Moral Development: Huckleberry Finn and Holden Caulfield

“ A boy courageous enough to stand against the moral conventions of his society, to risk hell itself rather than conform to the ‘sivilizing’ process of communities he rejects” ( Bollinger.online. 2/5/03). Mark Twain created Huckleberry Finn’s character to display the effects of society on moral development and compare an abstract moral standard versus a relationship-based decision making process. Like Huck Finn, Holden Caulfield is constantly battling with the ever-growing idea of having to grow up and the moral growth that comes along with it. Holden attempts to remain irresponsible and blameless all at the same time when in fact this is impossible. Lawrence Kohlberg, a famous psychologist particularly esteemed for his research in moral development, developed three major stages of morality: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional. Both Huck Finn and Holden Caulfield can be put into one of these three categories based on their abilities to believe, understand, and...