Huckleberry Fin
America... land of the free and home of the brave; the utopian society which every European citizen desired to be a part of in the 18th and 19th centuries. The revolutionary ideas of The Age of Enlightenment such as democracy and universal male suffrage were finally becoming a reality to the philosophers and scholars that so elegantly dreamt of them. America was a playground for the ideas of these enlightened men. To Europeans, and the world for that matter, America had become a kind of mirage, an idealistic version of society, a place of open opportunities. Where else on earth could a man like J. D. Rockefeller rise from the streets to one of the richest men of his time? America stood for ideals like life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. People in America had an almost unconditional freedom: freedom to worship, write, speak, and live in any manner that so pleased them. But was this freedom for everyone? Was America, the utopia for the millions of common men from around world, as great as the philosophers and scholars fantasized? America, as a society, as a country, and as a leader was not as picture perfect as Europeans believed. The United States, under all the gold plating, carried a burden of unsolved nat
While Miss Watson represents some of the hypocritical aspects of society, Pap is the character that Twain has created to be the hated villain. The ultimate evils of society found in the novel are no more apparent than in the character of Pap, who is Huck's father. Pap's violent behavior and drunken rages eventually result in a desperate attempt by Huck to save his life and escape from the cruel and dishonest society he wishes to not be a part of. Cox makes the point in his analysis of Pap that "first of all, his treatment of Huck convicts him of child abuse..." (90). Pap's treatment of Huck makes the reader sympathize with Huck and allows the reader to see some of the violent aspects of society. "But by-and-by Pap got too handy with his hick'ry and I couldn't stand it" (HF 27). Pap's alcoholism and abuse eventually lead to threats on Huck's life, which becomes the deciding factor in Huck's decision to flee. "He chased me round and round the place, with a clasp knife, calling me the Angel of Death and saying he would kill me..." (HF 32). The violent behavior of Pap further instigates Huck's view that society is evil, violent, and without compassion. And if anybody that belonged to the band told the secrets, he must have his throat cut, and then have his carcass burnt up and the ashes scattered all around, and his name blotted off of the list with blood and never mentioned again by the gang, but have a curse put on it and be forgot, forever. (HF 8) Budd, Louis J. "Introduction." New Essays on Huckleberry Finn. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985. 1-33. Pap's evil characteristics are not limited to that of a drunken child abuser. Pap exemplifies the characteristics of a racist, uneducated white man to perfection. His criticism of an educated, well-to-do black man is an ironic contrast to himself, an uneducated drunken hick. In one of his drunken speeches, Pap rages on that "... they said he [the black man] was a p'fessor in college, and could talk all kinds of languages, and knowed everything...they said he could vote..." (HF 30). Pap has a resentful attitude towards an individual who has accomplished something almost unheard of in these times. He even carries this attitude as far as saying that he is not going to participate in voting merely because this educated capable man is black. "It was 'lection day, and I was just about to go and vote, myself, if I warn't too drunk to get there; but when they told me there was a State in this country where they'd let that nigger vote, I drawed out" (HF 30). The paragraphs where Pap is condemning the government are crucial for the understanding of what Pap symbolizes and his importance in the novel. In Janet Holmgren McKay's "An Art So High" published in New Essays on Huckleberry Finn in 1985, McKay expresses to the reader that "Pap's rather lengthy diatribe against the 'govment' seems to belong in the novel... it develops Pap's character as town drunk, petty philosopher, and racist..." (71). Even though Pap is a terrible father and no role model for Huck, he still believes that the law has no right to take Huck from him. "Here's the law a-standing ready to take a man's son away from him - a man's own son, which he has had all the trouble and all the anxiety and all the expense of raising" (HF 29). Pap also feels that the government is wrong for not allowing him access to the six thousand dollars that Huck has received, and even goes as far as to blame the government for his current condition. "The law takes a man worth six thousand dollars and uppards, and jams him into an old trap of a cabin like this, and lets him go round in clothes that ain't fitten for a hog... they call that govment" (HF 28)! Pap's drunkenness, ignorance, abuse, and resentment are all aspects of his character that make him not only an enemy in the eyes of the reader, but more importantly, in the eyes of Huck. I'd see him standing my watch on top of his'n, stead of callin
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Approximate Word count = 6462
Approximate Pages = 26 (250 words per page double spaced)
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