Category: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of the most important pieces of American literature from the eighteen hundreds. An amazing satire revolving around a poor white boy and runaway slave that challenged all ideas about racism from the time. Although racism was the central focus of the novel, I believe that Twain was also critiquing how education was perceived at the time, and probably how it is still perceived today.

Throughout the novel it is expressed how educated people use their knowledge to impose power over others, and how school education is given much more value than experience even though it has been proved over and over that being smart in school is not as important for life when compared to other types of intelligence and forms of learning. Based on this, why do educated people use their knowledge to put themselves above others instead of educating them? And why is it that experience is not considered a more effective form of learning instead of school? I argue that people use their knowledge to control those who they think to not be fit to be an equal, and because of this learning through experience has been discredited. Since the beginning of the novel Twain shows how the characters use their education to show superiority over others. This is especially present in the begging of the novel when Tom Sawyer decides to form a gang by the name of “Tom Sawyer’s Gang”.

Right since the begging he’s showing the members of the gang by putting himself above them, he makes a set of rules and creates scenarios that he backs up with books he has read. When the other Huck question his rules and lies he puts him back in their place by imposing his education. Tom says “if I warn’t so ignorant, but had read a book called ‘Don Quixote’, I would know” (128). He uses this to shame Huck for his lack of knowledge in books. The reasoning behind Tom’s actions are still present in society today, Twain was critiquing how society uses knowledge to show superiority over those who don’t have access to it for only purpose of controlling them. No human would follow another in such a blind way if they didn’t believe they were below them. Tom Sawyer needed the kids to believe he was above them so that they would follow his gang scam so that he could have an adventure. The same scenario shows up again by the end of the novel when Tom and Huck want to free Jim from the Phelps’ plantation.

Huck has a logical plan; steal the key, open the door, remove the chains and free Jim. But Tom has a more complicated plan based on the books he has read, the plan that takes months to be completed and everyone ends up getting hurt by Tom’s selfish idea. Even though Huck knew Tom’s ideas were foolish and proposes his own more logical ideas Tom always finds a way to convince Huck by telling him it’s in the books and when he’s tired of Huck questioning him he says “[w]ell if that ain’t like you Huck Finn. You can get up the infant-schooliest ways of going at a thing. Why, hain’t you ever read any books at all?” (269). Tom once again has humiliated Huck and shown his superiority by showing off the many books he has read, and Huck believes him because it’s what society has taught him. However, society’s opinion about books and education affects mostly the lower classes and especially slaves. Jim, the runaway slave, is put through many tortures during Tom’s plan to free him from the Phelps. Tom puts snakes, spiders and rats into Jim’s shed; when the rats bite him he has to use the blood to write on an old shirt. Even though Jim knew this intricate plan was ridiculous he still followed Tom Sawyer. Twain writes, “Jim couldn’t see no sense in the most of [the plan], but he allowed we was white folks and knowed better than him; so he was satisfied and said he would do it all as Tom said” (275).

Twain shows how Jim and Huck had common sense and were actually really smart, but they had been put down so many times by what they thought to be educated people that they had started to believe that they knew nothing at all, and educated people know better. Again, Tom only uses his knowledge to be superior to others, not because he actually wants to be educated. Tom needs something to make people follow him and he needs people who actually believe him, it is easier for him to use people that have been told their whole lives that they don’t know anything and that they can’t be taught for his personal amusement. Due to society’s opinion surrounding books and education, people have come to believe that school is the only way one can get an education. Society praises those who go to school to get educated, because it is the only right way . Furthermore, they never question what is learned form school and books. Twain critiques in the scene where Huck states that Tom’s plans to free Jim are foolish, to which Tom replies, “[i]t don’t make no difference how foolish it is, it’s the right way . . . there ain’t no other way, that ever I heard of, and I’ve read all the books that give any information about this things” (272).

What the author is trying to teach us about school is that it is never questioned. The results are shown clearly in Huck and Tom’s relationship, Huck has put himself below Tom for the only reason that he is educated even if he proves to himself many times that he is just as smart, if not smarter, than Tom Sawyer. However, we quickly learn how Huck is different from society. He questions everything that society and books have taught him, he follows what he believes in instead of what people have told him; this is why Huck is the only one getting truly educated. In my opinion, Huck has received the best education one can have; experience. In the book it is shown countless times how Huck’s experiences have taught him more about life and how to solve problems than any book Tom Sawyer or any educated individual has read. We are first exposed to this idea when Huck meets the king and duke, he says “[i]f I never learnt nothing else out of pap, I learnt that the best way to get along with his kind of people is to let them have their own way” (199). What Twain is showing us is how smart Huck really is.

Huck was able to learn from a past experience with his dad apply it to a current situation in order to deal with it in the best way possible. Later on in the novel a group of educated individuals meet the king and duke, who use their emotions against these people to gain wealth from their problems. And yet only one from the group noticed that they were frauds, so why is it that a group of educated people couldn’t notice what Huck did in a matter of seconds? The truth is that books don’t really prepare you for life, and it is our experiences and observations of the world that really prepare us for the life in front of us. By the end of the novel Tom Sawyer expresses that the only right way to do something is the one that is expressed in books. For this reason, when he plans to free Jim he decides to excavate a whole with knifes as it was told in the many books he had read. Upon a few hours he realizes that Huck’s opinion about his plans were right and they should have used the shovel and pickaxes. When Tom’s hands have blisters from trying to use the knifes for hours he finally says “[w]ell . . . there’s excuse for picks and letting-on in a case like this; if it warn’t so I wouldn’t approve of it, nor I wouldn’t stand by and see the rules broke” (274).

Twain shows how Tom has learned from his experience after trying to excavate a whole with just knives and understands that what is in the books will most probably not apply for real life situations like this one. He should have learned to trust his experiences instead of the books alone. The problem with experiences is that you have to go through them in order to learn, therefore, it was necessary that his hands blistered from the knives before he learned from his mistake. We learn from our mistakes, and this type of learning is probably the most durable there is. Usually what is taught in school people forget not long after it has been taught.

The school system also teaches us to know our place in society and to follow authority figures above anything else. In school we learn to not question the teachers and elderly, to accept what they tell us for the truth above everything else. But the truth is that school doesn’t really prepare us for life, the only thing that does is experience. “You lie and you learn” is a phrase that is constantly coming back in our life, because we learn from our experiences and mistakes. However, only who is truly educated and smart can learn from the past and use this to apply it to future situations. I personally believe Huck ends up being the smartest and most educated character in the novel. He is the only one that is able to break down traditional thoughts and is willing to follow his thoughts wherever they lead. He learns from tragic experiences in order to figure out how society works. I believe this is true education, one that makes you a better person, a critical thinker and someone who is not using their knowledge to put themselves above others.

As everyone starts to grow up, they begin to develop their own identity, as well as begin to identify their moral values. Through methods like lying, as shown by the character Huckleberry Finn in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, we can see how a person develops and changes. Lying and its effects is one of the main points of the book. In the novel, Mark Twain has a plethora of characters lie and deceive to show its benefits and consequences of not telling the truth. Some of the characters lie so much and so often that distinguishing the difference between reality and deception becomes impossible, and in turn, start to lose their sense of self-worth and self-respect. Characters like Huckleberry, the Duke, and the King are prime examples of characters who lie through their teeth for many reasons. All these lies heavily influence Huckleberry Finn and cause him to realize their cause and effects. Over his journey, and through his experiences, he begins to explore and find his true self. In the book, lying causes the main character to change and comprehend the moral effects of it because of how he uses lies for manipulation, protection, and fun.

In the early stages of his journey, Huckleberry uses his gift of deception as an innocent tool to have a good time and to play pranks on people. Towards the beginning of the novel, Huck is about 13, which is around the age in which kids start to mature and start to try to find themselves. The only influence that Huck really cares about at the time is Tom’s, and let’s face it, he is a pretty reckless role model for Huck. This was shown when Tom wanted to start the bandit camp with the kids from around the neighborhood. Huck would have stayed with that life if it wasn’t for his pap coming back for him. At this point in the story Huck still likes to lie because he wants attention and he finds it exciting, like for example when Huck places the dead rattlesnake what Jim slept and it ended up biting him. Or when Huck and Jim get separated in the fog and Huck tried to convince Jim that it was all a dream. While these acts were childish, they were actually huge turning points for Huck. His own moral reasoning is beginning to change from his own interests to the interests of everyone else. Through his game of lies, he realizes that his fibs don’t really have a positive effect on anyone.

In addition to using lies for fun and games, Huckleberry also lies to protect others. We see this throughout the book as he protects Jim from the public. Because of Huck’s dedication to Jim, Huck begins to have problems with society. He begins to question and challenge not only his own attitude towards people of color, but the whole mindset of white supremacy in the non-free states. This type of growth is huge for a young white boy and his maturity is shown, especially when they meet the King and the Duke.

Huckleberry learns about what is morally right when the King and the Duke come in the picture. They’re full blown scam artists and they move from one town to the next swindling people out of their hard-earned money. Huck doesn’t necessarily like them, but tolerates them and offers them help simply because it was the right thing to do. When they arrive at the first town, and the King and the Duke begin their scams, Huck is put in an awkward position. Huck is basically thrown into the lions’ den and is experiencing these different, manipulative lies for the first time. Before, Huck was used to more playful, simplistic lies, but he soon realizes that these men are willing to lie to anyone to make a quick buck, and he doesn’t really like it. The last straw for Huck was when the King and the Duke act as the two brothers, in which Huck states “It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race” (Twain 210). This whole experience of them lying through their teeth and pretending to be brothers really outraged Huck and shows him that lying just to manipulate is wrong. And while it was wrong, it ultimately developed his identity, as in the end he did what was right and gave the money back to Mary Jane and the sisters.

Throughout the adventures of Huckleberry Finn, I believe he grew from a boy to a man. He developed his own identity and learned about how different types of lies can affect him and all the people around him. He learned through his pranks that no matter how funny a joke might be, sooner or later someone could get seriously hurt. He learned to judge the objective and final outcome of a lie, and he learned that all lies eventually come with consequences. None of these lessons would have been learned if he hadn’t actually committed the lies in the first place. I think the biggest lesson we can take away from all this is to not be too harsh on people making mistakes. In the end, we all make mistakes, and each mistake is a lesson learned.

“There’s no place like home” is often referred to as a symbol to show the importance of home to a person. Setting, as it is used throughout the story, has a significant impact on the main character of the novel. In the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, setting is a crucial factor towards Huck Finn as a character: These essential settings include the widow’s house, Pap’s cabin, and the raft.

In the novel, the widow’s house represents civilization towards Huck’s character. This is important because Huck wants to be independent. Huck talks about how he can’t stand being civilized anymore, so he leaves. The author states, “The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was in all her ways; and so when I couldn’t stand it no longer I lit out. I got into my old rags and my sugar-hogshead again, and was free and satisfied” (Twain 11). The quote exhibits how Huck isn’t an advocate of the civilization of himself. He doesn’t like being told what to do, such as using his manners or going to school. Huck, all in all, wants to be free. Also, the widow’s house symbolizes religion. Religious belief is significant because Huck wants nothing to do with it. Huck explains how he could care less about following in Miss Watson’s footsteps. Twain says, “…she was going to live so as to go to the good place. Well, I couldn’t see no advantage in going where she was going, so I made up my mind I wouldn’t try for it” (Twain 13). In the story, Huck Finn doesn’t show any signs of having a care for any kind of religious beliefs. Consequently, this reveals that Huck Finn has no interest in staying with the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson. Since Huck Finn is curious and all about adventure, the widow’s house isn’t the right place for him to be.

In the book, Pap’s cabin symbolizes a sense of entrapment to Huck Finn. Huck does not enjoy being in this setting because of the danger risks. Huck explains how Pap always has his eyes on Huck, and he never has a chance to make an escape. Huck explains, “He kept me with him all the time, and I never got a chance to run off. We lived in that old cabin, and he always locked the door and put the key under his head nights” (Twain 34). The statement illustrates how Huck Finn is essentially trapped in Pap’s cabin. Also, Huck’s words imply that he seems to be scared and is trying to find a way to escape. Also, Pap’s cabin signifies abuse towards Huck Finn. Abuse is important because Huck’s father is abusing his son and Huck does not enjoy this very much. Huck explains how his father mistreats him. Twain states, “He used to always whale me when he was sober and could get his hands on me” (Twain 22). Pap’s abuse towards Huck ties in to the fact that Huck doesn’t have any family or moral support, and he is only 13 years old. Although Huck desires living on his own, he is somewhat forced to. The setting of Pap’s cabin represents constraint and resentment, which has a negative impact on Huck Finn as a character.

Huck is motivated to escape from Pap on a raft. Rather than just the means of transportation, the raft represents freedom for Huck and Jim. Since there are many things out to get the two, with Jim being a runaway slave and Huck being his father’s prey, the raft is their only getaway from society. Huck describes the raft as being their home and only source of safety. Twain writes, “We said there warn’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft” (Twain 127). The raft is of great significance to Huck because of its comfortability, physically and mentally. The raft is the separation between Huck and Jim’s freedom and the fear of society. In addition to freedom, the raft represents Huck and Jim’s time traveling together, symbolizing the unbreakable bond of friendship between the two. Their friendship is critical because it is the main thing keeping them alive. The author says, “Jim, this is nice…I wouldn’t want to be nowhere else but here” (Twain 59). With this quote, the reader can imply that Huck has a feeling of safety in the level of comfort they have developed. Huck and Jim’s friendship has progressively grown throughout the story. Holistically, Huck’s character is positively affected by the raft and its amenities.

As expressed, in the story, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, the three symbolic settings are vital elements towards Huck Finn as a character. The widow’s house signifies civilization and religion, Pap’s cabin represents entrapment and mistreatment, and the raft symbolizes freedom and the power of friendship. “Home is where you make it” is a quote that closely relates to Huck and Jim’s home, the raft.

‘If it takes censorship to ensure that the book is still widely read,’ novelist Francine Prose argued in January 2011, ‘it might not be the worst thing.” Even though Author’s words are carefully chosen, others state changing them essentially changes the work itself, classic works of literature should be edited to make them less offensive, because It makes it more accessible to the newer generation without being preoccupied by the offensive term and considering that tweaking classic literature to meet new social norms help make the original intent of the work clearer.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, first distributed in the U.S. in 1885, is a standout amongst the most commended works of American writing. Pulitzer and Nobel Prize– winning twentieth century writer Ernest Hemingway wrote in 1935, ‘All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn…. All American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since.’ Huckleberry Finn, notwithstanding, has been the subject of debate since its underlying distribution, at which time pundits felt that its delineation of the youthful hero’s reprobate conduct would be a terrible impact on kids. Without a doubt, Huckleberry Finn contains the racial slur ‘nigger,’ regularly alluded to now as the ‘n-word,’ in excess of multiple times. The site of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) records Huckleberry Finn as ‘among the most taught works of American literature’ and reports that the book is examined in over 70% of U.S. secondary schools. In late 2010, publisher “NewSouth Books” declared that it would discharge a changed adaptation of Huckleberry Finn, alongside its antecedent, Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, with the n-word altered out and supplanted by ‘slave.’ The new form was altered by Alan Gribben, an English teacher at Auburn University in Montgomery, Alabama, who felt that the utilization of the n-word in Twain’s work had shielded it from being read in numerous classrooms. Supporters of altering the works of classic fight that a few books, for example, Huckleberry Finn, must be adjusted to be valued by a newer generation. Editing out offensive material, supporters demand, will empower more young people to encounter an exemplary work like Huckleberry Finn.

Supporters of altering the works of classics contend that, in cases, for example, that of Huckleberry Finn, it merits eliminating a single word to make the novel available to new age of readers who generally would not be presented to it. ‘It seems to me that this small change enables us to set aside a word that has inflamed all discussions of the book now for 30 or 40 years,’ Gribben told NPR in January 2011. Evacuating hostile language, he stated, enables readers to ‘look at the novels and see the biting satire and the…very realistic treatment of slave conditions and so forth.’ A caller to Conan’s radio show Talk of the Nation named Mary Lee contended in January 2011 that, with the disputable n-word removed, parents and students can truly concentrate on the vital topics of the book. Indeed, defenders argue, readers can all the more adequately ingest racial unpredictability in Twain’s work without managing the debate of the n-word. Advocates of altering the works of classics contend that expelling hostile words or entries from great writing is a proper method to acquaint certain works with more youthful readers. Without a doubt, they fight, enabling young people to read sterilized versions of significant books may make them progressively slanted to read those books unedited when they are more established. James Duban, an English teacher at the University of North Texas in Denton, contended in the New York Times in January 2011: School kids should be able, at their teacher’s discretion, to read modified editions of classic works…. In today’s wasteland of ‘gaming’ and other electronic distractions, applaud any effort to perpetuate the reading and enjoyment of great fiction.

Defenders of the new version of Huckleberry Finn disagree with the critique that the altered content is no longer Twain’s unique work. Gribben disclosed to NPR that Twain would have been open to his changes, contending that the creator changed areas over and over again. He changed his ensemble, wearing the acclaimed white suit over the last few years. He changed his content. He changed his lectures…. All in all, truly, who of us is to state whether he may have adjusted to this? Following 125 years, the book…belongs to America as much as it has a place with the writer. Gribben also contended that the n-word is not inherent for Huckleberry Finn. He demanded that, in utilizing the word, Twain was not making a critical point, however rather ‘was simply trying to evoke what language prevailed in that part along the Mississippi River in the 1840s…. It was not the point of his book. The point of his book is the context all around the word, and the word ‘slaves’ certainly conveys the inferior and subjugated status of African-Americans in the 1840s.’

Classic yet dubious books, for example, Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, ought to be modified so young people can read them without getting to be entangled in the discussion in regards to their content. Eliminating the n-word from Huckleberry Finn, for instance, will enable individuals to explore the subjects and messages of the book without getting to be distracted with the presence of on word.

Mark Twain, the author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), introduced the novel as a kind of sequel to one of his past renown books, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). At first glance, most readers often view The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as nothing more than a comical sequel due to its very vernacular language, risky adventures, and often silly/childlike humor within the novel. However, this novel is more profound than what one might expect from it. Although it’s not the main intention, the novel focuses on the institution of slavery and other aspects of life often found within the antebellum south. Slavery had not been discussed in Twain’s prequel (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer), which often leads many to speculate whether or not Twain intended to subtly or deliberately discuss it while trying to convey a new comical story. For many that are familiar with the works of Mark Twain, he was known to often base such stories and characters off of his own personal experiences. Therefore, it may be possible that Twain could have felt that such experiences toward slavery were needed to be discussed, whether for good or bad. One of the most effective ways Twain does this is by creating Jim, a character who is an escaped slave that embodies the stereotype of slaves/ African Americans during this period.

Interestingly, although Mark Twain wrote the novel several years after the abolishment of slavery, it was still decided that the setting would be situated during the slavery era within America. This often makes readers speculate about this decision and whether him deliberately making the setting during the time of slavery, is significant in terms of the message that Twain wished to convey. Despite the reason, what is for certain is that the novel is successful in convincing certain readers that despite the many adult characters encountered (whether colored or white), none of them can be compared to the level of honesty and integrity that Jim conveys, which certainly begs the question about the humanity of slaves, as well as the immorality of denying basic human rights to certain ethnic groups. While Huck is the narrator and protagonist of the story, it is often Jim who widely discussed, due to his controversial portrayal as a slave from both the present and past societal standards (Illustrating Slavery). Although Jim may be a minor character, meaning that the story does not revolve around him, he is still essential to the story.

Many characters in Twain’s novel are white slaveholders. Such characters include Miss Watson, the Grangerford family, and the Phelps family. Because of the hard labor that their slaves give, they all profit directly from their work, whether agricultural or economically. Meanwhile, other characters like for example the Duke and King (two con-artists with funny names) profit from slavery indirectly by turning in Miss Watson’s runaway slave, Jim, to the authorities for a cash reward. While the slaveholders profit from the fruits of slavery, the slaves themselves are heavily oppressed and exploited for their work. This is depicted when Jim is inhumanely ripped away from his wife and children, as well as when Miss Watson is deciding whether to sell Jim to New Orleans for $800 (equivalent to approximately $22,104.52 today). However, white slaveholders often justify the oppression and exploitation of slaves by ridiculously maintaining the racist stereotype, that black people are inferior to white people, whether in the novel or in real life, during the slavery era (Illustrating Slavery). This stereotype of inferiority is interesting because although Twain was not the first one to first realize this notion, he was one of the few to call it out during his time and briefly incorporate it into a possible theme of his novel that would lead future readers to critically think about the negativity of slavery as a whole.

Furthermore, in terms of humanity, Twain uses the character Jim as a way to call out the inconsistencies and hypocrisies often found during the same period that the novel is set in. The honest and helpful character Jim contrasts many of the white characters in the novel because he seems to be the only character free from biases and certain weaknesses that other characters possess. For instance, Miss Watson who seems to improve Huck in terms of morality, basic education, and religion seem to have good intentions of improving the conditions/ state of others. However, because she owns slaves, this is clearly a sign of hypocrisy because although she believes that a religious upbringing will make a better person, she completely ignores the religious messages about being a basic humanitarian such as treat others as you would have them do unto you, God shows no partiality , and there is neither slave nor free for all are one in Christ Jesus (Illustrating Slavery). Another instance is with the use of the character “Pap” Finn, father of Huck. Twain gives us a clear example with the use of Pap Finn in proving false of the racist notion that colored people are mentally inferior to whites. Pap Finn, a white man, is a town drunk and behaves very outlandish when intoxicated. Since Jim is portrayed to be a lot more civilized than Pap Finn, it seems almost inconsistent that a white man seems to be more animalistic and mentally unstable than a slave who is often depicted to be like such behavior in society. Thus, unlike the other characters (excluding Huck) Jim is known to stay true to himself and his beliefs. This is illustrated when Jim and Huck are sailing through the Mississippi River, and Jim constantly worries about Huck and takes care of him as he tries to help Huck to return home. Jim has no ulterior motives to act in such a way towards Huck, other than the fact that he actually cares for human life no matter the skin color. Therefore, Twain uses Jim as a way to show that even slaves can have such complex traits like kindness, sympathy, emotions, and literally any other trait that a white person can possess.

In conclusion, whether intentional or not, many readers have sought to believe that the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, possibly contains the theme of slavery, due to the portrayal of the stereotypical character, Jim. Although one cannot be for certain that this was Twain’s intention, the use of the minor character serves to show how slavery used to be portrayed within the same period of the novel’s setting. The novel shows that slaves are people too, and that slavery is immoral, no matter how one may justify it. Therefore, although the use of the character Jim was meant to be subtle, the portrayal of the character has been used as a significant and immense reference towards the negativity towards slavery.

“For Goodness sakes, would a runaway nigger run south?”

Mark Twain (1835-1910) is the pseudonym of the American writer Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He grew up in Hannibal, a city located in the state of Missouri. He based the most famous books of his career, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, in this town on the shores of the Mississippi River, also relevant in the novels to understand the full meaning of them.

For a few years, he worked in various jobs, such as in the mine or piloting aeroplanes, but he returned to journalism. Very conscientious with the racial situation of his time, as well as with the rural people, he began to comprehend people: their dialect, their behaviour, and their way of life. As a consequence, his production captures the life of the regions.

After writing stories that were extensively accepted, he married in 1870 and settled in Connecticut. Time after he wrote one of his most influential books, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. However, it was not until 1885 when he published his masterpiece and the one that established him as one of the best North American writers, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Despite gaining prestige, fame and awards in the last years of his life, the death of one of his daughters and his wife, as well as the economic difficulties he experienced, made a dent in him. He died of a withering heart attack.

The literary movement of the Mark Twain is Realism (1865-1900), specifically Regionalism. Realism is the largest and most important movement of the 19th century. It is a reaction, an attack against the romantic vision and sentimentality of life. The realistic writers did not believe in melodrama or love, and they portrayed life as objectively as possible. It also gave visibility to the unvoiced, such as women, black people, and immigrants. The most influential figure of this literary movement was William Dean Howells. Concerning Regionalism, rural communities are the centre of attention. As a consequence, the writers used the characteristic dialects of the southern areas very often. To name a few of the most prominent people in this literary movement, one of them was Kate Chopin, the author of numerous short stories, such as The Storm.

The quote belongs to chapter 20, written in the second part of the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, known as The River, one of the most satirical parts. It goes from chapter 12 to chapter 30, both inclusive. The implications of the quote on the plot and the ideological level are related to race. Life in the South was not only dangerous but also it was deadly to blacks. The healthy whites created the plantation system that only caused a clear division in the social pyramid established in society. White people saw black people as slaves, second class people without any chance to have rights and to achieve equality. Huckleberry Finn helps, as a consequence, his only friend, Jim, a black man slave with a big heart, lying and protecting him from his possible fate: ending up on a plantation in the South, where life is cruel. Regarding Jim, he escaped from the cultivated land of his master because his situation is unethical and additionally because people believe he killed Huck when Huck faked his death. Huck was in a cabin with his father, a very violent drunk who only wants his son for the money.

In this way, both characters, inseparable from the moment of their encounter, seek two different classes of freedoms, one more focused on the depths of the soul and the feelings, and, on the other hand, another very different one linked to social justice and moral ethics of a person.

Regarding the Duke and the King, both of them characters play a very remarkable role in the book. Furthermore, they make a point of inflexion in the process of the development of Huckleberry Finn. From a childish perspective, through the eyes of a young boy, Mark Twain harshly criticizes society objectively and describing the oppressive reality. The author not only describes the river but uses it symbolically to shape a great metaphor. He associates the shore with personal, physical and moral limitation, as well as the denial of freedom and the impossibility of having a decent life. On the contrary, Mark Twain unites the river with independence and happiness.

Although highly criticized in his day for the language of the book and the description of black people, Mark Twain detailed from an external point of view the life of black people, people who had no voice, vote, or rights. A year after the publication of the Declaration of Independence, in 1776, signed the great celebrated July 4 from that moment, Mart Twain began to write The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with a necessary point: racism. The book may seem like an adventure book for children, trivial, and without any deep thought about life or human behaviour; however, it is just the opposite. The character of Jim gives the book not only a scathing point of criticism of humanity, but Mark Twain endows Jim with a lot of virtues. He has every one of the qualities that a black person is not supposed to have or lack.

One of those qualities is compassion. Jim acts in a very fatherly way with Huckleberry Finn, especially when he knows that reality can be painful. An example of his sympathy is when, despite knowing that the father of Huckleberry Finn is dead in the floating cabin, he does not confess his death so as not to harm him.

Another point to learn about the thinking and the behaviour of Jim is money. Although his great adventure friend Huckleberry Finn strongly believes that money is worthless, and additionally a reminder of his hostile father, it is the opposite for Jim. Jim learns at the cultivated land of Miss Watson that he is just one thing to sell and buy for quite a high price. However, it is money that gives Jim human value, a person and not an object.

Mark Twain, in a very cunning and accomplished way, and taking into account the experiences and people known throughout his travels, describes the places and customs linked to blacks, such as a taste for black magic. The reader can see an instance of this stereotypical behaviour in Jim when he believes in ghosts, magicians, and good luck charms. Although it was not the description of a very disadvantaged minority group that the experts and readers criticized the most. It was the use of a specific word. Mark Twain does not use that word as an insult or a humiliating term to refer to black people but uses it as a synonym for the word “slave,” according to David L. Smith. With it, Mark Twain tries to make the reader understand the racism of America individually and the world in general.

However, not all critics agree with David L. Smith. According to John H. Wallace, the book is racist and should remove from any educational program, including universities. As he explains, parents and directors harshly received the book in schools, and not many teachers liked the impact of the language of Mark Twain on black students. About this point of view, and taking into account the investigation by the mentioned critic, the teacher must decide whether the books of Mark Twain are worthy, and, if so, explain both the history of black people and describe the prejudice against black people.

Following this line of critical analysis, as Peaches Henry details, the censorship and prohibition of the book due to the infinite number of complaints and objections about the racist tone made the literary work on the lips of everyone for a very long time. Likewise, the teacher must not only be an influential and crucial figure to understand the reason for the words used, the customs described, and the thoughts developed in the book written by Mark Twain. But also an emotional guide so that people of colour do not feel inferior or oppressed, especially if there is more number of white people in the classroom.

In the edition and translation of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a different point of investigation and research, the supervisors and translators manage not to use the word. In this way, many soften the tone by changing sentences and specific words in the dialogues and descriptions. Others, on the contrary, directly choose to emit the controversy word in the editions. They all neutralize the use of the language of Mark Twain so that no reader in any country can feel repudiated or mistreated.

To conclude, even though the most important book of the literary career of Mark Twain is also the most hated and rejected by many people, the reader should not ignore that it is one of the classics of American literature. Furthermore, it is relevant to know not to repeat certain behaviours that, in the case of this book, could be racist so that, in the future, all people can have the same opportunities and equalities in a fairer society.

Works Cited

1. Alberti, John. The Nigger Huck: Race, Identity and the Teaching of “Huckleberry Finn.” NCTE. 1995: 919-937. Web. 20 June 2020.
2. Fischer, Beatrice; Jensen, Matilde, ed. Translation and the Reconfiguration of Power Relations: Revisiting Role and Context of Translation and Interpreting. Germany: LIT Verlag. 2012: 91-98. Web. 20 June. 2020.
3. Gurpegui Palacios, Jose Antonio, ed. Historia crítica de la novela norteamericana. Salamanca: Almar-Anglistica. 2001: 145-148. Web. 20 June. 2020.
4. Leonard, James S.; Tenney, Thomas A.; Davis, Thadious M., ed. Satire Or Evasion?: Black Perspectives on “Huckleberry Finn”. London: Duke University Press. 1992: 103-120. Web. 20 June 2020.
5. Sundquist, Eric, ed. Mark Twain: A Collection of Critical Essays. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Direct, 1994: 90-102. Web. 19 June. 2020.

Samuel Longhorne Clemens, also known as Mark Twain, was born in Missouri in 1835. He worked as a printer and as a Mississippi river-pilot, which influenced him to write some of his best books: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), Life on the Mississippi (1883) and The Adventures of Huclkleberry Finn, published in 1884. In them he wrote with warmth and accuracy of the life he most vividly knew, the life of his boyhood river town and of the river. In addition, he participated in the Civil War (1861-65) as a soldier, which also shaped his work. For instance, his opinion about religion changed during the war, which is portrayed in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as Huck eventually comes to the conclusion that religion is useless and only exists to undermine black people.

Movement

Mark Twain mainly lived and experienced Realism, which emerged in the 1840s in France. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a greatly realistic novel in which Huck’s morality struggles against society. Realism is a literary style that consists of describing and representing everything as realistic as possible. Characters are not necessarily good or evil. They have bad and good qualities. Such characters usually do bad things, such as committing a crime or carry out immoral actions. In realism, facets such as the time period and the location are also matter of focus, as well as the use of local dialects. Twain represents this movement in almost every aspect of his writing; the description of the setting, the description of the characters, and even in the way characters speak. He criticizes several aspects of society along the way, such as the hypocrisy of religion and education. Moreover, he exposes how Huck’s morality and thoughts systematically emerge and evolve throughout the novel. “It presents an almost artistically perfect picture of the life and character in the southwest, and it will be equally valuable to the historian and to the student of sociology. Its humor, which is genuine and never-failing, is relieved by little pathetic touches here and there that vouch for its literary value” (The Atlanta Constitution, May 26, 1885).

Slavery and Racism

Slavery began in America during the seventeenth century. Two centuries later, the rights and liberties of African-Americans, who were now part of the american society, were put into debate. All of this would eventually lead to the American Civil War in 1861. As a consequence, the North freed the African-Americans and ended slavery in 1865. In spite of the fact that Samuel Longhorne Clemens wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn after the American Civil War, the novel itself is set before this war. For example, there are some characters in the novel that are slaveholders or own slave farms. Huckleberry Finn experiences a phycological jorney throughout the Mississippi river, which represents freedom, since the very first moment he meets Jim, Miss Watson’s runaway slave, who has been blamed for Huck’s “death”.

Mark Twain gives his protagonist adult problems. During their trip, Huck bears a mental fight between his society-based knowledge and principles taught by Widow Douglas and Miss Watson and his own conscience and self-awareness. In chapter 20, Huck defends Jim from the Duke and the King, who are suspicious, argumenting that it would be stupid for a runaway slave to go south, where slavery is predominant. “For Goodness sakes, would a runaway nigger run south?”. Along the way, he learns about the evil of the world. He wonders whether he is doing a bad thing (helping a runaway slave escape) or whether he is doing the right thing, just as he perceives Jim more human and close to him as the raft brings them together. In chapter 31, Huck faces this moral dilemma created by the corrupt society he lives in. He must decide whether to accept the conventional wisdom, which defines black people as subhuman commodities, or to accept the evidence of his own experience, which has shown Jim to be a good and kind man as well as a true friend. This society has institutionalized slavery and is extremely racist as a matter of a fact. “Good gracious! Anybody hurt?”. “No’m. Killed a nigger”.”Well, it’s lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt.” (chapter 32).

Huck’s sense of right and wrong is strongly socially conditioned as well. For instance, in chapter 34, Huck is astounded when he sees how determined and willing to help Tom Sawyer is. This attitude goes utterly against the rules and perceptions of society. By this point, the serious human and moral issues of the middle section of the novel are almost forgotten. By the end of the novel, Huck has come to the conclusion that Modern American society is rotten to the core. Mark Twain had grown pessimistic about the possibility of any imaginative individual living a worthwhile existence in such country. “Huckleberry Finn offers much more than the typical liberal defenses of human dignity and protests against cruelty. Though it contains some such elements, it is more fundamentally a critique of those socially constituted fictions-most notably romanticism, religion, and the concept of “the Negro”-which serve to justify and disguise selfish, cruel and exploitative behaviour” (David L. Smith in “Huck, Jim, and American Racial Discourse”,1994). Mark Twain believed society supresses humans natural and healthy instincts and portrayed it through Huck. Twain thus adopts a strategy to attack race. He focuses on a number of commonplaces associated with black people and then systematically dramatizes their inadequacy. For example, he uses the term “nigger” and shows Jim engaging with superstitious behaviour. Nevertheless, he portrays Jim as a compassionate, thoughtful, self-sacrificing and wise man.

Jim exposes all que quirks black people supposedly do not have. The word “nigger”, though very insulting and offensive nowadays, was used by Mark Twain to criticize American racism, comprehended as a synonym for slave. “Miss Watson’s big nigger, named Jim” (chapter 2). This clearly designates Jim as a property, as a slave. As a serious critique of American society, Mark Twain recognized that racial discourse depends upon the deployment of a system of stereotypes which constitute black people as fundamentally different and inferior to Euro-Americans. Twain’s strategy with racial stereotypes is to elaborate them in order to undermine them. He uses the narrative to expose the cruelty and hollowness of that racial discourse which exists only to deeply obscure the humanity of all African-Americans. Apart from the use of the term “nigger”, Mark Twain also makes use of superstition to make points that undermine and devalue the American racial discourse. Jim is used as an element related to superstition from the very beginning, when Tom Sawyer pranks him in chapter 2. However, Jim turns the tables and cleverly exploits the conventions of the “Negro superstitions”, turning Tom Sawyer’s prank to his own advantage, as many black people come to see him afterwards. In another instance of explicitly superstitious behaviour, Jim uses a hair ball to tell Huck’s fortune. Even if Jim does believe in the supernatural powers of his hair ball, all of the transaction still depends on Jim’s wit and loquacity. Ji mis portrayed as an astute adn sensitive observer of humar behaviour. Again, he clearly possesses and demonstrates an intelligence, wit and reasoning abilities black people are not supposed to have. Throughout the novel, Mark Twain presents Jim as an example that demonstrated that race does not provide any useful index of character. This fact may seem pretty obvious to contemporary readers, but not to nineteenth century Euro-American writers. Mark Twain’s ideas were revolutionary.

Conclusion

Almost any Euro-American intellectual of the first half of the nineteenth century could relate and approve of Thomas Jefferson’s words about black people: “…In general, their existence appears to participate more of sensation than reflection…” (Thomas Jefferson in Notes on the State of Virginia, 1785). Nevertheless, Mark Twain fought and wrote in order to change this. “Many of us continue to assert both racial distinction and liberal values simultaneously. If we, a century later, continue to be confused about Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, perhaps it is because we remain more deeply commited to both racial discourse and self-deluding optimism than we care to admit” (David L. Smith in “Huck, Jim, and American Racial Discourse”, 1994). Black people’s rights and liberties have been a matter of debate since the nineteenth century. Not only this occasioned many problems in the past, but it is now causing them in the present. America and the whole world is currently fighting racism all over again. Step by step, the human being learns, though slowly. Mark Twain satirized and critized the Racial Discourse in order to end racism, or at least contribute his grain of sand on the matter. Almost 140 years later, one part of society struggles to make life fair for all, meanwhile the other part still struggles to read and comprehend The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Black Lives Matter.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written by 1885, at that time, slavery had been abolished for 20 years, but in many states in the southern, the treatment of black people had not really changed. Because even though the law has changed, people’s perceptions of black people have not changed, they still have stereotypes about them, thinking they are stupid and ignorant. In the face of this social situation, by describing Jim’s experience, Mark Twain condemned the injustice of slavery and its serious consequences.

No one in the novel treats black people as humans. There are many ordinary people there, among them are devout Christians and good people. They believe that all men are equal before God and are willing to give their love. They do not realize that they’re dehumanizing people cause they convinced that slaves are only property, not people, so they do not need to treat them equally. Miss Watson has never abused Jim, but she has never treated him as an equal person. She deprived him of labor and took it for granted. Although she promised not to sell Jim, Jim heard she was talking to a slave trader about selling him to New Orleans for $ 800. Miss Watson knew that Jim’s wife and children were elsewhere, and Jim could hardly see his wife and children, but she wouldn’t feel sad about it. She sympathized with Huck and was willing to tolerate him with love and take him home as a son to educate him. But she thinks that Jim is only a slave, not a person. His happiness and even his life are not what they should consider.

During Huck’s adventures with Jim, he changes his thought about Jim. Although he was tangled and knew Jim was a slave. But he ended up treating Jim like a friend, not a property. In fact, the change in Huck’s thought of Jim has not changed Huck’s attitude toward other black people. He still treats other blacks as property rather than humans. During Chapter 27, Huck was glad he pushed his stolen money things onto the black people, and he didn’t feel guilty at all. He just felt that the slave was not injured as a result, so he thought it was a perfect plan. He did not consider the morals of the black people as human beings, nor did they consider the consequences if they get caught, he just made this decision subconsciously. And in Chapter 32, when Aunt Sally talking with Huck, they said:

Huck: “It warn’t the grounding—that didn’t keep us back but a little. We blowed out a cylinder-head.”

Aunt Sally: “Good gracious! anybody hurt?”

Huck: “No’m. Killed a nigger.” ( The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Pg 223)

Huck’s reply proved that he did not treat black people as human beings, ‘No one was hurt, only a black person died.’ It is enough to prove that Huck treats black people still as property. When Huck wanted to pay tribute to Jim’s noble sentiment, he always used white people as a reference. For example, he thinks that Jim’s heart is the same as ‘white’. When he defied the king and duke’s insidious behavior, he thought if he did these bad things, he will be black. In his opinion, white people are noble and black people are inferior.

In Mark Twain’s description, Jim is a kind and compassionate person. He knows how to thank Huck for helping him. He took good care of Huck during the adventure. They met the King and the Duke during the adventure, who ordered him and Huck to take vigil. Every time is Huck’s turn for the vigil, Jim always don’t wake up Huck and instead of him. In helping Jim escape, Tom was shot in the leg. Tom feels excited about this and insists on continuing to escape. Jim refused to take another half-step forward and had to find a doctor to take out the bullet for Tom. When the doctor was unable to remove the bullet alone without the help of someone, Jim hidden in the woods ran out again, helped the doctor, and took great care of Tom. What Mark Twain wants to express is that blacks are not only inferior to whites in personality, they even surpass whites in many ways. Black people are not what people think during that time. If equally educated, blacks can be as good as whites. Shows the necessity and urgency of abolishing slavery.

Mark Twain described in the adventures of Huckleberry Finn how badly people thought of black people at the time. Shown the disadvantages of slavery and racial discrimination at that time.

In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn is a preteen running away from his abusive father who discovers his inner morals throughout the book. In this essay, I will be discussing how he set sail on finding a new life and purpose for himself. How he developed new social skills by traveling along side of a runaway slave on the Mississippi River. I have highlighted some of the main events that pushed him to leave and what occurred during their travels that developed his true identity.

When the story starts Huckleberry was a young boy from a low income society. His father was a drunk and often disappeared , but when he was around he would take his anger out on Finn. In the absence of his father, the Widow Douglas attempts to make Huck more civilized , but he resisted Because he’s used to taking care and providing for himself. Since Huckleberry came from this small community with a lack of parental guidance which made him “skeptical of the world around him and the ideas it passes on to him”.(Sparknotes) Eventually, Widow does give Huckleberry some of the schooling and religious training that he hasn’t received . Unfortunately, Pap Finn (huckleberry’s father) wasn’t happy that Finn was getting an education , and starts to feel challenged by his new found knowledge and tries to take school from him. He fears that one day his son will surpass him, so he tries to physically harm Huckleberry to make him quit. While having a conversation with his son he admits his jealousy by saying “Looky here–you drop that school, you hear? I’ll learn people to bring up a boy to put on airs over his own father and let on to be better’n what he is. You lemme catch you fooling around that school again you hear?” (19) In this time period education was a high status thing to have and pap felt as though people would look down on him if his son was smarter than he was. For the sake of his pride the only thing he could do to stop that was to make his son as ignorant as he was.

His father’s brutality was the reason he ended up alone on Jackson Island. To escape paps Huckleberry faked his own death. So, he takes advantage of Pap’s absence and kills a pig inside of the cabin and takes a couple of things to make it seem like it was a robbery and that he was killed during the process. To make sure they knew that it was him that was murdered he left a couple strands of hair on the bloody axe . Then he left a trail of flour leading to the lake. After he finishes his own death bed , he sails off on his canoe. He had it all planned out that “they’ll follow that meal track to the lake and go browsing down the creek that leads out of it to find the robbers that killed (him) and took the things. They won’t ever hunt the river for anything but (a) dead carcass. They’ll soon get tired of that, and won’t bother no more about (him).”(chapter 7) Planning to have them looking in a different direction and by time they get to his , they’d just give up. When he sails off and gets to Jackson island is where he met Miss Watson’s slave Jim.

Although, when the pair first met Finn didn’t trust him, but his experiences as they travel down the river forces him to question what society has taught him. According to the law, Jim is Miss Watson’s property, but the kindness in Huck’s heart thought the right thing to do was to help Jim. When Huck thought through the situation it led him to come to conclusions that would shock his white roots. They may have been separated by age and color ,but they were what each other needed to find who they really were. The pair both desired freedom and on the journey on the Mississippi River they discovered who they’d be when they reach their goal. Given the time period it was frowned upon for blacks and whites to enter mingle. So, huckleberry wasn’t open to sharing his travels with someone of color , because of his white background. On the inside Finn knows that Jim is an honest guy who deserves his respect but society persuaded him to look down on Jim. This was an identity crisis for Huck struggling between his skin color and being a morally good human being. “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didn’t do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn’t done that one if I’d a knowed it would make him feel that way.”(49) Being a good, caring person was one thing that made up huckleberry, and this small decision created a huge shift in his self image. After Huck found out that Jim was a harmless person unlike other heroic figures he is used to seeing and was worth saving. “For example when he and Jim meet a group of slave-hunters, that telling a lie is sometimes the right course of action.” (Sparknotes) Finn realizes he doesn’t want to be seen as a hateful and ugly person , instead he wants to be empathetic and care like Jim which he did develop in the end freeing Jim figuratively and literally.

Throughout the book it’s a tale of a young boy maturing into a man with the guidance of a new found friend on the river. I feel as though huckleberry sees Jim as a father figure, because although he doesn’t know as much as Finn he is willing to listen. He might not have followed every word , but he gave huckleberry that support and presence that was absent from him and his father’s relationship. Pap chased him away and made him feel unwanted, but Jim stuck around and gave him that acceptance he craved. This acceptance gave Finn the ability to decipher right from wrong and in the end figuring out his own identity.

Work Cited

1. Twain, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Intl Business Pubns Usa, 2009.
2. SparkNotes, SparkNotes, www.sparknotes.com/lit/huckfinn/.

Overall structure

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain follows the physical journey of Huck, a runaway boy, and Jim, a runaway slave, up the Mississippi River as they each attempt to emancipate themselves. Thus, the literal journey the book describes is symbolic of each character’s psychological journey towards freedom: Huck towards social freedom, and Jim towards personal freedom.

Beginning

The exposition of the novel introduces Huck as a rebellious free-thinker who wishes to break free of stifling societal constraints. This characterization, combined with the fact that Huck is a child (not yet fully socially indoctrinated), serves as a vessel through which Twain exposes the immorality and hypocrisy of society. In this way, the beginning of the novel is also the beginning of Huck’s increasing recognition of not only society’s hypocrisy, but his own as well.

Rising action

The rising action in this novel fuels Huck’s rising realization that the social indoctrination he received about the inferiority of African Americans is false and prejudiced. The increasing amount of hypocrisy and moral negligence he sees in white society is directly juxtaposed with Jim’s pure, sincere kindness towards him, forcing him to reckon with the social norms that deem white society the pinnacle of morality and African Americans the opposite.

Climax

The climax of the novel — Huck’s decision to not reveal Jim’s location to Miss Watson — is also the moral climax of Huck’s development. Through the climax, Twain conveys the importance of independent thought — only by basing his beliefs on his own experiences is Huck able to behave in an empathetic and considerate manner towards others.

Falling action

The falling action in the novel reinforces the veracity of Huck’s decision to abandon social norms and help Jim by introducing the mischievous Tom Sawyer — a young boy whose strict adherence to precepts about adventure directly contrasts Huck’s willingness to question authority. By portraying Tom’s stubborn loyalty to the behaviors he reads in books as illogical and absurd, Twain reinforces the moral message he delivers in the climax of the novel.

Conclusion

Through Huck’s decision to run away to the West at the conclusion of the novel, Twain conveys that the immorality Huck sees in society is persistent and deeply-embedded — even though Jim is able to attain freedom, the larger institution of slavery is still in place. Thus, for true morality to be implemented, all individuals in society must think independently, not just one.

Events

Huck goes to hide in the forest to think by himself.

This event characterizes Huck as independent, since he takes the time to think for himself rather than immediately succumbing to social norms. Through this, Twain conveys that individuals can only act in a way that embodies true morality when they think independently.

Jim covers a dead man’s face as Huck walks by, refusing to let him see it.

Jim’s actions in this event characterize him as loyal and caring: he seeks to protect Huck’s wellbeing by preventing him from experiencing the mental distress of seeing a dead body. Thus, this action establishes Jim as a father figure towards Huck, conveying that family should be determined on the basis of actions rather than biological relation.

When Grangerford’s daughter elopes with the Sheperdsons’ son, the two families engage in a gun battle because of an ancient family feud.

The two families’ blind adherence to tradition without regard for consequences characterizes them as mindless and absurd. Through this, Twain conveys the importance of questioning authority — unquestioning obedience will ultimately blind individuals to the immorality of their own actions.

After getting tricked by the Duke and the King, one audience member proposes that they should trick the other townspeople into watching the show, and everyone else agrees immediately.

The audience’s unquestioning agreement to do as one member says conveys characterizes them as foolish and unreasonable — their mob mentality causes them to make decisions on an emotional rather than rational basis. As a result, they become cruel and spiteful. Through this, Twain conveys that individuals should think rationally rather than emotionally when making decisions, since emotions exaggerate an individual’s perception of reality.