Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemmons).

Essay by studly001High School, 11th gradeA, November 2003

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Moral Growth of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a novel by Mark Twain and the sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, takes place along the Mississippi River during the late 1830s. Huckleberry Finn stages his death to escape his abusive, alcoholic father. While he is away, Jim, a black man, catches up to him, and they become friends. Society's view of blacks is that they are inferior to whites, and to help blacks is against the law. Jim is running away because he overheard that he was being sold to an owner in New Orleans. Huck and Jim are traveling along the Mississippi River to Cairo, hoping to buy steamboat tickets and get to the free states. Along the way, they run into a couple of con artists and they refuse to allow Jim and Huck to follow out with their plan while they are all together.

Huck's morality grows throughout the novel, from Huck doing what society has taught him to do towards blacks, to going against the lessons of society and doing what he feels is right.

Huck's moral situations start at Jackson's Island when Huck and Jim meet there. Huck wonders why Jim is there with him, Jim says, "Well dey's reasons. But you wouldn't tell on me ef I 'uz to tell you, would you, Huck?" Huck then says, "Blamed if I would, Jim" (34). He doesn't tell on Jim even though society has taught him to tell someone about runaway slaves. Next, when Huck put a dead snake in Jim's blanket, and calls himself a fool for doing it because the mate will come and curl around it. " I made up my mind I wouldn't ever take aholt of a snake-skin again with my hands, now that I see what had...