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Up to the minute notes on the current state of free thinking and free living: Kentucky moonshine - original analysis and reporting from MoreThings, and all round pop culture museum of sight and sound - photo galleries, mp3 and video downloads.
Al Barger and MoreThings - getting people's goats since 1998.
Live free or die!
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February 18, 2004
Huck Finn's moment of decision
Mark Twain published The Adventures of Huck Finn 119 years ago today on February 18, 1885. Many regard Huck Finn as THE classic American novel. Many literary scholars could go on with greater erudition than I on the unique voice Twain achieved, and the nuance of his depiction of American society.
The book unfortunately now gets some nonsense protests over his use of the N word. This is just damned SILLY of course, as Twain has given us the most genteel way possible to get up next to our historical problems. We should be thanking him for helping break it down.
The centerpiece moment of the book doesn't ultimately have anything to do with race, though, but rather concerns what might be called independence of conscience. By his raising, Huck Finn was thoroughly convinced that it was his moral obligation before God himself to turn in Jim the runaway slave. He didn't want to do it, as Jim had been his one true friend and protector.
Ultimately, Huck makes a conscious decision to be condemned to hell for his disobedience rather than turn in his friend. That rates with me as one of the more thrilling moments of all literature.
As Tom Petty wrote a century later,
You can stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won't back down.Labels: god, julie andrews
posted by Al at 2/18/2004 10:54:00 PM
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