| Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) promulgate the view that resistance to malignant authority by the individual in defiance of law and social convention is completely justified, and that lying, deception, escape, and direct opposition are not only acceptable means to this end but are morally imperative. These social manifestations of a moral sense transcend and repudiate the oppressive institutions of monarchy, class systems, slavery, and organized religion, and express the theme of irreconcilable conflict between authority and the individual. Moreover, it is shown that power relationships and moral clarity are key determining factors in responding to pressure from authority. |
