Chen Fong, Pulkit Kumar, John Kim
“Human beings can be awful cruel to one another” (pg. 214).
This quote from the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn points out how human beings are the same, no matter what time period, circumstance, or situation. Our main flaw is our selfishness. This has not changed throughout time. Huck points out that we are cruel to one another, and it’s all for our selfish needs. This quote happens after Huck witnesses a crowd humiliate the Duke and King after tar and feathering them both. It is the group’s natural selfish desire to take revenge on the two con artists. Cruel actions result from our selfishness as we disregard our morals and ethics. Ultimately, our need to do what’s best for ourselves leads to the decisions we make.
Huck is selfish in a moral way, instead of a materialistic one. He does things that are best for his own moral conscience. Lying to the two bounty hunters about Jim on the raft shows that he did this for his own moral good. Although he strongly feels that he is doing wrong by keeping property from Miss Watson, his natural make up of doing what is best for his heart prevents him from following the law. At the same time, he unintentionally cons the bounty hunters of 40$. Huck is in a slight way being cruel by stealing the money from these two men.
