Consideration on Religious Hypocrisy and Morals in The...

Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn told of a young boy who traveled south with a runaway slave, Jim, after escaping his father by means of a fake murder. In the myriad of misadventures, Huck observed many things, learned about himself and about the southern society, and dynamically changed as a person. Twain satirized the gullibility and the underdeveloped moral compass of the average southerner. Through this satire and characters in the novel, he discusses numerous topics including racism, treatment of the black population, of the female population and many more. The two most prominent themes that ran throughout the book included religion versus superstition and morals. Twain portrayed superstition as morally superior†¦show more content†¦It is important to note that when Huck goes against societal expectations; he fears that he would disappoint the widow. Twain portrayed Miss Watson as an unforgiving person, essential to strengthen the fact that m ost Christians in the book are religiously hypocritical. Later in the string of adventures, Huck found retreat with the Grangerford family after he lost Jim but very soon became distressed by the feud that they have with the Shepherdson family: Next Sunday, we all went to church, about 3 mile, everybody a-horseback. The men took their guns along, so did Buck and kept them between their knees or stood them handy against the wall. The Shepherdsons done the same. It was pretty ornery preaching—all about brotherly love, and such-like tiresomeness; But everybody said it was a good sermon and they had talked it over going home, and had a such powerful lot to say about faith and good works and free grace and preforeodedestination†¦ (109). The church scene illustrates the religious hypocrisy of the two families. The â€Å"brotherly love† doesn’t exist between the feuding opponents, but Christianity’s main focus is brotherly love and accepting one another. Th e fact that the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons practice Christianity and yet self-righteously ignored the brotherly love made the feud absurd and unnecessary. After reuniting with each other, they started traveling down south again and they met a pair of con men, the King and theShow MoreRelated Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and Kerouac’s On the Road – The River and the Road3035 Words   |  13 PagesTwain’s Huckleberry Finn and Kerouac’s On the Road – The River and the Road One element that separates a good novel from a great novel is its enduring effects on society. A great novel transcends time; it changes and mirrors the consciousness of a civilization. One such novel is Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. For the past one hundred and fifteen years, it has remained in print and has been one of the most widely studied texts in high schools and colleges. According to Lionel TrillingRead MoreAnalysis Of Mark Twain s Huckleberry Finn 2489 Words   |  10 Pagescontrasting social rules, but there may be no greater story about loss of innocence than his The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The story is deceptively coy. It depicts a time and characters in an age far removed from our own, and Twain presents his narrative in terms of a young boy who proceeds on a great adventure. That much certainly is true. But what young Huck experiences along the way to adventure is how he learns to deal with his world and its ways as his shucks off his youthful innocence forRead More The Meaning of Heart of Darkness in the Post-Colonial Climate3726 Words   |  15 Pages debate, and analysis. Much consideration given Heart centers around a pivotal concern of the era in which it was written: that of what, in hindsight, were the early death rattles of the heyday of European colonialism, specifically in Africa. There is some debate amongst critics as to whether the novel, ultimately, is a morality tale about human greed, power, and evil (one could toss in deceit, cowardice, and a host of psychological considerations as well), or more a sociological commentaryRead MoreANALIZ TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS28843 Words   |  116 Pagesfive-stage structure is repeated in many of the individual chapters, while the novel as a whole builds on a series of increasing conflicts and crises. Such a structure is found both in such classics of fiction as Flaubert’s â€Å"Madame Bovary† and in the adventure thrillers of Alistar MacLean. EXPOSITION: The exposition is the beginning section in which the author provides the necessary background information, sets the scene, establishes the situation, and dates the action. It may also introduce the charactersRead Morewisdom,humor and faith19596 Words   |  79 Pages17 From The Times (of London) obituary on him (January 19, 2007) that mentioned his â€Å"wit and wisdom† in its title, available at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article1294342.ece. 24 Humor, Wisdom, and Faith 25 Critics of Religious Dogmatism 26 Four Believers Who Stressed Humor: Kierkegaard, Chesterton, Niebuhr, and Auden 27 Conclusion 34 Copyright  © 2011 by Walter G. Moss WISDOM, HUMOR, AND FAITH: A HISTORICAL VIEW â€Å"And frame your mind to mirth and merriment, / Which