In Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the protagonist, Huck, experiences a change in his own beliefs and ethics as well as beginning to understand the beliefs of society when he is forced to confront difficult situations throughout his journey. As Huck develops a relationship with a runaway slave, Jim, he is forced to question his personal opinion on slavery and challenge what ideal society has pushed on to him. Huck is able to become an independent individual and create his own viewpoints on multiple aspects of life which sets him apart from the rest of 19th century America. The novel depicts the literary device of Bildungsroman as Huck develops his own views on society's racial climate, makes decisions based on his personal
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Huck never received a formal education, academically or religiously, so in the beginning, he has a poor understanding of morals and is far from mature. Without a real mother or father to guide him along the way, he lacks the social values most children inherit from their parents, which leads him to accept the norms of society while still questioning the world around him. He is raised by the Widow Douglas, who “took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was in all her ways” (1). Huck makes it clear to the reader he does not wish to be molded into the expectations of society so he resists the widow’s attempts to “reform” him and stays true to his independent demeanor. He is a young and reckless boy who rarely considers the consequences of his actions up until the point he makes the life changing decision to embark on a journey down the river on a raft with …show more content…
Therefore, knowing that treating others with respect is morally right should be basic knowledge. Huck demonstrates that he is aware of this when he watches the King and Duke get tarred and feathered by people they attempted to scam. As he watches this humiliating act, he says "I couldn't ever feel any hardness against them anymore in the world. It was a dreadful thing to see. Human beings can be awful cruel to one another" (pg. 174). Huck does not laugh at the cruelty occurring around him like any other child. Rather, he shows his newfound perceptiveness and maturity by proving that he has grown from his childish nature. Another instance is when the Duke and King lie about their identities to a family mourning the loss of a loved one in order to gain a large sum of money. Huck is disgusted by their lack of values and exclaims, “Well, if ever I struck anything like it, I’m a nigger. It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race” (123). The King and Duke share the same race as Huck so the reader can see that Huck has formed morals that transcend the color of one’s skin, which most people of his time would never even begin to
Huck never received a formal education, academically or religiously, so in the beginning, he has a poor understanding of morals and is far from mature. Without a real mother or father to guide him along the way, he lacks the social values most children inherit from their parents, which leads him to accept the norms of society while still questioning the world around him. He is raised by the Widow Douglas, who “took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was in all her ways” (1). Huck makes it clear to the reader he does not wish to be molded into the expectations of society so he resists the widow’s attempts to “reform” him and stays true to his independent demeanor. He is a young and reckless boy who rarely considers the consequences of his actions up until the point he makes the life changing decision to embark on a journey down the river on a raft with …show more content…
Therefore, knowing that treating others with respect is morally right should be basic knowledge. Huck demonstrates that he is aware of this when he watches the King and Duke get tarred and feathered by people they attempted to scam. As he watches this humiliating act, he says "I couldn't ever feel any hardness against them anymore in the world. It was a dreadful thing to see. Human beings can be awful cruel to one another" (pg. 174). Huck does not laugh at the cruelty occurring around him like any other child. Rather, he shows his newfound perceptiveness and maturity by proving that he has grown from his childish nature. Another instance is when the Duke and King lie about their identities to a family mourning the loss of a loved one in order to gain a large sum of money. Huck is disgusted by their lack of values and exclaims, “Well, if ever I struck anything like it, I’m a nigger. It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race” (123). The King and Duke share the same race as Huck so the reader can see that Huck has formed morals that transcend the color of one’s skin, which most people of his time would never even begin to