Daniel Morton
Mrs. Kottra
American Literature and Composition Honors
28 January 2015 Teacher and scriptwriter Leo Rosten once proclaimed, “Satire is focused bitterness.” In Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain focuses his bitterness on groups and individuals who show weaknesses, doing so by exploiting them and exaggerating their faults to extreme measures. By pointing out people’s defects, Twain hopes that people will recognize the problem and fix that particular trait or habit. Jim and Huck Finn constantly get involved in ludicrous episodes on their journey to freedom, and they frequently encounter people who exemplify these human weaknesses. Twain takes the characters on several episodic plots, where Jim and …show more content…
Twain satirizes people who do not act on their beliefs because true Christian values teach that people should go out into the world and act with compassion. However, when Huck meets the Grangerfords, they all go to church with their rival family, the Shepherdsons, and “the men took their guns along, so did Buck, and kept them between their knees or stood them handy against the wall. The Shepherdsons done the same. It was pretty ornery preaching all about brotherly love” (Twain 121). The Grangerfords and Shepherdsons’ feud continues to exist, although neither family can remember why. Due to the feud, their rivalry ensues, explaining why both families bring their weapons to church. However, these actions show signs of hypocrisy, as churches do not promote violence. Twain hopes the reader realizes simply going to church does not make one a good Christian, and that worshipping alone does not make one holy. Later on, Jim and Huck run into two men who introduce themselves as a king and a duke, but in reality they scam people for …show more content…
Throughout the book, the king and the duke take part in numerous scams for personal gain, which shows that political figures do not do anything but act as frauds. As the two men board the raft, the young one introduces himself by declaring, “By rights I am a duke!” (Twain 135). Seeing a need to overshadow the duke, the older man proclaims, “Bilgewater, I am the late Dauphin!” (Twain 137). Eventually, Huck comes to the realization that “these liars warn’t no kings nor dukes at all, but just low-down humbugs and frauds” (Twain 139). Huck is proven correct later on when the king and the duke scam people for money everywhere they go. Twain draws a parallel here between the two con artists and political figures, showing that they mostly just try to scam innocent people. Twains shows that one must be cautious of people in control who have the ability to misuse their power. The king and the duke’s constant need to gain money leads the group to a funeral to execute yet another scam, where the two frauds plan to make money off the deceased Peter
Mrs. Kottra
American Literature and Composition Honors
28 January 2015 Teacher and scriptwriter Leo Rosten once proclaimed, “Satire is focused bitterness.” In Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain focuses his bitterness on groups and individuals who show weaknesses, doing so by exploiting them and exaggerating their faults to extreme measures. By pointing out people’s defects, Twain hopes that people will recognize the problem and fix that particular trait or habit. Jim and Huck Finn constantly get involved in ludicrous episodes on their journey to freedom, and they frequently encounter people who exemplify these human weaknesses. Twain takes the characters on several episodic plots, where Jim and …show more content…
Twain satirizes people who do not act on their beliefs because true Christian values teach that people should go out into the world and act with compassion. However, when Huck meets the Grangerfords, they all go to church with their rival family, the Shepherdsons, and “the men took their guns along, so did Buck, and kept them between their knees or stood them handy against the wall. The Shepherdsons done the same. It was pretty ornery preaching all about brotherly love” (Twain 121). The Grangerfords and Shepherdsons’ feud continues to exist, although neither family can remember why. Due to the feud, their rivalry ensues, explaining why both families bring their weapons to church. However, these actions show signs of hypocrisy, as churches do not promote violence. Twain hopes the reader realizes simply going to church does not make one a good Christian, and that worshipping alone does not make one holy. Later on, Jim and Huck run into two men who introduce themselves as a king and a duke, but in reality they scam people for …show more content…
Throughout the book, the king and the duke take part in numerous scams for personal gain, which shows that political figures do not do anything but act as frauds. As the two men board the raft, the young one introduces himself by declaring, “By rights I am a duke!” (Twain 135). Seeing a need to overshadow the duke, the older man proclaims, “Bilgewater, I am the late Dauphin!” (Twain 137). Eventually, Huck comes to the realization that “these liars warn’t no kings nor dukes at all, but just low-down humbugs and frauds” (Twain 139). Huck is proven correct later on when the king and the duke scam people for money everywhere they go. Twain draws a parallel here between the two con artists and political figures, showing that they mostly just try to scam innocent people. Twains shows that one must be cautious of people in control who have the ability to misuse their power. The king and the duke’s constant need to gain money leads the group to a funeral to execute yet another scam, where the two frauds plan to make money off the deceased Peter