Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay

Chance Parks Period 2

Colonel Sherburn defines a true man to be one who is a leader, not a follower. While Ralph Waldo Emerson defines a man as only a non-conformist. While Colonel Sherburn may be right, Emerson has a valid point as well.

Emerson has a very good point in the way that, a man must be unique (a non-conformist) in order to be a “man”. But then, what is this sought after title? Being a “man”. Well, being man would be having masculinity, or having the guts to get up and do something that does not conform to the rest of society. Many would argue this point, but it is believed to be the correct one. A “man” is what he makes himself. Therefore, a man is a non-conformist…..To a degree.

Sherburn may very well speak the truth in his definition of a man, though not in my eyes. Sherburn’s approach was a little rough around the edges. He says that one is only a man when he is a leader, and that most are not men. To be a “man”, you must be a leader, once again, to a degree. The irony is, that when Sherburn makes this statement (A man is one who is a leader) he has a gun pointed at the people he is speaking with, intimidating them with it. Sherburn is a coward and a hypocrite. He hides behind the gun as a means of protecting himself from the mob. While it is true that, mob mentality is very weak and frail and easily broken by a show of violence, it was Sherburn who in fact, helped create the mob by shooting the old drunken man. He should have said that a man is one who has a big gun. Although Sherburn declares himself a man, he is not. Sherburn is simply a coward with a rifle.

Emerson has the better view, although Sherburn is right……to a very small extent.