Huck Finn Satire

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Ever since the novel, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, was written it has caused fiery debate amongst readers and critics. This novel was written in a time where the equality of a black man comes into question, and Twains ability to portray the actuality of human interaction, while under duress from an entire society, shows that Twain was not only a stellar writer but also a revolutionary thinker who was not afraid to go against the grain. The claim that “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is anything less than revolutionary comes from a lack of respect for great literature. Twain simply told the story as it was, and that is why he was one of the great writers of American Realism. “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain is a timeless classic, and indeed “The Great American Novel” because Twain ingeniously expresses his own opinions through satirical interactions with his characters, helps to revolutionize American writing by writing in the style of American Realism, and morally developing the characters to display Twain’s opinion as well as their own. In a writers arsenal the weapon of a satire can be deadly if wielded properly. Twain masters the art of satire and uses it very effectively throughout Huckleberry Finn to make a mockery of what he blatantly disagrees with or disbelieves in. Twain’s use of satire is present in many great American Realism styled novels. He uses satire to attack hypocritical views that he sees in late 1800 mid-west society. Possibly Twains greatest target in this novel is organized religion. Clearly he opposes the blind faith that the churches expect their disciples to follow, using Huck’s interaction with Ms. Watson at the beginning of the story to facilitate this view, “After supper she got out her boo and learned me about Moses and the Bulrushers…but by and by she let it out that Moses had been dead for a long time; so then I didn’t care no more about him, because I don’t take no stock in dead people.” (p.2) Twain’s use of satire in this section is almost comical because it is so blatantly obvious that it is him speaking through Huck. Twain is refrencing the fact that most religion is lead by ancient and in every case dead people, which means certain religions are following the creeds of a dead man. Another stellar example of satire in the novel is the constant reference to the snake skin. Twain mentions it so much that it is almost overkill and it is clear Twain takes no stock in superstition. This tactic can have greater effect than simply stating the opinion of the writer, when used correctly, because it targets a certain intellectual group who are able to decipher the satire. Mark Twain writes in the style of realism in order to show what actually happened, nothing more nothing less. He simply states the story as what it is, he doesn’t add ridiculous adjectives or unrealistic scenarios. Because he writes in such a manner we can assume that this story is as truthful as possible which adds a great deal of credibility to Twain’s argument. His argument is, “This is how it was back then and because I am bringing all forward in such a realistic and straightforward way it can be credited as true, ad because this is actually happening something needs to be done.” In a way “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was a red flag to society and a call to action that such issued as slavery and religion needed to be changed because Twain saw them as morally wrong. Mark Twain did an incredible job in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” at developing the characters in such a way that they guided themselves by their own moral compass. Huck Finn is the prime example. During the
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