Hypocrisy in Huck Finn

1. Hypocrisy in Huck Finn by Kurtis Robinson, Leslie Alday, Zane Vesper

2. Introduction This PowerPoint is about hypocrisy in Huckleberry Finn. It will include several examples of hypocrisy and will provide text from the book. Hypocrisy: definition Hypocrisy is the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense. Mark Twain once said:

3. Example One: Miss Watson "Pretty soon I wanted to smoke, and asked the widow to let me ... And she took snuff, too; of course that was all right, because she done it herself“ This quote about Huck's wanting to smoke show's the widow's hypocrisy. Although it is "dirty" for Huck to want to smoke a pipe, it is perfectly acceptable for the widow to take snuff.

4. Example Two: Pap Finn Pap tells Huck about a black man who is better off then he is, and yet he can do all of the things that he does, but chooses not to. • They said he could VOTE when he was at home. Well, that let me out. Thinks I, what is the country a-coming to? It was 'lection day, and I was just about to go and vote myself if I warn't too drunk to get there; but when they told me there was a State in this country where they'd let that nigger vote, I drawed out. I says I'll never vote agin.” • Pap, who is an ignorant, cruel idiot speaks as if the black man is worthless when he himself is awful. Later on, church people try to reform Pap who tries to act repentant, but Twain pokes fun at both “do-gooders” and Pap.

5. Example Three: Feuds and Fighting "Well," says Buck, "a feud is this way: A man has a quarrel with another man, and kills him; then that other man's brother kills HIM; then the other brothers, on both sides, goes for one another; then the COUSINS chip in -- and by and by everybody's killed off, and there ain't no more feud. But it's kind of slow, and takes a long time.” The Grangerfords and Shephardsons fight and fight and don’t even know or remember why. We sometimes do the same.

6. Example four: Religion “It was pretty ornery preaching—all about brotherly love, and such-like tiresomeness; but everybody 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 then they continued the feud) • "Next Sunday we all went to church, about three mile, everybody a-horse back. The men took their guns along, so did Buck and kept them between their knees or stood them handy against the wall” • The Shepardsons and the Grangerfords are the epitome of hypocrisy. This quote is from the moment that the two families attended church. Although the sermon was about brotherhood and peace, the two feuding families brought their guns to church

7. Example five: The Duke and King • "First they done a lecture on temperance; but they didn't make enough for them both to get drunk on. Then in another village they started a dancing-school; but they didn't know no more how to dance than a kangaroo does...“ • And speaking of conmen: The Duke and the King's love of alcohol is a perfect example of hypocrisy. One of their schemes to get money is to make speeches on the good that temperance will do for the community, yet they use all of their money to buy booze and get drunk.

8. Mark Twain’s views on hypocrisy Obviously Mark Twain was against hypocrisy. Since Huck is the narrator (and indirectly Mark Twain), then his view of hypocrisy is the most important. Whenever Huck felt like something didn’t quite fit, he noted that it was unfair and an overall terrible thing. Mark Twain obviously agreed with this, because he expressed his views through his writing. He used Huck’s sometimes humorous, unsophisticated outlook to highlight serious social problems.

9. And this power point doesn’t even begin to highlight one of the greatest evils Twain exposed…slavery.