In The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn English Literature Essay

Twain utilizes stereotypes, such as epithets, to express his disdain for the culture developed by the depths, or South, of the United States. Huck Finn, the protagonist, makes frequent and causal jabs at African Americans by referring to them as “niggers” (2). Finn’s adventures through the South reflect the clear degradation of the blacks, mainly due to their treatment as animals. Twain uses Finn’s developed habits, such as his tendency to say nigger, to expose a society that treated African-Americans as sub-humans. Another example of Twain’s criticism of the South is conveyed through Finn’s feelings regarding runaway slaves. Finn struggles mentally as he decides to aid a runaway slave, Jim, hesitantly saying that “…I would do the right thing and the clean thing, and go and write to that nigger’s owner and tell where he was” (161). Finn’s conflicted feelings regarding aiding slaves expose the morally corrupt society Finn was raised in. Finn considers the “clean thing” to condemn an innocent man to a life of slavery. By using Finn as a representative of Southern youth and moral values, Twain satirically creates a strong image of a racist and inhumane society.

Twain gives religion a negative connotation by expressing it as a device the senseless and foolish worship, as well as a platform criminals use to deceive the unknowing. During his travels, Finn happens to come across a religious revival which he peculiarly describes the participants as, “[singing, shouting and flinging] themselves down on the straw, just wild and crazy” (99). The description of the religious revival creates an image of “wild and crazy” people praying with no particular goal in sight. Twain’s odd way of showing Southern religion is yet another satirical expression aimed at expressing disdain for the people who worshipped it. Another example of Twain’s opinion regarding Southern religion comes from criminals occupying a raft with Finn down the Mississippi River. The two criminals, the “King” and the “Duke”, often dupe unsuspecting Southerners; in one instance the King claims that , “…[I] been robbed last night…it was the blessedest thing that ever happened to [me], because [I] was a changed man now…[I] was going to put the rest of [my] life trying to turn pirates into the true path” (100). Of course, the King’s story of pirates and reformation is completely false, but the unsuspecting, deeply religious Southerners ultimately accept his story and donate a hefty amount of money to his “cause”. The actions and foolishness of the religious Southerners satirically express Twain’s own negative criticisms regarding the religion of the South.

Lastly, Twain uses education to expose differences between the average Southerner and intellectuals living in the South. The first example of these differences is provided by Finn when he witnesses a speech by a proud man, Sherburn, who declares that, “…you’ll be found out to be what you are-cowards-and [you’ll] come raging up here, swearing what big things you’re going to do” (111). Sherburn, a proud intellectual who decides to live in isolation, declares that the “lynch mobs” are mere cowards because they are not men, and they have no men to lead them. Sherburn is the only character throughout Finn’s adventure that uses proper spelling and grammar; he is also the only character that defends his honor with logic and reason, not with force and barbarity. Twain creates a very clear image of education through Sherburn, education that the average Southerner apparently lacks. Another example of Twain using education as a satirical method of expressing disdain for the South is introduced briefly by a doctor trying to expose the “King” and the “Duke” by claiming that, “He is the thinnest kind of impostor-has come here with a lot of empty names and facts where has picked up somewhere, and you take them for proofs, and are helped to fool yourself these foolish friends here, who ought to know better” (128). By ignoring the doctor’s warnings to recognize deception, the innocent tricked by the “Duke” and the “King” literally chose persuasion over logic and reason. By creating these examples, Twain effectively implies that stupidity ultimately triumphs over education in the South.

In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain uses stereotypes, religion and education to convey a message of utter disdain through a boy, Huckleberry Finn, emerged in the repulsive depths of America. Twain illuminated the fact that the depths of America during the early 19th century were truly morally corrupt, religiously immobilized and educationally deficient.