In huckleberry finn how is colonel sherburn described

Evidently he rumbles into town every once in a while and picks somebody to threaten. On this particular trip he's chosen Colonel Sherburn—oops.

Sherburn doesn't entertain Boggs' drunken lectures, and ends up shooting Boggs dead. The bystanders form a mob and migrate over to Sherburn's house, in attempt to lynch him. But Sherburn calmly faces them, and delivers the most articulate speech of the novel. Here's how it starts:.

The idea of you lynching anybody! It's amusing. The idea of you thinking you had pluck enough to lynch a man! Because you're brave enough to tar and feather poor friendless cast-out women that come along here, did that make you think you had grit enough to lay your hands on a man?

Why, a man's safe in the hands of ten thousand of your kind—as long as it's daytime and you're not behind him. Although Huck never explicitly realizes that the larger institution of slavery is morally deplorable, the novel on a whole functions as a moral argument for emancipation. Early on, Huck tries to explain to Jim why some people speak French. Ace your assignments with our guide to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn!

SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Why does Jim run away? What trick does Huck play on Jim after they get separated in the fog? When does Jim earn his freedom? While Sherburn appears to be a self-important Southern gentleman who commits a supposedly justifiable murder, he continually contradicts himself. He ridicules the idea of a southerner by saying that a southerner is a coward because a southerner gets his strength from darkness and numbers. It is suggested that the horrors of war are possible because the Army is made of cowards who stem their powers from numbers.

He refuses to be a part of the mob or characterized by the people in the mob. This shows he, much like Sherburn, is not a coward and is very aware of himself. In conclusion, Sherburn is a complex character that represents civilization and cruelty.

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