Reaction to Huck Finn overall

After finally finishing the novel "The Adventures of Huckeberry Finn" by Twain i've come to realize that is very much depicts the South during the time period before the Civil War. Towards the end I was very much excited that Huck finally realized that Jim was indeed a regular human being like himself and everyone else, but little did I know that was all going to change as soon as society stepped in once again. As soon as Tom Saywer came back, it's as if Huck lost all his discoveries and lessons he learned while in the river with Jim. It was as if all these lessons and the whole entire journey were pointless. That is what I thought of about the story, not about the bigger picture behind it all. I believe Twain wrote the ending because he wanted to get the point across that even though many people did have revolutionary ideas of slavery to be abolished and that it was a mortal sin, no one really did anything to stop it. It all goes back to the 'mob' mentality and society. No one had the courage to stand up for what was wrong, everyone just let society control their thoughts. That is why i believe the endidng was brillient. Througout the whole novel we were made to believe that Huck was really going to change and was going to help out him slave friend Jim, but of course society (tom) took over and all was lost. He went back to seeing Jim as property and how everyone else saw him. Even though he still had the heart to be able to see that Jim still needed his freedom, his mentality of Jim was they same as when the novel started. This book was a way to describe how the South really was and how people acted.

Crain vs London

Now in class we have been introduced to the concept of naturalism which is a shift from realism. Both naturalism and realism are from the same branch and that is why many scholars do not distinguish them as different movements. Naturalism is a type of literature that applies to scientific principals of objectivity and detachment to the study of human beings. In class we read some pieces of two important naturalist writers which are Crane and London. Both these writers wrote about how humans react to nature and how insignificant they are against it. In their works they described nature as a very powerful force against humans. in "To Build a Fire" by London he described a 'man' as an insignificant human being against nature. Crane depicted him as almost stupid and without an imagination to survive. Nature was up against him and of course took over him. This is a very naturalist view of nature since it is seen as an indifferent force. On the other hand, we take into account Crane's "The Open Boat" where a group of human beings are put against nature and trying to survive. They each put their skills to work but then again we see how nature is much too strong for any human being.

Huck Finn after Ch31

After chapter 31 Huck faces once again the moral dilemma of freeing Jim, but this time we as readers actually hear what Huck is thinking and we feel it. Huck is very descriptive through out this scene which draws together the theme of freedom and social satire. In this chapter we notice how Huck is trying to get away from the perverted value system and finds himself trying to do the right thing for Jim but at the same time he believes he is doing wrong due to the morals he has grown up learning through society. We see Huck trying to follow his hearth and instincts as he sacrifices himself for him friend Jim. After chapter 31, the quest for freedom comes back as it was interrupted while duke and king entered scene after chapter 16. But in these chapter, this process is more internal for Huck since he is on his own trying to fight his way though society. We hear Huck now feeling for Jim, but he still doesn't see the big picture because he doesn't feel for slavery as a whole.