1. Society’s laws & values can conflict with personal morals & values.
Topic: nature, Huck, freedom, religion, Jim
Huck is conflicted about turning Jim in
Jim thinks he should be free
Huck doesn’t want to be “sivilized”
Grangerford/Shepherdson feud
Huck thinks stealing what you don’t need is wrong

2. Freedom means different things to different people.
Topic: Huck, Jim, freedom, nature
Huck wants to escape Pap
Jim wants freedom from slavery
Huck & Jim want freedom from society & its flaws

3. People tend to behave irrationally & even cruelly in groups.
Topic: nature, freedom, religion
Boggs incident
Feud (Grangerford/Shepherdsons)
When the mob tries to bust the king & duke
Tom’s gang
King and duke are tarred & feathered
Mob searches for Jim

4. The tension between freedom and conformity can cause inner conflict
Topic: freedom, Huck, nature
Huck struggles with whether to turn in Jim
Huck struggles with whether to obey Pap
Huck doesn’t want to be “sivilized”
Huck wonders about stealing

5. Society’s laws & values need to be examined, questioned, & changed if necessary
Topic: Huck, Jim, freedom, nature, education, religion
Practical education is valuable
Slavery is wrong
Hypocrisy is wrong – people should do what they say they’ll do in church

6. Belief in superstition is often strong in people who have little control over their lives.
Topic: superstition, Huck, Jim
Jim & Huck have little control over their lives and are superstitious
Widow Douglas & Miss Watson are not superstitious (salt incident)