'Cain't; I hain't got but one chaw left. Ask Bill'"(139).
In this passage Twain makes fun of the poor southerners by representing them as buffoons. He makes fun of the same poor whites who ignorantly accept slavery when they themselves are, economically, slaves to the wealthy. Spat on from above by the landowning class, the poor whites want to feel powerful, too, so they spit on the blacks below them. Twain's comment is equally on the pathological insecurity of the poor whites, which can also be seen today. Some Americans claim that we have the best healthcare system in the world. When you look at the facts, that simply isn't true. Those Americans are so insecure about their flawed healthcare system, and so filled with worry that they might not be able to pay their bills, that the only way to resolve the situation is to lie to themselves and to everyone else and claim that their poor system is the best.
After Sherburn kills the drunk Boggs, a lynch mob surrounds his house. He is standing on the roof above the door with a shotgun. He addresses the crowd: "'The idea of you lynching anybody! It's amusing. The idea of you thinking you had pluck enough to lynch a man!'"(146). Using Sherburn as a mouthpiece, Twain shows his opinion of the common person as cowardly and his thoughts on mob mentality. Twain believes that mob mentality can make people do something that they normally wouldn't do themselves, such as kill a person. He believes that most people try to avoid conflict as much as possible and will only stand up for themselves when it is easy to do so or when it is hard not to do so, such as when there is a mob behind a person. Sherburn, furthermore, seems to idolize the idea of a man without cowardice. But does Twain? He certainly doesn't admire those who acquit murderers, but he also seems to dislike the "man who goes in the night to lynch the rascal". He also disparages armies who fight "with courage that's borrowed from their mass, and from their officers". Twain appears to condemn all violence in this passage.
The last sentence of the novel, narrated by Huck is, "But I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can't stand it. I been there before"(294). Knowing they would be the last words read, Twain must have crafted these words to be meaningful. And lo: showing a disdain for the status quo or what he has experienced in the past, Huck is showing a hunger for the new. He wants change, much in the same way many Americans do today. Huck is of the mind that the next day can always be better than the last. Twain reveals himself in this passage as an optimist, an improver, and a striver. He doesn't want to settle for what we have today because it's good enough. He wants everything to keep getting better. He doesn't want to fall back to tradition. In this passage, Twain as a progressive is apparent.
One of the first times Huck shows deeper moral understanding than Kohlberg's Stage Four of following the law in order to prevent chaos comes when he promises not to turn in Jim. He says: "'I said I wouldn't, and I'll stick to it. Honest injun, I will. People would call me a low-down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum—but that don't make no difference. I ain't a-going to tell, and I ain't a-going back there, anyways'"(43). Hucks shows real, strong morals. He understands the law and he understands society's potential reaction to his act, but to him it is a higher moral to keep his word to Jim. This shows him reaching above Kohlberg's Stage Four, an act of true moral development. Beneath Huck's moral growth, Twain's statement is apparent: law is not sacred just because.
The moment of moral realization of the novel is when Huck decides not to turn in Jim:
It was a close place. I took . . . up [the letter I’d written to Miss Watson], and held it in my hand. I was a-trembling, because I’d got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: “All right then, I’ll go to hell”—and tore it up. It was awful thoughts and awful words, but they was said. And I let them stay said; and never thought no more about reforming. (214)Here is when Huck finally decides that he does not agree with society's rules and shows evidence of morals above following the law. Twain's message is quite clear: always question the law, other people, and yourself. Just because the law is such a way doesn't mean that you can't be the one to make everyone else realize what is wrong with the law. The same can be said for other people and society. Regarding questioning oneself, Huck spent plenty of time figuring out himself. Twain asks that you ponder your own motivations for a while before you decide to act.
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