Corrupting the Individual

Corrupting the Individual

November 7, 2004

            Mark Twain's novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn represents the period of the 1840’s.  During this time, society believed in the evils of slavery and believed in being proper and elegant at all times.  However, Huck Finn refused to conform to society and its beliefs.  In order to illustrate that society has the power to corrupt the individual; Mark Twain depicts the struggle between Huck's good heart and deformed conscience.

            Two examples of Huck Finn’s good heart occur when he apologizes to Jim and when he views the tarring of the King and Duke.  Huck and Jim were split up on the Mississippi River in a heavy fog, however, Huck eventually catches up to Jim on the raft and plays on trick on Jim pretending he never left.  Jim believes that Huck drowned when Huck wakes him up and confuses Jim.  When Huck told Jim of the trick, Jim became very upset and angry at Huck.  Huck said, "It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger, but I done it, and I warn't ever sorry for it afterward, neither" (86). Huck apologized to Jim for playing the trick on him and vowed never to play another trick on Jim again, as Huck did not like how Jim reacted.  This shows that Huck was willing to apologize to Jim, even though that society would have encouraged him not to do so.  Huck also felt bad when he saw the King and the Duke being tarred and feathered.  Even after Huck saw all the scams the King and Duke pulled on towns, he said, "Well, it made me sick to see it, and I was sorry for them poor pitiful rascals, it seemed like I couldn't even feel any hardness against them any more in the world" (230).  So even though Huck knew about all the horrible actions these two men have done, he still felt bad to see them tarred and feathered.  As Huck's character develops, he becomes more caring and becomes more mature.  This is also represented in Huck's conscience throughout the novel.

            Huck Finn displays a deformed conscience in the novel after Huck and Jim try to escape from the Duke and King and when Huck considers taking Jim back to Miss Watson.  Huck found himself relieved after the Wilkes incident believing he and Jim had escaped the King and Duke.  When the King and Duke confront Huck, he writes, "So I wilted right down onto the planks then, and give up; and it was all I could do to keep from crying" (205).  This gives the reader an insight into the beginning of the deformed conscience that Huck has, as he starts to realize that what the King and Duke are doing is wrong.  Huck Finn continues to go against society when he is writing the letter to Miss Watson telling her where Jim is.  Huck tried to clear his conscience by praying, however he struggled to do so and decided to write the letter to Miss Watson.  After writing the letter, Huck thought about what he just did and decided it was the wrong thing to do.  He said, "The more I studied about this the more my conscience went to grinding me, and the more wicked and low-down and ornery I got to feeling" (212).  This decision proves that Huck's conscience is affecting his decisions as he rebels against society.  Huck Finn's deformed conscience eventually is overcome by his good heart.

            At the end of the novel, Huck's good heart overcomes his deformed conscience that has been making so many decisions for him.  Huck's deformed conscience is first seen when he considers the thought of taking Jim back to Miss Watson.  He said, "Once I said to myself it would be a thousand times better for Jim to be a slave at home where his family was, as long as he'd got to be a slave, and so I'd better write a letter to Tom Sawyer and tell him to tell Miss Watson where he was" (211).  This shows that Huck was being influenced by society and wanted to take Jim home.  However, his good heart eventually over came this.  Huck Finn had to decide whether to take Jim back or to let him stay, he said, “All right, then, I’ll go to hell” (214) and tore the letter up.  By tearing it up, Huck knew that his life was forever changed as he went against society and his own conscience to allow Jim stay free.

            Huck Finn shows a good heart and a deformed conscience throughout the book.  He displayed his good heart when he apologizes to Him and a deformed conscience when he considers taking Jim back to Miss Watson.  However, Huck overcomes his deformed conscience and his good heart wins.  Mark Twain depicts the struggle between Huck’s good heart and deformed conscience in order to illustrate the power society has to corrupt the individual.