Racism In Huckleberry Finn Hypocrisy

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain follows the lives of a young white boy, Huckleberry Finn, and a runaway slave, Jim. Throughout the novel Huck grew from a young boy who believed what he was taught to being aware of his morals, even if society did not agree. He learns these morals through the central themes of the novel. The themes of racism and slavery, intellectual and moral education, and the hypocrisy of a civilized society aided Huck in his growth.
The theme of racism and slavery is shown through the prevalent racism and slavery in the south during the 19th century. Jim is Miss Watson’s slave and while being a slave he was separated from his family, “He was thinking about his wife and his children…”(117). He, as a black …show more content…
For example, Miss Watson is seen as a civilized woman. She is educated and goes to church yet she is a slaveowner. This shows that even the good people are not good. This hypocrisy is also shown in how Huck dislikes being “civilized”. He does not like going to school, wearing nice clothes, or bathing, “...but it was rough living in the house all the time…”(1). Hypocrisy is large in the feud between the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons. They took guns to church, a civilized place, in case a conflict arises. “The men took their guns along, so did Buck, and kept them between their knees or stood them handy against the wall”(146). They live in a civilized place, but have a feud for no reason. This feud was meant to parallel Romeo and Juliet. The themes of racism and slavery, intellectual and moral education, and the hypocrisy of a civilized society were used throughout the novel to progress Huck’s growth. His growth from an ignorant young boy to a self aware young boy was central to the story. Without his growth, his and Jim’s adventures would not have been as grand. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn showed the truth of society’s impact on young