Violence And Greed In “The Adventures Of Huck Essay, Research Paper

Violence and Greed in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Violence and greed motivate much of the characters’ actions in Mark Twain’s, TheAdventures of Huckleberry Finn. Acts of violence include1 the Grangerfords feud withthe Shepardsons, the robbers’ plans for Jim Turner, and one town’s revenge against theKing and Duke. Also, Jim’s escape and his plans to steal his children, possibly with thehelp of an abolitionist, is an example of violence in Twain’s novel. Greed can be found inPap’s wishes to gain control of Huck’s money, and the King and Duke’s lifestyle. One motivation made by greed was Pap’s need for Huck’s money, held by JudgeThatcher. Skillfully, Huck sells his 6,150 dollar fortune to the Judge for one dollar toensure his father will never poses it. Sorrowfully, this does not discourage Pap’s advancesto retrieve the money. He visits Judge Thatcher only to find that the money is out of hisreach. Furious, these actions of greed turned into actions of violence as Pap kidnapsHuck and brings him to a cabin in the woods. Ingeniously, Huck devised a plan toescape. For days Huck sawed a hole in the cabin wall. When pap left one morning, Huckfinished the hole, escaped, and splashed pigs blood on the interior cabin walls to givePap the impression that he had been murdered. In chapter eleven of the novel, Huck encounters a shipwreck and overhears two

robbers’ plans to kill Jim Turner, their accomplice, for telling on them. Huck hears JimTurner say “‘Oh, please don’t Bill-I hain’t ever goin’ to tell’” (51). Hearing this motivatesHuck to take the robbers’ boat, since his had floated away, to take the loot, and to sendofficials to capture the men. Huck’s second motivation from violence was during his encounter with theSheperdsons and the Grangerfords. While staying with the Granferfords, Huck witnessesBuck, a young Grangerford, dive into a group of bushes and shoot at Harney Shepardson. Confused, Buck tells Huck that ‘a feud is this way. A man has a quarrel with another man, and kills his; then that other man’s brother kills him; then the other brothers, on both sides, goes for one another, then the cousins chip in-and by-and-by everybody’s killed off, and there ain’t no more feud’ (81-82).When Huck realizes the brutality of the feud, he leaves in disgust. Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn characters are motivatedthroughout the novel by greed and violence. The Grangerford and Shepardson feud andthe robbers’ plans for Jim Turner are examples of violence, while Pap’s need for Huck’sfortune is an example of greed progressing into violence. There are other examples ofgreed and violence throughout Twain’s novel. Such examples include the King andDuke’s lifestyle, one town’s revenge on them, and Jim’s plans to escape and rescue hischildren.