The pre-Civil War novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, is about a young boy named Huck. His mother is dead and his father is an alcoholic. Huck is now being raised by the Widow Douglass, a woman who is attempting to raise Huck to be an educated and successful member of society, despite his many protests. Due to violence and forced conformity, Huck runs away and joins a runaway slave named Jim. Instead of turning Jim in, Huck decides to help him free himself from slavery. In this way, he goes against social norms and refuses to follow certain rules just because that's what everyone else is doing. As they run away together, Huck begins to notice and understand common stereotypes within society. He rebels and goes against society in his attitudes and philosophies. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain explores why humans follow ridiculous ideas just because they are the social norms, pointing out the hypocrisy in society's ideals, incorporating satirical examples on religion, education, and slavery into his novel. While living in the Widow Douglass home, Huck had been exposed and forced to participate in religious practices. He was forced to read the Bible and say prayers during meals. “When you came to the table, you couldn't go straight away to eat, but had to wait until the widow lowered her head and complained about the food” (Twain 12). Huck describes the widow as an exaggerated Christian devoted to her religion, while Twain uses this to satirize religion in general. At this time in history, society views being religious as knowing passages from the Bible and saying your prayers. These standards classify the Widow Douglass as a good Christian woman with strong value... middle of paper... to the point that society doesn't even recognize her for the human beings she is. Slaves are people with beating hearts and emotions like everyone else, not just property on legs, but social norms do not agree with this. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain shows how ridiculous it is to follow society's corrupt beliefs just because everyone else is. Twain uses the adventures of the protagonist, Huck, as he grows and matures to show this corruption. Huck goes against social norms to do what he thinks is right, even if society says it will send him to Hell. To convey this message, Twain uses frequent examples of satire to show the hypocrisy and corruption in society's ideals. These satirical examples particularly highlight religion, education, and slavery. This coming-of-age story highlights society's many flaws in an entertaining yet truthful way.