Huck Finn and Twain's scoundrels

Scoundrels in Twain's Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

Societal and Dangerous Scoundrels in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Throughout Mark Twain's the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, scoundrels abound. In fact, even Huck himself is considered to be a scoundrel by society. Told from the boy's perspective, however, the severity of the scoundrels in the book is downplayed. For instance, the duke and the dauphin are seen as comic relief in the novel, though a more serious voice might have taken note of the damage they are doing to others. But for Twain, scoundrels come in three categories -- societal scoundrels that aren't necessarily scoundrels in Twain's eyes, but who act in a way that is contradictory to society and dangerous scoundrels, or those who are not simply society's outcasts or bumbling idiots, but who pose a real and imminent threat to the life and liberty of others.

First, societal scoundrels in the novel include Huck Finn, Jim, and to a lesser extent, Tom Sawyer. Each of these people tends to meet with the disapproval of other, more cultured members of society. Huck is a societal scoundrel because of his lifestyle. One of the lower class white people that Southern society so frowned upon, Huck is the son of a drunken father, a nearly feral child who raises himself in the woods when he isn't being abused in the care of his father. Although society sees Huck as a missionary case, and the Widow Douglas takes him in to try to civilize him, Huck's wild ways are responsible for his rebellion from her attempts. Jim, Huck's traveling companion, is another societal outcast, based on his color. In the society in which this novel takes place, African-Americans are the lowest of the low, and most are slaves. Jim is a runaway slave, a criminal to society, though his interactions with Huck reveal that he is kind, compassionate, and capable. It is clear that he is a societal scoundrel, however, because Jim is fearful of being caught as a criminal throughout the novel. Finally, Tom Sawyer is another societal scoundrel, but to a lesser degree. Unlike Huck and Jim, Tom has been raised with the conventions of society that will render him capable of rising to a moderate or high place within it someday. Tom manages to get himself into scrapes through adventures and foolish boyhood games, which raise the suspicion of those around him, and is, thus, a societal scoundrel. However, this label can only be loosely applied to Tom, as society accepts that the scoundrel will grow out of him, given his proper upbringing.

Second, dangerous scoundrels often seem humorous, but the danger they pose cannot be underestimated. The most blaring examples of dangerous scoundrels in the novel are Pap, Huck's father, and the Duke and the Dauphin. Pap is a drunk who has a reputation for causing trouble. If he were simply a drunk, however, he would be classified as a societal scoundrel. Instead, he is a dangerous man who beats his son and takes advantage of him for his money. Twain clearly disapproves of Pap, as his actions toward Huck, despite Huck's desire to have a family are abysmal. Twain's judgment against Pap is avenged as dies early on in the novel, although the reader and Huck do not know about it until the end. In addition to Pap, the Duke and the Dauphin, two con men whose names derive from a con they pulled, telling others that they are French royalty. These swindlers manage to come up with creative ways to get others money; they even pretend to be relatives so that they can get the inheritance of a recently dead man. While their actions are comedic, it is clear that they are dangerous people, so dangerous that Huck and Jim feel almost like their prisoners.