In Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck often struggles to do the ‘right thing,’ especially concerning his relationship with Jim. He is caught between what he feels and what society conditions him to do. Though he views himself as a rebel against and an outsider from society, Huck is ultimately not able to rise above its influence. This weakness reveals itself in his inability to resist the influence of characters who uphold the code of society, such as Tom, Miss Watson, and the Phelpses. Even on the raft, where Huck feels “free and easy” (Twain 88), he never fully disregards the values of society. Along his journey, he is somewhat able to begin to develop his own morals, but when he returns to shore they are superseded by the
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At the beginning of the novel, the Widow attempts to “sivilize” Huck, but he claims that “[he] lit out...and was free” (Twain 1). Huck’s declaration shows that he thinks of himself as not only free but also as apart from “sivilization”, which he considers a separate and enigmatic entity from himself. However, he is extremely vulnerable to the influence of others, especially Tom Sawyer: “He hunted me up and said he was going to start a band of robbers, and I might join if I would go back to the widow and be respectable. So I went back” (Twain 1). Though Huck had expounded upon the value of his own so-called freedom, he is willing to cast it away without a second thought as soon as his friend suggests it. The fact that Tom demands Huck become “respectable” in addition to simply returning to the widow shows Huck is willing to alter the very essence of who he is to fit in with Tom’s gang. According to Marx, “the mood of the beginning of Huckleberry Finn is the mood of Huck 's attempt to accommodate himself to the ways of St. Petersburg” (Marx 198). Miss Watson and the widow, similarly, represent the principles of society, requiring Huck to learn, use good manners, and pray in order to fit in with their “tawdry” society (Marx 197). The fact that Huck succumbs to these rules and regulations shows how he conforms to those of society, despite how vehemently he believes otherwise. His extreme susceptibility to the pressures of others betrays his vulnerability to the external forces of society, even when he is physically apart from
At the beginning of the novel, the Widow attempts to “sivilize” Huck, but he claims that “[he] lit out...and was free” (Twain 1). Huck’s declaration shows that he thinks of himself as not only free but also as apart from “sivilization”, which he considers a separate and enigmatic entity from himself. However, he is extremely vulnerable to the influence of others, especially Tom Sawyer: “He hunted me up and said he was going to start a band of robbers, and I might join if I would go back to the widow and be respectable. So I went back” (Twain 1). Though Huck had expounded upon the value of his own so-called freedom, he is willing to cast it away without a second thought as soon as his friend suggests it. The fact that Tom demands Huck become “respectable” in addition to simply returning to the widow shows Huck is willing to alter the very essence of who he is to fit in with Tom’s gang. According to Marx, “the mood of the beginning of Huckleberry Finn is the mood of Huck 's attempt to accommodate himself to the ways of St. Petersburg” (Marx 198). Miss Watson and the widow, similarly, represent the principles of society, requiring Huck to learn, use good manners, and pray in order to fit in with their “tawdry” society (Marx 197). The fact that Huck succumbs to these rules and regulations shows how he conforms to those of society, despite how vehemently he believes otherwise. His extreme susceptibility to the pressures of others betrays his vulnerability to the external forces of society, even when he is physically apart from