huckleberry fin essays

huckleberry fin essays In the novel Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck goes through many adventures on the Mississippi River. He escapes from Pap and sails down the Mississippi with an escaped slave named Jim. Huck goes through the moral conflict of how wrong it is to be helping Jim escape to freedom. Eventually Huck decides he will help Jim and actually steals him from a farmer with the help of Tom Sawyer, a friend. Eventhough Huck and Jim are trying to sail to the Ohio River which leads to freedom, they pass it in the dark. Over the course of the novel Huck's opinion of Jim changes. In the beginning of their voyage, Huck feels he shouldn't be helping Jim to freedom and almost turns him in to slave catchers Twain 87 "I was paddling off, all in a sweat to tell on him; but when he says this (that Huck is his one and only friend) it seemed to take the tuck all out of me.". Huck begins to enjoy having Jim's company, and when Jim is sold by the Duke and the King, Huck breaks down and cries while asking the Duke where Jim is Twain 208 "'sold him' I says, and begun to cry; 'why he was my nigger, and that was my money. Where is he? I want my nigger.". Then Huck steals Jim from the Phelps farm (eventhough he was already set free by Miss Watson's will). Huck Finn changes as we go through the story because Jim is really almost his slave and he grows to like having Jim wait on him. In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain depicts Southern life and society in the 1870's. The main point that Twain makes is that Southern life is not as glorious as it's made out to be. We can tell this be several ironies between the way Southern life was depicted and the way Twain describes them. One of the ironies is that plantation owners were supposed to be like kings, but Twain takes one of these "kings", Colonel Sherburn and has him kill Boggs, the town drunk. If these ...

The Reasons for War essays

The Reasons for War essays Plato states that the "nature and origin of war" has to do with a nations desire for wealth and luxury at the expense of its neighbors. Although this has some truth, I dont think that its the only factor which causes war to break out. In this paper, I will explain other reasons for war, and also give examples of each. I believe it is important to understand what war entails, and also what it means to a given population. First of all, war can be defined as armed conflict between countries or factions within a country. During the time of Plato, war usually was the result of problems between city-states within Greece. Socrates and Plato both were citizens of the city-state of Athens. In this paper, I will refer to city-states as the two opposing sides. When we speak of war, it is important to understand that it is usually a last resource. The bloodshed which occurs sometimes causes a whole population of people to be wiped out. With this in mind, I believe a major reason for war is when a group cannot sustain living, because they lack the bare necessities of life. An example of this is in South America, where an indigenous tribe called the Yanomamos live. They are broken up into different bands and rely on the Earth to sustain them. If and when they run out of fertile land, they must find more, even if that means that they must encroach on another band. Many times, war breaks out between these two bands until the demands are met. These wars do not bring about wealth or power, but instead keeps the band strong enough to live. Another major reason for war is when a group of people are oppressed within a city-state. Usually, the smaller group is of a different race or religion and many times, the ruling class impose strict laws against the group. If the smaller group rebels, this will cause war within the city-state. There have been many examples of this throughout history. One of the most impressive o...

Captain Vere Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Captain Vere - Essay Example although he felt that Budd’s crime is a result of Caggart’s provocation and false accusations, he placed Budd in trial and eventually chose to hang the man. This is quite similar to Pontius Pilate’s decision as to Jesus. Captain Vere believed too much that law can bring order, and that no one and nothing is above it. As he claimed that his â€Å"vowed responsibility† was to follow the law. Melville states about him: â€Å"however pitilessly that law may operate, (he) adhere(s) to it and administer(s) it† (124). He argues that even if â€Å"Budd neither purposed any mutiny or homicide,† Budd still committed an act against their laws and he needs to be punished as stated by the law, which was death (111). In the light of Captain Vere’s decision, he made a good point. No one and nothing is above the law no matter how innocent the intentions of the accused might be. He justifies his decision by arguing that â€Å"Budd’s intent or non-intent is nothing to the purpose† (108). Captain Vere is clearly an intellectual person who doesn’t like peace to be shattered. Understanding his argument, you can clearly see that he wanted his crew to know that they cannot just strike death to a person without facing its consequences. The law is there to ensure that there will always be order on the ship. If Budd is exonerated, his crew will question the laws he broke. This will shatter the trust, confidence and order on the ship. And this will pose a bigger problem in managing the ship. Captain Vere only adhered to the law because he knew that not imposing the punishment will make his crew question his leadership. What he didn’t think about was how his crew would think about his morals. Captain Vere may have been successful in keeping the ship in strict order. He may have been successful showing his crew that even innocent men, like Budd, he who commits an act against their laws will be punished. He may have shown his crew his tough shell, that no matter how he liked Budd