On Conscience in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.doc

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1、修改意见：1.Hucks Conscience and included points部分 应该将conscience的含义与论文中的points联系起来，紧扣全文。起到总起全文的作用，conscience究竟体现在下面文中哪些方面。2.原因和发展每一部分的开头结尾都应该引出conscience（要在文中提及良知），比如：conscience ，mainly in the following aspect。需要概化全文，而不是讲故事。每一部分都要show出良知是怎样体现的。3.最后一部分需要点出 huck 良知的发展 对良知的追求 到底是成功了 还是失败了（结果）具体体现在哪里？ On Con

2、science in The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnIntroductionThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn tells a story about the United States before the Civil War, around 1850, when the great Mississippi Valley was still being settled. The story takes place along the Mississippi River, on both sides of which th

3、ere was unpopulated wildness and a dense forest. Along this river floats a small raft, with two people on it: One is an ignorant, uneducated Black Slave named Jim and the other is a little uneducated, outcast white boy of about the age of thirteen, called Huckleberry Finn. This story depicts the esc

4、ape of Jim from slavery and more important, how Huck Finn, floating along with him and helping him as best as he could, changes his mind, his prejudice about Black people, and comes to accept him as a man and as a close friend as well. Huck Finn is an outcast, with no mother, no home, sleeping in ba

5、rrels, eating scraps and leavings and dressed in rags. All of his virtues come from his good heart and his sense of humanity, for most of the things he was thought turned out to be wrong. So what he has got to do is to cut through social prejudices and social discriminations to find true for him. We

6、 can learn that Mark Twain makes an exploration on conscience of human nature, demonstrates his attitudes towards his thoughts about the world through the narration of Huck Finn and a challenge against conventional morality in the American South. Agony and Edification in Huck Finns Conscience Englis

7、h poet William Blake once wrote, “Conscience in those that have it is unequivocal.” In Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the theme, mans conflict with his conscience, is manifested through Huck Finn. While Huck is forced to confront the hypocrisies of society, he develops his own indiv

8、idual views of right and wrong. In his struggle with his morality, his insights ultimately lead him to defy social norms by freeing a runaway slave, Jim. In the beginning of the novel, Huck Finn is portrayed as a stubborn juvenile without principle, however, when he realizes the consequences of trif

9、ling with Jims emotions, Hucks moral conscience becomes evident. Huck fools Jim into believing that he dreamed being separated in the fog and losing the raft. Amused by Jims credulity, Huck quickly points to the broken oars, indicating that the incident did take place. This makes Jim feel extremely

10、foolish and incompetent for falling for Hucks immature trick, prompting him to react emotionally: “my heart wuz mos broke bekase you wuz los, en I didn kyer no mo what become er me en de raf. . The background of Hackberry Finns conscience formation.A Mark Twain and His MasterpieceThe Adventures of H

11、uckleberry FinnChristened as Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Mark Twain was born on November 30, 1835 in the small river town of Florida, Missouri, just 200 miles from Indian Territory. By lineage, Twain was a southerner, as both his parents families hailed from Virginia, the slaveholding community of Han

12、nibal. When Clemens was twelve his father died, and he left school. Life on the river also gave Twain material for several of his books, including the raft scenes of Huck Finn. Twain began to work on Huck Finn, a sequel to Tom Sawyer, in an effort to capitalize on the popularity of the earlier book.

13、 This new novel took on a much more serious character, however, as Twain focused increasingly on the institution of slavery and the South. Drawing from his personal plight and the prevalent national troubles of the day, he finished a draft of Huck Finn in 1883, and by 1884 had it ready for republica

14、tion. Once again, the book met with great public and critical acclaim. Though he left himself increasingly alienated from society, Twain was enjoying his greatest literary reputation, and continue to be in demand as a public speaker until his death in 1910. The story of The Adventures of Huckleberry

15、 Finn, however, does not end with the death of its author. The book has been banned by sensitive southerners because of its steadfastly critical take on the South and the hypocrisies of slavery; it has been banned by those who have dismissed it as vulgar or racist because it uses the word “nigger”,

16、a term whose connotations obscure the books deeper themes (which are certainly antislavery) and even prevent some from reading and enjoying it altogether. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, then, emerges not just as a novel that explores the racial and moral world of its time, but also, through the

17、 controversies that continue to surround it, as an artificial of those same moral and racial tensions as they have evolved into the present day. B Hucks Conscience and included pointsConscience is often described as leading to feelings of remorse when a human commits actions that go against his/her

18、moral values and to feelings of rectitude or integrity when actions conform to such norms. He was torn between what he was expected to do (turn Jim in to the authorities, or give the Widow Douglas information about his whereabouts and plans), and what he knew was right, despite the law (Jim should h

19、ave his freedom). Huck concluded that if aiding and abetting a fugitive whod been so good to him meant eternity in Hell, hed rather have that than knowing hed done the right thing, under the law. Not an easy decision for an adult to make. much less a teenage boy.Huck is a thoughtful, intelligent (th

20、ough uneducated) boy. Hucks rationality and literalness appear here. Twain goes to great lengths to show that Huck is a logical thinker who only believes what he can see with his own eyes. Thus, Toms band becomes boring when all they do is attack turnip wagons and Sunday school picnics. Unlike Tom S

21、awyer, Huck is unable to make-believe that the picnic is really an Arab army. The same thing happens with respect to Hucks Pap; Huck decides that Pap cannot be dead because the dead person was floating on its back rather than its face, meaning that it must have been a woman. Huck is a very sensible

22、person, making his adherence to superstition slightly ironic, specifically in his interpretation of the night sounds (as death), and in how he believes the spider burning to death in the flame of his candle is a serious omen of bad luck. After killing the spider, Huck immediately attempts a counter-

23、claim, even though he knows there is no way of undoing bad luck. Huck is not just a poor boy with a humorous way of speaking and thinking; he is also a thoughtful young man who is willing and eager to question the “facts” to life and facets of human personality. He wants to escape from the civilized

24、 world and to be free. And he plans to “light out” for a different territory.Conscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong. Moral judgment may derive from values or norms (principles and rules). In psychological terms conscience is oft

25、en described as leading to feelings of remorse when a human commits actions that go against his/her moral values and to feelings of rectitude or integrity when actions conform to such norms. The extent to which conscience informs moral judgment before an action and whether such moral judgments are o

26、r should be based in reason has occasioned debate through much of the history of Western philosophy.Religious views of conscience usually see it as linked to a morality inherent in all humans, to a beneficent universe and/or to divinity. The diverse ritualistic, mythical, doctrinal, legal, instituti

27、onal and material features of religion may not necessarily cohere with experiential, emotive, spiritual or contemplative considerations about the origin and operation of conscience. Common secular or scientific views regard the capacity for conscience as probably genetically determined, with its sub

28、ject probably learned or imprinted (like language) as part of a culture.Commonly used metaphors for conscience include the voice within and the inner light. Conscience, as is detailed in sections below, is a concept in national and international law, is increasingly conceived of as applying to the w

29、orld as a whole, has motivated numerous notable acts for the public good and been the subject of many prominent examples of literature. In the novel, Finn experienced a twist process of conscience. First he has been a traditional man living a normal life. Then the breaking thoughts against tradition

30、 came up. Hucks breaking traditional social ideas from slave thoughts turning into the protecting movement of Jim. However, later the massacre between the Granger ford and the Shepherd son breaks his heart. And Hucks interaction with the Duke and the King is at first puzzling and later annoying. Fin

31、ally he experiences various dangers and ordeals in the journey: defeating the counterfeit “king” and “duke”. The Cause of Hucks conscienceA. The adoption of Widow DouglasThere are many reasons for Hucks conscience process, one of which is effects by Widow Douglas. Widow Douglas, a kind but stifling

32、woman, has adopted Huck and tried to “civilize” him. Huck is forced to change his natural character into the mold the Widow Douglas demands for him. Huck is told to pray for what he wants, but when he prays and does not get anything, he decides that praying is pointless. Huck also thinks about the C

33、hristian concept of always helping other people. When he realizes that Christianity seems to offer him no personal advantage in life, he quickly rejects it as quite pointless. Widow Douglas told Huck the story about Moses in the Bible. At first Huck was very interested in it and wanted to know “all

34、about him,” but by-and-by she let it out that Moses had been dead for a considerable long time. “So then I didnt care no more about him; because I dont take no stock in dead people.” 3Her sister Miss Watson told Huck to pray every day, and whatever he asked for, he would get it. Huck wanted hooks, s

35、o he tried for them three or four times but it did not work. So one day Huck asked Miss Watson to try for him, but she said Huck was a fool; “She never told me why, and I couldnt make it out no way.” 4 It is certainly a failure to use that way to the education of a child who is inclined to get to th

36、e root of the matter.On one hand, he feels cramped in new clothes, and hates being limited to eating dinner only when the dinner bell rings. For example, Huck compares eating dinner off a plate to eating from a “barrel of odds and ends,” which implies a pigs slop bucket. In the first chapter, Huck i

37、s ironically trapped in a “civilized” world, when he would prefer to live freely in nature. Huck explains that the Widow Douglas wouldnt let him smoke; even though, she secretly uses snuff herself. On the other hand, Miss Watson, gaunt and severe-looking, is the most prominent representative of the

38、hypocritical society. This warning is juxtaposed by her painful academic lessons. Huck finds spelling very difficult to learn and hates the lessons so much, that he remarks hell sounds more enjoyable. The Widow Douglas is an honorable woman who hopes to nurture Huck into a civilized child, but he li

39、kes to be free, he says: “The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would civilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was in all her ways; and so when I couldnt stand it no longer I lit out. I got into my old ra

40、gs and my sugar-hogshead again, and was free and satisfied.” 5The Widow Douglas view is somewhat more appealing, but Huck would prefer to go to a more exciting place. The restriction of living with the Widow Douglas accelerates the forming of the idea of Hucks quest for freedom.Dissatisfied with his

41、 new life, Huck runs away. So it is clear that Huck does not like the so-called life of “civilization” but the freedom and following his inclination. Thus there appears the conflict between his natural instincts and the social civilization.B. The ill-Treatment of his FatherHis father plays an import

42、ant role through his life time. His father represents the brutality and severity of civilization that threaten to destroy Huck. Hucks father knows that Huck had a lot of money, so he comes and disturbs Huck. His father believes that money and education are juxtaposed and since he has neither, he doe

43、snt want Huck to have either. Hucks freedom is modified by the presence of his fathers actions. And soon thereafter, Pap steals Huck away from the Widows house and takes him to a log cabin. Living in the woods, Huck says that he likes the life at first. However, his father beasts him quite frequentl

44、y and sometimes leaves him locked up in the cabin for a long time, he soon decides to escape. Pap returns to town and Huck seizes the chance to escape. Once when his father returns from town, he is so drunk that he almost kills him. So he decides to seize a chance to escape. He makes his way out of

45、the log cabin and kills a pig and spreads the blood as if he was murdered by someone, and then takes a canoe and floats downstream to Jacksons Island. So it is his drunkard fathers maltreatment that finally and directly causes Huck to leave to drift on the Mississippi.Throughout his plans to escape,

46、 Huck is more concerned for his life than anything else and prefers simply to disappear and begin a new life. Hucks concept of freedom is modified only when he feels that his life is endangered and that his father does not “feel right and kind towards others”. 6Hucks feeling of loneliness and isolat

47、ion also modifies the freedom. Its only when he is on the river in the company of Jim that he feels secure and natural. And he feels free and easy and comfortable very much on a raft. It is striking that whenever, Huck comes into contact with the people along the river he is forced to assume a false

48、 identity. His initial escape from his own cruel father and the society of St. Petersburg forces him to feign his own death.C. The suspicions of societyFinally he became suspicious of society and human being itself. In Chapter Twenty-one, the author provides commentary on human nature and presents a

49、 scathing portrayal of society. Boggss death focuses the readers attention on a much more serious aspect of the society. Boggs is shot to death in front of a crowd of people, including his daughter. The disrespect Boggs showed to Colonel Sherburn hardly justifies murder. It also further derides the society for is cowardly actions, as the mob ready to lynch Sherburn is easily manipulated and succumbs to cowardice.The story takes pla