Huckleberry Finn Theme Essay
Sydney Li, Cristina Garcia, Amanda Cao, Fiona Tang, Phoebe Zhong, Jonah Liu Mrs. Padilla American Literature 14 January 2013 Religion in Different Perspectives
In the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, religion plays a major role in the life of everybody during that time. The effect religion has on everybody is different. Some people take it very seriously and have incorporated it into their lives, while others treat it as something that is unnecessary. The characteristics of Miss Watson and Widow Douglas are perfect examples of people who have dedicated their lives to the bible and base everything they do upon the bible. On the other hand, Huckleberry Finn is another very good example, but for people who treat religion as something that is not a big deal.
Miss Watson is a pious Christian who would never doubt her religion. She is eager to believe in everything written in the Bible and follow all its instructions even though she has no evidence from daily observations to support the existence of God. Just as Huck points out, "they get down on a thing when they know nothing about it", Miss Watson believes in the existence of God and Heaven and praying even though she has never seen God and Heaven or her praying accomplishes any of her wishes. The Widow Douglas and her sister Miss Watson represent what a good Christian is in the South’s society by taking Huck in to raise him to be proper. While Huck thinks that being civilized is not as fun as living on the streets and doing what he wants, the sisters mean well when they take him in and try to care for him. They demonstrate how good Christians extend their help when they can to help “a poor lost lamb” (11) like Huck. Their idea of civilizing like many others in society includes teaching the Bible as they try to do with Huck by reading the Bible to him after supper. As Christians they preach plenty about the value of praying to Huck so he can obtain “spiritual gifts” (20) that will
In the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, religion plays a major role in the life of everybody during that time. The effect religion has on everybody is different. Some people take it very seriously and have incorporated it into their lives, while others treat it as something that is unnecessary. The characteristics of Miss Watson and Widow Douglas are perfect examples of people who have dedicated their lives to the bible and base everything they do upon the bible. On the other hand, Huckleberry Finn is another very good example, but for people who treat religion as something that is not a big deal.
Miss Watson is a pious Christian who would never doubt her religion. She is eager to believe in everything written in the Bible and follow all its instructions even though she has no evidence from daily observations to support the existence of God. Just as Huck points out, "they get down on a thing when they know nothing about it", Miss Watson believes in the existence of God and Heaven and praying even though she has never seen God and Heaven or her praying accomplishes any of her wishes. The Widow Douglas and her sister Miss Watson represent what a good Christian is in the South’s society by taking Huck in to raise him to be proper. While Huck thinks that being civilized is not as fun as living on the streets and doing what he wants, the sisters mean well when they take him in and try to care for him. They demonstrate how good Christians extend their help when they can to help “a poor lost lamb” (11) like Huck. Their idea of civilizing like many others in society includes teaching the Bible as they try to do with Huck by reading the Bible to him after supper. As Christians they preach plenty about the value of praying to Huck so he can obtain “spiritual gifts” (20) that will