In Arthur Miller’s tragedy The Crucible, accused witch John Proctor faces an intense moral struggle in which he must choose between defending his honor and escaping death. Although innocent of such witchcraft, John’s “confession” would allow him to return home to his children, free from the gallows. However, the man strives to exemplify honesty and righteousness, and lying to his community and church represents a sin against his conscience. Therefore, despite the reverend’s pleas to change John’s decision, John’s personal beliefs about honesty ultimately prevail as he tears his documented confession and dauntlessly marches to his death. Similar to John, Huck in Mark Twain’s satire Adventures of Huckleberry Finn struggles to decide between succumbing
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For instance, once Jim realizes the mendacity of Huck’s reassurances that the fog storm only existed in a dream, Jim denounces Huck as “‘trash’” for “‘[making] a fool [of him with] a lie’” (65). Huck “feel[s] so mean” that he even considers apologizing to the slave—something unspeakable in such a white-dominated society (65). Huck contemplates this for “fifteen minutes before [he can] work [himself] up to go and humble [himself] to…[Jim]” (65). By apologizing to a black man—who would be considered inferior and unworthy of respect, according to the principles behind the racial strata of the time—Huck supersedes social boundaries for the sake of his own moral beliefs; Huck decides to treat Jim equally based on his own conscience instead of social assumptions regarding race relations. Besides the fog incident, Huck struggles with the idea of Jim’s equality during the boys’ encounter on Jackson’s Island. Huck, who has just faked his own death and is now on the run, disguises himself as a girl and receives information from the kindly Mrs. Loftus that her husband plans to go to the island in hopes of finding Jim, a recent runaway and a suspect for Huck’s “murder.” Upon hearing the news, Huck “[gets] so uneasy [he can’t sit] still,” a clear indication of his worries that Mr. Loftus may foil his plan to leave the town without a trace (43). Huck, therefore, must decide between saving his own fate by leaving immediately or trekking back to the island to warn Jim of the impending danger. After mulling this decision over, Huck rushes back to his camp and yells “‘[t]hey’re after us,’” startling Jim awake in the process (47). By referring to himself and Jim as “us,” Huck accepts the idea that they are equal. Rather than assuming his role in such a racially stratified culture by
For instance, once Jim realizes the mendacity of Huck’s reassurances that the fog storm only existed in a dream, Jim denounces Huck as “‘trash’” for “‘[making] a fool [of him with] a lie’” (65). Huck “feel[s] so mean” that he even considers apologizing to the slave—something unspeakable in such a white-dominated society (65). Huck contemplates this for “fifteen minutes before [he can] work [himself] up to go and humble [himself] to…[Jim]” (65). By apologizing to a black man—who would be considered inferior and unworthy of respect, according to the principles behind the racial strata of the time—Huck supersedes social boundaries for the sake of his own moral beliefs; Huck decides to treat Jim equally based on his own conscience instead of social assumptions regarding race relations. Besides the fog incident, Huck struggles with the idea of Jim’s equality during the boys’ encounter on Jackson’s Island. Huck, who has just faked his own death and is now on the run, disguises himself as a girl and receives information from the kindly Mrs. Loftus that her husband plans to go to the island in hopes of finding Jim, a recent runaway and a suspect for Huck’s “murder.” Upon hearing the news, Huck “[gets] so uneasy [he can’t sit] still,” a clear indication of his worries that Mr. Loftus may foil his plan to leave the town without a trace (43). Huck, therefore, must decide between saving his own fate by leaving immediately or trekking back to the island to warn Jim of the impending danger. After mulling this decision over, Huck rushes back to his camp and yells “‘[t]hey’re after us,’” startling Jim awake in the process (47). By referring to himself and Jim as “us,” Huck accepts the idea that they are equal. Rather than assuming his role in such a racially stratified culture by