Huckleberry Finn Conformity

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As Mark Twain once said, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” During the time, many people in the South were uneducated, so they had to deal with the society’s opinions on how ahead people were, not only for those in school, but for those with social issues. Mark Twain’s famous novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn deals with a young boy who runs away from his intolerable father to live life to the fullest and not turn back. Since the beginning of the book, Huck has been pushed to follow other people’s opinions that actually serve a purpose in teaching lessons. Mark Twain uses conformity of society in this book to illustrate discrimination of blacks, show expectations of society, and contrast Huck from boys.
Twain uses conformity …show more content…
First, Huck’s appearance is what makes him very different from other boys. Huck is barefoot and wears threadbare clothes when he goes in the forest and the community. The quote, “I clumb up the shed and crept into my window just before day was breaking, my new clothes was all greased up and clayey, and I was dog-tired” (Twain 12), illustrated how Huck received newer clothes after he was under the care of Widow Douglas. Secondly, he doesn’t attend any school. This means Huck is poorly educated which is why he uses bad grammar throughout the book. An example of his bad grammar is using double negatives like he does in this quote, “Please take it, says I, and don't ask me nothing—then I won't have to tell no lies" (Twain 45). Lastly, he knows many survival skills that other boys do not know. He knows how to get water and catch food despite his age. On Jackson Island, Huck uses those survival skills with Jim in order to live with sufficient food and water. Overall, Huck is very different from other boys which Twain clearly emphasized in the book.
To reveal the racism of blacks, show requirements of society and differentiate Huck from kids, Twain uses conformity in society in his book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The racism of blacks has been a huge problem in the south that Twain has clearly highlighted. The expectations of society have made its citizens, who are poorly educated, alter their behavior.
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