck has immense wealth. “I hain’t heard nothing but about you bein’ rich. I heard about it away down the river, too. That’s why I come. You git me that money to-morrow-I want it… how much you got in your pocket?..I hain’t got only a dollar, and I want that to…He took it and bit it to see if it was good, and then he said he was going down town to get some whisky; said he hadn’t had a drink all day ”(Twain 30) Huck’s father returns after years of neglecting Huck with the only intention of using Huck’s wealth on alcohol. Twain satirizes how society’s addiction to alcohol can force them to become aggressive. During Huck and Jim 's adventure, they meet the Duke and the King, two scandalous con artists who pretend to be royalty. The Duke and the King perform many scandals throughout the novel. For example, the Duke and the King gave a lecture about temperance, the abstinence from alcohol, but planned on using the money to buy alcohol .“First they done a lecture on temperance; but they didn’t make enough for them both to get drunk on”(Twain 223). Twain demonstrates that alcohol leads to an addiction or an habitual need for it. He implies that alcohol can consume your life, can control you, because it becomes a necessity. Twain indicates that alcohol is dangerous and harmful because it leads to inadequate …show more content…
He indicates that Huck is intrigued by the thought of a biblical character, until he realizes that there’s no purpose into learning from the dead. “After supper she got her book and learned me about Moses and the bulrushers, and I was in a sweat to find out all about him; but by and by she let out that moses has been dead a considerable long time ; so then I didn’t care no more about him” (10). Religion is a key area where Twain uses satire to point out flaws in society, such as the belief in something that cannot be scientifically proven. Another example would be Huck’s decision of choosing to be with his friend Tom Sawyer in hell instead of choosing to be in heaven with Miss. Watson, a widow that took care of him. “Now she had a got a start; and she went on and told me all about the good place… I asked if she reckoned tom sawyer would go there, and she said not by a considerable sight. I was glad about that, because I wanted him and me to be together”(7). Twain satirizes religion to describe how people should choose the optimal decision rather than what society has corrupted us with. As a young teenager, Huck and his friends discuss becoming a gang and murdering people, but not on a Sunday in relation to the holy day.”Ben Rogers said he couldn’t get out much, only sundays, and so he wanted to begin next sunday; but all the boys said it would be wicked to do it on sunday”(38). Twain focuses mainly on religion because it
Ms.Smith
Honors American Literature
10 March, 2016
Mark Twain 's Use of Satire
Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, describes the basis of American literature. Twain’s view on society’s flaws are represented within the novel through his use of satire. Within the novel, Huck runs away from society with Jim, a runaway slave. Huck escapes his alcoholic, abusive father and fakes his own death to disappear from society, whereas Jim’s escape from his slave owner to gain emancipation. As they adventure together, Huck spends time with Jim and starts to understand that black people are human beings as well. Huck realizes the only difference separating Jim and anyone else is skin color. They escape the …show more content…
Huck’s father is the town drunk who abandoned Huck at birth, and doesn’t visit him until he realizes that Huck has immense wealth. “I hain’t heard nothing but about you bein’ rich. I heard about it away down the river, too. That’s why I come. You git me that money to-morrow-I want it… how much you got in your pocket?..I hain’t got only a dollar, and I want that to…He took it and bit it to see if it was good, and then he said he was going down town to get some whisky; said he hadn’t had a drink all day ”(Twain 30) Huck’s father returns after years of neglecting Huck with the only intention of using Huck’s wealth on alcohol. Twain satirizes how society’s addiction to alcohol can force them to become aggressive. During Huck and Jim 's adventure, they meet the Duke and the King, two scandalous con artists who pretend to be royalty. The Duke and the King perform many scandals throughout the novel. For example, the Duke and the King gave a lecture about temperance, the abstinence from alcohol, but planned on using the money to buy alcohol .“First they done a lecture on temperance; but they didn’t make enough for them both to get drunk on”(Twain 223). Twain demonstrates that alcohol leads to an addiction or an habitual need for it. He implies that alcohol can consume your life, can control you, because it becomes a necessity. Twain indicates that alcohol is dangerous and harmful because it leads to inadequate …show more content…
He indicates that Huck is intrigued by the thought of a biblical character, until he realizes that there’s no purpose into learning from the dead. “After supper she got her book and learned me about Moses and the bulrushers, and I was in a sweat to find out all about him; but by and by she let out that moses has been dead a considerable long time ; so then I didn’t care no more about him” (10). Religion is a key area where Twain uses satire to point out flaws in society, such as the belief in something that cannot be scientifically proven. Another example would be Huck’s decision of choosing to be with his friend Tom Sawyer in hell instead of choosing to be in heaven with Miss. Watson, a widow that took care of him. “Now she had a got a start; and she went on and told me all about the good place… I asked if she reckoned tom sawyer would go there, and she said not by a considerable sight. I was glad about that, because I wanted him and me to be together”(7). Twain satirizes religion to describe how people should choose the optimal decision rather than what society has corrupted us with. As a young teenager, Huck and his friends discuss becoming a gang and murdering people, but not on a Sunday in relation to the holy day.”Ben Rogers said he couldn’t get out much, only sundays, and so he wanted to begin next sunday; but all the boys said it would be wicked to do it on sunday”(38). Twain focuses mainly on religion because it