Huckleberry Finn: Social Commentary
Sarah Williams
What is Social Commentary?
Social Commentary is important because it can spark feelings against situations in society that can be looked at as harmful or wrong. Commentary can also spark movement for wanting to do something about the situation and taking action to stop or prevent it. In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain, there are many explicit examples of social commentary, one of which I will explain in this infographic.
Huckleberry Finn Example
In the beginning of the book, Huck explains that he hasn't seen his father in a year, and that he's "comfortable with that" because he "didn't want to see him no more." (page 11). When Huck was with his father, he "used to whale [him] even when he was sober and could get his hands on [him]; though [he] used to take to the woods most of the time when he was around." (page 11). This evidently shows how badly his father treats him and how he abandoned Huck.
Real World Example
This relates to my topic and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because it is a form of social commentary judging on parents that have abandoned their families for things such as alcohol or drugs. This was told through a literary piece of music, rather than a book as Mark Twain did. This song is similar to the book example, because the father in the song is similar to Pap in the book. They have abandoned their families to pursue other meaningless things that are less important than family.
This is a song that tugs at the heart strings of people, trying to convince them about the cruelty of abandonment.