Nature Vs. Civilization In Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn

Improved Essays
In Mark Twain’s novel, Huckleberry Finn, one major conflict he uses is nature versus civilization. Most of the people in this extraordinary tale do not show any respect for nature. Huck, on the other hand, shows deep respect for it. Throughout the story, the people show a lack of good morals. Twain portrays them as the “evil” of humanity. Several events in nature takes place out in the woods, on a river, and even on an island in this book. Huck and Jim refer to nature as being their freedom. When they are out in the woods or floating down the river, they don’t have to worry about anything, but themselves. One night, when Huck was very lonesome, he sat by the window and just listened to all of the sounds of nature and heard

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In the novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain illustrates Huck’s character by using traits that influence his actions and his relationships with people. To begin, Huck’s father raised him in a bad environment and took him into a whole other environment that he is not familiar with and does not know how to act. In the novel, the reader can describe Huck’s character as uncivilized by the way he acts when he has trouble fitting in and learning how to live civilized. When the Widow Douglas took Huck in she tried to civilize him and when Huck could not stand it anymore he, “[…] lit out. I got into my old rags, and my sugar- hogshead again, and was free and satisfied” (Twain 1).…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    A Change of Heart “It has always been a peculiarity of the human race that it keeps two sets of morals in stock-the private and the real, and the public and the artificial.” -Mark Twain. In Mark Twain’s novel Huckleberry Finn, Huck’s views start to change once he leaves his hometown. In the beginning of the book Huck Finn contains many of the morals that he was taught by the people with whom he grew up around.…

    • 1510 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Huckleberry Finn is a novel about the moral development of a young boy named Huck, following his encounter with a runaway slave named Jim. During this journey, Huck constantly finds himself in challenging moral situations. Society has taught Huck all his life that slavery is wrong. Further, Huck demonstrates in the beginning of the novel a willingness to conform to others desires and beliefs.…

    • 1963 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain, a young boy named Huckleberry Finn lives a rough life. He lived with a widow in a home too “civilized” for his suitings, but then his alcoholic father returned and kidnapped him. His father kept him in a secluded cabin where he would abuse him. Huck escapes from this cabin and finds a slave, Jim, who had ran away from the widow’s plantation. Together they set out for their own personal freedom, and on this trek Huck experiences and sees how people and civilization truly are, which encourages him to continue his quest for freedom.…

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In his novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain portrays the protagonist’s, Huck’s, ethical progression and eventual growth. In the beginning of the novel, Huck is a racist product of Ante bellum southern America who views the practice of slavery as a normal part of life. Huck believes that black people are naturally inferior and inherently less human the white people. Yet through his relationship with Jim, a runaway slave, Huck is able to change his perspective on race and separates himself from society's views, thus becoming a dynamic and changing character. By developing a character who learns how to separate the views of society from his own, Twain indicates the potential for societal evolution and progression from racism.…

    • 981 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Huckleberry Finn is a young boy in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) who has traveled half the country with a slave named Jim. At this time, slaves are not considered humans so it is interesting to see the relationship of Huck and Jim throughout their journey. Influences have a strong effect on one's character to do the right thing individually or do what society claims, as the right thing. At the beginning of the book Huck is immature and strongly influenced by society; but by the end he is an independent human separate from society’s forceful nature.…

    • 1443 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Huck Finn Vs Society

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “In his own way each man must struggle, lest the moral law become a far-off abstraction utterly separate from his active life”(Jane Addams). Huckleberry Finn toils over his personal moral laws actively over the course of the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Huck Finn is a young boy who has ostracized himself from society in an attempt to escape the ‘sivilized,’ which leads him to a controversial adventure that test his beliefs. In his adventure, he exposes himself to perplexing situations and people that ultimately affirm him in his convictions. These convictions are what drive Huck Finn’s constant duplicity, unique engagements, and strong judgments that create a divide between him and society.…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The question of society’s views and individual morals are evident in many stories, but none is more apparent than in Mark Twain’s satiric novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This coming-of age novel centers on Huck’s journey as he discovers how to abandon the social view forced on him after being raised in a predominate white society. Still today, the novel is considered one of the most controversial and banned books taught in school. Although the theme of racism is prominent in the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn also places an emphasis on the subject of thinking for oneself. Through religious hypocrisy, witnessing Jim’s humaneness, and rejection of society, Huck ultimately risks himself and being called a “low-down Abolitionist”…

    • 1121 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “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.…

    • 654 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The issue of individual vs society is an ongoing evolving conflict in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Throughout the novel, Huck is viewed as a mischievous troublemaker by society. This is likely a result of the fact that he wasn’t raised the way children normally were brought up. Even when others attempt to civilize Huck, it is difficult for him to conform, and he usually remains the pilgrim-soul he always had been.…

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Learning incorporates discussions of students, arguing and analyzing. Without controversy, students would not be able to know how to express their opinions and discuss with other people who have differents views. It is vital for students to question what they are being taught and be curious about life, giving controversial materials to learn from and discuss as a class is a great way to help students learn. Mark Twain wrote the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which was extremely popular when it was published in the 1880’s because of its controversial content. The plot is about a boy, Huckleberry, who grows up in the deep South and who eventually runs away with an escaped slave and has adventures…

    • 1315 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, Huck’s journey down the river with Jim helps to develop the idea of how society can affect how a person think and act a certain way. The development of an abnormal relationship between Huck, a white boy, and Jim, a slave, can be seen throughout the journey. The idea of mob mentality presented in several situations that Huck encountered on his journey further contributes to the theme. Also, the struggle between doing something that’s right versus doing something morally correct can be impacted by society as seen through Huck.…

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When one writes, there is always a reason to why they have chosen their plot, use of diction and much more. Other factors of someone’s writing could be influenced by their environment or just their natural personality. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses the topic of nature vs. nurture to reveal character motive and personality Huckleberry Finn’s upbringing changed how he perceives the world and responds to his surrounding. Having an abusive and absent father made Huck cope with relying on few people and being emotionally removed from others.…

    • 1089 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Everyone retains a specific “human” nature; however, it is left up to the individual how they choose to interpret various aspects of human nature in their everyday personalities. In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain incorporates various characters to capitalize on the flawed aspects of human nature. In the novel, it is evident that Twain is showing his disapproval towards the way humans behave. Each character: Pap, Grangerfords and Shepherdsons, and the King and Duke are able to embody one side of the human race. How is it that one man is able to cause so much damage in someone’s life?…

    • 1271 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Twain uses moral complications and Huck’s personal perspective on the resulting internal conflict to demonstrate Huck’s evolution and changing mindset. Through Huck’s opinion of the duke and the dauphin, his qualms over aiding a fugitive slave, and his relationship with Tom, Twain gives a depiction of Huck’s maturing conscience and morals. Huck, who portrays the antithesis of societal standards, serves to convey the timeless message that society often expects ignorance from the very people who are proving it…

    • 1058 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays