Society and Morality in Huckleberry Finn and The Great Gatsby

Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, encapsulated an era in his literary works. Utilizing his characteristic dry wit and firm grasp of humanity’s foibles, Twain masterfully handles the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberry Finn explores the major societal issues of the late nineteenth century, from the stratification of classes to contemporary ethics. F. Scott Fitzgerald, the premier writer of the twentieth century’s Roaring Twenties, also focused his writing on society. His highly acclaimed novel, The Great Gatsby, explores the social climate of the 1920’s, commenting on the same issues Twain documented in Huckleberry Finn, updated and refurnished for a modern generation.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is best known as a social commentary—Clemens’s sardonic view of society guised as an innocent adventure novel. Through careful observation Twain gained insight into the heart of humanity and then regurgitated this knowledge...