The Conflicts between Ideals and Reality in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
four, he moved to Hannibal with his family. The Hannibal is much similar with the towns in his two most famous novels, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In the 19th century, Mark Twain is one of the great writers. He is famous as realist、lecturer、traveler and humorist, and he also is a children-story writer. Mark Twain is the known as header of modern American literature and a leader figure in the history of American literature. He develops realism and literature of American through his colloquial style and local themes in his works. A number of writers are impacted by him. His friend William Dean Howells considered him as “the Lincoln of our literature.” William Faulkner regarded him as“the father of American literature”. Twain?s some works reflected Americans and American society. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was his masterpiece and was punished in 1884. The novel shows a real and complete picture of American society in the 19th century.
The story took place on the Mississippi River. Through floating of two people on a small raft: Huck is an uneducated outcast boy. Pap, his father, is a local drunk and illiteracy. The widow Douglas and her sister Miss Watson try to adopt Huck. They attempt to make him into what they believe will be better boy. However, Huck finds the conformation rather constraining. Pap kidnaps Huck, and locks him in a cabin of the woods. Tired of the drunken man?s beating, Huck escapes to the island, where he comes across Jim, Miss Watson?s slave. Jim has runaway from Miss Watson because he overheard a conversation that he would be sold down the river. Then Huck and Jim drift down the Mississippi on a raft. On the way, they meet the King and the Duck, two corn artists. They sell Jim to a local farmer as slave for forty dollars. Huck manages to rescue him with the help of his friend, Tom. Through all the adventures, Huck grows up and gets a lot of life experiences. His conscience of humanity is growing. The author reflected and criticizes the social status of 19th century. Twain thinks society as a structure that has become little more than a collection of degraded rules and precepts that defy logic. Amid abundant social satire, the narrative focuses on Huckleberry Finn?s development, developing moral freedom from the way of his society.
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The Conflicts between Ideals and Reality in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
2.3 The Conflict in the Work
The primary theme of the novel is the conflict between civilization and natural life. Huck represents natural life through his freedom of spirit. He is educated without any rules and ways. There is a strong resistance to anything that might“civilized”him. The major conflict is Huck?s struggle against society and the adult who shape it, including the Widow Douglas, Pap, and the Duck and Dauphin. Douglas adopt Tom, so he tries to make Huck“civilization”Douglas is a reporter as social controversy and rules, and has racial injustices to black Jim. Douglas represents racial injustices and hypocrisy of adult. The conflict between Huck and Pap reflect family breakdown. Through adventures, Huck has himself conflict in his heart. Duck and Dauphin are liars. They want to sell black Jim. Huck and Tom help and save Jim. In this process, he knows versus of learning experience and deciphering the truth in the face of lies. Huck must decide how to protect and help his friend-Jim. These show many themes such as intelligence and education; growing up and maturing; learning to think and reason morally for oneself; faith and received knowledge and so on.
III. The Conflicts between Ideals and Reality in the Work
3.1 The Conflicts between Ideals and Reality in Racial Relation Racial relation is the important angle to show the conflicts between ideals and
reality. This part will firstly introduce the history of American racism and slavery. Though that presentation, let?s people preliminary know the racial discrimination. Then in next part will detail racial discrimination between white and black in the work.
3.1.1 The History of American Racism and Slavery
Slavery in the United States was a form of forced labor which existed as a legal institution on American soil before the founding of the United States, and remained a legal feature of American society until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865.
A Dutch slave trader started to exchange his cargo of Africans for food in 1619. The Africans became indentured servants. In the middle of the seventeenth century, they
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The Conflicts between Ideals and Reality in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
entered a law system—slavery. The area of Cotton was increasing and the scale sugar production and tobacco was growing in the 19th century, so slavery still remained and went on developing in the South. Besides the reason about economy—there was small investment and large profit by exploiting slaves, their religious belief—the black did not believe in Christianity. Treatment of black slaves was both strict and inhuman. They can be buying or sell. Until the middle of the 19th century, a movement to abolish slavery grew in strength in the American. Many organizations advocated freedom and equality of black slave, but Slaveholders strongly opposed. The consequent of Civil War give power to end slavery in the American. The Confiscation Act was passed by The Congress. It declared that any property used by the Confederate military, including slaves. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, was a powerful movement. It promised that slaves own freedom and equality in the Confederacy, and authorized the enlistment of African Americans in the Union Army. Thousands of slaves were freed when Union armies marched across the South. In the Reconstruction, slavery had not been completely abolished. After the Union armies end, some form of semi-slavery still stayed. All the civil libertarians were wiped cut, and racism and slavery were back on the national agenda. With emancipation a legal reality, white Southerners still control the newly freed slaves and keep them in the labor force at the lowest level. This system allowed private contractors to purchase the services of convicts from the state or local governments for a specific time period. In fact, black slave own true freedom the Civil War 35 years later. Huckleberry Finn took place in the end of the Civil War. At that time, America especially the South was still struggling with racism and slavery.
3.1.2 The Racial Relation between White and Black in the Work
The Racial Relation between White and Black is the important angle to reflect the conflicts between ideals and reality. From 1894 to 1920, capitalism in the U.S. was considered as a free democratic new world. A lot of immigrants moved into the American. In the novel, Twain revealed the ugly social fact. He belittles civilization and satire on it. It breaks up the image of a free and democratic state. Although slavery has
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The Conflicts between Ideals and Reality in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
been away, racial injustice still existed in the American. White Southerners not only want to control slaves but also wish to keep them in the labor force at the lowest level. Independence of all people is a shame and a failure.
Jim is a nigger. The novel mainly describes Jim how to escape the destiny of being sold and look for freedom and equality with the help of Huck Finn. Through conflicts reveal different society position of black and white and white?s attitude toward black Jim. White is the leader of social wealth. They think the blacks are inferior to them and the black should be suffered unequal treatment. Slaves are not independent person. They are only the part of the property or commodity of white. The slaveholders can abuse, buy or sell them. Any mind of escape will be punished, and any way of the help will be blamed. For that, Miss Watson?s decision of selling Jim is granted in the eyes of the other people.
The whites have racial difference against blacks, but different class have different attitude to black Jim. There is a common idea but there is a common idea-black is slave. Pap, Huck?s father, is drunkard and illiterate. Pap thinks the blacks are more cheap and inferior than the whites. Later, the town appears a free black. He comes from the state Ohio and he owns the right to vote. This breaks the quiet of the town. People don?t believe blacks are free. Awful King and Duck are real liars. When lies are brought and dream of making money are burst, they want to sell black Jim to Silas, Phelps farm .For the sake of forty dollars, they sell Jim to another place as a slave. After the steamboat wrecks, Tom of Sally Aunt?s reaction is also very shocked. When she knows there is no hurt, just kills a nigger, she thoroughly feels easily even relaxed. She says this is so lucky, because most of accident is never avoid hurting of human. Every class has different attitude toward Jim, but Aunt Sally is the most terrible. She worries white, but she never sympathizes black. Her unconscious behaviors reveal hypocritical society values and morals. In their eyes, black?s life is no any value. At that time, a proverb is very popular“half cents kill slaves, and a half cents buried the slaves”Huck Finn, a 13-year-old white boy, is one of those people. Part one ends presenting Huck?s letter to
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The Conflicts between Ideals and Reality in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Miss Watson. This letter of betrayal maybe becomes the most famous in American fiction. Because the adventures make Huck Finn realize the true kindles of Jim towards him. He casts off racial prejudice from society and comes to be on Jim?s side. Jim is not only a human being but also his closet friends. Huck need cover the pressure of race betrayal and the test of the social hell for nigger lovers.
Mark Twain shows freedom and equality is only for white in the United States. He also demonstrates black people have good qualities. During the adventures, Huck （a white boy）and Jim（a black slave）become closer friend, and their status are developing the possibility of equality. Huckleberry Finn is the idealism. He looks forward to individual freedom. Freedom means living equality no matter what race and what color. Freedom will not abuse by anyone. Twain can?t understand why such freedom and equality cannot come true in the U.S. Twain can?t understand why Huck and Jim cannot stay on the raft floating along the river forever without certain social relationship with the world.
3.2 The Conflicts between Ideals and Reality in Morality
Morality is another angle to show the conflict between ideals and reality. This part
mainly introduce the conflict in innocence and vice，lie and truth and Huck?s “Sound Heart”and “Deformed Conscience”.
3.2.1 Innocence and Vice
Thought children?s thought is influenced by the fact of society, children are more innocent and simple than adult. Their thinking and judging is independent and freedom. In the adventures of Huckleberry Finn reflect children?s innocent thought and conducts.
Huck is the major character. His innocence is reflected in sympathy for others. At the circus, a clown acts a drunk and takes a precarious ride on a prancing horse. The audiences laugh and enjoy the excitement and danger. Huck doesn?t the only laugh and feels miserable. “Walter Scott” attempted murders on the wrecked steamboat, but failure. When he returns, Huck firstly thinks of getting someone to rescue them. Even when Huck knows that three murders have been downed to death, he still feels sad and
牡丹江师范学院西方语言学院2014届英语专业学士学位论文
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