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In a reading where Walter Conn explains Bernard Lonergan�s ideas on mankind�s desire for authenticity, the topic of moral conversions came into discussion, including the effects of the conscience on morality. Conn used the example of Mark Twain�s character Huckleberry Finn. In the novel, Huck Finn struggled with the idea of turning in his slave friend Jim to appease his conscience based on society�s rules, writing a letter to Jim�s owner about Jim�s location but hesitating on sending the letter. According to Conn and Lonergan, writing the letter appeased his conscience of societal satisfaction, but his deeper, more sensitive conscience stopped him from sending the letter as he converted from a conscience of satisfaction to a conscience of value.
Reading the novel in my sophomore year, I recognized that, the moment Huck Finn ripped the letter, Mark Twain made his point that a person has to discern from the negative influences of society especially those in conflict with moral values and that such moments of internal conflict define the authenticity of a person. Gathering upon knowledge from class discussions both in literature and history, I inferred that Twain desired that his readers genuinely set aside any of their long held racial prejudices still perpetuated by Southern (and to an extent, Northern) society in the post-slavery, Reconstruction-era of United States history. Twain also probably wished that people would voluntarily choose to end their prejudice based on the value of performing such a conversion instead of merely for satisfaction, evident in Huck�s struggle in the story.
Nowadays, I believe that Huck�s struggle is evident of mankind�s struggle of authenticity on several fronts. It seems that Twain�s example in Huckleberry Finn�s struggle offers people the chance to question their moral actions based on satisfaction and to eventually convert to action based on realizing personal moral values. Personally, as an example in modern times, I find that political affiliation provides a similar comparison to Huck�s societal values. In politics within the United States, Republicans are labeled as conservative and Democrats are labeled as liberal. Society and popular culture reinforces these labels, creating an atmosphere lacking in personal authenticity where individuals are encouraged to make decisions based on the party�s supposed values and rules as opposed to their own values.
Personally, I loathe labels as they are often substituted for intelligent thinking. But I realize that humans tend to focus on labels and society�s rules as they can�t afford the time or effort to think things through as they go through their daily lives. Also, the group mentality seems to exacerbate the problem as the idea of a group rests on the basis of labels. And a majority of humans would rather compromise their personal authenticity as very few want to be left completely alone. Unfortunately, mankind�s overall nature seems to gravitate more to societal rules and satisfaction rather than personal authenticity, with the individual struggling to maintain their own values just as Huck Finn struggled over society�s rules and his own values.