The conflict between society and some individuals moral values are a theme portrayed throughout Adventures of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain. Huck has not been raised in accord with the accepted ways of civilization. He practically raises himself, relying on instinct to guide him through life. As portrayed several times in the novel, Huck chooses to follow his internal sense of right and wrong, yet he does not realize that the actions his instincts lead him to may not be accepted by society.
From the very beginning of the novel, Huck clearly states that he does not want to conform to society; "The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would civilize me... I got into my old rags and my sugar hogshead again, and was free and satisfied."(11)
When Pap returns for Huck, and the matter of custody is brought before the court, the reader is forced to see the corruption of society. The judge rules that Huck belongs to his father, and forces him to obey an obvious evil and unfit man, who drinks profusely and beats his son. Later, when Huck makes it look as though he has been killed, we see how civilization is more concerned over finding Huck's dead body than protecting his moral values from Paps corrupted ways. This is a society that is more concerned about a dead body than it is in the welfare of living people.
The theme becomes even more evident once Huck and Jim set out, down the Mississippi River. Huck enjoys his adventures on the raft. He feels free on the river from the restrictions of society. Also, Huck's acceptance of Jim is a total defiance of society. Ironically, Huck believes he is committing a sin by going against society and protecting Jim. He does not realize that his own instincts are more morally correct than those of society.
In chapter sixteen, we see perhaps, the most inhumane action of society. Huck meets some men looking for runaway slaves, and fabricates a story about his father on the raft with smallpox. The men fear catching this disease and instead of rescuing him, they give him money and advise him not to let it be known of his father's sickness when seeking help. These men are not hesitant to hunt slaves, yet they refuse to help a sick man. This is in contraste to Huck's guilt felt for protecting Jim when he actually did a morally just action.
Huck's acceptance of his love for Jim is shown in chapter thirty-one. Huck writes a letter to Miss Watson to return Jim, yet he ends up ripping up the letter wishing to free Jim. "'All right, then, I'll go to hell'- and he tore it up."(207) Here, we see that Huck concludes that he is evil and that society has been right all along.
The ending is perhaps most disappointing, because through all the situations, it seems he was growing up and accepting his innate ideas of right and wrong when he has not grown mentally at all. When he reunites with Tom, he once again thinks of Jim as property “There’s a nigger here that I’m a-trying to steal out of slavery, and his name is Jim - old Miss Watson’s Jim.”(218)
It is obvious there is conflict between Huck’s moral values and society’s laws. Throughout the novel, Huck goes between what he believes is right by his moral values and society’s laws. From the beginning Huck says he does not want to conform to society’s laws, yet throughout the novel he debates in his mind whether to go with what his morals tell him or do what society expects of him. When Huck’s Pap shows up, he further corrupts Huck by taking him away from school and away from society’s laws and expectations of oneself. Huck truly faces a difficult decision when it comes to deciding whether to follow society’s opinion on slavery and slaves, or follow what his morals tell him to do, which would be to rescue Jim and help him to freedom. In the end, he decides to do what is socially correct and helps Jim. Overall, Huck stands his own ground and follows what his morals tell him to do and for the most part his decisions keep him safe.