Many people in this world will believe in the first impression they get. The appearance people see will usually satisfy them without further investigating into the reality of a situation. The difference between appearance and reality can be quite different. This also applies to literature. There are many instances where an author will describes a character as kind, but is actually deceptive and mean. In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, there are characters and situations that show how appearances can differ from reality. The three main instances are the Grangerford and Shepherdson feud, through the Duke and the Dauphin, and Miss Watson.
The difference between appearance and reality is easily seen through the Grangerford
People such as the Duke and the Dauphin use people’s compellation to believe in appearances to survive.
Not everyone takes advantage of people’s awareness toward others; some, like Miss Watson, are actually better people than their appearance dictates. In the beginning of the book Huck talks about Miss Watson in a quick description. Huck said, “The Widow’s sister, Miss Watson, a tolerable slim old maid, with goggles on, had just come to live with her, and took a set at me now with a spelling-book. She worked me middling hard for about an hour, and then the widow made her ease up” (3). Miss Watson appears tough and severe to Huck, employing harsher methods than necessary at times. From Huck’s point of view she does appear like a mean old women, but she most likely had her reasons for using the methods she did. Huck was most likely not the best student and his behavior skills were sub-par. It is easy to see how Miss Watson became frustrated with Huck’s struggle to be civilized. The underlying concept behind her strictness is that she cares for Huck. There has to be a reason for her to use up so much energy to try and teach a boy without any previous knowledge. Huck does not realize that Miss Watson actually cared for him until his conscience starts bothering him about Jim. His conscience was theoretically incorrect because he was upset that he had taken Jim from Miss