Why Is Huck Finn Being Sivilized

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What significance does being civilized convey? Dictionary.com defines the verb “civilized” as the following: “to bring out of a savage, uneducated, or rude state”. In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck mentions the word “sivilized” three times, along with his strong refusal of being sivilized. This expression of refusal could be understood as an immature complaint coming from a thirteen-year-old boy; however, there seems to be a more mature reason behind Huck’s rationale. Huck begins as an immature, 13-year-old boy who needs to learn to be a “good boy”, according to Widow Douglas. “The Widow Douglas, she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house…and so when I couldn’t stand…show more content…
In the scene of the second usage, Huck has been “kidnapped” by his drunkard father, Pap, and is told that there could be a chance for Huck to return to Widow Douglas’s home. However, Huck detested that possible outcome; he disliked the fact that he had to return to the “educated” life style. “This shook me up considerable, because I didn’t want to go back to the widow’s any more and be so cramped up and sivilized, as they called it” (Twain 33). Huck is still a rebellious and independent teenager with a desire for an adventure. He undergoes through not much transformation up to this point of the story; nevertheless, he grows from this point on. Along his tragic and perilous voyage to escape for freedom with Jim, Huck acquires moral skills on deciding what is right or wrong and life knowledge from several events. For instance, he learns that good behavior does not always lead to good results, like the motivation of the feud between the Shepherdsons and Grangerfords. He also learns that extreme selfishness is immature and disgraceful from the frauds, the duke and the king. Moreover, Huck perceives that he should follow the moral discernment of his heart in all the moral dilemmas that come up. “I was trying to make my mouth say I would do the right thing and the clean thing, and go and write to that nigger’s owner and tell where he was; but deep down in me I knowed it was a lie—and He knowed

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