1. Society’s laws & values can conflict with personal morals & values Topics: Jim, Huck, freedom, nature Huck struggles with whether to turn Jim in Jim wants to be free from slavery Huck wants to be free from Widow & Miss Watson (“sivilize”)

2. Freedom means different things to different people. Topic: Jim, Huck, freedom, nature Huck wants to make his own decisions Huck wants to be free from abuse Jim wants to be free from slavery Jim and Huck want to be free to choose their friends

3. People tend to behave irrationally and even cruelly in large groups. Topic: nature, religion Grangerfords/Shepherdsons – feud, and church/hypocrisy townspeople talk up duke & king’s show so others must suffer through it mob goes after Col. Sherburn mob tries to bust king and duke king and duke are tarred and feathered mob chases Tom, Jim, Huck

4. Belief in superstition is often strong in people who have little control over their own lives. Topic: superstition, Jim Jim, and other slaves and Huck – superstitious, lack of control Widow Douglas & Miss Watson – not superstitious – control over lives

5. Society’s laws & values need to be examined, questioned and changed if necessary. Topic: freedom, education, nature, Huck, Jim, religion slavery book knowledge overvalued hypocrisy, greed, brutality, violence, racism, cowardice