The Effect of Huckleberry Finn on Depicting 19th Century Society

To get the fullest and most precise understanding of a piece of literature it is beneficial to have historical background concerning the time period in which the piece of literature was written. Through a historical background it is easier for the reader to perceive the political, economic, and social factors that could have influenced the piece or the author’s attitude. Often in reading a piece of literature if we do not have an abundance of historical evidence from that time period we can look the literary techniques utilized by the author to get a better perception of the author’s tone and his reaction to the events of his time. In the novel Huckleberry Finn Twain employs a number of literary devices in revealing the hypocrisy that existed within the members of the society of the Reconstruction Period. Huckleberry Finn is Twain’s opportunity to criticize the not only the members of the society, but the government which was struggling in its decision and approach in expanding the rights of freed African-Americans. Through the different characters in the novel Twain explores his own reservations about religion and relates this struggle to his opinions about the institution of slavery.
Huckleberry Finn satirizes the government and the members of society after the Civil War. The post-Civil War was supposed to be a time in which the American government not only re-united the Confederate states and the Union, but it was supposed to incorporate the newly freed African-Americans into a reformed society. While the Radicals were in power, which lasted for a seven year period between 1866 and 1873, they emphasized civil rights and voting rights for blacks. Yet, their efforts were thwarted by white Southerners who still believed in upholding the injustice of slavery and passed counteracting legislative policies to limit the power of freed blacks. Through humor Twain harshly and distinctly attacks the government and exposes the hypocrisy within their efforts to “aid” free blacks. Twain’s humor is depicted through his use of dialect, in which he uses to portray the most realistic image of Southerners, and stereotypical images, which serve to highlight the portrayal of African-Americans during the period of the Reconstruction. Twain consciously utilizes crude slang terms (such as the “N” word) in order to depict the region and their attitudes. The manner in which the different characters speak is also representative of the amount of education and wealth that they possess. Yet, Twain’s use of stereotypical images received a lot of criticism especially in their portrayal of African-Americans. Instead of mocking blacks Twain actually dispels these stereotypes against blacks as he thoroughly develops Jim’s character throughout the novel. We come to view Jim in terms of his compassion towards Huck and his knowledge of nature. In Twain’s attempt to dispel stereotypes against African-Americans he presents this idea of whiteness associated with evil. Contrary to the other novels we have read so far in this course where whiteness is associated with peace, innocence, and promise for the future, Twain contrasts these traits to the whiteness of characters such as Pap. Pap represents the largest portion of the white society during the 19th century that were ignorant and held racist attitudes towards blacks.
Twain’s aim is not to dehumanize blacks with his illustration of their dialect, but to critique white American society, especially during the time period of the Reconstruction. He highlights how slavery was continued for hypocritical reasons, especially by a country that was founded on Christian values. Twain’s ideas about the issue of slavery could be seen depicted through Huck at times because Huck presents Twain’s audience with the most direct and practical observations of society at that time. As a young boy with a lot of spirit Huck is easy to relate to, but his moral development is one that the reader also experiences with him. Twain’s most direct expression on the issue of slavery could be traced in one of the final comments in the novel where Tom is defending Jim’s status as a freed black man: “They hain’t no right to shut him up! Shove!—and don’t lose a minute. Turn him loose! He ain’t no slave; he’s as free as any cretur that walks this earth!” (p.316). This final statement serves two purposes: the first is to mirror how Tom, who throughout the novel embodied the stereotypical image of white men of his society, had no compassion towards the struggles and fate of slaves (especially because he had concealed Jim’s fate for days before revealing that he had actually been free), and secondly it depicts the underlying meaning that Twain aims to capture through his novel that no one regardless of race or class status can escape the rules of civilization. Yet, because this statement is contradictory to Tom’s character we can infer that Twain stood against this institution and Huckleberry Finn was his way of expressing his political opinions.