Why Is Huckleberry Finn So Popular

Improved Essays
Ernest Hemingway once declared "All modern American literature comes from one book by
Mark Twain called 'Huckleberry Finn.'... It's the best book we've had.”(Nix) Samuel Clemens is an author better know by his pen name Mark Twain. He is an American literary icon, who was a great author and humorist. In the late 19th century Mark Twain wrote the classic novel and masterpiece, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain revolutionized literature with his use of humor and his portrayal of characters and social issues. One of the aspects that made Huckleberry Finn so popular is the first use of various dialect.
Mark Twain is historic in American literature because he introduced a new use of dialect in novels. The use of different dialect in
…show more content…
The second social problem he address in the South’s society at the time is slavery. “Jim, who is a black slave, is treated like a piece of property. For example, he is forced to practice Christianity, which actually seems to be the opposite of Christian values.” ((Huckleberry Finn – Social Conflicts) He did not use humor in this situation because it is so serious he couldn’t. Addressing these social issues in his novels made readers aware of the problems in the society.
American literature was revolutionized by Mark Twain’s use of humor and his portrayal of characters and social issues. His various dialect in his novel made the characters come to life, be different from each other, and pulled the readers in. The various dialect he choose for each character painted a vivid image in readers minds pulling them into the story. Also the different dialect let the readers know thats the character were different from one another. The characters language was real and it brought them and their surrounding off the paper to life. He used humor to tell the truth about flaws in the South, make his point, and make serious situations funny. He used his skills with humor to make his point while making serious situations funny. He also used humor to make the public aware of the flaws in the South’s society. Even though Mark Twain’s authentic writing got the book banned, it did

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Mocking the American Society "That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth" (Twain 1). Mark Twain's use of satire is a prominent vehicle for his criticisms of American society in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He uses satire to show irony, exaggeration, and mockery to expose and poke fun at the American society. Three social institutions throughout the novel that Twain criticizes and satirized were greed, slavery, and family fighting.…

    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Alain De Botton Humorists

    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages

    ESSAY OPTION TWO: ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY PROMPT Humorists have a unique freedom of expression that few professions enjoy. They can simultaneously entertain and inform the opinions of an audience; they can speak their mind without being held accountable for the things they say. Once a person has been generally accepted as a humorist, he or she can get away with metaphorical murder. One author, Alain de Botton, argues that humorists play a crucial role in society because of their ability to say things that other people cannot or will not say.…

    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Due to his thick southern accent, which in part is one of the things that made this book quite controversial during its era, it was was very difficult for most of us to understand what he was trying to say. But while most of classmates showed a great aversion to his dialect, I loved it! The way Mark Twain was able to give each character their own tendencies and dialect of speaking, made them much realer to me. I would 've definitely had an easier time understanding what was going on if Mark Twain chose to wrote in the “good old” standard english, but that would have been no fun at all and I am sure that was the last thought he had when writing this novel. Incorporating dialects into the character 's’ manner of speech…

    • 1179 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Twain’s use of irony does a phenomenal job at painting a realistic picture of the people during his time period, and therefore is effective. By using irony Twain is able to subtlety mock and poke fun at the serious situations that people in the 1800s face everyday in order to bring attention to the important lesson behind the everyday practices; just because something is accepted doesn’t mean it is morally…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Ellis Island is an island located in New York Harbor and sits right next to the Statue of Liberty. The island is most well-known as the gateway for millions of immigrants arriving in America. The island opening in 1892 and existed for more than sixty years before closing in 1954. When “new” immigrants came to America, they were determined to be fit for entry at the immigration station at Ellis Island. Thousands of people passed through the island every day.…

    • 1548 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain is a book written in 1885 during the time of slavery. Twain wrote this book to not only explain to the audience, but also to expose society’s hypocrisy and ignorant views of slavery in a comedic form and also by using figurative language to the audience to show the purpose of the story. Twain decided to right this novel before the abolition of slavery because he wanted to show the audience that slavery was way deeper and bigger than what many people thought. In this story he uses different dialects to distinguish the differences between Huck and Jim.…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Twain uses satire the most in the novel to make fun of the way society views things. The first instance of satire is when Tom wanted to copy a scene in an adventure book of ransoming someone, “Ransomed? What’s that? I don’t know. But that’s what they do.…

    • 2063 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Although Mark Twain’s use of satire and irony see to oversaturate the book and make it seem like the made up adventures of a rambunctious young teen, it’s implied meanings of moral development and societal norms will teach many more students how to look deeper into books for years to…

    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Many people say that Adventures of Huckleberry Finn sends a wicked message to kids, and teaches them foul language. However, Huck sets many worthy examples, such as not following what everybody is doing in society, and teaching that just because everybody does something, it does not mean that is the right action to take. Huck was scared at first of being called an "abolitionist" for running away with Jim, however he ends up not caring what society thinks of him and doing what he thinks is right(Twain 32). This exhibits a beneficial message to society of taking the right action, despite the beliefs of others around. When ideas are not moral in society, like slavery in this novel, you should not automatically agree with the people that think those harsh ideas are moral.…

    • 1139 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ap English Final Exam

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The diverse tones of each story and time period held important life questions, like: is the response of society worth the choice you make as posed by Mark Twain in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain’s work gave a great vehicle for satire, showing how easily you can weave a message through your work without having to state your literal intention; his writing a style of writing that I've enjoyed emulating. Being able to use writing as a form of expression rather than just as an assignment is a new joy, that I've found, and that writing in a more poetic form is something I am good at. Writing with a flow. Writing with passion.…

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Renowned author Mark Twain in his famous novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn satirizes two prevalent social practices rampant in the South of Pre-Civil War United States: slavery and white supremacy. He does this by employing the rhetorical strategies of irony, absurdity, and pathos to criticizes racism as well as Southern mentality on the topic. He accomplishes this through Huck Finn’s journey with Jim, a runaway-slave. Twain criticizes, through contrasting irony, the Southern mentality that blacks are inferior to whites. He portrays this mindset strongly in Pap’s personal views on African Americans.…

    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    People must bring to attention the flaws of a society if the society is faulty. They can do this in several ways such as protesting and meeting together to voice their concerns. Another common way to bring notice to these flaws is through literature. One of the authors that has used literature in this way is Mark Twain.…

    • 1060 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Why Huckleberry Finn Should Stay in Schools Author Jay Greene once said, “If it matters, it produces controversy.” This quote could not be more true or applicable to Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Many people argue that the classic American novel should be kept out of schools, but they are wrong.…

    • 1103 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Mark Twain, an ingenious writer, develops a book call The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This book primarily focuses on an orphan boy call Huckleberry Finn and a runaway slave call Jim. They venture on the Mississippi River to meet and explore the world’s danger and social classes throughout the country. Moreover, social classes can create racism thereby, each social class needs to become more accepting of each other. Twain creates this intricate society by placing together various social classes during the 19th century.…

    • 1911 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Every hero in literature has a journey. These heroes start as ordinary people in an ordinary world then, they receive a call to action and must transform to solve a conflict or reach one of their goals. In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck is portrayed as an archetypal hero to reveal the theme of friendship conquering all. Huck is introduced to the story as an archetypal hero; he has an ordinary life, he receives a call to action, and at first refuses this call.…

    • 1270 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays