Mark Twain uses Huck's first-person narrative to express deep truths in practical, understandable ways. Huck often tells stories, makes generalizations and adds comments in an adolescent-like manner that helps readers relate to underlying messages without feeling bombarded by them. Twain relies on the voice and sensibility of his young narrator, and when that happens, there is magic, says Tom Quirk, professor of English at the University of Missouri. For example, Huck talks to his guardian's sister, Miss Watson, and tells her that he wishes he could go to hell. His slang phrases, misuse of contractions and expressive vocabulary reveal that his disinterest in heaven centers around churchgoers' boring and hypocritical lifestyles and his personal convictions about slavery.
Huck's narrative style sets the tone and mood for the entire novel. It also gives readers an inside look at the setting, revealing much about the dysfunctional social structure of the time. For example, Huck’s excessive use of the N-word gives the sense of the coarseness of language, remarks Quirk. Those in the lower socioeconomic classes received little education and talked with a sincerity and straightforwardness that was often viewed as blunt, uneducated and harsh. Huck's coarseness wasn't meant to be disrespectful or offensive -- it was truthful and honest. Black people and poor whites weren't treated with respect, and socioeconomics dictated who was valuable and who could be cast aside.
Mark Twain used Huck's narrative voice to address a society that was still in denial about slavery, says Shelley Fisher Fishkin, author of "Lighting Out for the Territory", a discourse on Mark Twain's writings. Huckleberry Finn's empathy for slaves, distrust of selfish white people, difficulties as an outcast and struggles with societal inequalities force readers to deal with their own feelings and convictions about slavery. Huck refuses to sidestep issues and addresses them head on. Even though Huck's language is camouflaged by the use of the N-word and a plethora of grammatical errors and made-up contractions, his decision to help Jim on his journey to freedom is anything but ignorant. It is well-constructed, perceptive and emotionally intelligent.
Twain never let Huck realize that he was making right and moral decisions. The young and impressionable narrator was an effective means of "conveying to readers the moral bankruptcy of the world in which he lived," says Fisher Fishkin. Huck's simplistic, uneducated, blunt, yet sincere narrative style tells moral truths, without appearing self-righteous or condescending. Twain successfully uses a poor, young teenager's conversations, thoughts and decisions to reveal the importance of social rights and freedom as they relate to moral judgments.