Huckleberry Finn and the Villa

A detailed Summary of Huckleberry Finn and the Villa

Huckleberry Finn and the Village Mores

Since time immemorial, human beings have bonded together, forming societies and institutions that no one can escape. Religions and governments have developed and changed throughout the centuries. The population of the time invariably conforms to the image of its society, but there is always an outsider, a freethinker. A revolutionary figure consistently rises from the status quo and contests the beliefs and moral codes of the society to which he belongs. Every era has had its Abraham, Socrates, or Thoreau, and post-civil war America boasts Mark Twain, or more appropriately, Huckleberry Finn. Vernon L. Parrington once said of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, "It is a drama of the struggle between the individual and the village mores." The book, although satirical at times, is certainly considered a dramatic epic describing American society and the conflicting views of the time. Huck is an unlettered, street-smart realist. Throughout the book, he is forced to make decisions that conflict with the conventions of his world, such as old-time religion, slavery, and even basic ideals like the treatment of other people.

In order to understand the struggle that commence

One of the most prominent binding elements in the book is slavery, whether a slave to another person or a slave to society. This peculiar institution is one that caused much strife between different factions of the United States in the 1800's, and one about which Twain felt strongly. His commentary on the time was radical, yet filled with truth. The main plot consists of Huck and Jim escaping down the Mississippi River to freedom, Huck from society and Jim from slavery. Twain faces Huck with an ultimate decision: personal freedom or the freedom of another. Everything Huck has ever learned is telling him that if he does not return Jim, a fugitive slave, and yet a person that he has grown to love and admire, to his rightful owner that he will go to hell and be ostracized from his community. Yet, his heart tells him that the enslavement of his friend is wrong. He struggles, trying to appease his guilty conscience by writing a letter to the Widow Douglas explaining where Jim is, but ultimately, his heart is victorious over the world-conformed conscience that plagues him. His victory over society is not complete, however. The lingering effects of the slavery mind-set are apparent when he tells Aunt Sally that no one was hurt in a boat accident, but that it just "killed a nigger (175)."

s in the book, one must understand the character of Huck. This young boy of Hannibal, Missouri, is the son of the town drunkard. He nearly raised himself, living off the land and on the streets most of his life, while occasionally receiving a beating from his ignorant, ruthless father. The world forces Huck to look at life from a different perspective than the average boy, such as Tom Sawyer. He has seen the bane of human existence, but still seems to see the good in people, along with the bad. Huck's instincts developed independently, rather than societal

Some common words found in the essay are:
Huckleberry Finn, Duke Dauphin, Aunt Sally, Pap Finn, Tom Sawyer, Village Mores, Twain Huck, Nash Smith, Hannibal Missouri, Miss Watson, huckleberry finn, village mores, widow douglas, slave person, miss watson, freedom huck,

Approximate Word count = 1255
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English