Murder, weapons, ISIS, and illness dominate newspaper headlines across the globe. Conversations are polluted with trivial arguments and unfounded hate. In a society permeated with despair, it can often be difficult for our pessimistic brains to extract the good. It can be equally difficult to find encouraging themes in our literature. In his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain satirizes numerous negative aspects of society and the human race, from religion to clothing to cultural values. At first glance it appears that Twain holds complete disdain for his species, but in several instances he provides a glimpse into a positive side of “sivilization” and human nature. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not an utter denouncement
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In ways both serious and ridiculous, Huck turns his back on rules and regulations, whether it be through Tom Sawyer’s “gang” or by helping to rescue an escaped slave. Not all representatives of the law in this novel are greedy and corrupt, however. In fact, Judge Thatcher is arguably the opposite. Huck’s drunken father tries multiple times and fails to retrieve Huck’s money from the judge. When it looks like the case might be taken to court, Judge Thatcher does his best to make sure nothing of the sort would happen anytime soon. “His lawyer said he reckoned he would win his lawsuit and get the money if they ever got started on the trial; but then there was ways to put it off a long time, and Judge Thatcher knowed how to do it. And he said people allowed there’d be another trial to get me away from him and give me to the widow for my guardian, and they guessed it would win this time” (page 27). Not only does the judge try to put off giving Huck’s fortune to a man who will spend it solely on drink, but also is working to place Huck in what he believes will be a better living situation. Twain uses Judge Thatcher as an example of the law being made to work beneficially. Even the slave regulations have their good moments. Huck spends most of the novel helping a runaway slave, but in the end the law …show more content…
Though Twain finds fault in religion, education, greed and everything in between, he still recognizes the positive influence of literature, generosity and order on our lives and the possibilities they hold for the future. Our news may be dominated by despair, dishonesty and death, but perhaps we should look further down the page as well to the smaller titles; the heartening successes and beneficial outcomes that are lost among the misery. These stories, much like the glimpses of virtue in Twain’s satire, remind us that we need to focus on creating a society where the good news is so prominent that it makes the front page every
In ways both serious and ridiculous, Huck turns his back on rules and regulations, whether it be through Tom Sawyer’s “gang” or by helping to rescue an escaped slave. Not all representatives of the law in this novel are greedy and corrupt, however. In fact, Judge Thatcher is arguably the opposite. Huck’s drunken father tries multiple times and fails to retrieve Huck’s money from the judge. When it looks like the case might be taken to court, Judge Thatcher does his best to make sure nothing of the sort would happen anytime soon. “His lawyer said he reckoned he would win his lawsuit and get the money if they ever got started on the trial; but then there was ways to put it off a long time, and Judge Thatcher knowed how to do it. And he said people allowed there’d be another trial to get me away from him and give me to the widow for my guardian, and they guessed it would win this time” (page 27). Not only does the judge try to put off giving Huck’s fortune to a man who will spend it solely on drink, but also is working to place Huck in what he believes will be a better living situation. Twain uses Judge Thatcher as an example of the law being made to work beneficially. Even the slave regulations have their good moments. Huck spends most of the novel helping a runaway slave, but in the end the law …show more content…
Though Twain finds fault in religion, education, greed and everything in between, he still recognizes the positive influence of literature, generosity and order on our lives and the possibilities they hold for the future. Our news may be dominated by despair, dishonesty and death, but perhaps we should look further down the page as well to the smaller titles; the heartening successes and beneficial outcomes that are lost among the misery. These stories, much like the glimpses of virtue in Twain’s satire, remind us that we need to focus on creating a society where the good news is so prominent that it makes the front page every