A Response to Smiley

In googling Smiley's article, I came across an interesting response to it--an essay in direct response to Smiley by the psychologist Maria Konnikova. In this, she uses her scientific background to show that the abrupt reversal of Huck's behavior when Tom returns to the scene at the end of the novel is not, in fact, out of context, or necessarily unpredictable.

While the beginning of the essay is mostly just the common knowledge of peer pressure and its influences on teen behavior, she later analyzes several sets of statistics, showing the likelihood of Huck's behavior. As she compares these statistics, she shows that because of Huck's age, gender, status, lifestyle, situation, etc. (especially in comparison to Tom's), Huck would be more than likely to bend to Tom's will. 

While this article, like Smiley's, doesn't tell the whole story of Huck Finn, it does shed new light on the ending of the novel. Konnikova argues that the ending many critics have deemed inappropriate and unfitting absolutely does fit the story. Despite this, she also recognizes it is not her current place to judge the artistry of the ending, and in doing so she leaves room for possible literary flaws. 

It seems to me that this article is an excellent point of reference in analyzing the legitimacy and quality of Twain's ending to Huckleberry Finn. As a modern reader, it is easy to take on a modern perspective of slavery--a mindset in which the end of the novel may come as a shock. However, Konnikova takes on the perspective of a pre-civil-war era southern boy, showing the revolutionary, and thus unlikely nature of Huck's "enlightenment" as he travels with Jim. Therefore, while Huck's regression into racism and insensitivity seem absolutely abhorrent to Twain's 21st century reader, it is understandable in the context of Huck's historical time period, and therefore fitting to the story. An understanding of the differences between the perspectives Konnikova describes accounts for much of the unaccountability found in the ending of Twain's novel, and therein ironically emphasizes his objective, showing the flaws of Huck's society, especially in its moral contradiction and repression of the individual. With this in mind, Twain then uses the corruption of Huck's character, with whom the reader relates, to urge the necessity of mass reform, because, he believes, individual reform without the support of society is futile. With Konnikova's conclusions in mind, it makes sense to me that much of the criticism surrounding the book's ending stems from the separation rather than unification of perspectives, which might lead a reader into essentially "missing the point" Twain is trying to make.

Link to Maria Konnikova's Essay:
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/literally-psyched/2012/10/05/is-huckleberry-finns-ending-really-lacking-not-if-youre-talking-psychology/

Huck's development

So towards the end of the novel, when Tom Sawyer comes back. I notice that Huck fell right back into the pattern of following everything that Tom says, instead of thinking for himself. Huck's development is stop when Tom returns.

Now at the beginning i didn't think Tom was a bad guy, but that he wasn't a great guy either. Now after finishing the novel, i don't like him. I think he is a villain, and i really can't stand him. He uses Jim as a toy, he allows him to stay locked up and captured, knowing that Jim is free and has been free for 2 months. All Tom wants is an adventure, he talked about that adventure at the beginning of the novel, when he started the banned of robbers, and he would pretend that they were stealing something else, when they were just stealing food.

Then Tom comes back into Huck's life, and claims he is going to help him "Catch the N*****" Which Huck is not a big fan of, yet the plan that Tom comes up with is way to crazy and dangerous, it may even get them all killed. And Huck knowns there is a easier plan, but he doesn't say anything. Throughout the plan, there are many things that Tom says they have to do, when in reality, those things are not need. Tom just wants the adventure. And time after time, Huck wants to know, how what they're doing is going to help Jim. Once they do get Jim, Tom even wants to cut off Jim's leg. And he would have done it too. All of this show that Tom treats blacks only a little better than slaveholders. Tom uses Jim as a toy to go a great adventure that he has read about he all his books.

I also believe that the reoccurrence of Tom, temporarily stops Huck's moral development and growth. Tom is the wall that Huck must get over. When Tom comes back, Huck just goes along with what he said, and becomes to go back to the ways, and thought. Before his moral development.

This is why i believe that Tom Sawyer is a villain of the novel.

Huck vs. The Duke and King

In showing Huck's sympathy for the Duke and King in chapter 33, Twain really makes his reader think, both about why on earth Huck would feel this way, and what Twain's intentions are in this passage.

In my analysis of the passage thus far, I have reached a few realizations. First, that Huck has a natural instinct for appreciation and connection to the human condition. He seems to be able to recognize the humanity in the characters that society has cast out--first Jim, and now the Duke and King. 

My second realization is that there are definite parallels between Huck and the Duke and King. The most obvious of these is their tendency to take on different "roles" in the different towns they go to. However, while both are essentially doing the same thing (taking on alternate identities in order to somehow benefit themselves), the reader perceives the acts differently. For example, when Huck pretends to be Tom at Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas' house, his intention is to steal Jim, who is essentially property. Likewise, when The Duke and King pretend to be the Wilk's brothers, their intention is to take the girls' money and property. This parallel is obscured by the reader's differing perceptions of the two instances--glorifying Huck's and condemning the Duke and King's. In other words, the perspective of morals with which the reader approaches the novel in some ways destroys the parallel. However, in the eyes of the society in the setting of the novel, Huck is on the same level of immorality as the Duke and King--an idea that "re-solidifies" the parallel between the two. 

Huck's view of himself strays from both of these ideas. Rather than seeing himself as superior to the Duke and King or as their immoral equal, he identifies himself to them and seems to simply recognize their common human status. This, ultimately, is what Twain is attempting to convey when he writes of Huck's strange flash of sympathy and sorrow in the moment of their public condemnation. 

Huck seems to understand--whether he consciously knows it or not--that people have an inherent human dignity that is to be respected. He regrets the cruelty that people exhibit in their treatment of others, and ultimately places the blame for these conflicts on society when he rejects civilization at the end of the novel, choosing to move to Oklahoma instead.

Showmanship

As Huckleberry Finn goes to rescue Jim, he encounters Tom Sawyer. He encounters Tom while he is pretending to be Tom. Huckleberry wants Tom's help to rescue Jim. Huck just wants to save Jim and get out of there. Tom on the other hand wants to make the escape like an epic story. Tom can not resist making the escape a big deal. He makes Huck steal many things from the house to trick Sally. Eventually Tom gets shot when they run away from the farmers. He kind of deserves what he received because he was the reason they were still at the house.

The letter Huck was going to write to Miss Watson is very interesting. His conscience finally kicks in and he decides that he might need to check in. Also he does not want to mention Jim or he will get in trouble. Huck acts as if helping Jim is a sin. He thinks that God will condemn him for helping Jim. The society has corrupted Huck into thinking that slavery is what God wants. It is ironic because God wants the complete opposite. God wants freedom of all people. Huck finally decides that he is willing to go to hell for Jim. Even though that would be the opposite of what he would receive for helping him.

Writing for the Ages

Throughout the journey of Huck and Jim, I feel like Twain incorporates multiple writing styles including many styles that are seen in all kinds of literature. We can see hints of transcendentalism as Jim and Huck rebel and journey away from society, we see romanticism with the King and the Duke, and we also see other various styles. One example is the style of soliloquy that immediately made me think of Iago from the play "Othello", the scenes that I am referring to are when Huck is planning and scheming on how to help the orphan girls. He plans out his robbery of the money and then plans out how to show the guilt of the King and Duke through his mischievous plan an cunning wit to puppet others to his plan. This plan of course has to absolutely fall apart just like those of Iago and Cassius of Tragedian days. 

Another style that I think Twain emphasized was the coming of age plot with young Huck receiving guidance from Jim on the way and having his special items of the canoe and the boat, and really going out into the world and experiencing it for way it really is. Now Twain encompasses Huck's journey into the deep South to create a book that fit the time and made the points he wanted to about racism and prejudice, but it still has the plot of coming of age. 

Kings and Dukes

As Huck and Jim wander away from the short lived common life that Huck had lived, they pick up two strangers who call themselves the long lost King of France (I think) and a long lost Duke of that area as well. This adds a lot of things to the novel because it creates a class system to the novel and integrates a feel of Romanticism in the way Huck mentions them as the King and the Duke instead of by their actually names. It also takes us back to the scene where Jim and Huck discuss Kings and what they both think about them and the thought process has changed about Kings, especially for Jim. He saw Kings as a noble class, someone who has power and the ability to control, but he meets this king who he calls out as a low down beggar. And going back to the changing class system, Jim is taken down a few more notches to being instructed to act like a savage to keep people away instead of being able to act like himself. He is degraded even more because Huck doesn't even feel the need to inform him that these two people are not even royalty but Huck decides to let Jim keep being fooled instead of telling him the truth.

Youth & Desperation

I believe Huck's youth plays a key role in this story. By just looking at the the adventure, Huck and Jim are doing something no one else would do in their right mind. As a young person, Huck wants to do something exciting just like we thought as kids. Only a kid would think that going on this adventure would not be crazy. Most people would try and be rational and try to solve the problem with logic.

Jim is in a desperate position because he is a slave. He sees that he has no other choice but to run. That is probably true because slaves had no choice in anything. His desperation is what drove him to run. On the other hand Huck ran because he had to stay away from his father and was excited for an adventure. He joined Tom Sawyer's gang because he wanted adventure.

FRENCHMAN vs AMERICAN MAN

I think that the scene between Huck and Jim in the forest really does illustrate how straight forward of a thinker Jim is but I think it also depicts the way the two of them look at the human race. In this discussion Jim immediately thinks of all races of human beings to be linked to one another and that all of these races should be in union with one another. On the other hand Huck has been brought up differently, he sees the differences between all races and i think these two varying view points are created by the teaching each of them receives especially Huck. We know that he has been raised to specifically see the African America race to be one completely separate from his own, and he transfers this thinking over to Frenchman. But Jim on the other had would like to think that all races in the world are the same and are all human beings.

Theory about society

While reading the book I've notice, that Huck, Jim, Tom Sawyer, and member of the thieves gang, take things very literally. Whereas Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, take things a little more figuratively. They understand the difference between phrases that are meant to be taken literally and phrases meant to be taken figuratively.

I believe that this shows a difference in the society that they were raid in , along with the society that they belong to. Therefor Widow Douglas and Miss Watson are in a higher social class then that of Huck, Jim, Tom Sawyer and their friends. Widow Douglas and Miss Watson are educated women, who're very wealthily. They understand the way society works. Then you have Huck, who is taken in by Widow Douglas and Miss Watson and is educated, and taught about how to behave in society yet he stills lacks a certain essence of society. For examples Widow Douglas and Miss Watson tell Huck to pray and he will be granted what he prays for. So Huck prays, and to his disappointment, he is not granted everything he asked for. Things were left out. Huck didn't understand that when they told him to prayer and he would be granted everything he asked for, they didn't mean he would really get everything he had asked for, it was more a spiritual reward and gift. Huck took it literally, while Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, meant it figuratively.

Then theres Pap, who by all standards should be very love in society, he is a drunk, uneducated man, who doesn't treat his son very well. But in the book he is actually high up in society. But here's the thing, Pap, for the times that he is not drunk, also takes things more literally than most people in society. Which is why i believe the author did that for a certain reason. He point out how messed up society is, but also to show that the color of your skin, makes a difference in society. Because Jim, who is a African American Slave is also uneducated, yet he notices thing and understand things differently then everyone else.

Huck Struggles

It's fascinating to watch Huck struggle with the concept of morality--both his own and society's--because it almost seems like his uncertainty lies not in what is the good thing to do, but in the fact that he feels conflicted between what he has been taught by by society and what he feels is right. In most of the scenes where he acts or is tempted to act in a way that is less than kind or honorable, he tells us that he isn't comfortable with what he's doing. At the same time, he has been told all his life that whatever the educated people tell you is the truth, and that it is something you just don't question. However, Huck does question it--battling with his conscience to determine the best way to live. 

This is what sets Huck apart from the other characters. Despite his somewhat inconsistent and incomplete education, he is obviously very intelligent--he is a "thinker". It seems to me that Huck has had a taste of several different "kinds" of life. He has lived with his father, the id, the wild and lawless. He has spent a great deal of time with Tom Sawyer--two young boys with incredible imagination (especially Tom) and no one to guide or control their lives. He lived with the Widow, receiving an education and learning to be proper. He has experienced many "walks" of life and now, as he travels down the Mississippi on a raft, he looks back on all of these and can finally think. 

It's almost like the river is his freed mind--whereas before he was always locked into one state of being on land, surrounded by others who did all of the thinking for him, he can now explore and discover his own true opinions, beliefs, views. It is this search that leads him to his decision to disregard the "morality" he has been taught, and instead act simply on his conscience. In this decision he frees himself from the bonds society has put on him through his education and socialization, making the leap into independent thought.

Huck and Jim

Why would Huck even consider turning in Jim, his only friend at the time?