Hunckleberry Finn The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Hunckleberry Finn THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN
Throughout the Mark Twain novel, The Adventures of HuckleBerry Finn, a plain and striking point of view is expressed by the author. His point of view is that everyone is selfish; he looks upon civilized man as a merciless, cowardly, hypocritical savage, without want of change, nor ability to effect such change. Thus, one of Mark Twain's main purposes in producing this work seems clear: he wishes to bring to attention some of man's often concealed shortcomings. While the examples of Mark Twain's cynic commentaries on human nature can be found in great frequency all through the novel, several examples seem to lend themselves well to a discussion of this sarcastic view. In the beginning of the novel, it would seem that both Huck Finn and Jim are trapped in some way and wishing to escape. For Huck, it is the violence and tyranny of his drunken father. Kept in prison, Huck wishes desperately to escape. Jim feels the need to escape after hearing that his owner, Miss Watson, wishes to sell him down the river, a change in owners that could only be for the worse. As they escape separately and rejoin by chance at an island along the river, they find themselves drawn to get as far as possible from their home.
Their journey down the river sets the stage for most of Mark Twain's comments about man and society. It is when they stop off at various towns along the river that various human character flaws always seem to come out. Examples of this would include the happenings after the bringing on of the Duke and King. These two con artists would execute the most preposterous of schemes to relieve unsuspecting townspeople of their cash. The game of the King pretending to be a reformed marauder-turned-missionary at the tent meeting showed that people are gullible and often easily led, particularly when in groups and subjected to peer pressure. The execution of the Royal Nonesuch showed another instance of people in society being subject to manipulation. The fact that, after being taken by a poor show they sent rave reviews of it to their friends to avoid admitting they had been conned showed that people in groups are ever afraid of losing status, and will do nearly anything to protect such. Both the King and the Duke, also, showed such a ridiculous degree...