The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Quotes
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Source: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Author: Mark Twain
That is just the way with some people. They get down on a thing when they don't know nothing about it.
Context
This line is from the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), written by Mark Twain.
Huckleberry Finn doesn't like living with Widow Douglas, who makes him swap his fun, adventures, and smoking for Bible lessons about dead people that he doesn't care about. Not to mention the spelling lessons, because sadly "civilize" is spelled with a "c" instead of an "s." Basically, Huck's mad that Widow Douglas and her sister Miss Watson have taken control of his life, and there are no treasure hunts in his future for now.
So Huck complains that Widow Douglas criticizes him for smoking, when really, she doesn't know anything about smoking at all. Plus, Huck says, she even takes snuff herself. Hypocrite!
Freedom is a major theme of Huckleberry Finn especially when Huck helps Jim, a runaway slave, escape from his master, and when Huck makes his own escape from his abusive father, Pap. And this isn't freedom in a huge political statement sense, but just the freedom to wake up when you want, float on the river, and have a smoke every now and then.
We didn't know that smoking caused lung cancer in the late 1800s, but Widow Douglas and Miss Watson could really have been a little less strict and let Huck have fun every now and then. Seriously, don't be a helicopter parent.
Where you've heard it
You've heard this quote when someone absolutely trashes a movie or TV show just based on a trailer or a teaser. You've seen a few scenes out of order with no context for them, who are you to judge?
Additional Notable References:
- Here's an article from the Huffington Post about why Huckleberry Finn is a book worth checking out (and is probably not for kids).
- If you liked this wise quote penned by Mark Twain in Huckleberry Finn, you can find hundreds like it in the Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
This is solid wisdom. Don't judge things before you've experienced them or done a little bit of homework.