Group Perspective: Confronting Expectations

Since the late 19^th century, Huckleberry Finn has been considered an American classic, portraying the distinct American culture and social climate during one of the countries most instable periods. The time surrounding the civil war as well as the war itself mark a period in American history in which the country was almost irrevocably ripped apart by differing economic, political, and social views. The novel Huckleberry Finn effectively showcases the difficulties of this time in terms of developing social opinions and reveals the strength of sectional divide. Huck’s tenacity inspires the reader to confront society and excites an audience rooting for the rebellious thoughts Huck tries to quell. As Huck moves throughout his journey, he grows close to his black companion, Jim, and begins to view him as more of a human being and friend rather than a former slave to be relinquished for monetary reward. Jim represents the best of humanity, portraying an almost secret intelligence, that speaks of the equality between whites and blacks. Twain was writing this novel following the war and very close to reconstruction, a time no less stained by tension and disunity than that of the Civil War. The period was marked by moral confusion—how do we deal with slaves? Are they equal? How do you change your whole outlook on life? Modern readers are largely separated from the tensions present at the time of authorship and generally regard the novel as the journey of a southern boy slowly coming to see that slavery is wrong and that African Americans are equal to whites. This explains the common distaste for the seemingly racist end to the novel. Why has Huck, who has come so far, regressed so quickly? This is the beauty and skill of Twain’s writing. At no point has Twain given the reader reason to believe that Huck is working towards abolitionism. Rather, each  time Huck treats Jim as an equal or close to an equal he feels guilt. Twain is using his main character to portray the uncertainty of the period. Huck deals with the same questions all white southerners confronted following the Civil War. He struggles to reconcile the views drilled into him by Southern society and his new doubts. Recognizing this, the end makes sense. Twain does not arbitrarily decide to have Huck fall from his advanced moral position because Huck is not truly on the pedestal where readers have placed him. Huck has made no decision that is fully anti-slavery or pro-Civil Rights—he has only had doubts. Many readers take these doubts and assume Huck is becoming an abolitionist. Twain has not deviated from the main plot but rather he has confronted reader’s expectations of Huck and highlights the difficulty of reforming a society dependent upon an institution like slavery.