The Conflict Of Honor In The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

As the conflict of honor is illustrated using the development of insignificant characters, Twain uses them as building points of the individuality of the major characters in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Jim is one of these central figures; many times throughout the book, he exemplifies his belief of being both honorable and respected. However, it is in times that he is dishonored that the theme of it becomes relevant. A notable example of this takes place when Huck lies to him about getting lost in the fog. “Jim looked at the trash, and then looked at me, and back at the trash again. He had got the dream fixed so strong in his head that he couldn’t seem to shake loose and ge the facts back in its place again, right away. But when he …show more content…
When they pretend to be the brothers of the recently deceased Peter Wilkes, Huck’s conscience tells him that he needs to act and make it right before the frauds escape with small fortune they are after. This is exactly what he does: “‘Don’t you holler. Just set still, and take it like a man. I got to tell the truth, and you want to brace up, Miss Mary [Jane], because it’s a bad kind... these uncles of yourn ain’t no uncles at all-they’re a couple of frauds-regular debeats” (Twain 170). This noble act of confessing to Mary Jane shows how important honor is as a theme in the story, as well as proves that Huck ascertained its importance from how he previously treated Jim. Even though he was feigning dishonor by following with the horrible lies of the Duke and the Dauphin, the fact that he eventually tells Mary Jane the truth in order to make it right only further establishes that he, as well as Jim and the other minor characters, how distinct the theme of honor is. Twain attempts to highlight the importance of honor in the era the book takes place in using characters of many contrasting groups. This proves how honor is universal and essential for each an every individual, both good and evil.
The most critical and influential theme emphasised by Twain involves Huck’s inner-conflict with himself over morality. His understanding …show more content…
His self-conflict over turning Jim in or not is something that Twain intended to exhibit to the reader. “I was trembling, because I’d got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: ‘All right, then, I’ll go to hell’--and tore [the letter to Miss Watson] up” (Twain 194-195). When Huck becomes aware that Jim has been sold by the Duke, he is frantic. He is uncertain of whether it would more moral to communicate with Miss Watson of his whereabouts with Jim, or to find and set him free. On one hand, Huck is returning the property of an “innocent old lady.” However, he is unsure that possessing a human-being is, in any way, moral. The ultimate decision that Huck makes establishes the progress that he has made morally from when he is first introduced. By standing with Jim rather than the current social convention of the mid 19th century, he eternally severs the ties he had to his previous mindset of right and wrong. Twain wants to show the world how much of an outrageous concept it was to stand up for a person of color in that era of history. He uses Huck to demonstrate the message of morals over justice with the principle behind loyalty and kindness: to return those who have treated him in such a way with respect. This defines the concept of what the fundamental