One of the oldest problems of humanity is the contradiction between beliefs and actions. The Shepardsons and the Grangerfords act out this contradiction in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

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Contradictions

        One of the oldest problems of humanity is the contradiction between beliefs and actions. The Shepardsons and the Grangerfords act out this contradiction in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.  Although these families attend church and pay lip service to the teachings of the church, they do not live by these teachings.  The act of Christian men and woman, such as in the Catholic faith, is often contradictory as to how they believe they should live their lives.

        In the book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain strikes a parallel between two feuding families, and the contradictory patterns of the Church they attend.  This parallel is first grazed on when upon attempting to explain to Huck why the feud started, Buck Grangerford declares that "Oh, yes, pa knows, I reckon and some of the other old people; but they don't know what the row was about in the first place" (Twain 108).  From this it is evident that the two families have no idea what they are fighting about.  The only reason they partake in the feud is because the rest of their family has done so, and that they are expected to.  

This is similar to the actions of those who attend church every Sunday.  By being programmed by their parents or guardian to attend church at such a young age, these children get into a habit of attending a service they do not fully comprehend.  And as time passes, this programming is embedded into their minds.

As the great Thomas Paine once said “Time makes more converts than reason” (Paine, 322).  This action of attending church over time becomes to habitual, that when the time comes in which that young individual leaves the padded thinking of his parents or guardians and starts using reason to make his decision, it is difficult for them to shake the idea of going to church even if they perceive it as wrong, or pointless.  This consistent routine has embedded itself within the individual with no possible chance of exodus.

The feud and church goers are similar even in their dress attire, yet another entity these two have share in.  Col. Grangerford is described as a "gentleman all over; and so was his family" (Twain, 96). The Colonel was kind, well-mannered, quiet and far from frivolish.  The Colonel dressed well, was clean-shaven and his face had "not a sign of red in it anywheres" (Twain, 96).  These qualities are similar to those that one would find at a religious service.  The person would most probably attend in their best outfit, clean shaven, and cleaned from head to toe.  Their manners would be comparable to Col. Grangerford as well, acting like a gentleman at all times during while attending the service.

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        Both the feud and the attendance of church are this consistent routine, and both are followed till without understanding until the individual who partakes in them parish.  For thousands of years, people have attended some type of liturgical service without full understanding of it, and for several generations, the Shepardsons and Grangerfords have been feuding with no real basis or understanding as to why.

These two situations intertwine at parts of the novel as well.  Both the Shepardsons and Grnaderfords attend a religious service, with each other in their presence no less.  By Twain having both families at the service ...

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