Twain and Hansberry encourage people to pursue their own path instead of following and abiding by societal expectations. Throughout the novel, Huck struggles with the concept of religion because the church believes that slavery is moral and beneficial. He battles with his inner thoughts when the issue of slavery and helping Jim escape comes into effect. He finally has a serious conflict over his conscious, but goes against society and follows his heart.
He says, “I’d got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: “All right then, I’ll go to hell”—and tore it up. It was awful thoughts and awful words, but they was said. And I let them stay said; and never thought no more about reforming” (Twain, PAGE). The logical consequences of Huck’s action, rather than the lessons society has taught him, drive Huck. He would rather go to hell, as long as it meant following his own gut instead of following society’s cruel and hypocritical principles. The decision marks the moral climax of the novel, where Huck truly breaks from the world around him.
When helping Jim escape slavery once and for all, Huck makes the decision that he does not want to be part of society and its limitations. All his experiences and moral developments on the river makes Huck want to move to a free society. Huck finally finds his peace and happiness, but only from going against his society, which Twain argues throughout the novel. In A Raisin in the Sun, Walter often struggled with the desire for money. A chauffeur for the rich, Walter is reminded every single day of the life he could have lived if he had invested in the laundromat.
Walter at first believed that the social order that denies him a sense of equality and independence is to blame. He believed that discriminatory elements in his life limit his role, as well as the belief that his closest ones do not support him. Walters mistrust in society and inability to work within realistic conditions forced him to run away from them. However, we see growth in character when he refuses Mr. Linder’s money. He says, “And we have decided to move into our house because my father – my father – he earned it for us brick by brick.
We don’t want to make no trouble for nobody or fight no causes, and we will try to be good neighbors. And that’s all we got to say about that. We don’t want your money” (Hansberry, PAGE).
Walter’s desires change from before where he would only focus on his own financial situation to being focused on his integrity and his family. Walter changes from a self centered man into a selfless individual who stands up for his father’s hardwork, and owns up to his race and heritage. He declines Mr. Lindner’s offer to keep his father’s dreams alive, and ultimately representing his father, a fighter.
