FREE ESSAY ON HUCK'S INESCAPABLE MORAL DILEMMA

HUCK'S INESCAPABLE MORAL DILEMMA

Huck's Inescapable Moral Dilemma
In the novel, Huck is faced with the dilemma of whether or not to return Jim, the runaway
slave, back to Jim's owner. He, at an early age, is faced with the decision that has
plagued man for ages: choosing what is morally right, even though it is forbidden in
society and popular culture. He goes against the fold and goes with what his heart tells
him. Huck's predicament is Twain's "inescapable dilemma." In an essay by Roger
Rosenblatt, entitled "The Bill of Rights, Rosenblatt ends his essay with a single line:
"Downriver we ride together, as ever, free to go to hell." Rosenblatt's final line in his
essay makes an important point. It is not just Huck who is faced with decisions.
Huckleberry Finn represents every person who has ever had to make a decision between what
they feel is morally correct and what society perceives as right. Today Huck's dilemma
with whether or not it is right to help free his eventual friend Jim can be compared with
a doctors decision on whether or not to perform an abortion. The tough decision a doctor
has to make about abortion is an example of an inescapable dilemma that plagues modern
man. In abortion, the doctor is faced with a difficult decision. Should he take the life
of an unborn child? What if the child was deformed, or was otherwise going to be born
into a possibly unhealthy environment? Is taking away the opportunity to live life
morally wrong or not? There are many more questions that face the doctor as well as the
mother of the fetus. As the mother and the doctor are faced with this dilemma, sometimes
what they feel is morally correct is not legal- as abortion is illegal in certain states.
Huck would definitely be breaking the law if he freed Jim. Jim is just a slave to most of
the people. He is just property that can be sold or used until it wears out. Huck sees
more than just the slave qualities in Jim. Huck sees life. Similarly many people see life
in an unborn fetus and have real qualms with killing a developing child. Another example
of an inescapable dilemma is guns. Should it be legal for man to have the power to
purchase such an item whose sole purpose is to drain life in general and human life? With
the many stories of accidents because of children experimenting with guns, safety is an
important issue. America is a free country though, and the Second Amendment under the
Constitution, though a limited amendment, allows citizens the right to bear arms. So is
this amendment morally correct? Equally, Huck has been raised to think that slaves are
merely niggers who aren't equal, but Huck is also a man of nature and sees all squirrels
as squirrels, and all people as people. Huck knows Jim is more than others say he is, and
he isn't about to let Jim lead a life of cruelty because there are other people who think
they are better because they have lighter skin than Jim. Modern man deals with dilemmas
such as these with anguish and frustration. Modern man has found a way to try to solve
his problems, mostly through petitions, rallies, picketing, and writing letters to
Congressmen. Would one expect to see Huckleberry Finn writing an angry letter to his
Congressman? Would one see him picketing Jim's master's house in Hannibal because he
didn't support slavery? It is highly unlikely. Instead, Huck simply tears up his note and
utters the famous quote that was quoted in the first sentence of this essay. Huck makes a
decision in himself that goes against society. He does not wait. Huck simply takes the
situation into his own hands. That is what makes him different from modern man. According
to Rosenblatt, modern man needs to be more like Huckleberry Finn. Modern man needs to
simply decide whether an action is morally correct or not, and act on his decision be it
legal or illegal. Huck proved that actions speak louder than words by ripping up his note
to Miss Watson. Thus, modern man needs to rip up his letters to Congressmen, throw away
his signs for picketing, and do what is morally correct; because that is the only way to
cope with the "inescapable dilemma of Democracy." Huck fights the power of the
all-powerful society. After Huck tears up the letter he is about to send Miss Watson,
Huck is struck with a sudden guilt. It was awful thoughts and awful words, but they was
said. And I let them stay said... The guilt does not phase him though. Huck is willing to
give up his afterlife for Jim's freedom now. To me, there could not be a more
compassionate deed. Huck's unselfishness is something we could all stand to follow.
Lessons can undoubtedly be learned from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
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