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Amanda Rice

Ms. Instructor

ENG3U1-05

September 1, 2012

Religion in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The morals and values of religious people are often questioned and explored,

especially when looking at one’s beliefs compared to one’s actions. In the story, The

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, several incidents are presented

which question the morality of so-called religious people. Many religious characters in

the story appear to be “moral”, but at a closer look, one can see that their actions are

greedy and inconsiderate. Also, the symbols used in Christianity are shown to have no

real meaning for the characters. Lastly, the characters in the novel do not follow or seem

to understand what their religion teaches and preaches, as many are ignorant to what they

are actually being taught in church. Twain presents these events and characters in order

to truly question the morality of the people involved in the conventional and structural

life of Christianity, questioning what it really means to be a “true” Christian.

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain examines the hypocrisies and

abuses of religion by showing how many of the religious characters are greedy and

inconsiderate. This is shown when the character Miss Watson, decides to go against her

values and separates her black slave Jim from his family, because she wants the money

that the slaveholder from the south is offering her, “I hear ole missus tell de wider she

gwyne to sell me down to Orleans, but she didn’ want to, but she could git eight hund’d

dollars for me, en it ‘uz sich a big stack o’ money she couldn’ resis” (Twain 1379).
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Twain uses Miss Watson to represent the questionable morality of these religious people,

in the sense that they do not follow religion. Many of the characters, such as Miss

Watson own slaves, when their religion teaches that everyone should be brothers and

sisters. They preach about what they believe, but in reality, they do not follow what they

preach, which allows the reader to question what it really means to be Christian.

Symbolic rituals are another means of exploring the hypocrisies and abuses of

religion. In this work, Twain portrays religious symbols, as symbols, which have no real

meanings in them for the characters. Just because these people cherish these symbolic

references of Christianity, it does not make them religious. This portrayal can be seen in

the representation of the cross by Huck’s father, as he presents his superstitions in the

form of religion, “There was a cross in the left boot-heel made with big nails, to keep off

the devil” (1363). In Huck’s father’s case he uses the Christian symbol of the cross to

ward off the devil for all of the bad things that he has done. He does not seem to

understand the meaning of a very cherished symbol in his religion and is using it for the

wrong reasons, which truly illustrates the hypocrisy of some religious characters.

Another mockery of religion and the people that worship it is present in the lack

of awareness of the characters. They go through the motions of attending church;

however, they do not listen to what is being told to them. They are very religious people,

but then they also kill people over a feud that started over thirty years ago (1417). The

Grangerford boys do not even know how this feud started, “‘What was the trouble about,

Buck? – land?’ ‘I reckon maybe – I don’t know.’ ‘Well, who done the shooting? – was it

a Grangerford or a Shepherdson?’ ‘Laws, how do I know? It was so long ago’” (1417).

These hypocritical actions are also present when they go to church, “The men took their
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guns along, so did Buck, and kept them between their knees or stood them handy against

the wall. The Shepherdsons done the same. It was pretty ornery preaching – all about

brotherly love and such – like tiresomeness; but everybody said it was a good sermon”

(1418). The hypocrisy of people is very evident in this passage. These religious people

are bringing their guns to church and saying what a good sermon it is, when they do not

even listen to the values of brotherly love in the sermon. They have been going on for

thirty years killing each other and still believe that they are doing the right thing. Twain

is representing the use of actions of going to church and following the proper manners of

being Christian, but manners is not what religion is about. Religion is about respecting

and following the teachings, not killing people for no apparent reason.

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain examines the hypocrisies and

abuses of religion and the people involved, in order to question what a true Christian

ideal should be. In this story, the characters follow a strict, formal Christianity, but they

tend to be hypocritical in how they follow their beliefs. Many of the religious people in

the novel are taken over with greed, such as by owning slaves to benefit themselves.

They also do not understand the meaningful symbols of their religion, and many

characters use these symbols in an inappropriate manner, such as Huck’s father using the

cross to ward off the devil for the bad things that he has done. The attitudes and lack of

understanding of the characters also show the insincerity of people who do not truly listen

to or read the bible; such as when the characters are ignorant to the sermons that they

attend about brotherly love, as they stand in church with their guns. Twain uses these

hypocrisies and abuses of religion in order to present a notion of what it really means to

be religious. Throughout this work, Twain questions the morality of the people involved
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in the institutionalized, formal role of Christianity in order to show that it is not always

one’s actions and beliefs that makes one Christian; it is the practicing and understanding

of these beliefs in everyday life.

 Works Cited

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. United States of America: Penguin,

1986.