"But I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can't stand it. I been there."
What do you think the author is trying to get across with this line from the book?
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I'm not sure if I'm supposed to answer my own post, but here's what I think.
ReplyDeleteThis is the very last sentence of the book, unless of course you count the end as the last sentence.By the end of the novel, Jim is a free man. Aunt Sally wants to adopt Huck. Huck is recovering from a bullet wound. Aunt Sally wants to adopt Huck to give him religon, education, clean, gentleman-like clothes, and to teach him the difference between right and wrong. Huck realizes that religion and clean clothes are useless. Huck prefers his life on the raft and river as opposed to living in a "sivilized" community. He can't stand the thought of it. He achieved his dream. Huck wanted out of the sivilized area and found it on the river, out in the wild.
At the beginning, Huck was running from multiple things, but one was being "sivilized." As he said, he's been there before, and now he's going to have to try and do the same if he wants to live the lifestyle that he's grown accustomed to and has learned to love.
ReplyDeleteI think the author is trying to say Huck isn't meant to be civilized. He tried it before, and he knows it's meant for good, but it's just not for him. He always told Tom if something was pointless, and to him, the things of being "sivilized" were just that. After he's spent all the time out on the river, in nature, he's never going to be able to go back. He's free living like that.
I agree with how you said it Katie. Huck had achieved his dream.
To me Huck understands something we all know, but refuse to recognize. Like you two have said, Huck sees "sivilized" things as pointless. Deep down, we all know this, and hate society for imposing such ridiculous requirements. Now education, hygiene, etc. are important but the social niceties that we are forced to exhibit are completely useless, and to me, they actually hinder progress. If we weren't forced to be nice all the time, maybe we could focus on the problems at hand and get something accomplished.
ReplyDeleteI've gotten off topic but I think Twain might have been saying that simplicity is better than society.
I really thought that statement from Huck was a great way to end this book. I completely agree with Jill and Katie in saying that Huck has finally accomplished his dream. He wanted to be out in the wilderness, taking care of himself, without having to listen to anyone telling him what to do. He didn't have to worry about school or being a gentleman. He did what he wanted and needed to to, when he felt it was necessary. The calls were up to him. I think that Huck knows that being adopted by Aunt is best for him, even though he doesn't like the thought of being "sivilized". Who's to say that when he gets older and becomes an adult he won't live in the wilderness again? If he enjoyed it, history could repeat itself.
ReplyDeleteI think when Huck says he’s going to head out to escape “sivilizing,” I think he’s trying to escape more than the cramped clothing and school attendance. The civilized society Huck knows is full of faulty logic and dishonored policies. He does want to stay in a place where a man gets ownership to something that is “rightfully his” when its against the wellbeing of the thing, which in this case, is people. Whether it’s the Judge allowing Pa Finn to keep rights to his son when he beats him and treats him cruelly, or allowing white man to keep their property, even though it destroys the freedom and wellness of the black slaves, faulty logic proves to rule the civilized. The justice is also strange, as huge crimes are overlooked, while drunken insults are faced with murder. The civilized all through out this tale are senseless, gutless, and egotistic, and Huck has had enough of being stuck in it all. He wants back in the wilderness, where he can determine for himself what is right and wrong, and where he isn’t bound to the pre-established structure of society. I think that was what Twain was trying to get us to understand, for he kept hinting at the society’s weaknesses through out the whole tale
ReplyDeleteI think the author was adding a last bit of humor. Even though Huck Finn has grown and matured a lot through his adventures down the river, he hasn't completely changed. He is still the same beautifully stubborn character from the beginning. You can't teach an old dog new tricks and you can't take the fight out of the kid or something like that. Huck Finn does what he wants and thinks is right and doesn't want to bother with being "sivilized."
ReplyDeleteI agree a lot with what James said. Even though Huck had grown up and changed alot, he still has some of his old self in him that didn't want to become "sivilized." Also, I definitely agree with what John said. If we weren't so worried about becoming and being civilized, we could worry more about the things that are more important and that need to be taken care of instead of ourselves.
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