often combining the two. Indeed, humor usually occurs as a result of irony, with the gap between the expected and the actual provoking a startled reaction in the recipient, that, if done right, is humor. But Twain's humor has the purpose not just of entertainment, but of conveying a serious message, as in the Notice. Twain also uses ironic humor in Chapter One, in recording Huckleberry's reactions to the Widow Douglas's attempts at "civilization," especially religion. When the Widow says grace, Huckleberry views it as unnecessary "grumbling." He finds the nice clothes she gives him stifling. He thinks Heaven ("the good place") dull and would prefer to go to Hell ("the bad place"- the word "Hell" would likely be thought impolite in a "civilized" house like the sisters') if his friend Tom is there. Huck's views are all completely naturalistic, free of any of the pretensions toward refinement that mark the Widow Douglas and her sister Miss Watson. Huckleberry is rough, rustic--a truly "uncivilized" boy. He rebels against the restraints of "civilization"--artificial, middle-class society-- and its delusions, represented by "cramped" clothing and religion, respectively. Huckleberry's complete sincerity, which leads to his dislike for hypocritical "civilization," is his defining quality. The Widow Douglas and her sister Miss Watson, meanwhile, are the representatives of the society Huck rejects. They both immerse themselves in the values of "civilization," feeling righteous by punishing themselves with tight clothing and delaying their meals to say grace, which only appears as "grumbling" to the more sincere Huck. Above all, they adhere to hypocritical and absurd religious values. Miss Watson describes her Heaven as a place where the inhabitants spend their days playing harps and singing; again, Huck more sincerely realizes that this place is dull rather than desirable. But the utter moral emptiness of Miss Watson's religion is best demonstr...
