“Dune” by Frank Herbert and “Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain Essay

Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, we do not read literature for improvement or instruction. However, there are many reasons to dissent with Holmes conjecture there is a great deal of literature that provides philosophical insight along with entertainment. The wisdom and education provided by books such as bull Twains Huckleberry Finn and Frank Herberts Dune strongly contradicts Holmes view.Huckleberry Finn was a novel written two decades after slavery was abolished in the United States, even it was set back in the age when slavery was abundant in the South. It has many instances of what could be perceived as racism, but the book is in the main against racism, intimatelyly in its portrayal of Jim. Huckleberry Finn shows how Huck and Jim become friends throughout the course of the novel, showing that their friendship can transcend race, an melodic theme revolutionary for its time. At a time when racial tensions were running high in the South, Twains book showed how a friendship between a white teenager and a coloured adult could be pure and authentic. While most adults in the book had many flaws, Jim is mostly compassionate, loyal and benevolent character. In fact, Jim is seen as more of a father figure to Huck than his own father was.When they undergo their adventure on the raft, Huck and Jim make a connection that was unheard of in those years between black and white men. This connection is shown by the line I hadnt had a bite to eat since yesterday, so Jim he got out nigh corn-dodgers and buttermilk, and pork and cabbage and greens-there aint nothing in the world so good, when its cooked right- and whilst I eat my supper we talked and had a good time, which shows how oft of a strong connection Huck and Jim really made. When Jim asks why a Frenchman cant speak English, he simply mirrors the question of why a black man and a white man couldnt be treated the same Is a Frenchman a man?Hucks vary in attitude toward slavery over the course of the novel shows Twains true attitude toward slavery. At the beginning of the novel, Huck contemplates and even resolves to twisting Jim into slavers, thinking that taking someones property is immoral. However, Hucks attitude progressively changes throughout the novel in Chapter 31 Huck says he would rather go to hell than turn Jim in. Jims longing for his family and the story about his dead daughter shows his humane side and shows that black men are no different from white men, thus they should not be treated differently.The novel Dune by Frank Herbert centers on a man named capital of Minnesota Atreides and his struggle to gain back a planet that was given to him and brutally taken away by his longtime rivals. While the novel is one of acquirement fictions best because of its plotline, the philosophical points made in the novel make it truly great. The novel uses religion as a driving rage in politics at a time when religion was believed to be dying down. Another important revolutionary i dea was the human control over ecology. The planet Dune was a desert wasteland, valuable only for its single resource melange.Melange, a clear comparison to petroleum, was a resource harvestable only on Dune and was used in everything from prolonging life to powering spaceships for faster-than-light travel. People inevitably try to sculpt the planet to harvest this resource more efficiently, but run the encounter of killing the sandworms, the producers of melange, and destroying the economy completely. However, the most important idea in the book is the concept of precognition, the ability to see into the future. The book shows it not as a electropositive quality, but as something that could ruin your life forever and make it a dull eternity it poses the question what is the point of living if you already know everything that forget occur in your life?Oliver Wendell Holmes said that we dont read novels for instruction or improvement. However, I think that these two novels signifi cantly oppose Holmes idea they are not only for enjoyment, but they also contain a plethora of ideas that were revolutionary for their time. These works, among others, have provided inspiration and wisdom to countless readers. This is why most works are not simply for enjoyment, but also provide mental stimulation for those that seek it.