Social Ostracism in Mark Twains Adventures of...

Social Ostracism in Mark Twains Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In the words of Pap, â€Å"You think you’re better’n your father, now, don’t you, because he can’t [read and write]?† (2). In Mark Twain’s adventure novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck Finn escapes from civilized society to traverse the Mississippi River. Throughout the book, Twain uses various themes such as social ostracism to comment on human nature and its role in shaping society. Sometimes mainstream society is not as right and moral as it believes, and when individuals try to justify it they push away their own humanity. Twain demonstrates this through the various lifestyles, comparing the intellects and beliefs of different social classes, and Huck’s conforming†¦show more content†¦After critiquing his performance, the woman remarks that he â€Å"might fool men, maybe† (46), emphasizing the mental, physical, and social differences between the two sexes. They differ in the way they throw, catch, and in the way they thread a needle; the only part of his facade that Huck demonstrates well lies in the things country folk know, such as where the most moss grows on a tree. The way a person lives also affects him or her in greater ways, changing the way one believes as well as the way a person thinks. The differences between people encompass a profound array of features including religion and intelligence. Mark Twain uses Jim and Widow Douglas to portray contention between Christianity and superstition. At first, Huck finds himself surrounded by conventional Christian beliefs and what the widow calls â€Å"Providence† (8), which refers to the Christian God (the term â€Å"providence† means the will of God or hand of God). Constantly questioning the faith and the purpose of prayer, Huck ponders its place in his life using the only logic he knows and in the end favors the simpler superstitions of Jim. Leaving Christianity behind, Huck embraces, for example, the philosophy of throwing salt over his shoulder to dispel bad luck and the belief in the ongoing misfortune associated with touching a rattlesnake’s skin. Believing that â€Å"nothing come of [prayer]† (8), there