Is Huck Finn Right Or Wrong

“People of character do the right thing even if no one else does, not because they think it will change the world but because they refuse to be changed by the world.” When Michael Josephson said this, he wanted to help create a world where decisions and behavior were guided by ethics. Just like Michael Josephson, Huck, one of Mark Twain’s main characters in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, decided that he wouldn’t let the world change him. Huck fought with himself multiple times but decided that he would rather help a slave escape captivity than to follow what the world said was right. Huck faces moral dilemmas that shapes his character including not turning Jim in, not letting society control him, and deciding that telling Mary Jane the truth is the right thing to do. …show more content…
Throughout the whole story Huck deals with deciding whether slavery is right or wrong, and whether he should follow society or not. Huck was going against society and following his own heart when he makes the choice to rescue Jim from being held captive at the Phelps’ farm. By chance, the Phelps are Tom’s aunt and uncle and have never seen Tom before. So, Huck is pretending to be Tom, and Tom is pretending to be his little brother Sid. Huck tells Tom, “You’ll say it’s dirty low-down business; but what if it is?--I’m low down; and I’m agoing to steal him…” (Twain 233). This is the moment that Huck chooses what his heart is telling him over what society and the rest of the world is telling him. It is also at this time that Huck realizes that his friendship that he has with Jim is way more important than following the rules of the