Moral Development and Education in Relation to Huckleberry Finn

Moral Development and Education in Relation to Huckleberry Finn

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Moral Development and Education in Relation to Huckleberry Finn

            Morality is a term used to refer to a system of values principles, beliefs and code of conduct, which governs human interactions within a community setting. Morality is a system that enables individual to determine the right thing to do in different situations. According to Robert Coles, who is a respected scholar in the field of the inner working of children, the moral lives of children is developed during their infant years as they learn about the good and the profane (Killen, Melanie and Smentana 2).  The moral development of a child is highly affected by the environment, including social association, parent and immediate family members. However, the child has to go through a learning process, which affects the moral development. This paper is an analysis of the relationship that exists between education and moral development and its relation to the Huck Finn novel.

            Holistic education, which are the early years of child education with the parents and the family, has been found to have a significant impact on cognitive, emotional, social, and moral development of the children. In the community, moral aspects of brining up children and education are not well emphasized compared to the past (Killen, Melanie and Smentana 2). This causes the children to be less prepared in dealing with situations and challenges of life. Lack of moral education during the development of children can be replaced (overtaken) by what they watch in the media and mainly by their peers where they form their moral framework and how they view the world.

            Moral education has become a crucial topic of discussion in the field of education most of the social concerns can be said to be moral in nature, and they have intricate beginnings An Overview of (Moral Development and Moral Education, p.1). In the novel done by Twain (the adventures of huckleberry Finn), the narrator of the novel (Huck) does not have formal education. A lot of decisions and rules that he make are based on what he learns as he takes the journey down the Mississippi after escaping “the civilized society”.

            The adventures of huckleberry Finn is a novel written by Mark Twain. It has been boldly measured to be one of the prominent American novels of all time. The novel was published in England December 1884 and the United States in 1885 (Twain, p.2). The novel (adventures of huckleberry Finn) starts by introducing us with the events of the novel before it “the adventures of Tom Sawyer”. Both novels have a similar setting in the town of St. Petersburg, Missouri that lies on the banks of Mississippi river. This essay will explore relationships (nature and education) in the adventures of huckleberry Finn.

            This timeless classic has set a tone for other American literature to emulate the story creates a new window focusing the lives of Americans people before the civil war. The teachings and lessons contained in this novel give a reader a broad understanding of the experience along the Mississippi river 200 years ago. The book is full of exciting activities that include:  adventure, friendship deceitfulness more so racism and slavery that are the key issues in the novel (adventures of Huckleberry, p.3).

            According to Killen and Judith(p.461) moral sensitivity is the foremost constituent of moral implementation and most people agree that education, as well as social environment are a necessity in tuning and turning moral emotions and sensitivity. In the novel, (the adventures of huckleberry Finn), Twain reveals the double standards of slavery  as well as  how racism distorts the oppressors as much as it does to the victims who are oppressed. Twain’s interpretation of slavery is a figurative deception of the black community in the United States way after the eradication of slavery. He also illustrates the society that surrounds Huck (narrator of the story) as little or more than a set of degraded rules and precepts that confronts logic. In the novel, Huck destructs the morals and percepts of the society that treats him like an outsider and fails to shelter him from abuse.

            The narrator and the protagonist of the novel “Huckleberry Finn” is a thirteen-year-old son of a local drunk man of St.  Petersburg, Missouri a small city on the Mississippi river. He was frequently forced to survive on his own. Huck was intelligent, thoughtful, and able to come to his own conclusions about pertinent issues even if his decisions contradicted the society norms. According to Rodgers, moral judgment is the ability to interpret and solve complicated moral dilemmas. Huck was able to distinguish between real and hypothetical issues for instance he choose to help his friend Jim whom the “civilized society” regarded him as a property (slave).

            Moral motivation (commitment and focus) is one of the most prominent aspects of moral identity.  Most Children acquire this act from the teachers or guardians who often expose them to moral exemplars that include honesty, bravely, and caring (Narvaez and Darcie, p.13). In the adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck was not exposed to moral motivation from his early childhood. At first, he did not have formal education and his father was a drunkard.

            Huck ran away from the “civilized society” and joined Jim in the island, he began to realize that Jim is more talented and more intelligent than his awareness. He observed that Jim knows all signs he could clearly tell peoples personality and future, weather forecasting. Huck was immensely interested in such information because it was extremely helpful and necessary for their journey down the Mississippi.  Huck’s ability to correspond to natural life through his freedom of spirit, he felt more comfortable with Jim compared to any other character in the novel.

            Moral action is the ability to carry out correct judgment, act correctly and judge fairly. Even though, some people may possess these qualities, they still require skills to implement them. Solving conflicts with others challenging racism and bias, as they happen are not easy tasks. Most people are encouraged by their teachers and mentors today. In the novel (the adventures of Huckleberry Finn), we can term Huck was unprivileged to have mentors because he did not attend school and he escaped still young.

            As his journey down the river proceeded, Huck instinctual distrust and experiences forced him to put in question things that the society had taught him. Considering the law, Jim was Miss Watson’s property but according to his Huck’s sense of logic, it was right to help Jim escape. In spite of him lacking formal education, Huck’s natural intelligence and willingness to think through situations, lead him to conclusions that were correct in their form, but would shock the white society. For instance when they encountered a group of slave hunters he realized that telling a lie sometimes was the right thing to do(twain, p.79).

            In conclusion, the adventure of huckleberry, indeed, draws the moral education of a society. Huck was a child, and the world was new to him. Most of His encounters were occasional for his thoughts. Considering his background, he does a lot beyond applying the rules that he had been taught by creating his own rules (Killen and Judith, p.160). Huck did not have formal education yet he is independent and a moral genius. Children’s morality can result from social forces that come together to create moral awareness. The child may start with natural emotional responses to the social events that are refined, supported and enhanced in social experiences.

Works cited

"An Overview of Moral Development and Moral Education." Web. 17 Dec. 2012. <http://http://tigger.uic.edu/~lnucci/MoralEd/overview.html>.

Killen, Melanie, and Judith G. Smentana. handbook of moral development and nature. 1st ed. newjersey: lawrence elbraum associate publishers, 2006. Print.

Narvaez, Darcia. "the relation of moral judgment development and educational expirence to recall of moral narratives." genetic physcology 156.1 (2007): n.pag. Print.

Twain, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Clayton, DE: Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classics, 2006. Print.