Humor in the Adventures of Essay

Another example of scenes -- and characters -- creating both a balance and a contrast between humor and seriousness comes from the Duke and the King. These two characters appear in many scenes of the novel, and their escapades and claims are a definite source of humor (and frustration) in the novel. One of the most poignant scenes in the book, however, is one Huck sees these two finally receive their comeuppance, as each has been tarred and feathered and is being run out of town on a rail. Huck reflects on the senseless cruelty that mankind is capable of, feeling sympathy for his two former companions though they had treated he and Jim abysmally and cheated everyone else they came across, too. The fact that many of the Duke and King's actions are humorous in addition to be dastardly serves to emphasize the cruelty that they experience at the hands of townspeople, who have nothing on their minds but revenge and punishment, and take great joy in it.

Both the serious and the humorous scenes in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn provide commentary on society in general and many different individual man traits and foibles, as well. They do not do this in separate ways, but instead the different approaches used in these scenes serve as compliments and reinforcements of each other, such that the senseless reasons behind of violence and cruelty -- which are often humorous -- are adequately and appropriately paired with the tragic and serious consequences of the same violence and cruelty.Perhaps this is why a confused and disillusioned Huck ends his adventure with a determination to leave civilization behind him as soon as possible......