Comical Relief

A minstrel show as described by this article portrays the African American life in a comical way (both in slavery and freedom). Although this book does have comical elements that resemble those of a minstrel show, labeling it as one would ignore the work’s true meaning. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not a comedy.

With this book Twain showed the true nature of the American South (at least as I imagine it).With out the presence of Industrialized cities southerners remained relatively innocent and its landscape wild. This innocence allowed The Prince and The Duke to scam entire villages. Meanwhile this rough paysage left only the river as means of transportation. In fact, probably the only vestiges of industrialization were the steamboats, one which almost destroyed the raft. Still, this is only part of the books meaning.

Social Commentary represents the work’s tone. Although a minstrel could potentially show this, the book still can not be classified as one. Twain calls to our attention graver matters that do not even have comedy in them. The best example of this can be found in the moment when the crowd of a town is about to lynch Sherburn for shooting a drunk. His response was: “The idea of you thinking you had pluck enough to lunch a man! Because you’re brave enough to tar and feather poor friendless cast-out…” (186). with this, Twain gave us the concept of the crowd’s cowardice especially when lynching a defenseless person. Since lynching usually targeted run-away slaves and black people, this event criticizes that unfortunate racist practice society had at the time.

Ultimately, the comical elements Twain wrote here only serve as a relief. These make digesting the harsh truth much easier for the reader. Also, this book portrays life in the south. Although people at the time might have had bad customs with which Twain Disagreed with, they also had positive qualities. Twain probably did not intend to undermine the south but rather give and accurate picture of it.