Moral Development of Huckleberry Finn in Book Adventures of Huck Finn - Essay Example

One of the major themes of the book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain is the moral development of Huck. The brightly shows us the process of Huck's growing up, and how it is multifaceted ultimately when the boy is forced to make decisions, the choices, which transfer him from the world of childhood to the world of adults. The character of Huck Finn is a central image of Mark Twain's 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn', whereas the image of Tom Sawyer plays the secondary role and helps to underline the moral development of Huck. In 'The adventures of Huckleberry Finn' the character of Huck is developed much more profoundly and all-round. In comparison with the book 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" we see the other Huck, the boy who has become older. "His moral development is sharply contrasted to the character of Tom Sawyer1". Huck takes his life much more seriously than Tom does. The great difference between Huck and Tom lays in the fact that Tom continue to be a boy, who does not know any hardship in his life, whereas Huck grows up beneath our very eyes, overcomes a lot of difficulties, and gets his own experience. "The gradual development of Huck's ironic struggle to free himself form the moral hypocrisy, romantic conventions, and racial stereotypes of nineteenth-century America reveals a serious, essential satiric thematic purpose.2" On reading the book one may observe the contention of conflicting movements in the main character's spirit. On the one hand is the habitual for the people of that time attitude towards slavery and violence, and on the other hand is an instinctive desire to bid defiance to injustice of society. The author displays this contention with a great expressiveness and psychological persuasiveness. There are three main points in then book that give us a possibility to observe Huck's moral development: 1. The living with father-drunkard. 2. The events followed after the acquaintance with the Duke and the King. 3. Huck realizes that his attitude towards Jim has deeply changed. The first great changes happen with Huck when he realizes that his has nobody to care and to protect him. His own father, his only parent, has been constantly drinking. The only time he has really taken an interest in Huck is when he has decided to lay his hands on Huck's wealth. So, there is nothing strange that under such circumstances, Huck grows up very quickly. It is just impossible to remain a naive child, when you have to save yourself from your own father. "By and by he rolled out and jumped up on his feet looking wild, and he see me and went for me. He chased me round and round the place with a claspknife, calling me the Angel of Death, and saying he would kill me, and then I couldn't come for him no more. I begged, and told him I was only Huck; but he laughed SUCH a screechy laugh, and roared and cussed, and kept on chasing me up. Once when I turned short and dodged under his arm he made a grab and got me by the jacket between my shoulders, and I thought I was gone; but I slid out of the jacket quick as lightning, and saved myself." (Chapter VI)3 On his wandering Jim and Huck meet two hoodlums, one of which masquerades as a King, and the other one plays role of Duck. Jim has had rather romanticized idea of what the nobility is, but Huck ruins his illusion: "Don't it s'prise you de way dem kings carries on, Huck" "No," I says, "it don't." "Why don't it, Huck" "Well, it don't, because it's in the breed. I reckon they're all alike," "But, Huck, dese kings o' ourn is reglar rapscallions; dat's jist what dey is; dey's reglar rapscallions." "Well, that's what I'm a-saying; all kings is mostly rapscallions, as fur as I can make out." "Is dat so" "You read about them once-you'll see. Look at Henry the Eight; this 'n 's a Sunday-school Superintendent to HIM. And look at Charles Second, and Louis Fourteen, and Louis Fifteen, and James Second, and Edward Second, and Richard Third, and forty more; besides all them Saxon heptarchies that used to rip around so in old times and raise Cain. My, you ought to seen old Henry the Eight when he was in bloom. He WAS a blossom. He used to marry a new wife every day, and chop off her head next morning. And he would do it just as indifferent as if he was ordering up eggs. (ChapterXXIII)4 It is obvious that both Huck and Jim hold on abomination towards these bilkers, who so familiarly intruded their raft. The two grotesque satirical images have very important functions in the novel. First of all they are the shining example of representatives of money-grubbers' world. Their stay on the raft turns idyllic river life of Huck and Jim into hard-fought struggle against hateful world of predators. When Huck reflects about the Duke and King, and says the phrase "it was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race"5 we may certainly realize his moral development. On destroying the fraudulent plans of these gold-diggers, Huck Finn for sure gains great experience, becomes much more courageous and brave. Moreover in this struggle his non-conscious fellow feeling to Jim turns into the conscious decision to protect him to the bitter end, even if he will have to go to hell. In his relationship with Jim we can distinctly see the moral development of Huck Finn. Let us remember how he has driving a bargain with his own conscience, on being stung by remorse, because of his 'amoral' deed - the concealment of runaway slave. Huck has intended to give Jim in charge to authorities. What is noticeable is that the boy has wished to do it not under the guidance of profit or fear, but conscience. The reader should understand that the slavery for Huck and other people of his time and area has been something habitual and matter-of-course. Nobody in St. Petersburg and similar towns has doubted in legitimacy of slavery. On reading his conversation with Aunt Sally we can see that Huck has the same attitude to blacks as other people do: "It warn't the grounding-that didn't keep us back but a little. We blowed out a cylinder-head." "Good gracious! anybody hurt" "No'm. Killed a nigger." "Well, it's lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt." (Chapter XXXII)6 So we see that both Aunt Sally and Huck do not consider black people to be human beings. It has become the custom in their region. Huck had never heard or seen that somebody has had the other attitude towards slaves. That is why it is easy to understand why his conscience makes him to give in charge Jim to authorities. Jim is a legitimate property if Miss Watson. And it appeared to be that Huck, on helping the slave to escape, is non the better for a thief. It is interesting to observe that our regular conscience depend on the epoch we live in, the culture and social group we belong to, it depends on our education and upbringing. Such conscience has demanded Huck to give in charge Jim. But in the heart of the boy has spoken the other conscience, the one he had never known before. It has been not the conscience of the little coy from St. Petersburg, and not the conscience of the foster-child of the Widow Douglas, it has been the conscience of an individual. Huck wanted but could not give Jim in charge. He has been ready to consider himself the lawbreaker, than to go against own spiritual impulse. This choice made in chapter XVI can be regarded as a real act of bravery. Huck knows, what price he will have to pay in case authorities catch them. More over in Huck's mind the punishment for this crime is not only the punishment in this life, but also eternal torture in the afterlife: "And at last, when it hit me all of a sudden that here was the plain hand of Providence slapping me in the face and letting me know my wickedness was being watched all the time from up there in heaven, whilst I was stealing a poor old woman's nigger that hadn't ever done me no harm, and now was showing me there's One that's always on the lookout, and ain't agoing to allow no such miserable doings to go only just so fur and no further, I most dropped in my tracks I was so scared. Well, I tried the best I could to kinder soften it up somehow for myself by saying I was brung up wicked, and so I warn't so much to blame; but something inside of me kept saying, "There was the Sunday-school, you could a gone to it; and if you'd a done it they'd a learnt you there that people that acts as I'd been acting about that nigger goes to everlasting fire." (Chapter XXXI)7 So we see that Huck is a very kind boy, who is ready to sacrifice in the name of freedom and in the name of humanism. "The significance of his choice was not just the act of friendship that saved Jim but also the long-term influence it had on Huck's moral development8". The famous Huck's phrase that he would better go to hell than betray his best friend is a challenge to cruel laws of the state and unfair learning of the Church. The image of Huck Finn, who has got over the great moral development in the course of time, is very congenial with Twain's world outlook. The author appreciates Huck humanity and kind attitude towards people despite everything unkind they had ever done. This humanity has found its brightest representation in the friendship with Jim. With respect to artistry, Huck and Jim belong to the best creations of Mark Twain. Satire and humor in the book is full of social and psychological context. The novel, depicturing of national life, social processes, American nature, and common language of people is an outstanding achievement of American literature. Mark Twain's novel 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' has inspired a lot of other writer. It is Plain truth is that this novel is a history of great moral development of the brave and kind boy. "Huck is truly the moral voice in the novel9". The runaway slave Jim has become like a father for the boy, and Huck on making the decision to rescue Jim grows up and breaks narrow bounds of slavery society. Bibliography: Kekes, John. Moral Tradition and Individuality. Princeton University, 1989. Leonard, James S., Thomas A. Tenney, and Thadious M.Davis. Satire Or Evasion: Black Perspectives on Huckleberry Finn . Duke University Press, 1991. Martin, Melissa, Stephanie Pumphrey, and Mark Twain. The Spark Notes Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Spark Pub, 2002. The Enigma of Good And Evil: The Moral Sentiment in Literature . Ed. Tymieniecka, Anna-Teresa. Springer, 2005. Twain, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Fin. Ed. Thomas Cooley. 3rd Ed. New York: W.W. Norton , 1999. Read More