Chapters 5-15
In chapters five to fifteen that largest social responsibility that stood out to me was the responsibility the Pap feels towards Huck.
Pap-
While Pap constantly beats Huck, refuses him education and keeps him hostage he does this purely out of responsibility he feels for Huck. Although he may not be the best guardian for Huck, Pap believes that he is the only one truly looking out for Huck and giving him the correct type of life. In the last paragraph on page 26 and into page 27 Pap says that he “would like to see the widow get me” aka Huck, because he would not let it happen. Pap said that they could run away to another cabin 6 or 7 miles away to stay away from them.
Huck-
In these chapters Huck also rejects his social responsibility by deciding he would not live with his father or the widow. He believed that life with the widow gave him more restrictions than he could handle, like clean clothes, praying, and school; while life with his father was bad because his father beat him. Here Huck is turning his back on his two social responsibilities, one to society at large, and the other to family.
“But by-and-by pap got too handy with the hick’ry, and I couldn’t stand it.” Page 25
“I didn’t see how I’d ever got to like so well at the widow’s, where you had to wash, and eat on a plate, and comb up, and go to bed and get up regular.” Page 25
Later in the chapters Huck again turns o social responsibility and after meeting Jim on the island he does not turn him in. This is a large conflict for any person living in that time period. Society says that white men are better than African Americans and that Huck should turn Jim in right away.
Contrary to this, Huck finds out that Jim is a suspect for Huck’s murder because Jim ran away about the same time as Huck’s disappearance. Rather than go back and clear an innocent man of suspicion Huck stays “hidden”. This is another example of Huck rejecting classic social responsibility for his own judgment.
In chapter 12 Huck debates about stealing food that they found. In this case Huck follows classic social values and does not steal the food saying, “We warn't feeling just right, before that, but it was all comfortable now” Page 72. A question that arises from this occurrence is, “Does Jim influence Huck in a positive way? , and “Is Jim a more moral person thank Huck, (or does Jim understand the expectations of society better than Huck?” This is an example of Huck choosing the “right” option according to society.
3 comments:
At what age (in general) do you think adolescents start making up their own minds about what is socially acceptable? What do you think leads Huck to make the choices that he does?
Nice catch on Huck turning on the social responsibilities of family and society. In my opinion I think Jim is the positive version of how a father should be (unlike the way Pap does). Jim takes care of Huck through for example telling him that a storm is coming or telling Huck not to look at the dead man’s face. Both Huck and Jim take care of each other of course, but Jim seems the one with more experience to the world.
I think that adolescents start making up their own minds about what is socially acceptable when they start to understand the difference between right and wrong. (for example) Previously Huck was only scared of his father, now he is starting to understand that what his father has done to him is wrong. But based on previous values that are instilled in him(and the fact that he is a little kid) he does not want to go back to the widow who makes his wash, and pray, and wake up and go to sleep on time.
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