Mark Twain s The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn - 1996 Words

Regarded by Ernest Hemingway as â€Å"the source of all American literature†, Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has for decades been the subject of unrelenting controversy. The question of whether or not the novel is a depiction of a racist society or solely the beliefs of a racist writer, is one without a clear response for the close minded reader. While the argument may be presented either way, I believe any claim should be based on what the novel represents rather than on an individuals’ personal opinions or feelings about the subject matter the novel focuses on. For those who choose to merely read the words they see before them, rather than reach past the words and understand the greater meaning behind them, the true†¦show more content†¦To a reader who is unable to comprehend Twain’s use of Socratic irony throughout the novel, or lacks the ability to place the novel in a larger historical and literary context, there will be a co ntinued struggle to grasp the meaningfulness behind this work of To gain a better understanding of what Mark Twain did in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, one needs to understand that there has to be a separation between the author and the narrator—this novel was not intended to be a work of non-fiction. Twain had a consciousness and awareness which was set in the post Civil War era. His was larger than that of any of the other characters in the novel—especially that of Huckleberry Finn. Huck’s consciousness and awareness was set in the antebellum era. This was a time period when slavery had been moralized. Little old ladies like Aunt Sally thought of what they were doing and the way they were living as right. They believed that God himself deemed it just. A reading of the novel in an intellectual manner would reveal that the character, Huckleberry Finn and the author Mark Twain were not one in the same. The inability to distinguish between the two is what results in the misinterpretation of what the novel represents. In or der to completely grasp what Twain is