What transgressions do the main characters commit in the adventures of huckleberry finn

Answer 1

In "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain, the main character, Huck Finn, and his companion, the escaped slave Jim, commit a number of transgressions as they travel down the Mississippi River on a raft. Here are some of the key transgressions by both characters:

1. Huck fakes his own death: At the beginning of the novel, in order to escape his abusive father and the meddling of the Widow Douglas, Huck fakes his own death and runs away.

2. Helping a runaway slave: Huck helps Jim escape from Miss Watson, who had plans to sell him down the river to a plantation in the South. According to the laws of the time, this was a crime, but Huck chooses to prioritize Jim's freedom and their friendship, even though he believes at times that he will go to hell for doing so.

3. Theft and deception: Throughout their journey, Huck and Jim sometimes live off the land or take items they need from others. Huck frequently assumes fake identities and tells lies to get out of difficult situations and to protect Jim.

4. Interfering with the Duke and the King: Huck becomes reluctantly entangled with two con artists who call themselves the Duke and the King. While he recognizes their schemes are wrong, Huck doesn't always stop them, and he gets swept up in their plots at various times, though he does try to mitigate their worst effects when he can.

5. Disrespect for social norms: Huck consistently questions and often disobeys the societal norms of the antebellum South, including religion, slavery, and conventional morality. His developing moral compass leads him to make choices based on his own sense of right and wrong, rather than strictly adhering to the law or societal expectations.

It's important to note that while some of the actions of Huck and Jim would be considered criminal or immoral by the standards of their time and place, Twain writes Huck as a sympathetic character with a growing conscience. The novel is often seen as a critique of the corrupt institutions and hypocritical social norms of the 19th-century American South, especially the institution of slavery. Huck's transgressions are framed within this context, and the novel invites readers to consider the morality of actions within the framework of an unjust society.