In his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, renowned author Mark Twain satirically conveys his disappointment in the corruption of society by revealing how greed leads to the self-destructive behavior of men. Throughout this novel, a young Southern boy, Huck, and his companion, Jim, encounters many people who were affected by greed. Greed, for money or power, can alter and make people do peculiar things to achieve their goal. Twain utilizes satirical elements such as mockery, absurdity, and irony to prove his purpose by which greed drives people to do unspeakable things to get what they want. To begin with, Twain incorporates mockery when relaying an incident where people were searching for runaway slave Jim, because they heard about
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For at least a year, Pap had been absent in Huck’s life, and the sole purpose of his arrival was for Huck’s newfound wealth of $6,000, which he wants for his own selfish benefits. Knowing how covetous his father is, Huck traded his $6,000 with Judge Thatcher for $1, so that the substantial sum of money would be in someone else’s hands. Driven by the desire for wealth, Huck’s father does ridiculous things, such as kidnapping his son and banning him from going to school as an attempt to get the money. Twain proves Huck’s father’s actions with, “Well, pretty soon the old man was up and around again, and then he went for Judge Thatcher in the courts to make him give up that money, and he went for me, too, for not stopping school.” (24) Twain mocks how Pap kept Huck as his prisoner in order to try and get the money from Judge Thatcher. Parents are usually supportive of their children and would want them to continue their education. However, Pap is not even close to being a supportive father, instead he physically, mentally, and emotionally abuses Huck. In his eyes, money is the only thing that matters, and he’ll do anything to possess it. He doesn’t even have a care for the person he helped bring into the world. The desire for money causes people to do absurd things. In conclusion, Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, exposes the corruption of society by proclaiming how greed leads to the destruction of mankind. Through his use of mockery, absurdity, and irony, Twain expresses his dismay towards the corruption of society by condemning the acts of greed. People should be able to do random acts of kindness without expecting something in return. Money shouldn’t be a motivation to do things for
For at least a year, Pap had been absent in Huck’s life, and the sole purpose of his arrival was for Huck’s newfound wealth of $6,000, which he wants for his own selfish benefits. Knowing how covetous his father is, Huck traded his $6,000 with Judge Thatcher for $1, so that the substantial sum of money would be in someone else’s hands. Driven by the desire for wealth, Huck’s father does ridiculous things, such as kidnapping his son and banning him from going to school as an attempt to get the money. Twain proves Huck’s father’s actions with, “Well, pretty soon the old man was up and around again, and then he went for Judge Thatcher in the courts to make him give up that money, and he went for me, too, for not stopping school.” (24) Twain mocks how Pap kept Huck as his prisoner in order to try and get the money from Judge Thatcher. Parents are usually supportive of their children and would want them to continue their education. However, Pap is not even close to being a supportive father, instead he physically, mentally, and emotionally abuses Huck. In his eyes, money is the only thing that matters, and he’ll do anything to possess it. He doesn’t even have a care for the person he helped bring into the world. The desire for money causes people to do absurd things. In conclusion, Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, exposes the corruption of society by proclaiming how greed leads to the destruction of mankind. Through his use of mockery, absurdity, and irony, Twain expresses his dismay towards the corruption of society by condemning the acts of greed. People should be able to do random acts of kindness without expecting something in return. Money shouldn’t be a motivation to do things for