Huck Finn: Oh, the Irony of Society!

Satire is a subtle literary technique involving the criticism of human idiocy through scorn and biting irony. With a faà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ade of crude bias and prejudice, satire's influence lies in the reader's capability of interpretation. Due to Mark Twain's constant application of racial aspersions, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn contains strong implications of an archetypal racist novel. However, with satirical insight and the shrewd application of realism and irony, the novel reveals itself to hold an opposing stance through its harsh ridicule of white society. Utilizing a sense of realism for the setting for his novel, Twain correctly portrays historical accuracy in the perspective of white society through the prejudice he presents. Twain attempts to instill a sense of authenticity in his readers while indistinctly instilling novel concepts that grow stronger and undeniable by the novel's conclusion. For example, when Aunt Sally hears of a steamboat explosion: â€Å"Good gracious! anybody hurt?† â€Å"No'm. Killed a nigger.† â€Å"Well, that's lucky, because sometimes people get hurt, â€Å"(167). Almost laughable in its absurdity, this quote portrays whites in a callous light, revealing their disdain for black lives. Aunt Sally is a respected figure in white society, not an outcast like Pap or the King and the Duke. Yet her judgment is no better than Pap's comments on his contempt of educated blacks; she simply does not consider them â€Å"people.† Twain's motivation was to exhibit the horrors of the south at that time, how highly regarded people in society were so heartless, not feeling any remorse for the loss of a life simply because it was black. Jim is another excellent example of Twain's usage of realism. Jim characterizes the stereotypical black slave, with terrible grammar, a nearly indiscernible accent and superstitious to the point of idiocy. Twain's agenda in typecasting Jim is not to deride blacks, but to make Jim a realistic, believable character by setting him up as a conventional black slave. Jim requires such establishment because he represented an individual with moral standards far above those of most whites, such as Pap and the Duke and the King. He is the moral center of the novel, sacrificing his freedom out of loyalty to Huck. Twain's message through Jim is clear: Even the average black slave has a more honorable soul than the majority of the white population. A notion profoundly difficult for Twain's intended audience to grasp, Huck becomes a liaison between his audiences, helping to bridge the difficulty of comprehension through his own confusion. One particularly monumental instance was after the separation in the fog, Huck tries to lie to Jim. However, when Jim realizes that Huck is trying to trick him, he voices his regret and disappointment of the broken trust. It is at this moment that Huck realizes Jim's keen sense of morality, and almost instantly feels apologetic. â€Å"It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger-but I done it, and I wrn't every 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,† ( ). The mere fact that Huck is regretful for hurting Jim, a black slave, shows Jim's impact on him, the â€Å"pinch of conscience† (Poirier 6) that the sheer morality of the man created in him. Irony was another strong factor in Twain's method of persuading his audiences. He effectively uses petty, seemly insignificant instances such as Tom Sawyer's boyish delusions of grandeur as metaphors of greater connotation. When questioned about his intricate plans, Tom replies, â€Å"Do you want to go doing different from what's in the books, and get things all muddled up?† (7). Tom is clearly a portrayal of white society, and his actions reflect his environment. On a larger scale, Huck's confusion about society's notions on respectability is similar to the questions presented toward Tom, and the answers given in return are analogous as well. â€Å"We have before us the creation in words of a whole society built on games, tricks, and illusions, and the adult version is only superficially different from the children's† (Poirier 2) There is hardly any common sense involved with decisions, only a common law established by unknown authorities and blindly upheld by the conformity of the masses. Due to his role as an outcast of white society, â€Å"Huckleberry Finn took the first journey back. He was the first to look back at the republic from the perspective of the west. His eyes were the first eyes that ever look at us objectively that were not eyes from overseas†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Fitzgerald 1) Twain challenges his readers by such mockery, inviting them to join Huck's rational judgment, one unclouded by the shackles of the populace. Through subtle application, Mark Twain used realism and irony to contribute to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, his satirical masterpiece. He uses white society's degrading of blacks and their unconscious actions to illustrate his obvious scorn of white society's hypocrisy and conformity, allowing for the gradual realization of the bleakness of white society.