Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Theme of Morality and Ethics

Thirteen-year-old Huck Finn’s narration in this novel focuses largely on his internal moral struggles. Forced to reconcile his personal feelings of friendship for an escaped slave with what society has told him is "right," Huck learns through the course of the story to trust his moral instincts. Despite his actions, however, the question remains at the end of novel as to whether Huck is truly able to overcome the pervading ethos of the pre-Civil War South. You could argue either way. Huck was amazingly strong-willed and in touch with his own personal sense of morality to turn away from society’s pressures and the law’s threats. But the end of the novel is somewhat ambiguous. To complicate matters, throughout the story Huck does tend to think one thing and then turn right around and believe another.

1. Huck is not the only one who has moral crises every now and then. Regarding these other characters who think about morality, do they change as a result? Does Huck? How so?
2. Does guilt help our hero (that would be Huck) or hinder him?
3. What’s up with Tom "having principle?" Is "principle" just the same thing as "morality," only with a few more consonants in the word? Or is it something different?

While at first Huck struggles to reconcile several different systems of morality presented to him, he comes to define his own unique set of beliefs that are separate from the rest of society.

While many characters struggle through moral dilemmas, Jim is the only truly moral character in the story.