The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
By: Yan • Essay • 519 Words • December 3, 2009 • 974 Views
Essay title: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain ridicules society and
educators through the characters of the book. “Because it ain’t in the books so- that’s
why”(9). Twain is using Tom Sawyer to speak for society in that quote, referring to how
we always believe what we read, instead of forming our own opinions. He mocks
how ignorant and gullible we are in the sense that people generally believe what ever
is told to them through text. Twain speaks through the character Roger, who talks
back to Tom Sawyer, about believing everything in the books. Twain uses Roger
to show society that they need to stop following, and start forming their own
opinions; That we need to question things instead of falling for every ounce of
information given to us. Mark Twain tackles society and their moral issues with
civilization through the characters of Huckleberry Finn
Society as a whole, we are lazy, and will believe what other people tell us,
because it is easier than coming to our own conclusions about what is going on. If
it sounds reasonable to us, then it must be true. That is all wrong! We need to think
for ourselves, because anyone who writes a book, isn’t necessarily telling the truth,
they could just be feeding us their opinions. Mark Twain recognizes this, and tries
to tell us subtly through his text. He uses his characters to represent what is going on
in real life, and he writes the book in such a way that forces you to read between the
lines.
Twains uses the characters Huck and Roger to show what society should be more.
He has them questioning a higher authority about what is morally right. There is a time
and place to question authority, and Twain reassures us that in this book. By reading
between the lines, and acknowledging the symbolic meaning of the text, one is able
to