Huckleberry Finn Attitude Essay

Pride

In Mark Twain's epic novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, many attitudes and behaviors are shown. One of the most important attitudes shown is the extreme pride for a family name, as demonstrated by the Grangerford's and Shepherdson's.

The intense pride that is displayed between both families proves to be their downfall as the story unwinds. Both the Grangerford's and Shepherdson's are respectable, wealthy, and educated people that are truly blinded because of a family feud that no one alive actually knows the cause of. The simple fact that such a basic attitude can give way to pure hatred and violence that tears people apart, shows the oblivion to logical reasoning that occurs when people don't understand the reasons why they do the things they do.

Twain gracefully paints this vignette to show exactly how this attitude leads to violence by first using irony when the two families are in church together, as the preacher gives a sermon about the necessity of brotherly love. This sermon has absolutely no effect on the attitudes of the families and their pride. It only goes to show just how stubborn the people are, especially Colonel Grangerford, whose actions directly lead to the brutal annihilation of his family.

The final battle between the families begins with the search for Sophia

Grangerford and Harney Shepherdson, who have run off to be together and escape the foolish feud. The search leads into a large battle in which the Grangerford's are largely outnumbered and are killed off. The significance of this entire part of the book is to show how a simple attitude can blind people to the truth and opens up a pathway to violence.

In this novel, many attitudes and behaviors are showcased, however pride is a very large one. This attitude is strongly portrayed by the two feuding families