- Return to chapter 16. Consider: 1) Why would a young white racist boy go to such lengths to free a runaway slave? 2) In what way does the evolution of Huck's choices illustrate his coming of age?
- Chapter 27-30: Consider the manner in which Huck is behaving differently than in previous chapters.
- Chapter 31: Examine why Huck's decision is so crucial. Has Huck fallen backward or progressed morally at this point?
- Chapter 31: What is so ironic about chapter 31's "moral moment"?
Your Blog:
- Reveal your findings in regards to the evolution of Huck's morality. Be sure to cite quotes to support your response.
- Respond to one of your classmates’ responses.
Mark Twain's novel Huckleberry Finn demonstrates that societies views may not be moral and individuals must think for themselves.
ReplyDeleteHuck in Chapter 16 chooses to ignore the rules of societies' and follow his own. His decision to lie about Jim was surprising and unexpected, because he lived in a society that believed freeing a slave was considered a sin. Before Huck swam up to the boat, Jim shouted "Pooty soon I'll be a-shout'n' for joy, en I'll say, it's all on accounts o' Huck; I's a free man... Huck done it. Jim won't ever forgit you, Huck; you's de bes' fren' Jim's ever had; en you's de ONLY fren' ole Jim's got now... Dah you goes, de ole true Huck; de on'y white genlman dat ever kep' his promise to ole Jim (90)." Huck considers himself Jim's friend, so he lies for him to keep him safe. The incident is difficult for Huck because he was taught that black people are properties of white people. Society also taught him that freeing a slave was just like stealing and in the bible stealing was a sin. At that moment when the two men ask Huck "Is your man white or Black," he has to decide whether to betray society or the only close friend he has and his response is "He's white." Huck matures as the novel goes on and this is shown through is ability to think for himself. His ability to come to a decision, even though it is complicated, proves he is becoming an adult. What separates children from adults is their ability to think for themselves. Society creates laws to determine when people can be considered adults and that correlates to individuals ability to make their own choices. A person is not able to sign papers, vote or go to war until they are 18, they are not allowed to drink until they are 21 and so on.
In the previous chapters Huck follows the Duke and the King. He did not disagree with the grownups and listened to them so he can keep peace. However when the two conmen were stealing from the sisters, he truly saw how evil the men were. He takes Jane aside and tells her "These uncles of yourn ain't no uncles at all- they're a couple of frauds- regular deadbeats (188)." He also took the money that was given to the freud and put it in the coffin. He saw that once the "deadbeats" left the three sisters would be left with nothing and he know that was wrong.
Huck's decision to go after Jim and free him is important for Jim's future and the further development of Huck. His decision also demonstrates his dedication and care for Jim. However just like in Chapter 16, Huck went back and forth between whether to free Jim and be condemned or let the widow claim her slave. His argument not to free Jim was that "once I said to myself it would be thousand times better for Jim to be a slave at home were his family was (213)," and his argument for freeing Jim was "she'd [Watson] be mad and disgusted at his [Jim] rascality...and so she'd sell him straight down the river again...and they'd make Jim feel...ornery (213)." He was also debating the fact that he was committing a sin by stealing from Miss Watson, who did not deserve it and felt really guilty, however owning a slave is immoral, which is the irony Huck faces. The moral irony in this chapter is that Huck believes stealing a slave is wrong, but really slavery is immoral. Huck's moral delima is if he helps free Jim he will be sent to hell, but the main belief of Christianity is equality, forgiveness, caring to all living things and etc.
Huck Finn evolves morally in many ways throughout the story, but it becomes very clear in chapter 31. By now, Huck has already shown that his morality is evolving when he acquired a unique bond with Jim, and decided not to give him away the first time. When Jim was captured, Huck "set down and cried (212),"realizing how important JIm was to him. Huck was then faced with the predicament of whether to write a note to the widow telling her where Jim is, or to attempt to free him. He "thought till [he] wore [his] head sore (213) ," but he knew either way he would be risking touble.
ReplyDeleteHucks final decision to free Jim is extremely ironic. He decides he will "go to hell (215)," as long as he can save jim. This completely goes against everything society says, and everything Huck has been taught. At that moment, Huck put himself and Jim on the same level socially, something completely unheard of during that time.
In the eyes of society, Huck has obviously fallen as far down as possible morally, but in his own eyes, Huck has moved forward. His decision shows he has come of age because he is finally doing what he believes is right, not what society says is right.
Andre, a large turning point for Huck was when he told the truth about where the money was hidden. Huck had gone along with the con men for awhile, but when they started to steal from innocent people Huck decided to do what was right. He shows how much he has matured by telling the truth to the victims and not following in the ways of the con men anymore.
ReplyDeleteHuck Finn is a character of an ever changing moral code. This ever changing moral code is part of his growth as a character and part also part of, and due to, the lessons he learns from his journey. In the beginning of the story, Huck joins “…Tom Sawyer’s Gang” (pg 7) with the intent to commit “…only robbery and murder.” (pg 8) At this point, Huck’s moral code is anything but, as he only does what he wants to do, what seems fun, or what’s typical is society. Huck has no signs of even questioning his own, or anyone else’s actions and caught up in himself for the most part. However, once Huck begins his journey, he starts to realize that a lot of people do a lot of bad things. When Huck hears of the Dauphin and Duke’s plan to steal the Wilks family’s money, he is “ashamed of the human race.” This is the beginning in his moral evolution. Huck starts to see what people do wrong, but has yet to apply this knowledge to his own actions. This moral evolution is finally complete when Huck makes the choice to go free Jim out of slavery, and says, “All right then, I’ll go to hell!” This shows that Huck is no longer worried about society’s views, or what’s fun. He simply decides to do what he deems right, and that he’ll sink or swim with that decision. At first Huck’s moral progress may have been slow, but eventually, Huck spawns his own moral code to believe in.
ReplyDeleteMekdes said that Huck matures through the novel, and eventually learns to think for himself. I disagree. I think that Huck always had the ability to think for himself, he was just brought down by the adults who didn’t think he could. Huck was fine by himself when he was on the island. He survived and was happier on the island than in town with everyone else. He was not led to this choice to be alone, but rather determined it from his own thinking. Even throughout the journey with Jim, Huck makes more of the choices than Jim does, and as well as Jim may have input, Huck merely takes his advice, and uses it to make his own decision. Huck certainly changed throughout the story, but thinking for himself is not one of the qualities he learned.
ReplyDeleteJon I agree with most of the things you mentioned above, however I think Huck still need to mature more. Through the journey he has come to terms with many difficult decisions and moral questions. He learned about the true meaning of friendship, going against societies believes and thinking for himself. He still was very much influenced by society, but at the end of the novel he has learned to be far more independent thinker.
ReplyDeleteChapter 16 was a major turning point for Huck and Jim’s relationship, mainly because Huck actually risked his own life for Jim’s. He had had second thoughts about helping Jim escape, because it would be ‘stealing’ from Miss Watson, and after all, “what had poor Miss Watson done to [Huck]” (90) to warrant the theft of a slave worth $800? After all, Miss Watson was the woman who had taught him manners and tried to turn him into a well-educated, respectable young man. However, when Huck had finally come to his senses, and thought on his own, he had realized that Jim wasn’t some piece of property that belonged to Miss Watson, but that Jim was a human being that planned on living his life as a law abiding citizen like anyone else would. Soon after, Huck said that Jim was his father, and that he was infected with small-pox so that he wouldn’t get caught. If Huck had been caught in the act, he most likely would have been killed along with Jim. He had thought for himself, went against the perverted morals he had been raised with, and had emerged with the correct moral decision. This new-found ability of Huck’s to finally think for himself is his first real foray into adult behavior.
ReplyDeleteHuck is starting to behave differently than he has in previous chapters, because he is now going out of his way to act on his conscious. Before, when he lied for Jim, he was pretty much doing so only out of self-preservation, and it was a more spontaneous action. Now, when he decided to steal the $6,000 in gold from Mary Jane’s “regular deadbeat” (188) uncles, there was no question about it. This was an elaborate plan that takes guile, dedication, and strong will to execute when compared to a relatively spontaneous lie.
From the perspective of someone like Miss Watson, Huck has turned into an evil thief, having no respect for someone’s property. However, from the perspective of someone like Jim, Huck has progressed immensely, although he is just realizing now that helping Jim is definitely the right decision, and he is just finally learning to forget what Miss Watson thinks. He’s just now seeing that even if he’d gotten Jim back for her, she’d never get past his “ungratefulness for leaving her,” and would “sell him straight down the river” (213) no matter what. However, he still decided to write out a letter denouncing Jim, and he felt the weight lifted off his shoulders. He quickly realized, however, that Jim was a human, and he couldn’t let Jim be dehumanized again. He had realized that he would face his consequences if they had ever caught up with him: he would “go to hell” (215) if that’s where he was destined to end up, anyways. That was the irony in this ‘moral moment.’ On one hand, he was doing what he felt was right, but on another hand, he was committing what was a heinous burglary to so many others.
(In response to Jon)
ReplyDeleteThat's a very intriguing comment, and if you look back to Huck #2, I remember commenting on one of your posts, and it was a very similar argument, that Jim isn't much more intelligent than any other slave, but he gets the chance to prove himself like no other slave does.
I agree with Jon's response to Mekdes. I think Huck could always think for himself, but he always kept it to himself. Because of what society had always taught him, he was afraid to tell others how he felt. However, as he matures he realizes he can't just keep doing that anymore, he needs to actually do what he feels is right.
ReplyDeleteHuck’s morals changed greatly throughout the book. He went against what was normal for him to see and have in his life and helped free a slave. Huck also changed his behavior as the novel progressed. Huck told the truth about where the money was being hidden because he couldn’t stand knowing that they were stealing from innocent people. That showed he truly had a good conscious and wasn’t afraid to stand up and do the right thing. He also became very close to Jim and "set down and cried” (212) once Jim was captured. Huck then went on and had to decide whether he should let Miss Watson know it was him who went against society and tell her where Jim is now or just forget about Jim. However, since they became such good friends Huck decided that he would "go to hell” (215) to help save Jim. Huck may not be viewed by society very well but he himself knows that he did the right thing, and as readers of this time in age we know he made some good decisions that helped him grow morally.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Jon's response to Mekdes as well. Huck's intelligence and individuality was always there, he just wasn't able to express it. He may be more independent by the end of the novel however his comment about "being white on the inside" shows that he truly does still think like the rest of society and it causes us to wonder if he ever will be able to stand up and not see a difference in people just because of the color of their skin.
ReplyDelete