The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain Essay

Imagine taking a great and adventurous trip along the Mississippi just a few years after the great Civil War. Well, that is a voyage that young Huck Finn took in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer written by Mark Twain. In this book, many aspects of Huck and his civilization or lack-there-of are brought up for discussion. As the reader progresses through the story, he or she will soon discover that it is not Huck whose civilization should be up for question but Pap’s, the duke’s and king’s, and Tom’s should be analyzed furthermore.As the reader opens to book, they are soon to realize Pap’s barbarism. Pap is Huck’s father, but his attitude towards life is atrocious. Pap believes that he is significantly sophisticated for the simple reason that he is a white, land-owning male. During the year 1876 when Huck Finn was published, anyone owning land was considered civilized because they had the money to do so. Although this may have been true for many people, Pap is different. Pap is an alcoholic that is constantly trying to steal Huck’s money in order to avoid sobriety. Huck has six thousand dollars saved up that Judge Thatcher is conserving for Huck. Pap is constantly reinforcing the idea that Huck should give every cent of his money to his father. Every so often Huck will maintain a meager sum to enable Pap to buy alcohol. When Pap is angry because of his lack of money, he tends to threaten Huck and beat him. Pap is also selfish. He believes that Huck should not be more educated than he, because Pap feels as though children should not be “better” than their elders. This element is evidently depicted when Tom reveals Pap’s recent threatening remark, “… I reckoned he was gone, he come back and put his head in again, and told me to mind a…

…oolish, Tom” (257), and other remarks similar to, “I don’t care for the morality of it, nohow” (260). These inputs remind the reader of how mature, grown-up, and adult-like Huck proves to be as opposed to the childishness of Tom. Huck continually depicts a great level of maturity and civilization against the view of Tom.As the reader has come to realize, Huck is the most civil of the vital characters introduced in this story. Mark Twain explains his actual opinions on society and civilization in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This book is a great, classic piece of literature that should be used for generations to come to explain the importance of being a good person. Huck is compared, in civility, to Pap, the duke and king, and Tom Sawyer. As it is plain to see, Huck happens to be a very sophisticated person.