“Two Extremes”: Tradition and Progress in The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a picaresque novel about a boy who travels along the Mississippi River with his his Aunt's escaped slave, Jim. Before leaving on his journey, Huck meets an old friend, Tom Sawyer. Tom forms a gang based on practices used in the past by other convicts and thieves. As the novel progresses, Huck develops and displays a progressive viewpoint similar to Emerson's transcendental philosophy. Tom shows a traditional point of view that is similar to the point of view in the works of Sir Walter Scott. Tom and Huck have contrasting views when they "rescue" Jim from the Silas family because they are caught up in the dichotomy between traditional ways and progressive ways. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain uses Tom Sawyer to represent Scott's romance and tradition, and Huckleberry Finn to represent Emerson's progressive point of view, and through these two characters, Twain demonstrates that neither point of view is plausible in society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Mark Twain uses Tom Sawyer as a symbol of Walter Scott's romantic novels in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In the novel, Twain intentionally names the ferry the convicts are on after Sir Walter Scott. Sir Walter Scott is known for romanticizing topics such as war and tradition in his works, and is also known for having a great influence in the South. When Twain was asked about Sir Walter Scott, he said that he “made every Southern gentleman a major or a colonel, or a general or a judge” and that without him “the South would be fully a generation more advanced than it was both today." is” (Twain vs. Scott Handout). Twain realizes that romance and tradition have prevented society from progressing because they have made people want to feel the same way as the characters in Scott's works. When Twain first alludes to making every man a general, he means that they have read Scott's books about a romantic view of war and want to experience it firsthand. It's just as if Tom wants to experiment with the plans that the inmates have experimented with and recreate them even though they are romanticized in the books. Twain alludes to Scott through Tom Sawyer during Jim's rescue and during the creation of Tom Sawyer's gang. Twain sets the stage by having Tom Sawyer create a gang that follows everything the other inmates have done. Tom's reasons for the decisions he makes are because he has “[read] it in books; and so obviously this is what [he] [must] do” (19). Tom proves himself to be naive just like the Southerners who believed Walter Scott's novels when he uses the word redeemed incorrectly and can only guess when asked about the definition. Twain also shows the gullibility of southern people and how they perceive fictional novels as applicable to real life situations. After a long hiatus, Tom returns to help save Jim. At first, the two boys begin to brainstorm a way to get Jim out of the cabin. Tom thinks a more difficult plan than Huck's is needed because no escape he has read about has been easy. Tom states that Huck's plan to save Jim "makes it so damn hard to come up with a difficult plan" (249). A difficult plan means that risks will be taken and may or may not work out in their favor. Tom's only reason for his difficult plan is because "it's the right way and it's the normal way" (255). Tom could do it the "normal way", but he holds himself back from progressing by following theromantic escape plans of all the other inmates. All the books Tom has read romanticize difficult plans and they always work because they are fiction, and of course Tom believes them all. Tom once again relies on traditional methods, ultimately leading to a difficult plan. Walter Scott is satirized because it sounds exactly like what he did to the South: he prevented them from progressing through romanticizing events. At the conclusion of the novel, Jim, Huck and Tom are fleeing from an angry mob and after their escape, Tom has been shot in the calf. The crowd is following them because Tom thinks he can outrun them just like all the prisoners elude the authorities. After being shot, Tom is "the happiest of all," which is a ridiculous reaction to having a bullet in his leg (286). Twain uses this final escape to solidify that, through Tom, Scott's romance isn't working. Even though Tom has been shot, he is still present and his attitude has not changed, and Twain states that whatever happens to the tradition, it will still be present because people feel obligated to follow it and not because it is plausible. in society. Just as Twain used Tom to relate to tradition, Twain uses Huck to relate to the progressive actions that Ralph Waldo Emerson writes about in his essay, Nature. Emerson asks the rhetorical question, “why should we not have a poetry and philosophy of intuition and not of tradition?” (Emerson, Nature). He goes on to argue that instead of allowing the past to infiltrate the present, individuals must work to allow our society to progress. Emerson recognizes the dichotomy between tradition and progress just as Mark Twain does. Through Huck, Twain shows Emerson's progressive views throughout the novel. When Huck says, “Okay, then, I'll go to hell,” and then tears up the letter, he is completely contradicting what society has tried to instill in him as wrong (225). She tears up a letter that will tell Miss Watson where Jim is and allow her to retrieve him in exchange for a reward. By sending this letter, Huck would be conforming to society because it was considered a sin not to tell the owner of a runaway slave that they had in fact run away. By tearing up the paper and accepting his fate, Huck demonstrates Emerson's philosophy. Another example where Huck contradicts society is during Jim's rescue. By being friends and agreeing to help save Jim, a runaway slave, Huck does not agree or show what society considers morally correct. While saving Jim, Tom insists on doing things the normal way and Huck insists on saving Jim faster and easier. Huck tries on several occasions to provide a simpler alternative to Tom's elaborate and difficult plans. However, whenever Huck tries, Tom always seems to ignore Huck's plan with his own. Huck's idea is to use “them old crippled picks” to get Jim out (254). However, Tom says they use "a couple of case knives" to dig a hole for Jim to get out. Even though Huck's plan is obviously more efficient, they start using knives to dig because Tom's "regular way" of doing things overrides Huck's progressive thinking. Huck ultimately comes to the conclusion that "he will do [whatever] [feels] most convenient at the time" (102). Huck completely disconnects from the individual, thus allowing society to influence him. He realizes that his individual ways won't work in a world where society is superior, so he decides to simply do what is most practical at the time. Realizing this, Huck is neither following society nor aligning himself with Emerson's philosophy, which shows that neither is plausible in society. Keep in mind: this is.”