Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Discuss the ways in which Widow Douglas tried to civilize Huck in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Widow Douglas means well. She wants Huck to take his place in civilized society—a civilized society based on slavery, but that's by the by—and be like all other young men his age. So she gets to work trying to turn him into her ideal of what a civilized young man in this neck of the woods looks like.
First, she makes him dress up in smart new clothes. No more stinking old rags for Huck; from now on, he'll wear nothing but the best. And Huck can forget about walking around in bare feet, too; wearing shoes will become a regular part of his daily routine.
Regular bible study is now definitely in, too. The Widow Douglas wants Huck to memorize great chunks of Scripture and hopefully learn morally uplifting lessons from them. The Widow is an avid churchgoer and wants Huck to follow her example. And besides, what better way for Huck to show off his nice new clothes and fancy shoes than to wear them for church each Sunday?

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