The Head vs. the Heart

The Head Vs.. The Heart The sounds of tools and chains clink and Jingle not too far off Slaves are in the fenced off field picking the soft cotton from the dry earth. The dust coming from the path that leads from the big, white house to the field gets picked up in gusts of wind making them squint their eyes. The owners of the house are chatting and laughing on their dusty porch sipping on their tea while their children play tag and hide-and-go-seek with each other on the grass below.

The sun Is beating down on them with Intermittent periods of shade from the passing clouds blocking the suns harsh rays. To the left, there Lies the Millponds river. The water calmly passes by. Carrying branches and logs that slowly drift down the river passing quacking ducks swimming to keep from the heat. Hanging over the cool, dark water are willow trees that one could lie under peacefully in the shade. It is quiet there and is the perfect place to unwind and forget all the worries of the day.

This mixed setting is something that is easily seen in Mark Twain’s book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberry Finn does not need d quiet place Eke that to get to thinking about his day, his upcoming decisions, his past choices, and his life In general. He constantly thinks about what Is right and what Is wrong, but In his society, there are often conflicting answers, the things his head tells him to do, which Is what society tells him, and the things that his heart tells him, the Ramirez 2 things that he believes to be right.

Mark Twain satires d society that forces d child to go to hell” In order to do what Is morally right. Husks caretakers wanted Heck to be well educated, go to church, and learn about the bell_ Ironically, he never found anything interesting. When the Widow Douglas tried to “learned [ћ_him] about Moses and the Bulrushes and [… He] was in a sweat to find out all about him,” he found out “that Moses had been a considerable long time, so then [… He] didn’t care no more about him because [… He] don’t take no stock in dead people” (cal).

Heck wanted to learn about religion, but he could never bring himself too it because of his lack of Interest. He also did not believe In It because Miss Watson told him that whatever he prayed for, he would get. “But It warrant so. [… Hell tried It. [… Hell tried for the hooks three or four runes, but somehow [… Hell couldn’t make It work” (chi). Heck viewed the slaves In a different light. He did not Just see them as objects to be owned and sold. He knew he could not do whatever he pleased with them because to him, unlike the majority of socio’, they were actual people with feelings and emotions.

When Jim ran way from Miss Watson, even though Heck knew him to be “most ruined for a servant, because he got stuck up on account of having seen the devil and been rode by witches” (chi en still gave him a chance and treated m as t en were anyone else to go along with him on his adventures. He believes what he is told until he finds that it actually is not the case. Even though the rest of society wanted him to and would have turned Jim in, Husks kind heart told him that the people were wrong and to do what he thought was morally right.

Authority was also a challenge for young Huckleberry. He disobeys his father which is a young boys largest role model as well as authority figure. Pap tells him to “look here–mind Ramirez 3 how [… Heck] talks to [… Him]; [… He is] a-standing about all [… He] can stand now– so don’t game no sass” (chi) because Heck wan not giving his father the respect that he deserved. When Heck ran away, he knew he was going against his father’s wishes, but did not care that he was going against authority because he was following what his heart was telling him to do.

Throughout the book, Heck knows what is right and hat is wrong according to the world he lives in, but according to him, “What’s the use you learning to do right, when it’s troublesome to do right and anti no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is Just the same? ” (chic). It was difficult in that time period to distinguish the difference between true right and wrong, but Heck broke the standard and questioned what he knew in order to do what he found to be the truly right way. Works Cited Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. De. Thomas Nash. New York: Penguin, Ltd. , 1985. Print