Huck Finn Vs. 19th Cevtury Ethnics Essay -- essays research papers

Ninetieth Century Morals vs. Huck’s Conscience   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sometimes making a stand for what is right, especially when it is totally against the customary beliefs of society, can never be an easy accomplishment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the novel, The Adventures Huckleberry Finn by, Mark Twain, the main character Huck, encounters many situations involving a question of morality. Considering the traditional protocol of his society, Huck must choose between his conscience or public ethics. In many cases Huck goes with his conscience, which always proves to be proper selection. Ironically, what Huck believes in, unapproved of in the ninetieth century, is the basis of accepted beliefs in our modern world. Huck lives with the guilt that all his choices could be considered immoral based on his society; yet, really his beliefs could be just in comparison to man’s conscience. Three of the major instances in the novel when Huck’s beliefs contrast those of the ninetieth century are when he questions the outcome of Jim, when he tries to comprehend the concept of the feud, and when he must decide whether to save the men on the Sir Walter Scott.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although Huck’s choices concerning Jim’s life can be thought to be the moral and proper choices, Huck is pounded by his society’s teachings the Black men are property. When Huck first escapes from Pap and sets up camp on Jackson Island, he finds Jim has also found refuge there from the widow and Mrs. Watson. Huck is stunned at first when Jim tells him he escaped, because Huck knows that Mrs. Watson owns Jim, which makes him her rightful property. â€Å"People would call me a low-down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum,†(Twain 43) Huck knows that if he helped Jim that would make him an abolitionist, which could not be accepted role in the ninetieth century. Huck decides that he would help Jim escape, as he would never return to the town so it wouldn’t matter if he took Jim with him. After a long raft-ride, Huck and Jim are finally about to reach Cairo, which on their arrival would make Jim free. With the smell of freedom, Jim rambles on about how he would buy his wife and then steal his children. This sets off a spark in Huck, igniting his conscience and making him very uneasy. Huck couldn’t believe that Jim would steal property... ... of truth and intelligence, and one that should be entrusted in every person’s soul no matter if they are living in the Ninetieth century or today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This combination of the three instances shows the dramatic difference between Huck’s conscience and the standard customs of the Ninetieth century. Huck showed great maturity and integrity in standing up for what he believed was the right choice. Although he believed his choices were immoral or unethical, we now know that it was quite the opposite, as the moral standards of this time were in essence the unethical choices and Huck’s were the proper choices. Huck could see the importance of friendship over possessions, and risked his life saving a run-away slave because of the uncomfortable emptiness he would experience had he turned in Jim. This portrayal of childhood knowledge can be examined in today’s society also. People grow to be prejudiced against certain types of people, just as Huck was as he was growing up. Luckily, Huck overcame this inborn prejudice by examining what really counts in life, and this is a lesson that everyone, from previous societies to today, needs to listen to.