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Mark Twain, or Samuel Clemens, wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1885. This was post-Civil War reconstruction time, when all of the former slaves were being integrated into society and the South was being rebuilt. He set his story in the 1830’s or 1840’s, in other words: pre-Civil War. At this time slaves were still very much a part of America, and racism was not considered a problem, but a way of life. Huckleberry Finn is a racist character, but is coerced by society, and by his upbringing in that society. Although he was brought up racist, much of the book’s conflict and interesting plot comes from his rejection of society and attempts to escape from it. Jim, Huck’s companion, contributes to Huck’s change in beliefs, through the many intelligent and compassionate things that Jim does. The ending of the book returns us full-circle to the beginning with Tom Sawyer running the show. The actions of Jim and Tom continue to help Huck come to the realization that he doesn’t agree with society’s attitude towards slaves. Throughout the story one may ask: how did society affect Huck’s principles in terms of racism? Racism ran rampant in the early 19th century. The American Heritage Dictionary defines racism as the belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others. The people of the United States didn’t think of racism as a thing to be concerned with. The harsh treatment of the slaves was considered extremely natural, as a man wrote in that period; “I will maintain the ground that God always intended the relation of master and slave to exist; that Christ and the early teachers of Christianity, found slavery differing in no material respect from American slavery, incorporated into every department of society (Johnson 134). Many people of the time thought that it was a God-given right to have slaves and therefore considered it their moral duty. Although the slave-owners thought nothing was wrong with their practice, other people did, and many references from the bible had to be used in defending their rights; So a slave who ran away from slavery, or anyone who helped him or her escape, was breaking one of the Ten Commandments, ‘Thou shalt not steal.’ And there was a keen sense that the slaves owners’ property rights were sacred God-given rights. It is not surprising, then, that many in the South, and in the North as well, presented religious arguments in support of slavery. (Johnson 130) Pro-slavery supporters used the bible to support their cause many times, using many different quotes. Reverend W. G. Brownlow in a debate in 1858 used this to help illustrate his views on slavery: ‘Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.’ The only true interpretation of this portion of the word of God is, that the species of property herein mentioned, are lawful, and that all men are forbid to disturb others in the lawful enjoyment of their property. (Johnson 136) This is another view of a man on the side of slavery. Again in this case, the bible is quoted because of the importance of religion in that time period. These speakers didn’t have to defend their cause until after the abolitionist movement began in 1831. It began with the publication of the Liberator written by William Lloyd Garrison. In the same year, the Underground Railroad started. These two things started the abolitionist movement at roughly the same time that Mark Twain set Huck’s adventure in. The views given above are all completely normal for the time period in which Jim was escaping.
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