Satire in Huckleberry Finn

To understand Mark Twain's cynicism in The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn one must understand what satire is. It can be defined as a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn and to expose and discredit vice or folly. Satire is the tool that Twain employs in his novel to exaggerate and make fun of the many problems facing American society. Some of the major aspects of society that Twain attacks …

…to not only tell a story but to also express his feelings as to what he believed were the problems facing society. Overall satire is the key tool that Twain utilizes to demonstrate the problems that society faced. Twain makes good use of satire to make fun of and exaggerate American society. Through his use of satire Twain turned an adventure down a river into an exploration of the problems society faced (especially civilized society).