Religion is a complicated concept. On one hand, it is a way to understand life after death and ensure positive moral behavior. On the other, it has been used to legitimize the power of humanity’s worst leaders and justify slavery. Mark Twain’s literary masterwork, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, portrays the journey of Huck Finn, a young teenager on a mission to escape civilization in the 19th century American Midwest. Twain’s work is extremely controversial and has even been banned in select schools as it harshly depicts the flaws, imperfections, and ultimately, the reality of American culture. Twain uses parody, incongruity, and situational irony to emphasize the hypocritical nature of his contemporary religion. Twain parodies religion
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Miss Watson, one of Huck’s pious fosters, constantly emphasizes that Huck should strictly follow Christian beliefs, pray regularly, and remain polite and “sivilized.” Huck recounts, “she told me to pray every day, and whatever I asked for I would get it” (Twain 18). However, Miss Watson is a slave owner, and it proves ironic that “she fetched the n*****s in and had prayers, and then everybody was off to bed” (Twain 10). The point of praying is to profess one’s love for God, a God that believes in the equality of all his creations. However, Miss Watson, a devout Christian, clearly opposes this belief and instead thinks slave ownership and forcing an inferior race to till the fields is acceptable, proving her prayer is not sincere. Additionally, Miss Watson “awluz said she wouldn' sell [Jim],” one of her many slaves, “down to Orleans” (Twain 50). However, one night while Jim is eavesdropping he discovers that she is, in fact, going to sell him: “she could git eight hund'd dollars for me, en it 'uz sich a big stack o' money she couldn' resis” (Twain 50). Despite following a religion that emphasizes spiritual wealth and rejects monetary wealth, Miss Watson falls victim to material temptation and breaks her promise to Jim, ultimately breaking her promise to God too. Miss Watson’s ironic religious affiliation and slave ownership further underscores Twain’s message, and serves as a representation of a typical 19th century Caucasian slave
Miss Watson, one of Huck’s pious fosters, constantly emphasizes that Huck should strictly follow Christian beliefs, pray regularly, and remain polite and “sivilized.” Huck recounts, “she told me to pray every day, and whatever I asked for I would get it” (Twain 18). However, Miss Watson is a slave owner, and it proves ironic that “she fetched the n*****s in and had prayers, and then everybody was off to bed” (Twain 10). The point of praying is to profess one’s love for God, a God that believes in the equality of all his creations. However, Miss Watson, a devout Christian, clearly opposes this belief and instead thinks slave ownership and forcing an inferior race to till the fields is acceptable, proving her prayer is not sincere. Additionally, Miss Watson “awluz said she wouldn' sell [Jim],” one of her many slaves, “down to Orleans” (Twain 50). However, one night while Jim is eavesdropping he discovers that she is, in fact, going to sell him: “she could git eight hund'd dollars for me, en it 'uz sich a big stack o' money she couldn' resis” (Twain 50). Despite following a religion that emphasizes spiritual wealth and rejects monetary wealth, Miss Watson falls victim to material temptation and breaks her promise to Jim, ultimately breaking her promise to God too. Miss Watson’s ironic religious affiliation and slave ownership further underscores Twain’s message, and serves as a representation of a typical 19th century Caucasian slave