Huckleberry Finn Essay, Research Paper

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay

Everyone in the world uses the nature of lying whether it is liked or not. Throughout the novel ?Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,? Mark Twain relates his personal experiences with society?s criticism on how people tend to deceive one another for purposes that will result in either a good or bad perception or just for ones personal fun and games. The characters Huck Finn, the Duke, the King, and Tom Sawyer all mislead the people around them to satisfy their role. Huck tricks people into believing that he is dead, continuously lies to anyone that questions his companion with Jim, in order for him (as well as Jim) to escape the oppressive restrictions of a conventional society. The Duke and King, with evil actions, con the towns? people for money, while Tom still trapped in his childhood world, keeps quiet about Jim?s freedom, in order for his excitement of adventures to continue.

In order to gain salvation and help his river friend Jim, Huck proceeds a great liar. When Huck encounters Jim in Jackson?s Island, Jim quickly reacts by saying, ?Dodn? hurt me, I alwuz liked dead people,? and minutes later Huck mentions, ?Then I told him the whole thing and he said it was smart.? Huck is in search of his needs, and the way for him to find happiness is by escaping his problems. Huck only wants to avoid the civilization and the abuse he is having to face. In the mean time, on their journey on the Mississippi River, he learns that the friendship between Jim and him had evolved where one would easily stick up for the other. When asked by the King if Jim was a runaway nigger, Huck immediately answered, ?Goodnesss sakes would a runaway nigger run south?? and continues to lie by addressing that Jim was left to him by his father. Huck?s ability to lie successfully serves him well when he is confronted. His lying involved getting rid of the King and the Duke, so they would be able to continue their odyssey without being forced back by others. Huck?s lies are necessary in the means of his situations; they are lies that serve as good deeds.

Unlike Huck, the Duke and the King relied on a series of crucial intentions and lies for their own greedy salvation, which keep on developing into important motifs in the novel. For example the Duke and the King come up with various plans to deceive the towns people for their own benefits. ?Let?em fetch along their suspicions now, if they want to this?ll lay em out.? The two men empower a certain degree of cleverness in order to dupe people so successfully. These cruel men keep on traveling from town to town, each time gaining more and more knowledge in their ability to defraud society. Also the Duke?s and the King?s absurdity to present the King?s Camelopard or The Royal Nonesuch considering it was a total fake. ?Greenhorns, flatheads! Knew the first house would keep mum and let the rest of the town get roped in.? Although their untruthfulness brought chaos to their lies, the ignorance of the society yet allows itself to be defrauded every single time. In the eyes of these selfish men, the lies were of good benefit but in reality only brought trouble.

Tom?s use of lying is different from other characters in the novel. Tom being the adventurous type in his humorous life style lies for only fun. When Huck explains to Tom on how he has helped Jim escape and asks him if would like to help, Tom with excitement replies, ?It?s as simple as tit-tat-toe, three-in-a row, and as easy as playing hooky. I should hope we can find a that?s a little more complicated than that, Huck Finn.? Although Tom knows that Jim is a free man, he wishes to participate in this dangerous quest and to make it more difficult until he is completely satisfied. Tom is in no hurry of ending this mysterious game, but realizes that he must confess the secret he holds, and is disappointed for he will no longer get the thrill of completing his mission of adventures. At one time Aunt Sally asks Tom why he went through all the trouble and he replies, ?Why, I wanted the adventure of it.? Tom?s immaturity makes him see life as a game. Because of Tom?s fantasies he puts aside what is truly important and fulfills his enjoyments of adventures. Tom?s foolishness and devotion to style leads to real danger, one that could have cost Jim?s life, but it is not taken in consideration for all Tom wants to do is live a life based on adventures.

These events illustrate how the use of deception and lies vary in ones everyday life. Lies are a part of our everyday world but they can only be used to a certain extent. In the novel they were used to describe the character?s personalities and made it more visible for one to see the different types of lies that are practiced. Twain picked the correct characters to express the methods of lying with his personal experiences with social criticism. One should always keep in mind whether or not their intentions of lying are going to be for the right purposes and not for the wrong.