Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: American Identity Free Essay Example

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Critical Controversy: The Changing Terrain of American Identity in Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

In the early years of this nation’s history, the founding ideologies of the United States were based upon adherence to certain principles, including the paramount importance of one’s individual conscience. This characteristic is perhaps the most important concept when discussing the archetypal American hero, whose actions are guided by morality rather than political standing or societal norms. It can be argued that the American Civil War brought an end to this mentality, with the conflict bringing out the worst in each individual and revealing the many problems with American society as a whole.

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It is from a postbellum observation of this fact that Mark Twain created his character Huckleberry “Huck” Finn, the titular protagonist of his classic 1885 novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Through this character, who embodies the pre-civil war ideal of American heroism, Twain criticizes the changing reality of American identity as it was revealed during the war and advocates a return to the principles of ethical individualism so heavily emphasized during the formation of the United States.

Huck emerges as a true American hero by clarifying the horrors of American society to the reader and embodying the honorable individualism that Twain believes should characterize American identity.

The conflict between the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons is a reflection upon the “family feud” that could describe the Civil War, and Huck’s eventual disgust with the dispute exemplifies his reluctance to participate in a society that accepts such romanticized violence.

When the two families go to church together, Huck notices that the sermon is about “brotherly love”, even though both families “…took their guns along…and kept them between their knees or stood them handy against the wall” (Twain, 197-8). The observation Huck makes is an obvious instance of hypocrisy, showing a society that advocates Christian morality on the surface but behaves with utter violence. The feud is a clear allegory for the Civil War because while each side defended the “morality” of their cause, brother killed brother for the sake of politics. When the conflict in the narrative comes to fatal blows, a deeply disturbed Huck comments after leaving on the river, “…there warn’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft” (Twain 202). This quote is proof of Huck’s rejection of society in favor of the natural world and an environment free of the societal hypocrisies he witnessed with the Grangerford and Shepherd conflict. Huck’s natural instinct to thrive as an outsider and his disgust with the “sivilized” world not only exemplify the qualities of the classic American hero, but also contribute to Twain’s argument that American society has lost its ethical foundation.

A moral foil to Huck’s character is his frivolous best friend, Tom Sawyer, whose absurd romanticism reflects on the darkness of society as a whole. The first instance of this is in the second chapter when the pair comes across a sleeping Jim, and “Tom…wanted to tie Jim to the tree for fun. But I said no…”(Twain, 134). The idea of treating someone as less than human and calling it “fun” is an early example of Tom’s lack of morality, and his demonstrated preoccupation with living by society’s standards make his actions representative of this society as a whole. Furthermore, Huck’s already apparent reluctance to adhere to this kind of inhumanity puts the sacredness of his conscience at the forefront of the narrative. The end of the story reveals a new level of cruelty within Tom when it is revealed that he knew Jim was free when he orchestrated Jim’s dramatic escape. When asked why he didn’t simply free him, Tom says, “Why, I wanted the adventure of it; and I’d a waded neck-deep in blood…” before he is cut off (Twain, 307). This incident reveals what Twain believes is inherently wrong with American society: one human treats another like a plaything and disregards basic morality for the sake of political and societal norms. Huck’s adherence to his conscience and basic morality set him apart from Tom and thus the world Twain writes about.

Perhaps the most important moment of Huck’s inner development is when he decides to help his friend Jim escape once and for all, declaring “All right then, I’ll go to hell!” (Twain, 262). This quick statement is the moment when Huck finally becomes the American hero, who casts away the judgment of society for the sake of his conscience and his relationship with Jim. It makes no difference that he thinks his decision is “awful” in his words after; he has chosen basic humanity over societal norms, and that basic idea upon which the United States was founded makes him the embodiment of what American identity should return to. In his escape to the West, Huck frees himself of an environment that restricts individual freedom, and Twain seems to hope that his moral and heroic character could model a more ethical American identity.

It is undeniable that a great deal of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’s fame roots from the controversy it has stirred, particularly with those who see it as a work of racism. But there is another reason why this novel is so difficult for the country to read: it reflects upon the country’s historical past as a nation that condoned evil in the name of good. Twain forces the American reader to sincerely reflect upon the hypocrisy that was once (and perhaps, still is) embedded in our society. He does this in a number of ways, though I believe most notably by reminding the audience of what it once meant to identify oneself as an American. This means total adherence to ones own conscience above all other characteristics, something that is deeply explored through the character of Huck. Mark Twain’s classic novel addresses a renewed possibility of American identity, using Huck’s heroism to remind American society of a true and more honorable potential for change.