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Huck Finn: Twain's Cynic Point of View
Throughout the Mark Twain (a.k.a. Samuel Clemens) novel, The Adventures
of HuckleBerry Finn, a plain and striking point of view is expressed by the
author. His point of view is that of a cynic; he looks upon civilized man
as a merciless, cowardly, hypocritical savage, without want of change, nor
ability to effect such change. Thus, one of Mark Twain's main purposes in
producing this work seems clear: he wishes to bring to attention some of
man's often concealed shortcomings.
While the examples of Mark Twain's cynic commentaries on human nature
can be found in great frequency all through the novel, several examples
seem to lend themselves well to a discussion of this sarcastic view. In the
beginning of the novel, it would seem that both Huck Finn and Jim are
trapped in some way and wishing to escape. For Huck, it is the violence and
tyranny of his drunken father. Kept in a veritable prison, Huck wishes
desperately to escape. Jim feels the need to escape after hearing that his
owner, Miss Watson, wishes to sell him down the river-a change in owners
that could only be for the worse. As they escape separately and rejoin by
chance at an island along the river, they find themselves drawn to get as
far as possible from their home. Their journey down the river sets the
stage for most of Mark Twain's comments about man and society. It is when
they stop off at various towns along the river that various human character
flaws always seem to come out.
Examples of this would include the happenings after the bringing on of
the Duke and King. These two con artists would execute the most
preposterous of schemes to relieve unsuspecting townspeople of their cash.
The game of the King pretending to be a reformed marauder-turned-missionary
at the tent meeting showed that people are gullible and often easily led,
particularly when in groups and subjected to peer pressure. The execution
of the Royal Nonesuch showed another instance of people in society being
subject to manipulation. The fact that, after being taken by a poor show
they sent rave reviews of it to their friends to avoid admitting they had
been conned showed that people in groups are ever afraid of losing status,
and will do nearly anything to protect such. Both the King and the Duke,
also, showed such a ridiculous degree of corruptness that it is difficult
to believe that all humans aren't at least somewhat evil.
Another point made by the author is that of most men being basically
cowards. A good example of this was when Col. Sherburn shot the drunk Boggs
and the townsfolk came after Sherburn to lynch him. After Sherburn, one man
with only a shotgun, held off the immense mob and made them disperse, it
was obvious that no individual really had the courage to go through with
the lynching.
The idea that people are basically savages, confined for the moment by
society, is shown in more than one instance, such as when the group was
preparing to hang Huck and the King over their plot to defraud the
daughters, or, more obvious, in the war between the Shephardsons and the
Grangerfords.
The aspect of people being basically hypocrites is seen at the beginning
when Miss Watson displays a degree of hypocriticality on insisting that
Huck follow the Widow and become civilized, while at the same time deciding
to sell Jim into a hard life down the river.
A final point seems to be that Man is continually fleeing from something.
At the end, Jim and Huck found themselves at the end of their journey,
neither having anything left to run from as Huck's father was dead and Jim
was a free man. It would seem, then that Huck and Jim had run a thousand
miles down the river and ended up where they had started from.
From the above examples, one can see some of the author's point in
producing 'Huck Finn.' It is apparent that Mark Twain wishes society to
realize its shortcomings and the limitations imposed by human nature. He
realizes that people will not change, but feels that they should be aware
of who they are, of what comes with this thing we call humanity. That is
Mark twain's main purpose in writing this novel.
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