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Huck Finn: A Change of Beliefs

 

            
             Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck undergoes several significant changes and matures consequently. As a child, Huck is taught that blacks are meant to be slaves, they don't mind being abused and that they are inferior to whites, even animals. Huck accepts this because it is all he knows and he sees nothing wrong with it. When Huck meets up with Jim, a black slave, he risks his reputation and ignores the morals that are bestowed upon him. He defies what society says for a greater purpose, to free this poor, enslaved human-being. As Huck and Jim's relationship grows, Huck starts to see that Jim is human and that he is treated inhumanely. Through his relationship with Jim, Huck realizes what he has been taught all his life is wrong and completely changes a lot of his ideas and views.
             As a child, Huck's views and ideas were shaped by the people and the environment which surrounded him. Huck was brought up in a southern society in which racism is accepted and even encouraged, and slaves are household items. These ideas are deeply rooted in the society and are almost universal throughout the south. Southerners strictly enforce their ideas and embed them into their youth. Huck learns this first hand from his father, Pap. Huck's father is very racist and really believes that blacks are completely inferior to whites and that they aren't even human. Pap sees blacks as animals and thinks they are meant to be slaves, Smith states this, "In the first place, a "Free Nigger" is, for Pap, a contradiction in terms" (Smith,366). He teaches these ideas to Huck at an early age so he can't think otherwise. Huck was born into a .
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             racist society and is brought up surrounded by racism. Consequently, this is all he knows and should not really be blamed for any alleged racism he displays. This society, some times, unintentionally shows racism, strengthening Huck's immoral ideas.


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