Think for Yourself: The Fallacy of Organized Religion in Huck Finn

English 11 Huck Finn

Only a DRAFT!

May change/be updated - still in progress - may still contain inaccuracies

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain denotes that one can be moral and righteous without relying on an organized religion. Furthermore, Twain shows the fallacy of organized religion, including hypocrisy, and parishioners who can't even hear the sermon because they are reacting so strongly. Twain also shows through Huck that one should go with what one feels is best, which is not necessarily the rules of society and organized religion. Furthermore, one can be perfectly moral and make the right decisions even when one is not "civilized". (which religion does not let you do)

All throughout the story, Twain pokes fun at organized religion. The Widow Douglas tells Huck not to smoke tobacco, however she takes snuff and "of course that was all right, because she done it herself" (Twain 3). Snuff is merely dry tobacco and is not much different than smoking, thus showing the hypocrisy of someone who is very religious. Later in the book, Twain pokes fun at the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons who take their guns to church while the preacher talks about brother love. The Grangerfords enjoy the ceremony and "said it was a good sermon, and they all talked it over going home, and had such a powerful lot to say about faith and good works and free grace and preforeordestination", but fail to realize that the preacher was talking about the silliness of their own feud (Twain 139). In another part of the book, the congregation at a religious revival can not even hear what the preacher is saying "on account of the shouting and crying" (Twain 167). They are so taken up in the histrionics that they can not hear what is going on.

Huck himself does not subscribe to organized religions. Several times throughout the book, Huck questions his beliefs versus the beliefs society imposes on him - the beliefs of organized religion. In the beginning of the story, Huck says the wants to go to the "bad place" because Tom was going there and he wanted a change (Twain 3). Later in the book, Tom thinks about society's values concerning slavery. Society, including organized religions, told him that slaves were property which belonged to their masters. However, throughout the book, Huck learns through Jim that slaves were people too. Huck is reminded of this gap when Jim talks about stealing his children. "I was sorry to hear Jim say that, it was such a lowering of him" (Twain 113).

Throughout the book Huck debates wither to turn Huck in. At one point he makes up his mind to turn Jim in, and he "felt easy and happy and light as a feather" (Twain 113). But then, a few minutes later, Huck is reminded of Jim's humanness, "Dah you goes, de ole true Huck; de on'y white genlman dat ever kep' his promise to ole Jim." (Twain 114). This causes Huck to change his mind and turn his back on what his organized religion told him to think. Later in the book, Huck declares, "All right, then, I'll GO to hell" and then "never thought no more about reforming" (Twain 273). Huck makes up his mind that he will ignore organized religion and follow his own morals.

And these morals Huck has are good as well, even without organized religion. Huck shows that he values the lives of everyone, even thieves and murders. When Huck and Jim abandon the murders on the sinking steamboat, Huck goes out of his way to have someone rescue him, because he says, "I begun to think how dreadful it was, even for murderers, to be in such a fix" (Twain 91). Huck shows a regard of life that even religious people don't show. For example, Colonel Sherburn kills a drunk in cold blood because the drunk was annoying him.

In addition, Huck feels very sick to be a part of the King and the Duke's scams. He says, that the Wilks brother scam "was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race" (Twain 208). His feelings motivate him to try and steal the money back, "I felt so ornery and low down and mean that I says to myself, my mind's made up; I'll hive that money for them or bust" (Twain 224). He also feels very bad for Mary Jane and makes up a plan for her to get her money back. Huck does all of this without believing in an organized religion.

Mark Twain, despite writing that "persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished," makes a statement against organized religion in Huck Finn (Twain xi). He creates several incidents where the hypocrisy of organized religion is shown. Huck is able to make good moral choices without religion, and is able to make a decision against the teachings of organized religion because he did what he himself thought was right. Thus Twain is trying to show how religion is corrupt in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.