The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

THE ADVENTURES

OFHUCKLEBERRY

FINNBy

Mark TwainExcellence in Literature Unit 6

LITERATURE LECTURE Finish Plagiarism

syllabus pp 26-28 Read Excellence in Literature

p 74. Go over quiz.

THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN

The Sequel to Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, based on Twain’s own boyhood in Hannibal, MO.

Draws on Clemens's childhood in Hannibal, memories of…The unfairness of slavery.The punishments endured by

slaves and those that aided them when they were caught.

The generosity of the whites who aided runaway slaves.

THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN - CONTROVERSY Regarded by many as the greatest literary

achievement America has yet produced. Inspired by many of the author's own experiences

as a river-boat pilot, the book tells of two runaways—a white boy and a black man—and their journey down the mighty Mississippi River.

When the book first appeared, it scandalized reviewers and parents who thought it would corrupt young children with its depiction of a hero who Lies Steals Uses coarse language.

CONTROVERSY CONTINUES In the last half of the

twentieth century and beyond, the condemnation of the book has continued on the grounds that its racist because of itsportrayal of Jim – uneducated &

superstitioususe of the “N-word,” a racial

epithet. The novel continues to

appear on lists of books banned in schools across the country.

THE NOVEL IS ALSO PRAISED Critics dub it "the great

American novel” because of Its strong point of view Skillful depiction of dialects Confrontation of issues of race

and prejudice Ernest Hemingway claimed

that "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huck Finn. . . . There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since."

PERIOD OF REALISM/NATURALISM Time period

From 1865 – end of Civil War…To 1914 – Beginning of WWI

History of America during this timeDisappearance of the American frontier

due to growing population of the WestDisappearance of cattle drivesEmergence of the railroadDisappearance of herds of buffaloEmergence of the automobileThe era of flight (Wright Brothers 1903)

AMERICAN DIFFICULTIES DURING THIS PERIOD

1. Reconstruction of the South following the Civil War

2. Social and political struggles over issues of race and the rights of the African Americans newly released from slavery

3. Vote for all males - Finally a constitutional amendment passed that granted all adult males the right to vote, regardless of race.

4. Still no Equality for Women - Women were still denied the right to vote, and the woman’s suffrage movement gained momentum.

5. Corruption on financial and political fronts6. A depression (not the Great Depression)7. A series of railroad strikes

NEW FORCES IN AMERICA The country’s rapid industrialization

Change from an agricultural society to a highly industrialized one

Nearly 40% of all Americans lived in cities by the end of the 19th century.

Labor organizations emerged. Darwin’s theory of evolution

Rejection of God / an assault on faith in God.“Survival of the fittest” philosophy in lifeScientists disregarded the principle of scientific

objectivity that demanded observation and testing before accepting a theory.

Karl Marx (father of communism) dedicated his Das Kapital to Darwin.

REALISM IN LITERATURE Realism for writers of the late 19th century

emphasized the world was controlled by Blind chance Nature Fate

Realists attempted to accurately describe Scenery People

Realist writers sought to narrate their novels from an objective, unbiased perspective that simply and clearly represented the factual elements of the story.

REALIST WRITERS Became masters at

Psychological characterization Detailed descriptions of everyday life in

realistic settings dialogue that captures the idioms of

natural human speech. Endeavored to accurately represent

Contemporary culture People from all walks of life.

Thus, realist writers often addressed themes of socioeconomic conflict by contrasting the living conditions of the poor with those of the upper classes in urban as well as rural societies.

NATURALISM IN LITERATURE Naturalism was an offshoot of Realism. It was a literary movement that placed

even greater emphasis on the accurate representation of details from contemporary life.

In the United States, Regionalism and local color fiction in particular were American offshoots of Realism.

Grant Wood American Gothic (1930) oil on canvas

Art Institute of Chicago

The Period of Realism/ Naturalism affected ALL of the arts, not just literature.

SAMUEL CLEMENS…MARK TWAIN What did you learn

from your author profile?

MARK TWAIN 1835-1910 Best known as Mark

Twain, Samuel Clemens was born 30 November 1835 and raised in Hannibal, Missouri.

During his youth, he delighted in the rowdy play of boys on the Mississippi River and became exposed to the institution of slavery.

http://www.enotes.com/adventures-of-huckleberry-finn/author-biography

Samuel Clemens, age 15

MARK TWAIN - 1835-1910 He began to work as a

typesetter for a number of Hannibal newspapers at the age of twelve.

In the late 1850s, he became a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River.

This job taught him the dangers of navigating the river at night and gave him a firsthand understanding of the river's beauty and perils.

These would later be depicted in the books Life on the Mississippi and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

MARK TWAIN Worked out west as a reporter for

various newspapers Adopted the pseudonym Mark Twain,

taken from the riverboat slang that means water is at least two fathoms (twelve feet) deep and thus easily travelled.

His second book, The Innocents Abroad, a collection of satirical travel letters the author wrote from Europe, was an outstanding success.

Clemens married Olivia Langdon and moved to the East, where he lived for the rest of his life.

In the East, Clemens had to confront the attitudes of the eastern upper class, a group to which he felt he never belonged.

Mark Twain in his gown (scarlet with grey sleeves and facings) for his D.Litt. degree, awarded to him by Oxford University

MARK TWAIN - RELIGION Raised Presbyterian, but did not follow his roots. VERY critical of religion: He wrote, for example,

"Faith is believing what you know ain't so," and "If Christ were here now there is one thing he would not be—a Christian.”

Twain stated that he believed in an almighty God, but not in any messages, revelations, holy scriptures such as the Bible, Providence, or retribution in the afterlife.

He did state that "the goodness, the justice, and the mercy of God are manifested in His works," but also that "the universe is governed by strict and immutable laws," which determine "small matters," such as who dies in a pestilence.

MARK TWAIN - RELIGION At other times he wrote or spoke in ways that

contradicted a strict deist view, for example, plainly professing a belief in Providence.

In some later writings in the 1890s, he was less optimistic about the goodness of God, observing that "if our Maker is all-powerful for good or evil, He is not in His right mind."

At other times, he conjectured sardonically that perhaps God had created the world with all its tortures for some purpose of His own, but was otherwise indifferent to humanity, which was too petty and insignificant to deserve His attention anyway.

QUOTES ON RELIGION On the Bible – “It is full of interest. It has noble poetry in it;

and some clever fables; and some blood-drenched history; and some good morals; and a wealth of obscenity; and upwards of a thousand lies.”

“The Christian's Bible is a drug store. Its contents remain the same, but the medical practice changes.”

“Alas! those good old days are gone, when a murderer could wipe the stain from his name and soothe his trouble to sleep simply by getting out his blocks and mortar and building an addition to a church.”

“Religion consists in a set of things which the average man thinks he believes, and wishes he was certain.”

“I have a religion—but you will call it blasphemy. It is that there is a God for the rich man but none for the poor.....Perhaps your religion will sustain you, will feed you—I place no dependence in mine. Our religions are alike, though, in one respect—neither can make a man happy when he is out of luck.”

SATIREsat·ire noun 1. the use of irony, sarcasm,

ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.

2. a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.

3. a literary genre comprising such compositions.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/satire

SATIRICAL COMIC ON GLOBAL WARMING

SATIRICAL COMIC ON THE TAXPAYER BAILOUT

TWAIN AND SATIRE Throughout Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain

uses satire to attack what he sees as the hypocritical views of the midwestern society.

Nothing is sacred to his words, especially not slavery, politics, human nature, or religion.

From the first chapter with Miss Watson's preaching about heaven and hell to the performance of the Royal Nonesuch to the dramatic escape planned for Jim, Twain infuses the story with satire to the detriment of our opinion of the river society he is describing.

http://jannon.tripod.com/critsati.html

TWAIN AND SATIRE Overall satire is a key defining feature

of Huckleberry Finn, and Twain makes good use of it to poke fun at American and especially midwestern society.

Throughout the story satire keeps coming back to laugh at the characters and their settings and tell us how Twain really feels.

http://jannon.tripod.com/critsati.html

ANNOTATION KEYCode  Meaning – Mark these in a circle in the

margin 1. R - Twain’s feelings about religion2. S - Superstition – usually Huck or Jim3. FS - Foreshadowing4. TS - Tom Sawyer – Huck idolizes him and

frequently wonders what Tom Sawyer would do.5. MS - Mississippi River – Huck’s feelings about it /

the river is almost a character in the book6. SL - Slavery – how it affects Jim, how Huck grows

to feel about it7. M - Morals – Huck’s own set of morals/his own

brand of integrity

MISSISSIPPI RIVER Contained entirely within the US. Largest river system in North America. 4th longest and 10th largest in the world. Drains all or part of 31 states between

the Rocky and Appalachian Mtns. Mississippi River Valley is one of the

most fertile agricultural regions of the US.

More than 2300 miles long, and up to 4 miles wide in some places.

QUOTES "The Great Mississippi, the majestic, the

magnificent Mississippi, rolling its mile-wide tide along, shining in the sun.“

Mark Twain

"A raindrop falling at Lake Itasca (at the Mississippi headwaters) would arrive at the Gulf of Mexico in about 90 days."

National Park Service

“NOTICE” AT BOOK’S BEGINNING

Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.

BY ORDER OF THE AUTHORPER G. G., CHIEF OF ORDNANCE

CREDITS

Discussion questions and analysis come from http://www.enotes.com/adventures-of-huckleberry-finn.

DISCUSSION – CHPT 1Twain starts off by having Huck accuse

Twain of stretching the truth in an earlier book.

Widow Douglas – trying to “sivilize” Huck

Her sister, Miss Watson, is a source of distress to Huck. Why?

Why does he figure he’d rather be in hell than in heaven?

What sound calls him from the window?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 2Tom wants to prank Jim, Miss Watson’s

slave, as he an Huck head out for the night. What prank?

Tom heads a gang of ________.Where does Tom get his crazy ideas?Tom’s an idealist (romantic)…Huck a

realist.Huck keeps assuming Tom is smarter

than Huck. What do you think?Does Twain expect the reader to be as

naïve as Huck?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 3Miss Watson tells Huck he might get better if

he prays. He wonders, “If prayer is so powerful, then ______?

He decides there must be two Providences (Gods). What are they?

What do you think Twain is saying about God?What do you think about his self esteem?Who do Tom’s Spaniards and A-rabs turn out

to be?Discuss the genie incident. Tom’s tales “had all the marks of a Sunday

School.” What does that mean?

HOW TO QUOTE AND DOCUMENT (CITE)1.  Short quotations (four lines or fewer) should be

placed in quotation marks. If you do not tell the name of the author prior to the quote, follow it with the author’s last name and the page number of the source of the quote in parenthesis.

 He remembered her last words to him: “I know you will always be good and kind. Try to live as I have taught you and love your heavenly Father” (Eibling and Gilmartin 176).

2.  Note that there is no comma between the author and the number, and that the period follows the parenthesis.

3.  If you mention the author with your quote, put only the page number in the parenthesis.

Angler believes that he was thinking of her when he remarked, “God bless my mother; all that I am I owe to her” (312).

HOW TO CITE4. It is preferred to introduce quotes with a signal phrase that

tells the source of the quote, as above. 5.  Longer quotations (more than four lines) must be set off

from the rest of the paragraph in what is called an inset quotation. To do this, the quoted material is indented ten spaces or one inch on the left and no quotation marks are used.

One book influenced Lincoln more than any other. Angler explains:

Although he did not attend church regularly, Lincoln became a man of deep religious feelings. The Bible was probably the only book his parents ever owned. Abraham came to know it thoroughly. Biblical references and quotations enriched his later writings and speeches. As president, he kept a Bible on his desk and often opened it for comfort and guidance. (313)

6. Note that the colon goes before the inset quotation. Also note that the with the inset quotations, the period is before the parenthesis.

HOW TO CITE - SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

1. If a book has more than three authors, list only the first author’s last name followed by “et al.” and then the page number.

 Abraham Lincoln is known as “the president who saved the Union” (Smith et al. 75).

2.    If the author is unknown, use a key word from the title instead. Underline if it is from a book title; place quotation marks if it is from an article. Your reader should be able to match the word to a title in your Works Cited page.

 “Probably no American has been so much written about as Abraham Lincoln and seldom has any man had his life, mind, and character so distorted” (Words 7).

HOW TO CITE - SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

3. If there are not page numbers, such as with short Internet articles, use paragraph numbers instead.

 4. Quotations from the Bible are simply

followed by the reference and Bible version.

“Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the street” (Proverbs 1:20 KJV).

CRITIQUE VOCABULARY SYLLABUS P 19INTRODUCTION Types of Stories: allegory, tale, fairy tale,

saga, narrative, epic, legend, mystery, comedy, anecdote, myth, science fiction, adventure, fable, folk tale, anti-utopian, biography, drama, devotional, spiritual

Setting/Mood: bright, cheerful, lively, sad, solemn, tragic, comical, fun, light-hearted, whimsical, fanciful, mysterious, eerie, suspenseful, bleak, dreary, peaceful, chaotic, violent, foreboding, spiritual, cynical, satiric, tongue-in-cheek

CRITIQUE VOCABULARY SYLLABUS P 19CHARACTERS Synonyms: hero, villain, protagonist,

antagonist, players, participants

Role: central, dominant, main, leading, major, minor, subordinate, lesser, supporting, shadowy, secondary

  Analysis: well (or poorly) drawn, fully (or

under) developed, convincing or unconvincing, consistent, static (unchanging), dynamic (changing), lifeless, too predictable, overly evil, not believable, typical

CRITIQUE VOCABULARY SYLLABUS P 19

CONFLICT/PLOT Synonyms: problem, dilemma, desire,

plan, conspiracy, scheme of events, chain of events, sequence of events

Stages: began, initiated, driven, promoted, continued, expanded, exacerbated, heightened, lessened, relieved

CRITIQUE VOCABULARY SYLLABUS P 19

CLIMAX/RESOLUTION/THEME Climax: turning point, most exciting

moment, dramatic event, change in events, high point, emotional crisis

Resolution: solution, remedy, fix, amelioration

Theme: message, moral, teaching, lesson, subject, inspiration, Application

CRITIQUE VOCABULARY SYLLABUS P 19CONCLUSION Opinion: enjoyable, inspiring, dull, trite, too

predictable, unique, fascinating, captivating, suspenseful, thrilling, convincing, convicting, compelling, obscure, thought-provoking, clear, poignant, pointed, sketchy, unrealistic

Literary Devices: point of view (first, second, third person), foreshadowing, irony, symbolism, flashbacks, quality of language (simple, archaic, verbose, descriptive), poetic devises, decorations

DISCUSSION – CHPT 4 BEGIN 2/9

1.We’ve learned Huck is superstitious. 2.Why do the boot prints in the snow make Huck

go see Judge Thatcher?3.What does Huck have the judge do with the $?4.What do we learn about Huck’s morals and

lying?5.Describe Pap.6.Huck and Jim both believe Jim’s hair-ball has

magical powers. He wants Jim to predict what Pap is planning to do. Does the hair-ball help?

7.Describe Jim. 8.Is Twain portraying Jim negatively?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 51.How does Pap see Huck?2.Illiteracy seems to be a mark of family

pride!3.Why can’t Huck give Pap his money

($6000)?4.A Judge won’t take Huck away from Pap

and then tries to help reform Pap. How?5.How does that turn out?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 61.Pap beats Huck for doing what?2.What does Huck love and hate about

living with Pap again after he’s kidnapped?3.In Pap’s government speech, what do

we learn about Twain’s views on racial bigotry?

4.In that speech, to whom does Pap feel superior?

5.What does Huck do to protect himself after Pap passes out?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 71.Pap remembers nothing when he wakes up.2.Why is Huck able to lie about why he’s

holding the rifle when he couldn’t lie about having $6000? Are there any differences in the two lies?

3.An escape plan forms when Huck finds an abandoned canoe. What are the details?

4.Read Huck’s description of the river (p 26): “The sky looks ever so deep…” When he talks about the river his voice changes, his language becoming gentler, less harsh, poetic.

5.Huck loves the river the way most of us love people.

6.Where does he head for the first night?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 81.What is the cannon fire about?2.Huck sees whom on the boat?3.Most people would abandon their runaway

plot seeing the grieving faces of those they love.4.Is he just in control of his emotions? Does he

really not care about them? Does he just not understand their sorrow?

5.Maybe…since he doesn’t think much of himself, he finds it hard to believe they think much of him.

6.What does he realize when he sees the campfire?

7.What frightens Jim?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 8 CONT’D

1.Why is Huck so shocked about Jim running away?

2.Remember he grew up with people who believe slave stealing was as serious as committing murder.

3.What does Huck know he’ll be called for helping Jim?

4.HUGE decision here. Huck is someone who has decided to turn his back on everything “home” stands for, even one of its most cherished beliefs.

5.Discuss Jim’s story of his investments.6.Look at the “punch line” chapter 8. Explain.

DISCUSSION – CHPT 91.Without stating it, Huck and Jim have

decided to be outcasts together.2.Look at Huck’s poetic description of rain 3.(p 37)4.They acquire what from the flooding

river?5.What do they find in the house that

floats by?6.Jim’s behavior might be a little puzzling

here, but it will be explained later.

DISCUSSION – CHPT 101.What does Jim say about unburied corpses

when Huck brings up the dead man?2.Much talk in this chapter about bad luck and

its causes. You can almost hear Twain laughing over some of the superstitions he believed when he was a boy.

3.Bad luck – rattlesnake handling. Explain.4.The bad luck may take a long time (2 yrs or

more), but they believe it will come.5.You can see that the world is an endlessly

threatening place to Jim. No wonder he’s superstitious: no status as a human, can be beaten or killed, is a piece of property to be bought or sold, can be separated from family.

DISCUSSION – CHPT 10 CONT’D

1.Why might the world also be an endlessly threatening place to Huck?

Father is a cruel drunk. He’s beaten and treated like dirt. Thinks lowly of himself as a result.2.Differences between Huck and Jim?

Black vs white / man vs boy3.In most cases Huck ends up accepting

what Jim tells him. However, his mind is not set yet…can grow and change. He’s only 14.

4.Why does Huck dress up like a girl?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 111.What lie does he tell as a girl?2.Think about his apparently contradictory

attitude toward telling the truth.3.What does he learn from his undercover

operation?4.What clues give him away?5.What sad story does he tell to cover

himself?6.He rushes back to left Jim know, “They’re

after us!” 7.Their long journey down the Mississippi

River has begun.

DISCUSSION – CHPT 121.With this chpt, the main part of the book begins.

All of the previous was back story.2.Raft – 12 x 16 ft with wigwam on top.3.Moving description of MS (p48) and passing

St. Louis.4.Going ashore to “borrow,” Twain again making

us laugh but reminding us about Huck’s morals, as skewed as they are.

5.Disabled steamboat, the “Walter Scott”Sir Walter Scott, author of Ivanhoe was a 19th century

British novelist. Twain often wrote scathing criticisms of such novels, believing they were written by hacks who knew little about the real world and real people.6.Can’t NOT investigate: he says, “Tom Sawyer

wouldn’t back out now!”

DISCUSSION – CHPT 131.They escape in the steamboat’s skiff after

their own raft breaks loose while the thieves go back to recover money from their victim.

2.What does Huck begin to worry about while searching for the raft in the dark?

3.Huck’s answer…again the champion liar/yarn spinner.

4.We see Huck’s quick mind and his understanding of what makes people tick—works in Jim Hornback’s name.

5.Wishes the widow “knowed” about it. Thought she’d be proud, though he doesn’t understand why good people help “rapscallions” and “dead-beats.”

HOMEWORK – FEB 2 Literature

Read Huckleberry Finn- chpts 14-22 Online Quiz

Read emailed article “One Hundred Years of Huck Finn.” Online Quiz

Journal entry – your choice / 150 word minimum

Wordly Wise – Lesson 17 & online quiz FixIt! - 19 / copy 18 into composition book–

corrections from email Composition

Look over writing assignments, p 81 Due Feb 16 (in two weeks) Week 2 assignment, p 81

Approach Paper – pp 110-113 / Explanation and Example Due Feb 23 ( in three weeks) Week 3 assignment, p 81

750 Word Essay – pick one.

THEMES

1. Freedom2. Conscience3. Race/Racism4. The Hypocrisy of “Civilized” Society

DISCUSSION – CHPT 141. How did Jim feel about Huck’s

“adventure” on the Walter Scott? 2. Which king was familiar to Jim? 3. Why does Jim consider this king a fool?4. Who was the French king who was

beheaded? 5. Who was his son? 6. Tell about Huck and Jim’s conversation

about the French language.

DISCUSSION – CHPT 15 START 2/161. Why are Huck and Jim separated in the

fog? 2. What kind of trick does Huck play on

Jim? 3. How does Jim feel about the trick? 4. How many nights will it take to get to

Cairo? 5. Where has Huck learned about kings? 6. Which river will Huck and Jim travel to

get to the free states?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 161. Why does Huck’s conscience bother him as

they approach what they think is Cairo?2. What does Huck tell the slave hunters about

his predicament?3. What do the men in the skiff do for Huck?4. Does Huck feel better after he has protected

Jim from the slave hunters?5. What destroys the raft?6. How can Huck and Jim tell that they have

missed Cairo in the fog? Clear water from the Ohio is drifting into the muddy

Mississippi.7. Why does Jim think they have had such bad

luck?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 171. Who do the Grangerfords think Huck

might be when the dogs bark at him?2. Why does Huck go into long descriptions

of the furnishings and pictures in the Grangerford’s house?

Twain is using satire to attack sentimentalism and bad taste in art and in home furnishings.

3. Describe the deceased daughter Emmeline’s artwork.

Twain pokes fun at Victorian literature’s propensity for mourning and melancholy.

4. What has happened to Jim in these chapters?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 181. Why are the Grangerfords and

Shepherdsons feuding? Yet another conceit taken from romantic literature,

specifically that literature’s concern with family honor. The Grangerfords and Shepherdsons are rather like Tom Sawyer grown up and armed with weapons.

2. What secret does Miss Sophia ask Huck to keep?

3. What happens to Miss Sophia Grangerford and Harney Shepherdson after the shooting starts?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 191. Who leads Huck to Jim?2. Do Huck and Jim expect to paddle their

newly-found canoe up the Ohio River?3. Where is Huck while the shooting is going on?4. After the shootout, when Huck pulls the men

out of the river, who does he recognize, and what has happened to him?

5. How does Jim feel when he sees Huck again? What does he think has happened to him?

6. Why does Huck think the duke and the king are after him when they first meet?

7. Describe the duke and the king.8. Explain satire on the name “Bilgewater.”

DISCUSSION – CHPT 201. How does Huck explain the fact that

they travel at night and sleep during the day?

2. What do the people at the camp meeting expect the king to do with the money they collect for him?

3. How does Jim treat Huck during the storm at night?

Jim is becoming a mother and father figure to Huck.

4. How do the duke and the king plan to make it safe for Jim to travel during the day?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 211. What does the duke mean when he says he

will call back Hamlet’s soliloquy from “recollection’s vaults”?

2. Why is the duke’s version of Hamlet’s soliloquy confusing?

Not Hamlet’s soliloquy. It contains jumbled lines from several of Shakespeare’s plays, and it makes no sense.

3. Who is assigned the role of Juliet in the “Shakespearean Revival”?

4. Why does Colonel Sherburn murder Boggs? 5. What is Colonel Sherburn’s ultimatum in

regard to Boggs? 6. Who is called for to quiet Boggs down?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 221. Who faces the mob single-handed? 2. Who is Twain satirizing in this situation?

Twain is satirizing the lynch mobs who come like cowards after dark wearing masks. He thinks mob activity is cowardly.

ANALYSIS: CHAPTERS 20–221. Although these chapters involving the

duke and the dauphin appear purely comic, a dark commentary undercuts the comedy in virtually every episode.

2. The duke & king appear to be just two bumbling con men, but they present an immediate threat to Huck and Jim.

3. The two men cruelly toy with Jim’s precarious status as a runaway and use this fact for their own gain when they print the leaflet advertising a reward for Jim’s capture.

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/huckfinn/section9.rhtml

ANALYSIS: CHAPTERS 20–224. Moreover, the fact that the duke and the

dauphin/king run their first scam at a sacred event—a religious meeting—demonstrates their incredible malice.

5. At the same time, however, it also suggests that the religious revival meeting may be as much of a scam as any of the “royal” pair’s shenanigans.

6. Continuing the pattern that we have seen throughout Huckleberry Finn, nearly everyone Huck and Jim encounter on the river is an unsavory character or a fake in one way or another.

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/huckfinn/section9.rhtml

ANALYSIS: CHAPTERS 20–22 CONT’D

7. Sherburn’s murder of the drunk and the subsequent mob scene continue this vein of simultaneous absurdity and seriousness in the novel and contribute to the sense of moral confusion in the town.

8. Although Sherburn’s shooting of the drunk is cold-blooded, his speech to the angry mob is among the most profound meditations on human nature in Huckleberry Finn.

httpww.sparknotes.com/lit/huckfinn/section9.rhtml

ANALYSIS: CHAPTERS 20–22 CONT’D

9. Sherburn’s criticisms of the cowardice and despicable behavior of his fellow citizens are accurate, and his eloquence is impressive.

10. Furthermore, much of what he has to say about cowardice applies directly to the townspeople's behavior, which has put Huck and Jim in peril in the first place. All the while, however, we are aware that this thoughtful speech comes from the man who has just shot a defenseless drunk. Like Huck, we are confused and disoriented.

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/huckfinn/section9.rhtml

DISCUSSION – CHPT 231. What attracts the crowd at the showing of

The Royal Nonesuch? 2. Why do the king and the duke leave during

the third performance? 3. What does Huck mean when he says that

all kings are “rapscallions”? Scoundrels – all of the ones he’s heard about!

4. What does Jim do for Huck that shows he cares about him?

5. Who is Jim homesick for in these chapters? 6. What disease caused Jim’s daughter’s

deafness?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 241. What does the duke do so that Jim does

not need to be tied up in the wigwam all day?

2. Who gives the king the information about the Wilks family?

3. What are the names of the three Wilks sisters?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 251. How do the Wilks girls react when they see

the king and the duke?2. How does the crowd react when the king

names several of Peter Wilks’ closest friends and invites them for supper?

3. Does the duke say anything to the townspeople?

4. Why do the king and duke give the Wilks sisters $415 of their own money?

5. Who is Dr. Robinson? How does he feel about the king and the duke?

6. What does Dr. Robinson think about the king’s English accent?

ANALYSIS 24/25 So far in the novel, Huck has been a silent

spectator in the ludicrous antics of the king and the duke, but in the Wilks episode he becomes highly critical and judgmental.

When the king and duke first arrive, the gullibility of the townspeople, who swallow their deceitful charades, fills him with shame. “It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race.”

The depraved attitude of the frauds in the coffin scene is simply too much for Huck. “I never see anything so disgusting.”

Huck’s moral position at this point in the novel is a foreshadowing of the ultimate moral decision he must make regarding Jim’s freedom later on in the novel.

DISCUSSION – CHPT 261. What incident in the novel convinces

Huck that he must get the money back to the Wilks girls?

2. In what way will Huck get the money from the king and the duke?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 271. Where does Huck hurriedly hide the money?

Why does he choose this particular spot?2. How do the king and the duke justify selling the

property so soon after the funeral?3. Where do the slaves go when they are sold?4. Why does the king sell the slaves the day after

the funeral? How does the duke feel about this?5. Why does the duke wish he had kept the slaves?6. How do the Wilks girls react when the slaves are

sold?7. Why doesn’t Huck tell on the king and the duke

when they allow the slaves to be separated from their families?

ANALYSIS– CHPT 26/27 In this episode of the novel, Twain repeats the theme

of the separation of families through the buying and selling of slaves.

This is reminiscent of Miss Watson’s intention of selling Jim down the river and separating him from his family.

This incident reveals not only the pain of separation of mother and sons, demonstrating the humanity of the slaves, but also the caring response of the Wilks girls.

It is at this point that Huck almost breaks down and exposes the king and the duke, but he knows the sales are fake, and the slaves will be home soon.

His human sympathy for the injustice in this incident foreshadows his ultimate commitment to Jim as Huck struggles with his conscience in subsequent chapters.

DISCUSSION – CHPT 281. Why does Huck tell Mary Jane the truth? 2. Why does Hines think that the king is an

imposter? 3. Why does Huck ask Mary Jane to leave

town? 4. How does Huck tell Mary Jane that he put

the bag of money in the coffin?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 291. How does Levi Bell propose to find who

the true Wilks brothers are? 2. What were the misfortunes of the Wilks

brothers? 3. How do they finally solve the problem of

identification? 4. Why don’t they believe Huck when he

says he’s English? 5. On his way to the raft what does Huck

see in the middle of town? 6. Why did Hines let go of Huck’s hand

allowing him to get away?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 28/29 2/23

Throughout the novel Huck has been telling lies or concocting stories to get himself out of tight situations.

In Chapter 28, however, we finally hear him telling Mary Jane the truth. After thinking it over, he decides that “the truth is better and actuly safer than a lie.”

He has, in fact, already blurted out part of the truth about the slaves who will be back in two weeks. In a sense he has reached a point of no return and must tell her the whole story, trusting her. “She was the best girl I ever see, and had the most sand.”

He feels a moral obligation to expose the king and the duke and keep them from exploiting her. When she leaves town, however, he must tell another one of his stories to protect her from the two frauds.

DISCUSSION – CHPT 28/29 Ironically, when the men question Huck

about being English, he cannot convince them.

Levi Bell, the lawyer, tells him to quit trying. “I reckon you ain’t used to lying, it don’t seem to come handy...You do it pretty awkward.”

Perhaps he is awkward because the story is not his own creation. He is lying for the king and the duke and simply does not have his heart in it.

DISCUSSION – CHPT 301. What do Huck and Jim do as soon as

Huck gets back to the raft?2. Who do the king and the duke blame for

stealing the money?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 311. Who captured Jim and sold him?2. Where did Jim go after he was sold?3. What does Huck tell the duke about the raft

when he meets him in town?4. Why can’t Huck pray when he tries?

He can’t pray because his heart isn’t right. He says, you “can’t pray a lie.”

5. Why is Chapter 31 a climactic chapter in the novel? It is the ultimate moral decision for Huck to help Jim to

freedom.6. How does Huck feel about his decision to

“buy Jim out of slavery”?7. Why doesn’t Huck tell on the king and duke

when he has a chance?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 321. Why does Huck go to the Phelps

Plantation? 2. Who is Huck mistaken for at the Phelps

Plantation? 3. How does Huck feel when he learns that

Aunt Sally thinks he is Tom Sawyer?

DISCUSSION – CHPT 331. Who is the stranger that arrives at the Phelps

Plantation after Huck? What does the stranger call himself?

2. How does Tom react when Huck tells him he is going to steal Jim from the Phelps Plantation?

3. Who informs Mr. Phelps about the king and the duke and their Royal Nonesuch show?

4. What happens to the king and the duke as a result? 5. What do Huck and Tom do to try to warn the king

and the duke about possible trouble ahead? 6. How does Huck feel when he sees what the

townspeople have done to the two frauds? 7. Why does Huck’s conscience bother him

concerning the incident with the king and duke?

ANALYSIS 32-33 Huck’s depressive depiction of the plantation,

symbolic of loneliness and death, reflects his mood after the loss of Jim and their idyllic life on the raft.

Here, as in earlier chapters, the theme of freedom on the river stands in opposition to the constraints of life on the shore.

Tom Sawyer lightens the tone of these chapters. We see Tom as a light-hearted practical joker whose morality is aligned with the society he is a part of.

Huck is astonished when Tom agrees to help him steal Jim, and because of this, his estimation of Tom is lowered.

Ironically, Huck still believes his natural morality is wrong and Tom’s morality, based on the mores of society, is right.

ANALYSIS 32-33 What Huck is not aware of is that Tom knows Jim

has already been given his freedom by Miss Watson. Tom is, therefore, only playing the game of stealing Jim out of slavery.

Thus far in the novel Jim has been patiently bearing the inconveniences the king and duke have caused him and Huck on the raft.

The “rapscallions” go too far, however, when they sell him as a slave. The king and duke underestimate Jim’s intentions to get even.

Although the duke mentions his suspicions to Huck, it is doubtful that he credits Jim with the ability to be instrumental in having them tarred and feathered and run out of town.

Jim’s action in this episode reflects a deep sense of justice.

ANALYSIS 32-33 When Huck watches the king and duke

being run out of town it makes him “sick to see it.”

His feeling is reminiscent of his reaction to the Grangerford and Shepherdson feud in Chapter 18. During their last battle when most of the men are killed, Huck is repulsed as he watches the carnage from the tree. “It made me so sick I most fell out of the tree.”

In spite of all the king and duke have done to him, Huck’s humanity is again revealed when he not only sympathizes with the pair, but tries to warn them of trouble ahead.

DISCUSSION – CHPT 341. Why is Huck in awe of Tom’s intelligence?

Huck thinks Tom is exceptionally intelligent because he thought of the fact that dogs do not eat watermelons. Tom reasoned that there must, therefore, be a person in the hut.

2. Why does Huck think Tom’s plan for freeing Jim is better than his?

3. What is Huck’s first and most practical plan of escape? Stealing key/escaping on raft

DISCUSSION – CHPT 351. Why does Tom want to saw the bedpost

leg in half? To slip the chain through the cut

2. Why does Huck think Tom’s plan is foolish?

3. Where does Huck get the bedsheets for the rope ladder?

4. What plan do they finally adopt to free Jim?

5. How long does Tom think it should take to dig Jim out?

ANALYSIS – CHPT 34-35 Huck’s practical, down-to-earth solutions to

problems are contrasted to Tom’s romantic, unrealistic solutions in the plan to free Jim.

Twain is satirizing the romantic notions inherent in the adventurous and courageous escapes that were made popular in the romance literature of his day.

The contrasts between Huck and Tom provide humor. On a deeper level the humor is lost, however, when we consider that Tom already knows Jim is free. He is simply playing the game for the sake of adventure. In the meantime he keeps Jim imprisoned with little regard for his suffering.

ANALYSIS – CHPT 34-35 Huck bows to Tom’s superior intellect.

Ironically, Huck’s plan is superior to Tom’s, because it is quick and efficient, and safe for Jim.

Tom’s plan is more bookish and has more style, but, ironically, does not accomplish what Huck’s plan would. It is also a potentially dangerous plan. As Huck says, it could “get us all killed besides.”

When Huck borrows the bedsheets from the clothesline, Tom sets him straight by saying it is called stealing.

ANALYSIS – CHPT 34-35 Huck tells him his father taught him to call it

borrowing. As long as he represents a prisoner, Tom thinks it is not wrong to steal, but when Huck steals a watermelon, Tom forces him to pay the owners a dime.

Ironically, Tom makes the distinction between the real world and the world of romance, but Huck cannot see any advantage in representing a prisoner if he needs to “chaw over a lot of gold-leaf distinctions.”

Tom feels it is all right to steal as long as they are enacting the romance story, but Huck goes beyond the story to real life. Tom’s respectable upbringing tells him that is morally wrong, but Huck in his natural morality cannot see the distinction.

DISCUSSION – CHPT 36-37The Details of the Grand Escape1. When the case knives are too slow for digging,

what do Huck and Tom decide to use instead?2. How many new shirts has Aunt Sally made in the

last two years?3. Why does Uncle Silas find the missing spoon in his

pocket?4. What two missing items have been stolen off of

the clothesline?5. What do Huck and Tom bake into the witch’s pie?6. What do Huck and Tom do to confuse Aunt Sally

about her silverware?7. Why do they need a bedsheet?8. Why do Tom and Huck want to confuse Aunt Sally?

ANALYSIS– CHPT 36-37 Twain is satirizing religious people like Uncle Silas

and Aunt Sally who pray with Jim and make sure he has enough to eat but are waiting eagerly for the reward offered for his capture.

If no one claims him they will, of course, sell him. It is doubly ironic that even Jim, being a product of society himself, does not see through this double standard. He simply comments that “both of them was kind as they could be.”

Jim cannot see the sense in most of Tom’s plan, “but he allowed we was white folks and knowed better than him.”

Jim is, of course, the sensible one who questions Tom’s preposterous plan, and, ironically, the “white folks” are obviously lacking in common sense.

DISCUSSION – CHPT 38-391. How were pens and saws made by Jim and

Huck?2. What does Tom decide to use for the coat of

arms and the mournful inscriptions?3. What does Jim threaten to do if Tom forces him

to live with rattlesnakes?4. What does Tom substitute for the rattlesnakes?5. What animal bites him? What does he do with

the blood?6. How is Jim supposed to water his flower?7. Tell about the incident with rats & Aunt Sally.8. What about the garter snakes?9. Why does Jim have trouble sleeping at night?10. What does Tom’s last anonymous letter reveal?

ANALYSIS– CHPT 38-39 It is ironic that in Tom’s exaggerated plan to free

Jim, he must call him out of prison to help role the heavy, oversized grindstone, and, thereby, carry out the plans for his own escape.

Jim could, in fact, walk away anytime, but he obviously loves the boys and would not think of betraying their trust in him. This ludicrous incident is one of the most humorous in the novel.

Twain is ridiculing the romantic mind of Tom who “superintended” the whole project. In the eyes of Huck “he knowed how to do everything.” He does, of course, choose a grindstone that is too heavy for the boys to handle, and when the entrance into the cabin is not big enough for the stone, it is Jim, not Tom who quickly solves the problem.

ANALYSIS– CHPT 38-39 Jim also endures the tortures inflicted upon

him by Tom because that is supposedly his role as a prisoner. Only in the case of the rattlesnakes does Jim refuse to cooperate with Tom’s fantastic schemes.

Jim’s practical nature comes to the foreground when Tom, in wild abandonment, is willing to risk Jim’s life just for the sake of the glory.

Tom puts Jim through an ordeal that leaves him with adverse feelings about the entire prisoner experience. “He said if he ever got out this time he wouldn’t ever be a prisoner again, not for a salary.”

DISCUSSION – CHPT 40-411. Describe the butter incident2. Who does Huck find in the “setting-room?”3. What happens to Tom’s britches when the three are

escaping to the river and the raft?4. Why don’t the dogs pay any attention to Huck, Jim,

and Tom?5. What has happened to Tom during the escape?6. What does Huck tell the doctor about Tom’s bullet

wound?7. Why does the doctor leave Huck on the shore when

he goes to take care of Tom?8. Where does Huck sleep all night?9. What is going on at the Phelps Plantation when Huck

gets there?10. Why doesn’t Huck leave the house at night to check

on Tom at the raft?

ANALYSIS– CHPT 40-41 What tops off the whole romantic episode

for Tom is the bullet wound in his leg. They are all glad to get to the raft, “but Tom was the gladdest of all because he had a bullet in the calf of his leg.”

Jim will not budge before they get a doctor for him. Tom even wants that done in style.

Tom is, of course, continuing his escape plan according to the book.

Ironically, if Huck had followed Tom’s instructions, it would probably have caused Tom’s death.

ANALYSIS– CHPT 40-41 Jim’s unselfishness in giving up his freedom

for the sake of Tom is no surprise to Huck. “I reckoned he’d say what he did say.”

When we consider the fact that Jim could have executed his own escape from the Phelps Plantation at any time, we realize his love for Huck and Tom, his friends, was worth more to him than his long-sought freedom.

He could not seek his own freedom at the expense of his friend’s life. Ironically, he feels Tom would do the same for him, but Tom is more concerned with completing his escape with style.

DISCUSSION – CHPT 42-431. When Tom finally comes home who accompanies

him?2. How do the men treat Jim as a runaway slave?3. What do they threaten to do to Jim to teach the

other slaves a lesson?4. Why don’t they do what they feel like doing to Jim?5. What is Jim’s punishment when he gets back to his

cabin?6. When Tom wakes up what does he reveal to Aunt

Sally?7. Who arrives to surprise her sister?8. Who first reveals Jim’s freedom? How is Jim freed?9. What happened to Pap?10. What does Huck plan to do at the novel’s end?

ANALYSIS– CHPT 42-43 Twain portrays Jim as a noble character when he

bravely steps out of hiding to help the doctor save Tom’s life, knowing full well it will cost him his freedom and possibly his life.

Jim is a profoundly sensitive human being whose feeling and sacrifice for Tom comes as no surprise. We have seen him sacrifice his sleep by taking Huck’s

watch on the raft. We have seen his joy when Huck returns after their

separation in the fog and his deep hurt when Huck plays a trick on him.

We also see him as a caring family man whose dream is to, someday, buy his wife and children out of slavery.

Jim’s nobility lies in his sensitive nature and is consistent throughout the novel. In the case of Tom, we would not have expected Jim to behave any other way.

ANALYSIS– CHPT 42-43 When Huck realizes Tom knew all along

that Jim had been set free, he understands why a boy with a respectable upbringing like Tom would get mixed up in the messy business of helping a slave escape.

Tom tells him he did it strictly for adventure. He was planning to prolong the adventure all

the way to the “mouth of the river,” and then take Jim home on a steamboat in style and bring him into town as a hero with a “torchlight procession” and a “brass band.”

ANALYSIS– CHPT 42-43 The novel has come full circle as we see

Huck “light out for the territory,” afraid Aunt Sally will “sivilize” him again as the Widow Douglas tried to do in the first chapter.

Taught through his many difficult decisions to follow his instinctive, natural morality, Huck has grown into a more mature, sensitive human being.

He belongs in the wilds of the “territory” where he can again be free from the hypocrisy inherent in society’s constraints.

HOMEWORK – FEB 161. Literature

Read Huckleberry Finn- chpts 33 to end Online Quiz

2. Journal entry 3. Wordly Wise – Lesson 19 & online quiz4. FixIt! - 21 / copy 20 into composition book5. Composition

Due next week - Week 2 assignment, p 81 Approach Paper – pp 110-113 / Explanation and

Example Use Works Cited page & proper citations / At least 2

quotes Due Mar 1 ( in two weeks) Week 3 assignment, p 81

750 Word Essay – pick one. Use Works Cited page & proper citations / At least 2

quotes

THEMES1. Freedom

From what is Huck seeking freedom?Civilization (school, church,

responsibility?)Pap

What about Jim?More concrete idea of freedom than

Huck’sFreedom from slaveryFreedom from being separated from

his family

THEMES2. Conscience

Huck’s main struggle in the book The morals with which he’s been

raised vs his new friendship with Jim Later in the book, faces having to

actually free Jim, not just protect him Listens to his heart, rather than his

conscience, because his conscience tells him what he’s doing is wrong

THEMES3. Race and Racism

Huck’s views evolve over the course of the book. He’s cared for by “good” ladies, the Widow

Douglas, Miss Watson, and Aunt Polly, who own slaves and show no concern over separating Jim from his family or the injustice of slavery.

He grew up with Pap's rantings, like that over a free black man, indicating Pap’s deep racial prejudice.

Nevertheless, the fact that Huck does learn to see beyond racial stereotypes in the case of Jim is a profound development, considering his upbringing.

Comes to respect Jim as a human being. However, Huck never verbally condemns slavery.

THEMES4. The Hypocrisy of “Civilized” Society

Not just avoiding baths and mandatory school, but a system of degraded rules that defy logic

Examples: Judge lets Pap keep Huck…the same world

that lets one man own another. Grangerfords and Shepherdsons killing each

other over a reason long forgotten. Terrible acts go unpunished, yet frivolous crimes,

such as drunkenly shouting insults, lead to executions.

Twain’s view on society in Huckleberry Finn is summed up in Sherburn’s speech to the mob that has come to lynch him: rather than looking out for the good of all, society is characterized by cowardice, a lack of logic, and intense selfishness.

SYMBOL The Mississippi River

The ultimate symbol of freedom. Jim – taking him toward the free states Huck – taking him away from Pap and

“sivilizing”Much like the river itself, Huck and Jim are

in flux, willing to change their attitudes about each other with little prompting.

The river in turmoil reflects the turmoil in Jim’s and Huck’s lives (floods, fog, storms, wrecks, criminals, stolen goods).

SYMBOL The Mississippi River cont’d

Each escape exists in the larger context of a continual drift southward, toward the Deep South and entrenched slavery.

In this transition from idyllic retreat to source of peril, the river mirrors the complicated state of the South.

As Huck and Jim’s journey progresses, the river, which once seemed a paradise and a source of freedom, becomes merely a short-term means of escape that nonetheless pushes Huck and Jim ever further toward danger and destruction.

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/huckfinn/themes.html