Sophie Grossnickle
1/15/15
5th
Adventure of Huckleberry Finn Big Question
There are many classic novels set in the southern region of America, in which the novel’s
characters have a southern gentility about them. Southern gentility is defined as being perfectly
well-mannered, well groomed, intellectual, virtuous, civil, egalitarian, and independant. The men
and women in the classic novels set in the south always are very fine characters. However
elaborately grandiose the characters and settings are, the authors never seem serious about them.
Mark Twain, author of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventure of Tom Sawyer, is
one such author. In Twain’s novels, as well as many others, the traits of a southern gentleman, or
women, often are a source of satire set in the southern region of the United States. The satire
used in these novels is often misleading, and has been influenced by people or environment the
novel’s authors have encountered.
One example of satire in a classic novel set in the south is in the Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn. As Huckleberry, or Huck, is traveling down the river he meets the
Grangerford family, one of Twain’s main sources of satire. The Grangerford men and women are
an almost perfect model for the southern gentleperson. They are well-mannered, and groomed.
They can spell and read, and they own a plantation so they can support their family. Twain
saturates his writing heavily during this part of Huck’s journey down the Mississippi River.
Huck sees the plantation and everything that comes with it with such reverence, but Twain has
an underlying tone in his writing making you think that what Huck is seeing is not as luxurious
and grandiose as he thinks (Twain 150-157).
Another example in which Twain makes fun of the southern gentleman or woman is in
The Adventure of Tom Sawyer. A southern gentleman commonly attends church. In chapters 4
and 5, Tom Sawyer attended a church service and Twain went to town mocking religion and
church-going people. Twain shares his view with the readers that all church-going men are only
going to church to improve their reputation.
Also in the 4th and 5th chapters of The Adventure of Tom Sawyer, Tom develops the
dilemma in which he has to enter the adult world. The problem is that Twain is implying that the
southern gentleman is not what one should strive for and want to grow up to be. During the
church service, Tom makes the observance that the men attending the service were only doing it
“show face” and keep up their reputations.
Clearly Mr. Twain has not read To Kill A Mockingbird and been acquainted with Mr.
Atticus Finch. Atticus is an exemplary southern gentlemen all throughout the whole entire book.
The biggest example of how Atticus exemplified a southern gentlemen was when he refused to
back down from the trial with Tom Robinson. Despite the racial differences that plagued the
United States during the book, Atticus refused to back down from the challenge of representing a
black man. He stuck to his gut and represented Tom as a well-mannered, well groomed,
intellectual, virtuous, civil, egalitarian, and independant man. He represented him with southern
gentility. It is also clearly shows that not every author feels the same way toward southern
gentility (Lee 201-202).
If Twain had read To Kill A Mockingbird (TKAM) his views of a southern gentleman
might have been influenced to see southern gentility as a well-respected trait to have. However,
Twain’s novels might also lack the satire that so many people are drawn to so it is probably a
good thing that Harper Lee was born many years after the death of Mark Twain.
Even though in TKAM several characters are true southern gentlemen and women, there
are a few characters who are less than exemplary and I believe that is where Twain and other
authors intentionally mislead readers to believe that southern gentility is less than desirable. Mr.
Bob Ewell is one of those characters who misleads the readers. Mr. Ewell and his daughter,
Mayella, are accusing Tom of raping Mayella. Although many believe the Ewell’s story, the
majority believe that Mr. Ewell is the one responsible for this felon, but nobody wants to believe
the black man over the white man in the time period the book is set in. Mr. Ewell knows this and
that is why he chose to pin the crime on Tom. Mr. Ewell’s actions are not the only thing
preventing him from being a southern gentleman. Mr. Ewell maybe slightly well-mannered and
civil in public, but behind closed doors it is a different story. Ewell is not well-groomed, nor is
he very educated. Neither is he virtuous if the allegation that Atticus and Tom accuse him of are
correct. Also Mr. Ewell is certainly not an egalitarian or an independant man (Lee 171-178).
In many of the novels satire is often used for comical purposes, but not always.
Sometimes authors use personal experiences and environments that they have been to to
influence their characters. They are often misleading their readers unintentionally, and do not
often realize it.
Works Cited
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Warner Books ed. New York, NY: J. B. Lippincott
Company, 1982. 171-178, 201-202. Print.
Twain, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Paperback December 2009 ed. New
York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2009. 150-57. Print.
Twain, Mark. "4. Medical Acrobatics, 5. A Useful Minister." The Adventure of Tom
Sawyer. Gutenburg EBook ed. Project Gutenberg EBook, 2011. Print.