Sunday, April 5, 2009

Huckleberry Finn Essay

Lu Li
AP English – Mr. George
Mar. / 25/ 2009
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay

Enslaved by Slavery

_In the sunset decades of the nineteenth century, when discrimination against blacks was still common, Mark Twain wrote a novel entitled, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, in which early American lifestyles and the beliefs of the South in the mid-1800’s are depicted through the eyes of a twelve-year-old boy living along the Mississippi River. As the readers follow Huck and Jim’s adventure to freedom, they also experience the journey of Huck’s moral development, which contrasts the immoral side of society. During this period of time, the southern society considered blacks as inferior and as possessions. Growing up in the South, Mark Twain witnessed the oppression and discrimination against black slaves. “Man is the only Slave,” sneered Clemens in his book Letters from the Earth, “and he is the only animal who enslaves” (Twain 237). The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is more than a novel; it is, indeed, a critique of the slave-holding South. In Twain’s opinion, the society was actually enslaved by its own belief in slavery, which prohibited the development of personal morality and social justice.

_The superiority of whites was one of the causes of slavery. White men were born with privilege and superiority, whereas blacks were doomed to be slaves. Mark Twain revealed in the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, that pride can lead to the unnecessary insecurity of one’s inherent privilege: “You're educated, too, they say; can read and write. You think you're better’n your father, now, don’t you, because he can’t? I’ll take it out of you” (28-29). There was a sense of insecurity in Pap’s voice. He was intimidated by the fact that his son, being civilized, is going to become a better person than he is: “I’ll learn people to bring up a boy to put on airs over his own father and let on to be better’n what he is” (29). Therefore, from a historical perspective, this insecurity has a symbolic meaning – the whites’ fear of losing their dominance over black people. In Pap’s mind, he “was Huck Finn's boss” (33) and his son was his “property” (36). It may be strange for us to hear, and hard for us to understand, that Pap would view a person as his own property; but back in those days, when slavery still existed, it was very common to own someone's freedom and make full use of it. On one hand, Huck's dad uses him as a cash cow to get money for alcohol, which implicates the Old South Tradition of whites forcing slaves to work on cotton fields in order to make a fortune. On the other hand, Pap saved his brittle pride by dominating his son, which symbolizes the evil privilege of whites dominating black slaves in the old days.

_The influence of society on people was substantial. Rules and doctrines were made by the society, and people were taught to obey them: “I wouldn’t stand by and see the rules broke” (260). It does not matter whether the rule is right or wrong, as long as it is a rule. Living in the Old South, it is hard for someone to stay away from the stain of slavery, even Huck, who should be considered as an outsider to society. Racism and slavery are a great challenge for Huck to overcome. So when Jim said he was going to get his two children back, Huck was frozen: “He would steal his children - children that belonged to a man I didn't even know; a man that hadn't ever done me no harm” (101). Although Huck has a great companionship with Jim, and learned that black people have their own dignity, he is still stuck between his conscience and the widely-accepted tolerance of brutal slavery.

_The belief in slavery put people’s thoughts at that time in a box of common sense. Within this opaque box, there is no way for the light of justice to shine in; therefore, people had no idea how malicious it was to enslave blacks, and treat them as if they were animals, even Mark Twain himself:

“In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. I was not aware that there was anything wrong about it. The local papers said nothing against it; the local pulpit taught us that God approved it, that it was a holy thing, and that the doubter need only look in the Bible if he wished to settle his mind – and then the texts were read aloud to us to make the matter sure”(IMDb).

People were taught that way, so it was not their fault; thus, the morally-deformed society, not the people, should be responsible for the disgrace and discrimination of the blacks.

_Unconsciousness and indifference led to the public tolerance of slavery. They made people think that slavery was normal. People do not usually question the common assumptions which were already been practiced for hundreds of years. Men were being told that “it [in this case, slavery] is the regular way” (257). Huck said with certainty that “the best way to get along with his kind of people is to let them have their own way” (137). The world is filled with a bunch of hypocrites; and the way to get along with those kind of people is to "let them have their own way" (137). This social laissez-faire policy is simply a denial of righteousness and justice. The same thing goes with the issue of slavery. When society is corrupted as a whole, the standard of morality is lowered; therefore, enslaving blacks is not be a fault, because everyone is doing it. The world became pathetic and dark when the candle of justice went out.

_All men are equal under the eyes of God: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Therefore, slavery is a sinful combination of inequality, discrimination, and hatred. It violates the sacred integrity of a human being and the God-given right for one to pursuit the happiness of life. Mark Twain criticized the society of the mid-1800’s south through Huck Finn’s adventures along the Mississippi River. The issue of slavery was not a phenomenon that accidentally happened; it was, indeed, caused by the whites’ privilege and superiority, the negative influences of society on people, and the ignorance and unconsciousness of men. Without the lighthouse of justice, people would get lost in the sea of prejudice, and fail to find their way to freedom.

_Fortunately, there is hope for us on the shore of freedom as Huck said in the end with a delightful spirit, “I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me and I can’t stand it. I been there before” (307). Everyone has been there before – the entire human race was once lost in the dark region of slavery and discrimination. However, it is never too late to light the torch of hope, since God will always give us a second chance. Huck and Jim are already heading to the ultimate Territory where no prejudice and injustice exist. So when shall we be setting out for our journey to the kingdom of equality and freedom?



Works Cited

Mark Twain. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Penguin Books Ltd, 1985.
Mark Twain. Letters from the Earth. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2004.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. New York: Crossway Bibles, 2001.
IMDb. 24 March 2009. Memorable quotes for Mark Twain. 21 December 2001

4 comments:

Lu Li said...

thank you so much.
im glad my little reading notes can add a little sunshine in the air. i will keep on writing...

Unknown said...

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