The Final Chapters!

Now we are at the end of the book and can now confirm that Huck wants nothing to do with his society. He says that if he has to use a pickaxe to free Jim, to take a watermelon, or to take a Sunday-school book he will, no matter what anyone thinks. He basically declares that he will do what he wants and will use whatever method necessary to get what he wants and doesn't care about what anyone else has to say. We also see at the very end of the book, he says he wants to head west because Aunt Sally is trying to civilize him. He says he is tired of that. Huck wants nothing to do with his society and doesn't care about his social responsibilities. However, I think that Huck can never fully escape from his society. His societies beliefs and morals are all he knows. It is hard to break away from that. He still sees Jim as inferior but at least as a person. He grows from the beginning to the end but it will be hard for him to completely escape from the southern mentality. The end shows that he is willing to try because he wants to move to the west, which has different beliefs than the south. 

I never talked about Jim’s social responsibility. We can see how much Jim has to worry about. He was going to get hanged just for being around an injured white child. They had no proof or evidence he caused it, yet still blamed him. Jim is not allowed whatsoever to do anything against the whites. Even when Tom tells him to do ridiculous things that he knows are unnecessary, he still listens.    

Chapters 31-35

I think it is time to discuss a citizen’s social responsibility to return a runaway slave. During these times slaves were seen as nothing but property. Since the beginning of Huck and Jim’s adventure, Huck has to lie about why Jim was wandering around with him. This was a major problem that they had to overcome. We see that Huck still treats Jim as inferior, which is to be expected, because of the environment he grew up in. In these chapters Huck has to make a decision. While traveling down the river with Jim, Huck starts to see how Jim is like any other man. He eventually chooses his friendship over religion and his social responsibility. He knew people would look down on him and Miss Watson would be upset but that did not matter anymore. This was another social responsibility that Huck ignores. Throughout the novel, we can see how Huck chooses to go with his gut rather than what he is told. He does not care about the consequences; he just went with whatever felt right. At this moment, I think Huck advances past the thinking of his time. We see that the other people in this novel just believe what they are told and follow it. A very surprising twist was Tom Sawyer’s entrance into the situation. I do not think Tom was okay with saving Jim because he cared about Jim but because he wanted to help his friend, Huck and because he likes adventure. Huck is always saying how smart Tom is but in my opinion Huck is more intelligent.   

Chapters 21-30

            Through chapters 21-30, mobs are a recurring subject. There was the lynch mob for Sherburn because he killed a defenseless drunk, the angry crowd from the duke and dauphin’s The Royal Nonesuch because there were ripped off, and the mob that was trying to find out who the real Wilks brothers were. In each of these events, someone was doing wrong and a mob formed to bring justice. It’s almost as if the town looks after each other. For example, when Sherburn killed the drunk in front of the daughter, no matter what the drunk said to Sherburn, killing the man in cold blood right in front of the daughter is pretty horrible. The mob formed to seek justice for the drunk and the daughter. The angry crowd from the play is debatable. The first crowd was ripped off and felt like fools, so they wanted everyone else to get ripped off to make themselves feel better. However, the same crowd came back to seek revenge on the duke and the dauphin for ripping them off. The acts of the town for the Wilks family really showed how close everyone was. When the duke and the dauphin were pretending to be the Wilks brothers, a crowd formed to welcome them. They were even there to help find out the impostors. The actions of these mobs show that maybe, if you are part of a town, it is your responsibility to help your neighbor. Even though this book takes place during a different time period, we can see that this idea still applies today. 

Huck's Social Responsibility

Throughout these chapters we can see how Huck still holds on to the beliefs and morals of his society. We can see this through the way he treats Jim. He still sees Jim as inferior and as property. Huck's social responsibility is to turn Jim in. This is what was taught. There was no reason to think against it. The members of this society believe in white superiority and even though Huck doesn't live up to all the standards of his society he still follows this belief. Huck starts to realize that Jim cares about him but still thinks about turning Jim in. Mark Twain uses this to show how large an effect your society has on you. Huck decides against it because he will feel guilty either way. Since Huck is away from his society for a while he starts to form his own opinion. He decides to do what is "handiest."
Of course the social responsibilities of a man and a woman are different. We can see that the boys of this time are very comfortable in nature and are supposed to be tough. We see this when Huck fakes his death, he is able to catch a animal. He can also navigate around to river and through the forest. As for women, it seems they have to be able to thread a needle. Which is quite strange. Threading a needle has nothing to do with being a women but during this days it was something a woman was expected to do. Just like in any society men were supposed to be strong and brave and women frail and ladylike. The only difference is the way the men show their brave and the way women show their ladylike. This is one belief that Huck doesn't really think about. When Huck dresses like a girl to find out information it doesn't really bother him. Huck had to be informed by the woman, who informed him of the situation in the town, about how a girl I supposed to act. To Huck, it wasn't a big deal. As long as Huck is away from his society he will be able to form his own beliefs and morals.

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