Teaching English in Saudi Arabia Essay Example

Teaching English in Saudi Arabia Essay Example Teaching English in Saudi Arabia Essay Example Teaching English in Saudi Arabia Essay Example Nowadays, English teachers are in a high demand in Saudi Arabia. In the modern globalized world, English is the language of international communication, business and even education so English has become Saudi’s second language. The importance of English in obtaining scholarships or employment in the world countries including Saudi Arabia is growing. Consequently, employment numbers for teachers are expected to increase in the following years. Many people from different countries come to teach English in Saudi Arabia. Some of them are professionally trained and have degrees, others are members of TESOL. Many teachers from countries like the USA teach English in Saudi Arabia because they want to experience another culture. Others do it to help Saudis get a better education. On the other hand, many Saudis choose to get education in the USA and then come back to their native countries and share their knowledge. Either way, different teachers bring their own, unique perspectives a nd expectations to Saudi Arabia (Teaching English, n.d.; Sharifian, 2009; McKay, 2002; North Tripp, 2012). It is great if teachers meet the expectations of the English language learners. When it happens, more students become English speakers and receive more opportunities in life. When teachers fail, students fail, as well. This research paper is aimed at unveiling and discussing problems and solutions of teaching English as a second language in Saudi Arabia. The research is conducted by selecting and studying relevant, trustworthy, up-to-date sources like books, articles in specialized journals and reports. I chose this topic because I think there are many problems in the sphere of English language teaching both for teachers and students. Here are some examples of the problems faced by Saudi Arabian educational bodies. One is that students start learning English as a school subject from the fourth grade, whereas they need to start studying the foreign language from the first one. The other problem is curricula which are too much for teachers to cover and too much for students to handle. The third problem is that the courses need to end with evaluation instead of examination because the latter focuses simply on grades and passing the exam, whereas the former evaluates the actual knowledge of students an d their language proficiency. The list of problems goes on. After the collection of information and analysis are done, I will try to provide solutions for the problems in order to develop and enhance the practice and tradition of teaching English in the Kingdom. In order to understand what needs to be done in the sphere of English language teaching in Saudi Arabia, one must study the background information on this issue and consider the contemporary realities and problems. It would be logical to start with the environment in which teachers find themselves when they come to the country. The ways in which Saudi Arabia attracts teachers are numerous. In general, teachers are hired directly by educational entities such as universities or colleges, more often they are hired through special recruitment agencies. They are assigned to work in different locations ranging from private elementary and secondary schools to public universities. Some of the educational institutions are situated in large metropolitan areas, such as Jeddah or Riyadh, but others may be located in remote, ultra-conservative towns or even villages (Teaching English, n.d.). Naturally, the attitudes to the English language and willingness to learn it vary. The status of the English language in Saudi Arabia is ambiguous. Not so long time ago, little importance was given to learning and teaching of English in the Saudi education system. English was a compulsory subject from the seventh grade, and neither teachers nor students considered it seriously as a subject worth of studying. Instead, they thought about it as of a language to pass in the examination. During the last few years, the situation has changed dramatically. Nowadays, due to the global demand, English is one of the major subjects in the education system of Saudi Arabia compulsory from class six to the university level. The Ministry of Education of Saudi Arabia states the objectives of teaching English in the kingdom. Some of the objectives are the following: (1) to enable students to acquire basic language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing); (2) to develop students’ awareness of the importance of English as a means of international communication; (3) to develop students’ positive attitudes towards learning the English language, and (4) to enable students to benefit linguistically from English speaking nations so that they enhance the concepts of international co-operation that would promote understanding and respect of cultural differences between nations (Rahman Alhaisoni, 2013, p. 114). However, despite this breakthrough, there are still many gaps in the process and nature of English language teaching. Some of them are the results of old habits and traditional attitudes, some exist because of the lack of new and effective approaches to teaching and studying English in the country (Rahman Alhaisoni, 2013; Smith Abouammoh, 2013). One of the problems in the process of teaching English is the results from the place into which a teacher is assigned. Very often, a collision of cultures occurs. This conflict is milder or non-existent in metropolitan areas which are more open to the Western world and its influence, whereas villages, small towns and rural areas are hotbeds of national traditions and norms. These areas accept the foreign influence more carefully and more unwillingly. In other words, some areas of the country are very conservative. Thus, teachers should be advised and aware of the cultural barriers and social and educational climate of the areas to which they are assigned. If not, a barrier may become a dead wall through which no knowledge exchange may happen (Teaching English, n.d.; Ramady, 2012). One of the most important problems is that Saudi Arabian students often have no or very little knowledge of even basic English. English is taught at schools, but the outcome is far from great. Either because school teachers are unable to give the knowledge to students in a comprehensive and easy manner, or because students lack necessary qualities, interest or attention while studying English, but the result is often a poor language proficiency (Ansari, 2012; Rahman Alhaisoni, 2013; Ramady, 2012). Another problem is bound to the problem discussed above and can be both a cause and a result of it. Unfortunately, many English teachers, both native and foreign, leave the assignment in the middle of their contract because they get disappointed with their students or with the legacy of teachers who worked with these students before them (Ansari, 2012; Rahman Alhaisoni, 2013). The next problem is the attitude towards studying English as if it is a formality. Both teachers and students can be careless about English. Students may be interested not in the language itself but in passing the exams and getting good marks. This negligent attitude makes students spend their school years with no use. Later, when they enroll to colleges or universities where they are required to study medical and computer science, engineering and other courses in English, poor language proficiency becomes a real problem (Ansari, 2012; Rahman Alhaisoni, 2013). One more problem occurs when appointing authority considers the teacher unprofessional or incompetent and fires him or her because students do not demonstrate the expected results or fail in learning or improving their linguistic knowledge. When a teacher is, indeed, poorly qualified, this decision is right. However, when the problem is not in the teacher but in his or her style of teaching, such a decision is not the right choice. Instead of firing a teacher, the authority must give him or her a chance to change the teaching style and/or methodology. Very often, a changed approach is what is needed to become a more effective teacher. Unfortunately, teachers get fired, and not many of them have a chance to stay even if they want to (Ansari, 2012; Rahman Alhaisoni, 2013). The so-called â€Å"mixed-code† teaching is one more issue. There is indecisiveness on whether the language of teaching should be Arabic or English. Scholars say that demanding from teachers and students to switch easily between the two languages is a too muchand impossible to fulfill. Many of them agree that teaching in English is a better alternative to the mixed-code. However, the debate still goes on (Smith Abouammoh, 2013). The lack of students’ exposure to the English language is also a big problem. Although there are English newspapers, TV programs, and expatriates in Saudi Arabia, students hardly have a chance to practice their English anywhere except for their language classroom. Exposure to language is important for better understanding, practice and memorizing of new words and sentence structures. The lack of exposure means less success and more difficulties for English language learners (Rahman Alhaisoni, 2013). Another issue is the outdated learning materials. The textbooks should suit the modern concept of English language teaching. The materials should be well-planned and properly graded. The books and other teaching aids, such as video and audio recordings, should focus on teaching English for specific or academic purposes. If textbooks are outdated or contain materials which are too narrow or unnecessary in the future students’ professions, the main goal of teaching English to Saudis will fail (Rahman Alhaisoni, 2013). Among the main problems faced by students in the classroom in the process of learning the second/foreign language are the following. First of all, it is the cultural barrier and various socio-cultural problems. Students’ culture is absolutely different from the culture from which foreign languages originate. Thus, a student needs to know the basics of the culture at first, and then study its language. If teachers fail to help the student on this stage, the learning of the second language can become problematic and ineffective because all further understanding can be built only if there is a basic knowledge of the culture and the language overall. Second of all, there is a problem of students’ unfamiliarity with the subject. Third of all, different style of writing from the mother tongue may become a problem and a barrier for a student. Fourth of all, there may be a pronunciation problem. Naturally, the vocal apparatus of an individual is accustomed to producing the sou nds of a well-known, native language. Thus, imitating foreign sounds may be problematic and even hurtful. However, pronunciation is a minor problem because having a poor pronunciation means simply having an accent which is overall tolerated and is not a big issue. The problem arises when an accent causes misunderstanding and does not allow an individual to express his or her thoughts clearly. Thus, a teacher of the foreign language needs to ensure that a student does not have serious flaws in pronunciation, whereas mild flows like accent can be left as they are. Last of all, students may seem passive because they have difficulty in expressing themselves in the foreign language and do not have sufficient vocabulary strengh. This problem can be solved by learning new words. The methodologies for enhancing vocabulary are numerous, and all of them can be effective if chosen wisely and in accordance with students’ skills and level of knowledge (Ansari, 2012). To conclude this sect ion, I would say that students’ problems become teachers’ problems. Thus, the main burden of teaching English to Saudi students lies on the shoulders of a teacher because â€Å"the success or failure of any method or procedure depends mainly on the effectiveness of the teacher† (Khan, 2011, p. 112). The responsibility and challenges, however, should not scare a teacher. Along with the information on the problems, the research has also provided an insight into possible solutions which a teacher can suggest. I share Ansari’s (2012) belief that, â€Å"if the teacher has a little patience and is competent and intelligent, he will handle the situation easily and achieve the goal† (p. 519). I have learnt that English can be taught effectively if it is taught with patience, hard work and with the help of methodologies which each teacher can invent on his own. These methodologies should be adapted to the needs of a particular group of students in accordance with their level of the language proficiency and the need in this language. In order to develop such a methodology, a teacher needs to first and foremost study the background of the educational institution and its students in terms of English language teaching, to study the problems and difficulties which students faced in the past and face at the moment. As soon as the problems and gaps are defined, a teacher can proceed to developing a teaching strategy which would meet the students’ needs and close these gaps. Then, a teacher can frame curriculum suitable for his or her students, select appropriate reading materials for them and create a favorable environment for learning English in the classroom. A teacher must be cooperative and patient to save his or her students from despair and depression. When a teacher locates a problem, such as a cultural barrier, which is still not overcome, he or she needs to help students by teaching some basic facts about the foreign culture and its traditions, including language traditions. If the students’ problem is unfamiliarity with the subject, classroom practice should be used to help resolve this problem, as well (Ansari, 2012). In addition to methodology, teachers have their own style of teaching. Teachers should be free to choose and adopt any style of teaching they consider beneficiary for students and convenient for themselves. When the chosen style does not wok in a particular environment, a teacher needs to change it as soon as possible or develop a new one in order to be perceived well by the students. The only mandatory requirement is that the methodology and teaching style are efficient and not outdated (Ansari, 2012). Nevertheless, it is good when models of teaching language are based on time-proved elements. The basics of teaching can be expressed in a form of a few important steps. Teachers are free to combine or add self-invented methodologies, however, the basics of the content and sequence of teaching should remain. When addressing the common problem of poor vocabulary, a teacher should encourage students to learn new words and their usage. A teacher can allow students to use foreign words in their native sentences. As far as I know, this method is proved to be very effective and simple. There are even bilingual poems where foreign words are written down into the body of the poem which is in the students’ mother tongue. By memorizing the poems, students memorize new words, and context of the poem helps them to understand the meaning of these words. If teachers are talented in this sphere, they can even write such poems on their own. A teacher must also teach students how to consult a dictionary because it only seems simple when, in fact, dictionaries are difficult to use. To be successful, students need to know the alphabet and the principle according to which words are organized in dictionaries, as well as understand various abbreviations. A teacher must teach students the parts of spee ch. It means that students must distinguish between verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs. Without recognizing the parts of speech, students will be unable to build or understand sentences. After that, students should be taught structural patterns to know which parts of speech should come first, second, so on and so forth. Structures and schemes can be used to simplify this process for students and make the sentence structure patterns vivid and easy to memorize. The teacher should also explain to the students how to use the words in sentences. The sentences should be short, simple and of daily usage. A teacher should not discourage students if, at the beginning, they use translation method in framing sentences, that is, if they think in their mother tongue and then translate into English. However, as soon as the basics of knowledge on the parts of speech and sentence structure are learnt, a teacher must incline students to start thinking in English or otherwise students will develop a bad habit which might prevent them from knowing and using the foreign language freely and effectively. Reading is also essential. Students should read according to their capabilities and level of knowledge starting with reading (pronouncing) letters, then words and then sentences. The same is true for writing. When studen ts are taught to listen, a teacher is the best speaker. Audio recordings are also good, but they are good only for advanced language learners because recordings may contain noises which would make it difficult for students to understand what they hear. Another problem for understanding is the fact that recordings are made by English native speakers. Hearing native and correct pronunciation is necessary, but it may be difficult for students who are not used to the foreign speech tempo, intonation and sounds. The percentage of understood words and meaning would be very low. Thus, listening should begin with a teacher and his live voice (Ansari, 2012). I would say it is ideal when a teacher can combine old but not outdated models of teaching with revolutionary and effective innovations. Currently, English language teaching methodologies focus on giving students opportunities to communicate. Teachers need to find or develop new methodologies for classroom interaction. These methods should depend on techniques which will help students enjoy English language classes. As a result, students will be motivated to learn English and will be able to develop some self learning techniques. In addition to basics and innovations, a teacher needs to make students interested. A sincere interest will motivate students, which would be the best way to learn something fast and with minor effort. Motivation will help students in setting goals for learning English and self learning techniques. Even more importantly, motivation leads to an optimistic and challenging attitude. Thus, interested students become a favorable audience for a teacher and are muc h easier to teach compared to passive students who see no use in courses they take (Ansari, 2012; Rahman Alhaisoni, 2013). There is one more thing which teachers and people who hire them forget. A teacher is a leader. Ansari says (2012), and many would agree that students look towards their teacher with hope and expectation. They see the teacher as a very competent person who can make them learn English very soon. According to a report of the Task Force on Teacher Leadership, â€Å"Teacher leadership is not about â€Å"teacher power.† Rather, it is about mobilizing the †¦ attributes of teachers to strengthen student performance at ground level and working towards real collaboration† (Leadership for student learning, 2001, p. 4). One more good idea about â€Å"teacher-leaders† can be found in Merideth (2000). The book says, â€Å"Teacher-leaders place their students’ learning as their primary goal and work within their own classrooms to improve student achievement† (Merideth, 2000, p. 3). I can conclude that a good teacher would make a good leader. Leadership qualit ies, such as intelligence, empathy, dedication, team spirit, readiness to help and ability to communicate are important for such a profession (Merideth, 2000; Leadership for Student Learning, 2001). Teachers lead their students just like presidents, kings or shaikhs lead their nations. Educational leadership is as important as political leadership. Reflecting on the conducted research, I can say that the situation with studying English in Saudi Arabia is getting better, although many issues are still unsolved. Despite this breakthrough, there are still many gaps in the process and nature of English language teaching. Some of them are results of old habits and traditional attitudes, some exist because of the lack of new and effective approaches. The main problems include collision of cultures, students having no or little knowledge of basic English, â€Å"mixed-code† teaching, teachers leaving the assignment in the middle of their contract because they get disappointed, common attitude towards teaching English as to a formality, teachers being fired unreasonably, the lack of students’ exposure to the English language outside the classroom, outdated learning materials. Luckily, all of these problems can be solved with the help of both old and new methodologies if a teacher is interested, dedicated, professional, int elligent, competent, supportive and patient. I am planning to use all the background information and pieces of advice on how to solve the problems in my future practice. I am a proponent of new and/or self-invented methodologies like bilingual poems I have mentioned earlier. I also understand that a teacher is a leader who must possess and demonstrate the best leadership qualities in the process of teaching. Thus, I will try to be a good leader for the students and the educational institution and address major problems with progressive methods combined with good old teaching models. I also know that there cannot be a single, universal approach to all classes and students. Thus, I will have to develop a more specific action plan when I am assigned to a particular educational institution because in addition to common issues, there are also different local ones. I will have to study the history of teaching foreign languages at my institution and my class and the level of the English language proficiency of the students. Only after doing this and communicating with all the students, I will be able to come up with an effective plan of teaching and choose a proper teaching style which would benefit my students and help them reach their goals.

Business law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 5

Business law - Essay Example n, the police should have obeyed the laws and obtain permission from their base commander before agreeing to transport the Cold chisel band to the concert venue. The law discourage activities that would likely cause accidents. These includes, over speeding and careless driving, misuse of warning lights to indicate a form of danger especially when a dignitary is on a special trip of high importance that requires punctuality; the police officers transporting Jimmy Barner and the band pretended to be an important group of government officials late for an urgent meeting. Despite having come from the airport, the legendary Cold Chisel Rock band was not supposed to use government vehicles; any government property is subject to questions when used outside the required obligations. The taxes that are involved in the management and maintenance of the government owned properties including vehicles are sourced from taxes remitted by the common man. The police officers breached the laws governing government properties (Gans 2012). While not on an official duty, the police officers were not supposed to drive with emergency hazards lights on. The speed limits were to be observed, like any other passenger or private vehicle on the specified road (Church 2009). Law that governs property is based on the ownership of such properties. Government property is different from personal property hence should be handled with due respect. Any state property should be handled within the state laws of property management; hence the officers should have faced more charges for allegedly mishandling government vehicles. The police assisted unauthorized users to not only travel in the government vehicles, but also to gain security from public properties (Gans 2012). Since there is no link or contract between the Australian legendary Cold Chisel Rock band that would enable them to ride in state owned vehicles, the legendary Cold Chisel Rock group also committed an offence as they did not use

Managing Information Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 11

Managing Information Technology - Essay Example The sequential access files could either be in the form of line sequential organization or indexed sequential organization (Brown, DeHayes, Hoffer, Martin, Perkins, 2009). What is most important is how the records are accessed. If these are accessed in the form of the sequential format, the sequence is maintained nonetheless but if this is done through a direct approach, there is no fixed mechanism behind the same. The direct access files are the ones which come about in a random fashion and are easily understood within the search mechanisms. It is easy for the files to be found on the record because there is no order to this system which has been employed. Hence it becomes easier to access files in this fashion nonetheless. In the end, it is correct to state that both sequential access files and direct access files are significant towards the file organization

“Give me a stand point and I will move the earth” Archimedes Essay Example for Free

â€Å"Give me a stand point and I will move the earth† Archimedes Essay Feminists are of the opinion that women in this world have been neglected by history and men through out the ages and liberating them would be synonymous with giving them a stand point to move the world. Klues looks to the pioneers of female research in antiquity whose glimpsing women history through a record from which the female sex has been excised for millennial by patriarchal bias, must have been like constructing a house out of the space between the slats of a fence. Further Klues considers that assiduous and objective scholarship produced an unassailable picture of the role of women in classical Athens, a picture now almost universally accepted, in which domination of male over female is there seen as complete and crushing. Only one wave of classical scholarship, obviously by anthropology, looks to male-female relationship as a significant determinant in Athenian society, as in any other: an ingredient of total culture no less fundamental than its economy or its religion or its political structure. More authors have argued that women did not have a place in history. However, Hasel making reference to Pauline Schmitt –Pantel makes a note worthy reminder of Greek philosophers works such as Aristotle and Plato that made relation to different sexes. A similar reference is made about the Greek cosmologies meaning that women have always had such a place. Hasel has therefore put forth a vivid conclusion. â€Å"The image of the Topos then might not hold much because it is based on seclusion of women in antiquity which may not be the case. † The portraits of Lipia as discussed in Bartman had an effect in creating a stronger imperial Rome. Though there are undertones of their use in propaganda and other political machinations and maneuvers, Bartman note that they were sculpted in the spirit of compromise which he refers as ‘give and take’ between the sculptor and the sponsor. Scott say that there was a moment not all that ago, when feminists thought gender to be an invincible barrier against biology. The sex/ gender distinction would analytically separate the physical body from the social body; it would then no longer be conceivable that anatomy was destiny. Though women might be viewed as ‘non- actors’ thus acting in the realms of those who built and wielded political power to which they were subject to had a private life which of course influences public life. In the words of Scott, those absent from official account none the less partook in the making of history; those who are silent speak eloquently about meaning of power. This reawakening Scott notes has brought about congruence in thought between political historians and writers penning ‘her story’. It has also brought about to the way changes occurred in law, politics and symbolic presentations. A further implication Scott explains is that there are social explanations rather than biological and characterological to the different behavior of men and women and their unequal positions. The feminists are thus challenged in this argument for neglecting female agency by diminishing the historical importance of personal life encapsulated in its three elements- family, sexuality and sociability. Thus irrespective of what feminists think women have always had the stand point and have moved the world as much. Reference Bartman ‘Portraits Of Livia Joan W. Scott, (1988) Gender and the Politics of History (New York 1988) 15-50. Joan W. Scott, `Millenial Fantasies`. The Future of Gender in the 21st Century`, in: Claudia Honegger – Caroline Arni (eds. ), Gender. Die Tucken einer Kategorie (Zurich 2001) 19-37 Wagner Hasel (1989)Women’s life in oriental seclusion? On history and and use of Topos. Pauline Schmitt –Pantel (1992) â€Å"Greek thought on the position of women resolved†. Pg 79.

Industrial Revolution in the City Essay -- Essays Papers

Industrial Revolution in the City The Industrial Revolution was a period of great change for the country of England. Products went from being produced in households and by small businesses to being mass-produced by large industries. Products became cheaper and living conditions improved, but not at first for the working class. Terrible working conditions and hard lives sums up the status of the working class during the Industrial Revolution. The working class put in long hours and hard work for little pay and horrific living conditions. They moved from the farmlands and rural areas into cities that were thriving with industry and business. Populations all over England began to shoot up and cities became increasingly crowded until whole families lived in one-room apartments. Each able bodied member of the family worked to make some sort of income in order to survive. Life was tough for the working class in England. The country struggled with understanding how to balance their newfound technologies with nature and therefore the working class became in conflict with nature and horrible living conditions, while undergoing improvements brought along by the Agricultural Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. GRAPH Friederich Engels describes the conditions of an industrial city in England during the Revolution in The Condition of the Working-Class in England. He describes the living quarters of the working class as being very crowded. Some of the passages are so narrow that only one person can walk through it at a time.[i] Rivers of the city smell of terrible stench and are full of disease. Mills, tanneries, and gasworks drain into the river and leave slime and refuse in thic... ...es and Nobles, 1971), 218. [xii] Schultz, 218. [xiii]Schultz, 230. [xiv] Porter, 296. [xv] W.A. Speck, A Concise History of Britain (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 95. [xvi] Sidney Low and Lloyd C. Sanders, The History of England: During the Reign of Victoria (1837-1901) (London: Paternoster Row, 1926), 280. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LINKS: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook14.html http://www.maoism.org/lenin/F_Engels.htm www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/condition-working-class/ http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PHchadwick.htm http://www.history.rochester.edu/steam/carnegie/ http://pages.yahoo.com/nhrp?o=karachambers&p=ChildLabor.html&pos=1&f=all&h=/cultures___community/issues_and_causes/human_rights/child_labor/

Montesquieu and George Washington

Our national government, in my opinion, was structured by following the writings of Montesquieu. Montesquieu wrote that leaders could not be trusted to always do what was right for the people and that govenment should be structured to keep the leaders of the government from acting in a selfish manner and passing laws that would help a select few instead of the majority of the people. That is exactly the way our Founding Fathers thought when they were writing the Constitution.Montesquieu first had the idea of seperation of powers in a government. He thought if there were different branches of government, then no one branch would have too much power. He also thought that each branch of government should represent different groups of the population, so no one group would have all the power. Our government followed this almost exactly as he wrote it. We have the Congress which is divided up into two seperate houses, one being represented by people who are voted on by the population.How m any representatives there are, depends on the amount of people in an area. The other is voted on by the people, but are the same amount for each state. Montesquieu also believed in a checks and balances system, where one branch of government has the power to check on another branch, and that one branch could not force another to do what it wanted it to do, but it could make sure that the other branch was doing something it shouldn't do. I think our national government has followed this idea too.Our government is set up so that each branch can check on the other to make sure they are doing what they are supposed to do for the common good of the nation. Ours may go even further than Montesquieu's ideas, because our President has the power to Veto a law that has passed through Congress, but Congress can override his veto if they have enough votes. I think the men who set up our national government not only followed the ideas of Montesquieu, but believed his ideas were correct when stru ctering our government.

The Influence of Society in Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 892 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2019/05/18 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: Huckleberry Finn Essay Mark Twain Essay Did you like this example? In every day life, society affects the way a person thinks and act without them even being aware of it. This leads to the more human side of society being a huge influence on mentality, too. This can be both dangerous and toxic for a person considering the affects of it and authors often take this into account. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Influence of Society in Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" essay for you Create order This results in literature about how society affects the protagonist and everyone around them negatively. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain explores the flaws in the society and how it can impact the morality of the people living within that society. In the novel, the people seem to let fear get in the way of doing something hard, however when there is no fear the people seem to be eager to help out The novel states And there was the ferry boat full of people, floating along down .they was firing the cannon, trying to make the carcass come to the top (Twain 49). This is important because when Huck was in trouble, no one was willing to come save him. But when they had to search for him, there wasnt anything for the people to fear of confronting Pap and everyone seemed to want to help look for Huck. The reader can see that the fear even applies to our modern society in some ways, too. Whenever people are confronted with the difficult or the scary, they usually turn the other way or step back because the believe they should not have to deal with it. Mark Twain could have been conveying this point through Hucks situation, too. Secondly, throughout the novel Twain seems to convey the point that Jim is not treated fairly by the society and the people around him, which makes the reader think about their morals on compassion for others. In the story, Sarah Williams says So theres a reward out for him- three hundred dollars (Twain 76). By putting a bounty on Jim, society is not respecting him as his own free person. Instead, it showed that he was disrespected by everyone around him and that they did not view him as an equal. This is both uncompassionate and cruel towards Jim and no one should ever be treated this way. The second way he is treated unfairly is When Huck and Tom force Jim to do all of these tasks in order to escape. This shows that in that moment, Huck had forgotten that Jim had helped him through this whole journey. People in modern society can be like this, too at times. Children can forget the kindness their parents show them on a regular basis and people can even forget the trouble and conflic ts others have saved them from. People of the time might have read this and judged both Huck and Tom, but they forget that they can be like this too sometimes because the society we live in seems to forget how to be compassionate to others at times. Next off, the society in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn seems to be controlled by lies and the people often do not think of the long-term consequences. An example of this is when Pap is speaking in court, Pap said hed been a man that had been misunderstood before and the judge said that he believed it (Twain 29). It leads the reader to think that the society believes lies very easily. This also majorly impacts Hucks life, too. It causes himself to fake his own death in-order to escape this awful man and get a better life of adventure. In reality-Huck is running away from the consequences of Paps lies and the life he would have to bear if he did not run away. Another instance of the lies came from Huck when he, the duke, and the dauphine pretended to be the sisters three uncles. This caused controversy for the family of the deceased father and the people of the town more than it helped them. This got them into more trouble than anything by pretending to be the uncles. The author shows us this when the judge puts them on trial to prove they are the real uncles and says, Theres one way yet- lets go dig up the corpse and look. (Twain 267). Showing that they had gotten themselves into a lie they could not get out of. Twain could have been writing about the issue of lying in his society at the time, because no matter what time-period a reader is in, lying is still a relevant problem. This could be a range from tiny white lies to huge impactful ones. Lies are still lies and people should think about the long-term consequences, no matter how small or big they are. The reason these points are important is because Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, seemed to have an underlying theme regarding the faults in society. First was the way he touched on fear in society that caused people to decide against action. The next was Twain touching on compassion in society using Jims character and situation. And lastly because of the lies that the society seemed to encourage and their consequences. In conclusion, the moralities of the people are heavily molded by the society and it is something we need to be aware of within our own society as well.