Genre

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

by Mark Twain

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Genre 1 key example

Genre
Explanation and Analysis:

Huckleberry Finn is a satirical novel, meaning that it uses humor and irony to criticize an aspect of society. In this case, Twain is criticizing the hypocrisy of slavery, specifically how white Christians in the American South felt that enslaving Black people was morally justifiable. Twain is also parodying the types of adventure novels written for children that the immature Tom Sawyer often references in the novel. In titling the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain “tricks” readers into thinking that they are going to get a young boy’s fun adventure story when, in reality, the novel is tackling serious issues, such as the morality of slavery and hypocrisy of religion.