In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain plays with a dual theme of civilized and uncivilized behavior. From Chapters 17 through 20, he exhibits its conflicting and contrasting roles in the novel through two main events: the Grangerford feud with the Shepherdsons and the arrival of two fugitives known as the Duke and the King.
To begin, the Grangerford family shows a duplicity by being well-mannered and polite, while also harboring deep feelings of malice towards another family that lives in the same town known as the Shepherdsons. In many ways, the Grangerfords are the epitome of a ‘civilized’ family. “Tall, beautiful men with very broad shoulders and brown faces, and long black hair and black eyes. They dressed in white linen from head to foot, like the …show more content…
As quoted, Huck immediately details the fact that the Grangerford family is immensely rich and elegant. They carry themselves with great grace and, in Huck’s eyes, beauty. Furthermore, he mentions how the family holds great respect for the patriarch of the household, Colonel Grangerford. “He didn't ever have to tell anybody to mind their manners---everybody was always good mannered where he was” (125). This is a sharp contrast from Huck’s relationship with his own father, where Huck holds little, if any, respect for his father. Additionally, Huck attends church with the Grangerford family, emphasizing the role of religion in Southern culture; religion being a core aspect of being civilized. The entire Grangerford family seems to adhere to the perfect mold of a wealthy Southern family: educated, wealthy, religious, and polite. Yet, in a very satirical way, Mark Twain reveals that the Grangerfords have a feud with a neighboring family that has striking parallels to the conflict in Romeo and Juliet between the Capulets and the Montagues. Once this is revealed, the perfect civilized image of the Grangerfords shatters. They guard their property with vicious
To begin, the Grangerford family shows a duplicity by being well-mannered and polite, while also harboring deep feelings of malice towards another family that lives in the same town known as the Shepherdsons. In many ways, the Grangerfords are the epitome of a ‘civilized’ family. “Tall, beautiful men with very broad shoulders and brown faces, and long black hair and black eyes. They dressed in white linen from head to foot, like the …show more content…
As quoted, Huck immediately details the fact that the Grangerford family is immensely rich and elegant. They carry themselves with great grace and, in Huck’s eyes, beauty. Furthermore, he mentions how the family holds great respect for the patriarch of the household, Colonel Grangerford. “He didn't ever have to tell anybody to mind their manners---everybody was always good mannered where he was” (125). This is a sharp contrast from Huck’s relationship with his own father, where Huck holds little, if any, respect for his father. Additionally, Huck attends church with the Grangerford family, emphasizing the role of religion in Southern culture; religion being a core aspect of being civilized. The entire Grangerford family seems to adhere to the perfect mold of a wealthy Southern family: educated, wealthy, religious, and polite. Yet, in a very satirical way, Mark Twain reveals that the Grangerfords have a feud with a neighboring family that has striking parallels to the conflict in Romeo and Juliet between the Capulets and the Montagues. Once this is revealed, the perfect civilized image of the Grangerfords shatters. They guard their property with vicious