Huckleberry Finn--Slavery

A detailed Summary of Huckleberry Finn--Slavery

Slavery in our society is usually thought of as physical. In Mark Twain's novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, there are many varied examples of slavery. Because Mark Twain's novel is set in the American 1840s, it reflects the points of view of individuals and society in this time, which differs greatly from now, the American 1990s. Three types of slavery that catch the reader's eye in Huckleberry Finn are psychological, biological, and moral. These forms can be either very subtle or very prominent throughout the novel, depending on one's point of view.

Psychological slavery has to do with the mind. It can be interpreted in two different ways, as a kind of bondage induced by one's own mind, or as control shown over someone's mind by another person. This form of slavery digs deep into a person's psyche and changes them, for the better or the worse. In Huckleberry Finn, Huck is psychologically held by his drunken, abusive father, Pap. Pap is illiterate and oppressive and threatens to Huck that he will "take some of these frills out o' you before I'm done with you" (20) because he suspects Huck of putting on airs and thinking he is better than his father. Pap treats Huck very badly, but since he is Huck's father, Huck

Jim, though he is a slave, is not a slave to morals. He is, in fact, the moral center of the book that risks his freedom and his life for the sake of his friend Huck. The thing that brings Huck and Jim so close throughout the book, and eventually leads to Huck choosing damnation, is the fact that he feels a comfort with Jim that he has not felt with the other characters in the novel. With Jim, Huck can enjoy the best aspects of his earlier acquaintances in life. Like the Widow Douglas, Jim allows him security, but Jim is not as strict or confining as the widow. Like Tom Sawyer, Jim is intelligent but his intelligence is not as intimidating or as imaginary as Tom's intelligence. And like Pap, Jim allows Huck freedom, but he does it in a loving, rather than uncaring, manner. Thus, early in their relationship on Jackson's Island, Huck says to Jim, "This is nice. I wouldn't want to be nowhere else but here"(49).

figures there is nothing he can do. This is evident when Pap first comes back and demands money from Huck so he can get whiskey, "Say how much you got in your pocket? I want it." "I hain't got only a dollar, and I want that to--" "It don't make no difference what you want it for-- you just shell it out"(21). This father-son relationship is detrimental to both of them. Pap's abusive nature controls Huck through fear, and it is the driving force for Huck as he fakes his death and flees down the river.

The final type of slavery from the novel Huckleberry Finn is moral slavery. This kind of slavery is usually an internal one, dealing with one's ethics, or their sense of right and wrong. Huck was born into family that is almost completely empty of morals, and then he is moved into the Widow's household that is full of them. The most prominent struggle Huck has with his conscience is in regard to slavery. Huck is a slave to morals because he can't decide what he should do, what he feels is right inside or what he has been told is right by society. This is evident when Jim thinks he has reached freedom and Huck's conscience tells him, "...you knowed he was running for his freedom, and you could 'a' paddles ashore and told somebody,"(88) and he ended up "feeling so mean and so miserable I most wished I was dead"(88). Huck starts out believing that slavery is completely normal and his conscience tells him that to help the runaway slave escape woul

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Approximate Word count = 1605
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English