Between February 1692 and May 1963 a series of hearings and prosecutions of people charged with performance of witchcraft occurred and are known as the Salem Witch Trials. These trails speak to how deranged, cruel, and hypocritical society can become and to the dangers of isolationism, religion, and false accusations based on biased opinions and their impact on the rest of civilization. Despite the fact that Mark Twain juggled with his opinion of religion Twain demonstrates the harsh realities of racism and the hypocrisies in primitive religious beliefs through the story of Huckleberry Finn in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. After Huckleberry Finn treats Jim horribly as a friend and plays multiple pranks on Jim like leading Jim to be bit…show more content… Although later in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Huck becomes the lowdown abolitionist he sought out to be, for the time being Huck struggles with societies’ teachings of slavery and race and his own philosophy of what’s right and wrong. Huck’s conformity with societies rules, laws, and teachings leads himself to believe not turning in a runaway slave by writing a note to Miss Watson could lead to consequences with the people around him; however, Huck goes with his gut about the note and he declares “It was a close place. I took it up. I was a trembling. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself ‘All right, then, I’ll go to hell’ -and tore it up.” (Twain 223). David L. Smith proclaims that Huck’s honesty, nonconformity, and forthrightness appeal to the heart of society because of his freedom form social properties and constraints that very few have, and in other words permits him to speak without distortion (Smith 87). Huckleberry Finn eventually becomes aware of the fact that in order to find out what is right and wrong he doesn’t need to listen to society, become myopic towards his peers opinions, or search for answers outside of his own…show more content… John H. Davis voices “Civilization does not eradicate ambiguity but rather complicates and confuses issues with rules, regulations, habits, customs, and beliefs, notions of honor and religion—written and unwritten, legal and extralegal” (Davis 1). In the beginning of the religious teachings by Miss Watson and Widow Douglas, Huck came to be interested until he learned of the fact that all of the important prophets and saints died a long time ago. Huck notices that prayers often stay unanswered and for some lucky people they become answered, so Huck skeptically states “That is, there’s something in it when a body like the widow or the parson prays, but it don’t work for me, and I reckon it don’t work for only just the right kid” (Twain 50). A critic responds by commenting “If I have understood this book aright, it proves two things beyond shadow or question:1:That Christianity is the very intention of Hell itself; 2 & that Christianity is the most precious, elevating, and ennobling boon ever vouchsafed to the world” (Bush
