hat is far above Huck’s understanding, but he gives us the ammunition needed to make that decision for ourselves.Huck and Jim’s adventures give you a chance to examine the society they live in. It also gives us a chance to examine ourselves as well as the society today. The story is over a hundred years old, but many of the social vices then, sadly, pertain to our society now. There are more examples of human failings in this book, the trickery and cheating of the King and Duke, the lack of caring by the townspeople for Boggs, the nave Wilks sisters and the lack of common sense in Tom Sawyer. There is cruelty, greed, murder, trickery, hypocrisy, racism, and a general lack of morality, all the ingredients of society. All through the adventures of Huck Finn and Jim they are trying to find the one thing they can only find on the river, freedom; but a person can only stay on the river for so long, and so you have to go on land to face the injustices of society for yourself, running right next to the constraints made upon you by society. Quite a contrast, the freedom of being without authority, being able to think for yourself, running right next to the constraints made upon you by society. Somewhere deep within the story Twain is making a powerful statement, a wish for all humanity, that we can be brave enough to break with what other assume is correct and just, and make decisions for ourselves and the ability to stand on our own and do something about it. We are that mob that stood outside Colonel Sherburn’s house, we are the Grangerfords and Shepardsons, and we are the King and the Duke, and even the foolish townspeople in every town they conned. Somewhere along the line we must become one, someone had to have the courage to stand up for what is right, to be what Colonel Sherburn would call a real man. Huck gives us that chance, that ability to see things for what they are. His adventures along with Twain’s sharp c...
