Introduction
Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is the narrator and protagonist in the novel. He is the son of a local drunk of St. Petersburg a town on the Mississippi River. He is a bit of an outcast. Huck is still a boy and is significantly influenced by other people, particularly his friend Tom. Although not formally educated, he is thoughtful, intelligent, and moral. This paper will reveal that in the course of his adventures and growth, Huck sees the hypocrisy of the so-called "civilized" society and rejects it for a world that is "uncivilized" but moral.
Discussion
At the end of the novel, Huck refuses the offer of Aunt Sally to adopt him and announces his plan to travel west. In essence, Huck rejects civilization because he has found it to be hypocritical and immoral. Throughout the novel, the so-called civilized society is depicted as just a little more than a collection of degrading rules that often defy morality and logic. The faulty logic that holds this society together is revealed by Twain to be illogic early on in the novel when a new judge in the town allows the constantly drunk Pap to keep custody of Huck. Despite his irresponsible and abusive traits, the new judge privileges the rights of Pap over those of Huck as his natural father over the welfare of the protagonist (Twain 16). As a result, the rules that put a young boy in harm’s way in the name of granting a man his natural rights are presented in a manner that highlights the hypocrisy on which the whole society must be founded on.
Also, this civilized society is hypocritical because it puts the "rights" of a white man to his property over the life of a person. This society is presented as hypocritical and cruel because it claims to grant a section of its people property rights but denies another section the same rights. For example, despite being human beings, slaves are treated as property and, therefore, lacking some important rights and freedoms (Twain 35). To some extent, the plight of slaves in this society is similar to that of Huck at the hands of his drunk and abusive father. The author is implying that it is impossible for a society to own slaves and claim to be just no matter how much that society proclaims to be moral. For example, despite their self proclaimed goodness, people like Phelps and Sally are corrupted morally because they are part of a prejudiced society because they practice slavery- a problem that lies in the heart of the entire society.
Instead of this corrupted sense of civilization, Huck is choosing the unknown. Perhaps, after witnessing the corrupted sense of morality of his society, he believes that any alternative would be better. Hence, he heads west, a frontier that is uncorrupted. His choice feels like a good choice because it is better than the present alternative. To stay in his society is to accept to be part of a hypocritical system. In such a case, the unknown alternative seems and feels like a better choice.
Conclusion
As revealed, the society in which the protagonist finds himself is one that is hypocritical because it claims to grant men peace while denying other men the same rights and freedoms. A just society simply cannot practice slavery. In the end, the young and moral Huck chooses to move away in search of a better society at the end of the novel.
