Huckleberry Finn Social critique

Rossi, 1
Michael Rossi
September 15, 2009
Advanced Placement English Language
Huckleberry Finn Notes: How is Huckleberry Finn a social critique


Notes

Escaping society’s demands and punishments allows Huck to develop pure social critiques pertaining to the bigotry of the south. He makes an astounding growth away from the prejudice that the widow taught to him. When Huck and Jim escaped on the raft Huck was deeply vexed by the guilt of contributing to the freedom of an African American. He realizes he did not directly steal and liberate Jim from his owner, however he feels the guilt the one would
feel if he went on vacation and found that his neighbor’s pet cat slipped to into his luggage and he continued on vacation without bothering to notify the neighbors. It’s the sort of guilt that isn’t
serious enough to control your actions unless one ponders over it for extensive periods of time. Huck was aided in distracting himself from guilt by getting to know Jim as time passes. Huck feels torn between turning Jim in because he believes it is the right thing to do, when it is society telling him what to do. On the other hand, Huck believes delivering Jim to his freedom originated from a self serving motivation while in reality he is following Christianity. Without a modern Christian education, Huck is forced to make the decision that his nagging conscience and Christianity are one and the same. Huck believes that choosing Jim’s freedom means heading straight for hell. The sheer intensity of Huck’s decision is best represented in the following quote: “I was a trembling, because I’d got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: ‘All right, then, I’ll go to hell’ (228). Accepting the worst fate know to man is a bold step against the southern racial repression and because it shows how it is wrong through the eyes of a child.