Through the past American Literature has encapsulated people with stories of adventure and humor. Mark Twain was one of the founders of great American Literature, and the use of satire in his novels made Twain one of the greatest authors of all time. In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain uses the Church Camp Revival, and the Grangerford church visit to satirize the hypocritical nature of the religious community.
Twain uses satire to express a sense of humor not meant for children, but a sophisticated humor, one Twain alone created and mastered in his book Huck Finn. Twain uses satire to lighten some of the harsh realities in life, more specifically the post-civil war time, and the beginning of the reconstructive period. In the book Huck Finn, Twain uses irony and satire to poke fun at some of the more strict ideas of the time. He wrote the book before the great enlightenment, when church was still a very important part of a persons life. He shows his humorous take on the religious parties of the south through his writing. He also places upon the reader a moral dilemma, in which you must decide, "is this even logical?" The answer quite frankly is yes, though Twain wrote this book as a fictional novel, many of the ideas and concepts came from Twains life experiences.
One of the most satiric parts of the novel is when the King goes to a "church camp revival." In the scene Twain uses the King to show how gullible the group really is. They King makes up a story of how he is a lost pirate who has somehow been enlightened in the ways of the Church. The people buy this story and begin giving him extreme amounts of money. They also wish him luck, and hope he lives his dream of sailing on the Indian Ocean as a missionary. The King and Huck then escape with the money they had just received. These people were hard working folks, who were looking to renew their souls through a religious belief, and then out of no where they believe some total stranger and give him all their money? Why didn't they use the money for a good cause, instead of just believing the first person to come along with a story and cries at the end.
