Social Commentary
Briley Spindler
Social Commentary
Huckleberry Finn Example
Mark Twain uses a lot of social commentary in his novel, Huckleberry Finn. Throughout the novel he makes fun of the society in his time and he portrays his opinion on issues and problems in the world. In the novel you can find all his opinions on topics though the characters. Mark was not afraid to point out the flaws in society and he wasn't scared to voice his thoughts. One specific example of social commentary is how wrong some people in the society around Huck are. The King and the Duke, or whoever they really are, are two shady people that lie, connive and have no respect. The two men claim to be the "king and duke" and use this act to get anything they want. They are con artists and will do anything for money. In a small town they set up a fake play just to get money. In the middle of the third show they left just to get the money and the duke exclaimed to Huck, "' Walk fast now until you get away from the houses, and then shin for the raft like the dickens was after you'" (Twain, 153). Everything gets worse when the two criminals pose as the brothers of a man they learned was dead in order to take his fortune away from his sisters. They tricked the whole family and stole the money. Huck realized that their acts were wrong and “I[Huck] says to myself[himself], this is another one that I’m letting him rob her of her money. And when she got through they all jest laid their selves out to make me feel at home and know I was amongst friends. 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, 175). From that point on the criminals disgust Huck and he realizes how evil people in society can be. This example shows how Huck learns the evils of society and helps the readers understand why Huck wants to escape it. Through this example Mark Twain is trying to show how immoral people can be and how people mostly think of only themselves, not others.
Current Example
Original Example
This is an example of social commentary because it is appealing to a person's sense of justice. It isn't meant to be funny like the other examples, but it points out a flaw in society trough a story. The story is criticizing the overuse of devices and social media in out society. It is using emotions and making the reader look at the issue in a new way.