Socialism and the South in Mark Twain´s Huckleberry Finn

In the 1850’s, life in the south was difficult for people of all kinds of people. Whites were expected to be the leaders of society, and were supposed to be educated and proper. Blacks were often enslaved, and they faced racism and discrimination wherever they went. Both groups often wanted to break free from the grip of the southern culture, but it was difficult to escape from social conventions and live by one’s morals. Huckleberry Finn and the runaway slave Jim have to face all of these problems, but these dilemmas are never directly explained in text. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, symbolism is used to show the struggles between freedom, morals, and social conventions through the river, the land, and the raft. The river†¦show more content†¦Handcuffs and chains would look still better on Jim, but it wouldn’t go well with the story of us being so poor. Too much like jewelry. Ropes are the correct thing--we must preserve the unities, as we say on the boards’† (101). Because Jim is black, he is not expected to be free and traveling south. He must be tied up and appear as a captive to please the southern society. This plan fools the southerners, but the duke can’t see that it isn’t right to make Jim seem like a captive. Being on land makes him unable to understand how wrongful it is, as he is only interested on tricking people into believing the ploy. It is also expected of the group to not have gaudy bindings, as they are supposed to be poor and in the culture, poor people cant have nice things. In chapter 18, Huck meets the Grangerfords, a wealthy family that treats him very well. Sadly, the family’s conflict with the Shepherdsons escalates while Huck is in their company, and a bloodbath occurs. â€Å"I staid in the tree till it begun to get dark, afraid to come down. Sometimes I heard guns away off in the woods; and twice I seen little gangs of men gallop past the log store with guns; s o I reckoned the trouble was still agoing on. I was mighty down-hearted; so I made up my mind I wouldn’t ever go anear that house again, because IShow MoreRelatedLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pagesproducing the gold he wanted. Many Arawak Indians responded by committing a series of mass suicides. He shipped 500 Arawak Indians back on Europe as slaves, although 200 died on the voyage. He brought Western diseases which spread across North and South America, almost depopulating what is now California. He helped convince many people that the Earth is round. He brought new American foods to Europe and introduced European foods to the Americas. Thanks to Columbus, the wheel and the domesticated