Absurdity of a Sivilized Society-an Analysis of Huckleberry Finn Essay Example for Free

Absurdity of a Sivilized Society-an Analysis of huckleberry Finn EssayThe Absurdity of a Sivilized Society Authors a good deal stockpile their views on each given subject through their works, and Mark Twain is no exception. wizard may read The Adventures of huckleberry Finn and believe it is simply a novel about a young boys childhood however, a deeper analysis of the text reveals many of Mark Twains expressions about important clean and social issues. Perhaps one of the most prominent beingness the frailty of human jurist and the trickery we as a people foster in our societies. throughout the novel, huck meets people who appear to be good, civilized people, only when always end up having a hypocritical fault about them. though not any instance is a grave matter, Twains paper shows that societies in Hucks world are based upon corrupted laws and principles that defy basic logic. Twains writing leaves the reader with an understanding that cowardice, illogical choices, and selfish as well as hypocritical people hybridisation these societies. Twain begins weaving hypocrisies and dealts early into the story one of the most appalling being the issue of Hucks custody.This flawed scheme of thought is first shown when the new judge in St. Petersburg rules that soft diet has rightful(prenominal) custody of Huck. Although this would be bad for Huck if his father became his legal guardian, the judge asserts Paps rights to Huck as his biological son, despite the fact that this is placing Hucks welfare below the so-called rights of his father. Ironically, this system would put Huck under his dads custody, leaving him worse off, w hither(predicate)as Jim is separated from his family despite being a far better father and mortal.However, the welfare of the individual isnt highly valued in society, and thus they are placed in uncomfortable, often dangerous situations. The judge tries to put Huck tolerate in contact with his horrid father and therefore abus e, but Jim, a loving parent, never receives help to be with his children and help rescue them from slavery and separation. This decision defies all logic one would find in a normal society, and yet this kind of thinking was commonplace.The values and welfare of a b wish person were nowhere near as important as those of a white man, and even though Jim is a grown man with the most in tune moral compass of any character in the book, Huck still has power over him simply because he is white. By comparing the situation of Pap and Huck with slaves and their masters, Twain hints that it is impossible for a society to be civilized so long as it practices slavery. Though not quite as harmful, another example of a hypocritical character can be found in the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson.In an attempt to sivilize Huckleberry, Miss Watson reprimands him for smoking a cigarette and yet she snuffs tobacco. Pretty soon I wanted to smoke, and asked the widow to let me. notwithstanding she wouldnt. She verbalise it was a mean practice and wasnt clean, and I must try to not do it any more And she took snuff, too of course that was all right, because she done it herself (Twain 2). She prevents Huck from doing what she believes is uncivilized and detrimental to his health, yet doesnt think twice about proceeding to do aroundthing very akin(predicate) simply because she herself enjoys it.This example of deception is not particularly malicious, but yet another example of how all the characters Huck is involved with has some form of a hypocritical flaw. Furthermore, Miss Watson is quite religious and, in efforts to teach Huck, tells him that all he must do is entreat for something and he will have it. However, when Huck needs fishhooks and asks her to help pray for them, she calls him a fool. Then Miss Watson she took me in the closet and prayed, but nothing come of it. She told me to pray every day, and whatever I asked for I would get it.But it warnt so. I tried it. Once I go t a fish- line, but no hooks. It warnt any good to me without hooks. I tried for the hooks three or four-spot times, but somehow I couldnt make it make it work. By-and-by, one day, I asked Miss Watson to try for me, but she said I was a fool. (Twain 8). Miss Watson tells Huck that if he does something, he can expect a certain result but when things dont work, he asks for her help and she chides him for it The widow Douglas and Miss Watson are religious, educated, and yet, they are slave owners.They educate Huck, and teach him religion but find it perfectly acceptable to do things contrary to their teachings, such as snuff and practice slavery. The latter, being a more insidious faker of St. Petersburg, is shown over and over again throughout Hucks journey. As Huck begins to stray from his backwards, oleaginous town, he reaches different places with different people, all different in their own way and yet, very similar to those in St. Petersburg. The Duke and Dauphin are two desp icable con men who join Huck and Jim as they concern to drift on the river.The Duke and Dauphin cause trouble for Huck and Jim, as well as the towns they visit. The fault here is that, the Duke and Dauphin are able to scam entire communities by lying, pretending to be someone theyre not, and dishonesty their guests. Though they spend most of the novel doing awful things or planning awful things, they both are hardly punished. After the first showing of The Royal Nonesuch, the first sort out of attendees realizes they have been inventioned. However, instead of chastising the Duke and Dauphin, the audience that night chooses to lie about the performance in order to cheat a second group of attendees. Hold on Just a contrive, gentlemen. They stopped to listen. We are soldmighty badly sold. But we dont want to be the laughing stock of this whole town, I reckon, and never assure the last of this thing as long as we live. NO. What we want is to go out of here quiet, and talk this s how up, and sell the REST of the town Then well all be in the akin boat. Aint that sensible? (You bet it is the jedge is right everybody sings out. ) All right, thennot a word about any sell. Go along home, and advise everybody to come and see the tragedy. (Twain 114).Most hypocritical, however, is the fact that the attempt of the town conceived this plan. He who stands as a pillar of justice and truth in the town decides to cheat the others in order to save face. By the third night, everyone in town has seen the play and the Duke and Dauphin make a large profit from their misconduct. Immoral acts committed by the Duke and Dauphin never yielded punishments, but brazen, drunk insults led to execution. Boggs, depict as the most easy going old fool in Arkansas, began shouting insults and anathemas at Sherburn, the man who had cheated him. He Sherburn was standing perfectly still in the street, and had a pistol raised in his right handnot aiming it, but holding it out with the bar rel tilted up towards the slope Boggs throws up both of his hands and says, O Lord, dont shoot Bang goes the first shot, and he staggers back, clawing at the airbang goes the second one, and he tumbles backwards on to the ground, heavy and solid, with his mail spread out. (Twain 108). The Duke and Dauphin cheat entire communities and remain unpunished by their terrible acts however, peccadilloes like shouting inebriated insults result in execution.Twains writing exposes the issue of faulty justice and duplicitous temperament of men. Furthermore, Sherburns speech to the angry mob around his house in relation to a lack of logic and cowardice capitulates Twains societal views. Twains use of hypocrisy helps express his views on societal issues. Though not every instance is harmful, such as Miss Watsons snuff usage, other notable examples such as the execution of Boggs and the custody of Huck highlight his tactual sensation that cowardice, lack of logic, and selfishness are at the core of society, not the communal welfare that it should be.The repeated instances of insecure, logic defying justice are the root of the problem, as thoughtless crimes are punished severely whereas serious crimes go scot-free. Throughout the novel, Huck meets characters that appear good, yet Twain makes a conscious effort to prove they are preferential slave owners. The illogical choices and hypocritical people presented throughout the novel show the hypocrisy and ludicrousness of the sivilized society.