Comparisons of Fictional Characters and Society during 1800-1850: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Essay Example

Mark Twain’s "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" provides an account of the American society during the first half of the nineteenth century, even though it was published later on in early 1885. The novel is usually believed to be among the significant American literature that profoundly used fictional characters and plots to depict the then socioeconomic and political dynamics within the society.

The novel is renowned for its vivid account of the life of the common man; the polite nature of the society; the quest for the elimination of the slave trade and the government structure among the communities that inhabited the Mississippi River between 1800 and 1850. Lampooning a Southern antebellum civilization that had become dormant for about two decades, before the publication of the literature, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn provides a closer analysis of entrenched injustices in the society such as racial discrimination and the weaker role of women, which were later reversed, perhaps as a result of Twain’s effective literature.

  The Common Man in 1840’s America In an effort to depict the true nature of the common man of the 1840s, the narrative begins in imaginary Langley, Missouri, which is a hamlet adjacent to the Mississippi River. The culture depicts the significance of the first steamboat, which served as a means of transport for the average man down the Mississippi River. The society is largely conservative, as it is evident in the manner in which the lad's Huckleberry Finn and Thomas Tom Sawyer are experiencing better fortunes and hope following their earlier discoveries in the society, Huck is depicted to be living under the protection of the Widow Douglas1.

Douglas is joined by a female sibling Miss Watson, purposely to enlighten Huck on the new social dynamics which affect the community. Though their subject acknowledges their efforts, he benignly rejects the new civilization, as confining. Polite society The novel illustrates the qualities of polite society, and this is apparent even in the wake of social diversities. 

The character of Jim Throughout this novel, Twain provided an account of the dire need of American society to obtain freedom during 1800-1850. The literature covers the American society dynamics triggered by a strong response of the mainstream whites against a black minority population. Through Jim, Twain highlights the need to abolish slavery; the support of politeness and courtesy; the nature of politics and governance in the South, which was largely controlled by colonialists; and the life of the average man during the first half of the nineteenth century.

The general notion that African Americans were sub-human is largely portrayed in the character of Jim, whose character sends the clear message that freedom was posh, and would be a positive development in the society.