Responsibilities to Society III
In
Chapter 31, perhaps one of the most significant events happens in the novel:
Jim is captured and sold for $40. What's significant about this event is that the
emotional pain that Huck experiences, is pain that he has never felt before, it
is pain that will cause him to change and mature. While thinking, Huck comes to
the conclusion that he will pretty much do whatever it takes to get Jim back.
His dilemma is with the law, and disobeying it. He remembers from his teachings
with Aunt Sally that by disobeying you will go to hell, and he makes the bold
statement that if rescuing Jim means going to hell, then it is hell he is
choosing to go to. The way that social responsibility ties in with this, is
that while Huck is going through the loss of his dear friend, he doesn't care
much about his social responsibility to turn Jim in. He takes it upon
himself to neglect the responsibility that is expected of him, and to
do what his feelings are telling him what is responsible. This is extremely significant as it shows that
what society labels as right and wrong does not affect what he sets his mind
to. It is actually funny because Huck believes he is doing the wrong thing but
doesn’t care. My response to this is that does being socially responsible mean
doing what society believes is the responsible thing to do or is it doing what
you believe is the responsible thing to do in your society?
1 comment:
heyyyyy I really liked the last line of your post because that basically sums up the entire point that we all need to think about when discussing social responsibility within this novel. It's easy for us to say now that we think Huck is doing the right thing by caring about Jim and doing whatever he can to protect him, but it isn't so easy for Huck when he is actually living in that time. I always have to remember that Huck is being politically radical rather than simply a basic, empathetic human being (although he is both). Everything back then seems backwards to us now.
Post a Comment