One of the greatest issues of today’s world is the conflict between races. The hostility between races is not one that was recently sparked. Slavery and segregation have dated back to the beginning of time and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain highlights some racial issues that were considered taboo in its era. This classic novel has been one that changed the way many people viewed the serious issue of slavery, and one that still continues to educate people today. Through Huck Finn’s actions and life experiences, Mark Twain is able to critique the way the American people treat each other. One criticism the novel portrays is the way Americans negatively treat their slaves. Throughout the book the readers can see that slaves are
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While Huck and Jim are on the raft with the Duke and the Dauphin, they experience some new types of cruelty they had not seen before. They show Huck the new world of theft, manipulation, and conart. However, Huck proves to be an empathetic person because when the Duke and Dauphin are punished for their burglary Huck “was sorry for them poor pitiful rascals, it seems like I couldn’t ever feel any hardness against them any more in the world. It was a dreadful thing to see. Human beings can be awful cruel to one another” (174). Even though they did horrible things and are now getting what they deserve, Huck still thinks that it is not right for them to be treated inhumanly. That mentality is what allows Huck to view Jim as a friend. He knows deep down in his heart that it is not right to treat other human beings as objects, regardless if they are a different skin color, or if they are manipulative con artist. Huck was contemplating the situation and began “to think how dreadful it was, even for murderers, to be in such a fix....there ain’t no telling but I might come to be a murderer myself, yet, and then how would I like it?” (75). He once again is sympathising with the bad guy of the situation. This is crucial to the plot because it shows yet again that he is unlike the other people of his time. He has a very different way of thinking because he is able to have empathy and realise that no matter the situation, people are always being hurt. By highlighting this quality in Huck, Twain is able to point out how rare it is. Especially the other southerners who are so close-minded against African Americans, so much so that they are not even treated like
While Huck and Jim are on the raft with the Duke and the Dauphin, they experience some new types of cruelty they had not seen before. They show Huck the new world of theft, manipulation, and conart. However, Huck proves to be an empathetic person because when the Duke and Dauphin are punished for their burglary Huck “was sorry for them poor pitiful rascals, it seems like I couldn’t ever feel any hardness against them any more in the world. It was a dreadful thing to see. Human beings can be awful cruel to one another” (174). Even though they did horrible things and are now getting what they deserve, Huck still thinks that it is not right for them to be treated inhumanly. That mentality is what allows Huck to view Jim as a friend. He knows deep down in his heart that it is not right to treat other human beings as objects, regardless if they are a different skin color, or if they are manipulative con artist. Huck was contemplating the situation and began “to think how dreadful it was, even for murderers, to be in such a fix....there ain’t no telling but I might come to be a murderer myself, yet, and then how would I like it?” (75). He once again is sympathising with the bad guy of the situation. This is crucial to the plot because it shows yet again that he is unlike the other people of his time. He has a very different way of thinking because he is able to have empathy and realise that no matter the situation, people are always being hurt. By highlighting this quality in Huck, Twain is able to point out how rare it is. Especially the other southerners who are so close-minded against African Americans, so much so that they are not even treated like