"It was according to the old saying, 'give a [African-American] an inch and he'll take an ell.'…Here was this [African-American] which I had as good as helped to run away, coming right out flat-footed and saying he would steal his children - children that belonged to a man I didn't even know; a man that hadn't ever done me no harm"(pg. 98) Despite the fact Huckleberry Finn is a 12-13 year old boy, one can't help but realize the hypocrisy in this statement that he said to himself. It is hypocritical because what he is accusing Jim (the "African- American") of (stealing children from somebody he didn't even know) is the exact same thing slave owners did when they brought slaves from Africa.

Huck has this "passing on of what he denies" attitude many times in the book. For example, Huck rejected the Bible but tried to teach Jim about it. Huck, later on, has an internal conflict about the question of turning his "friend", Jim, in. Huck also has various differences with authority, which includes Miss

Watson, Pap, and social values in general.

I'll go to hell'-and tore it up"( pg. 235). In both decisions society is acting upon Huck, he feels good when he turns in a slave, a fellow human, and he feels like he is going to "hell" if he doesn't. This is because during the 1800's, slaves were viewed as property and freeing or helping them was seen as a sin. So why does society play a role in Huck's decisions? Huck's decisions are purely his feelings; the actual "ideas" of his decision are strictly society's influence. Society acts as a conscience upon Huck.

Huck has a "desire" to turn in Jim a few times in the book. One instance is when they are on their way to Cairo and they think they see it. Huck takes the canoe by himself to talk to this "police" boat that patrols the area. He plans to turn in Jim, but Jim keeps on saying how much Huck means to him. Huck says, "I was paddling off, all in a sweat to tell on him; but when he says this, it seemed kind of take the tuck all out of me…I warn't right down certain whether I was glad I started or whether I warn't."(pg. 99). The last sentence of this quote shows that Huck doesn't know what to do. He can either turn in Jim, and disregard everything he has done, or he can help Jim and acknowledge all he has done.

Another example of this conflict is when Huck is planning to write a letter to Miss Watson telling where Jim is. He debates whether or not he should mail it and ultimately rips it up. After writing it he first says, "I felt good and all washed clean of sin for the first time I had ever felt

so in my life, and I knowed I could pray now." ( pg. 234) He later goes on to say, "I took it (t

Some topics in this essay:
Miss Watson, Cairo Huck, Huck Huck, Mark Twain, Pap Huck, Jim Jim, Jim Huck, Solomon Huck, Africa Huck, Huckleberry Finn, huck huck, miss watson, jim huck, authority people, presence authority people, huck's hypocrisy, teach jim, reject authority, huck's conscience, presence authority, authority people ideas, people reject authority, people ideas,