Huck Finn


Huck Finn Wiki

 

Welcome to our discussion on Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

 

To get things going, I have posted a question. You can reply or post questions to your peers. Do not feel you must reply to each question, but I am looking to see that all of you participate and contribute something. Let's make this fun!

 

Discuss the place of morality in Huckleberry Finn. In the world of the novel, where do moral values come from? The community? The family? The church? One’s experiences? Which of these potential sources does Twain privilege over the others? Which does he mock, or describe disapprovingly?

 

 

Be sure to "sign" your name to your response.

 

I think in the novel morality comes into play from ones actions. Huck always goes with his instinct no matter what it may be. He knows that it is again the community, church, and his family to help Jim but he does it anyways. Huck knows right from wrong and he knows how to listen to his heart.

-Sarah Skoke

 

I think that morality in the novel comes from Huck's actions. Although, he does stuff, which are not "morally" right, Huck still knows the diffrence between right and wrong. He shows this when he is about to turn in Jim, and feels that it is morally right to set him free. I am not really sure what Twain mocks?? Sorry.

-Gavi Abraham

 

I think morality comes in the novel through Huck's actions. Although, Huck knows good from wrong, he is taught that wrong is good and good is wrong. For example, when Huck frees Jim he knows deep inside its a good deed, but he thinks he will be sent to "hell" becuase he was taught that it was a bad deed. Huck's conscious knows whats right.

 

I think that Huck's morality comes from his family. Miss Watson and widow Douglas both seem to leave a strong impression on Huck's actions as the story unfolds. For Example when Huck contemplates sending the letter of Jim's whereabouts to Miss Dawson, he thinks about the actions that will happen to him in the real world as well as what will happen to him in the after life. As Huck, says "ill go to hell." this is what Mark Twain mocks. there are many examples through out the story that show that Huck always thinks twice about his actions as he was taught by his caretakers. Mark Twain also mocks his morality when Huck does something bad but thinks he can offset the bad deed by leaving some form of token of apology. -Jeremy Levine

 

We see morality throughout the novel when observing Huck's actions. (I know this is repetitive, but I agree with it.) There are many cases in which Huck initially wishes to do something, but then thinks twice about his decision, causing him to do something else. We see him go against his teachings and choose to "go to hell" instead of what may be morally right. He decides to do things the way he wants and how he sees them as correct. Also, a reason for his actions may be caused by his relationship with Jim. In the beginning, Jim was just a slave to him but as the novel goes on, they develop a meaningful relationship which leads Huck not to turn Jim in.

--Jordan Bagel

 

Morality in this novel in displayed through Huck's personal values and inner thoughts. He actions reflect his idea of what he considers "moral." He follows his heart and intuition and does not succumb to what society belives to be the right thing. He knows the difference between right and wrong which leads him to believe that all of his actions were the right ones. This is why Huck refuses to turn in Jim; he follows his own beliefs and ignores the bad consequences that he was taught would follow.-Jenna Cooper

 

 

The firts encounter of morality really comes into the story towards the middle, when Huck decides to tear the letter to Miss Watson. I think this morality did not come from his surroundings, such as, the church, or his family, but rather from personal growth and matority. He grew as a person before he could find this morality within himself. Actually, I completly disagree to the fact that this morality came from the experiences of his community. This is because his community gave him the ideas of prejudice and racism, it is only after he is away from that, that he begins to realize these things. For example, when he says that Jim is "white" on the in side, shows that his time away was benificial.

- Ben Khoury

 

 

Morality is a major theme in this novel. Huck's conscience and his actions show us his morality. I think that Twain shows that moral values come from the community, the family, the church, and one's experiences. Society decides which morals are the right ones to follow, while one's individual experiences helps to develop one's personal understanding of morality. Twain mocks the fact that moral values come from what the community believes. They could believe in a moral value that would seem completely rediculous to everyone, but they would still have to follow it because its what society believes is the proper thing to do.

-Ilana Videlefsky

 

How do you think Twain demonstrates his feelings about religion/church in the novel?

-Mrs. Huff