[H] Laura: Chapters 41-the Last

Through out the time from when Tom agrees to help Huck free Jim from slavery, there is something that he is keeping from Huck, "there’s one more thing – a thing that nobody don’t know but me. And that is, there’s a nigger here that I’m a trying to steal out of slavery – and his name is Jim – old Miss Watson’s Jim.", Tom replies "What! Why Jim is –"(page 170). Tom never completes his sentence, and he begins to reconsider what he was about to say, and from this we know that something is up. As the story continues we see that Tom begins to make things more complicated than they need to be, almost as if it was a joke to him. We finally see the reason for this in the end, because of "Miss Watson setting Jim free in her will; and so, sure enough, Tom Sawyer had gone and took all that trouble and bother to set a free nigger free!"(page 218)

One of the other things that can be noticed is that Huck begins to care more about people, and have more genuine feelings for people, specifically those of color. We see Huck starting to treat Jim as more of a person and less of a piece of property, and actually consider him a living breathing person just like himself "I hope they was going to say he could have one or two of the chains took off, because they was rotten heavy, or could have meat and greens with his bread and water, but they didn’t think of it, and I didn’t reckoned it warn’t best for me to mix in"(215). Also in the Last chapter you see the people have a different view of Jim, and possibly all African-Americans, when in the end the unchained Jim when the realized he had done a good deed and helped to save Toms live. This caused them to view him as less of an inferior. See page 207, where Huck realizes something similar.

[H] Yona: Chapters 41-the Last

To begin with, I found the term, “singular dream” surprising. If one looks up “singular”, it is defined as “exceptionally good or memorable”, which lead me to wonder if the Doctor was being sarcastic, or otherwise.

Continuing, on pg. 214, I thought it was interesting that they said “keeping a whole family scared to death for days and nights” as one of the reasons Jim should be punished. I thought it was more like Tom’s absence that kept them up late at night, and less so Jim’s.

At the bottom of 214, “I got to have help...and all night.” I thought it was interesting that Jim offers up his freedom in order to help Tom, who has thus far only been detrimental to Jim acquiring his freedom. Does this show that Jim is a genuinely nice, naive guy, or that he sees possibility of freedom in coming out of the bushes?

“The nigger was setting by the pallet with…what he was about.” I thought it was interesting that even though the Doctor just gained so much by Jim’s sacrifice, he now disregards that and doesn’t repay him, but instead captures him. It is a kind of betrayal that I think is the ultimate: the Doctor takes away precisely what Jim has been fighting for for this entire book, after Jim has sacrificed it himself. But if Jim has already sacrificed it, has the Doctor really taken it away?

“I hoped they was going to say….best for me to mix in.” I think this is a great example of Huck’s new understanding of Jim as a person. He wants the best for Jim, and that includes removing the chains (literally), and providing better food. These are all luxuries that would be enjoyed by a human (through Huck’s eyes), and he wants them for Jim, showing that he now acknowledges Jim as more than a “nigger”. It also demonstrates Huck’s acceptance of Jim as a friend, and his genuine compassion.

“Why, the whole thing….wasn’t it bully, Aunty!” Tom’s confession of the events that transpired struck me as confessional, and as a weak attempt on Twain’s part to end the book with everything resolved. I was really disappointed by this resolution, and as Twain’s writing is so renowned and witty, I would have expected a cleverer solution to his problem of ending the book.

“Tom Sawyer had gone and took all that trouble, and bother to set a free nigger free.” I thought it was interesting that in the end, Tom receives much of the credit for the deed of setting Jim free. I also thought it was a weak resolution on Twain’s part to have Huck’s father dead (even though he was dead from the beginning, it’s as if he is only dead now because now is when we find out as readers). It’s as though all of Huck’s justifications for running away are no longer justified. For example, he no longer really had reason to be running away from the law, nor civilization. I was really disappointed by this.

“But I reckon I got to light out…I been there before.” The territories here seem promising, and they give Huck a chance to continue escaping the civilization, and rules, and people trying to change him. But I think it says a lot about Huck’s personality that even before one journey is finished, he’s looking to start another. He’s definitely a wanderer, and I doubt he would ever be satisfied staying in one place, simply because he is not one to want to confine to others’ ideals, which is something that would be expected of him if he stayed in one place for too long. But once again, he is choosing not to confront his fears, adversaries and challenges, but instead chooses to run away, this time to the territories.

[F] Dan: Chapters 41-the Last

In the following passages, Twain uses irony as his weapon to target the Southern society and the system of slavery.

1) “…and then (Aunt Sally) said she’d forgive us, and maybe it was all right enough anyway, and about what a body might expect of boys, for all boys was a pretty harum-scarum lot, as fur as she could see; and so, as long as no harm hadn’t come of it, she judged she better put in her time being grateful we was alive and well and she had us still, stead of fretting over what was past and done.” (Page 212)

-Aunt Sally clearly doesn’t care about Jim other than being property. Here’s another important place where Jim is left out.

2) “Laws know I wanted to go, bad enough, to see about Tom, and was all intending to go; but after that, I wouldn’t a went, not for kingdoms.” (Page 213)

-What happened to Jim? Does Huck not care about him anymore, does Huck now only care about Tom?

3) “It was Tom Sawyer on a mattress; and that old doctor; and Jim, in her calico dress, with his hands tied behind him; and a lot of people.” (Page 213)

-The irony of this statement is very powerful. Tom, the trouble-maker and immoral kid is being carried on a mattress while Jim, the moral person is in chains and is humiliated by wearing women’s clothing, for not even doing anything wrong. In fact, he helped the doctor treat Tom.

4) “I like the nigger for that; I tell you, gentlemen, a nigger like that is worth a thousand dollars—and kind treatment, too.” (Page 215, the doctor)

-Here’s another ironic statement, the doctor is saying how Jim is a good and kind person, however even he disparages Jim by calling him a nigger and talking about him as if he is property.

5) “Then they all agreed that Jim had acted very well, and was deserving to have some notice took of it, and reward. So every one of them promised right out and hearty, that they wouldn’t cuss him no more.”

-Jim’s reward for helping save Tom, the precious white child who played games with Jim’s freedom and even his life, is that the crowd won’t cuss him anymore? That’s not very much of a reward for risking his freedom and life to perform such a praiseworthy, selfless act.

6) “Then what on earth did you want to set him free for, seeing he was already free?” “Well, that is a question, I must say; and just like women! Why, I wanted the adventure of it; and I’d waded neck-deep in blood to—goodness alive, Aunt Polly!” (bottom of page 217- top of page 218, Aunt Sally to Tom Sawyer)

-what is the significance of the interruption? Why do you think that Twain placed this interruption here? This was all clearly just an adventure for Tom.

7) “…Tom Sawyer had gone and took all that trouble and bother to set a free nigger free!” (Page 218)

-what is Huck’s relationship with Jim now? Is Jim just another nigger to Huck? Is this a sign that Huck has lost all of his progress on his “road to morality”?

Questions

1) What is the significance of Jim’s disappearance at the end? Is Jim important to Huck anymore? What is their relationship?

2) Is Jim free? (Can he ever really be free?) The ending is a happy one for Huck and Tom but what about Jim? Jim’s feelings about everything at the end are completely left out.

3) What is the significance of the whole prison section (why did Twain include this section)? Does the represent Jim’s entire odyssey or is it a metaphorical representation of any sort?

4) We know that these are all just adventures for Tom and everything is just a game for him, but was toying with Jim’s life and his freedom and Huck’s entire odyssey just a game for Huck?

5) What are Jim’s feelings right now? He seems happy that he is free but is he just feigning this happiness and secretly angry at the two boys? When it was thought that Jim was Huck’s father figure, did Jim really care for and care about Huck, or was he just trying to get to the North and be free?

The following are some notes on the ending:

-When Tom proposed the idea that the three of them go on another adventure in the “injun territory”, Huck responds but Jim is either left out for this part or doesn’t even respond.

-When Huck states that he does not wish to be “sivilized” again, is this Twain metaphorically telling us that the Southern society is very prejudice and racist and they brainwash innocent children into becoming immoral, disgraceful human beings? Isn’t it ironic that it is this civilization that taught Huck to be a racist, and when Huck was finally progressing on becoming a truly moral person, only through a long journey with Jim, the Southern society quickly changes him back to being a prejudice racist.

-The saddest part of the ending of Huckleberry Finn is that Jim is never really free; he is still trapped in this racist society. Also it is very sad to see that through this entire journey, Huck hasn’t changed at all, he is still just as racist and prejudice as he was at the start of the novel.

[H] Kyle: Chapters 38-40

As what was discussed in the last couple of chapters, we see that Huck is going on a moral journey where he is learning that ownership give you power making ownership over a person give you more power. In these chapters, there is moral development is not necessarily a steady path. The interactions between the three of them influence Huck’s growth.

In the beginning of chapter 38, Tom has this idea that talked about Jim having a coat of arms. In the medieval times, a coat of arms was a distinctive heraldic bearing or shield of a person, family, corporation or country. Basically, this was necessary to know who your friends were and who your enemies were. On the bottom of 194, we see that Huck has this idea to create a coat of arms for Jim. “ Look at Gilford Dudley; look at old northumberland! Why, Huck, spose it is considerable trouble? – what you going to do? – how you going to get around it? Jim got to do his inscription and coat of arms” (194). The question to be asked is do you think Tom knows whom Jim is or does he care? In my opinion, this whole situation is just a joke to Tom and the only reason why Tom created this idea was just for the sake of the “game”.

On the subject of this “game”, Huck and Tom enslave Jim in a cabin for three weeks. During this process, Tom puts snakes and spiders in the cabin where Jim is staying for the sake of his sadistic game. Even though it is evident that Huck’s moral development is developing in a slow, unsteady path, we see that Huck’s motives stay strong. On PG 201, we see that Huck is questioning Tom’s motives for the game when involving the letters, “but looky here, Tom, what do we want to warn anybody for, that something’s up? Let them find it out for themselves –it’s their look-out” (pg 201-202).

Even though Jim was put in this situation, we see that Jim has the strongest coat of morality. On page 207, Tom gets shot and Jim, not only calls the doctor but even believed that Tom would do the same thing for him, “well, den, dis is de way it look to me, Huck. Ef it wuz him day ‘uz bein’ sot free, en one er de boys wuz to git shot….No, sah – I doan’ budge a step out’n dis place, ‘dout a doctor; not if it’s forty year!” (207) By Jim saying thing, Huck states that Jim is “white inside”. In my opinion, I think that Huck is referring to Jim as actually a person with feeling and morals not just an object for their game.

[F] Chloe: Chapters 38-40

In the last entry Noah posed the question of why is Tom listened to by Jim and Huck. In these chapters that question is even more important. Tom’s elaborate plan for Jim’s escape continues to become more and more convoluted. Tom decides that it is necessary for Jim to have a coat of arms. This is perplexing because normally only nobility have a coat of arms. Tom uses the work nobility to describe Jim on page 195. However, Tom also refers to Jim as a prisoner. It is interesting that both terms, which are both describing Jim, are used so closely in the reading but have such different meaning and connotations. When Tom is asked why all of these details are necessary for Jim’s escape he answers, (on page 195) “because he is going out right”. The word right in this context could have two different meanings, it could just mean the way Tom wants him to, or it could mean going out with morality. In class we talked about why Twain forces us to watch Jim endure all of these hardships before finally escaping. Tom forces Jim to live with rats and he says, (on page 201) “between rats, snakes and stone there was no room for him”.

We also discussed what it meant for Jim to be free, and if it was ever possible for him to be free. On page 207, Jim is told, “Jim you’re a free man again”. We talked about at what point during the book was Jim free. Cairo was the point in which Jim was the closest to being free. Aaron made a comparison between Jim and Caliban and posed the question of whether or not Jim would be like Caliban and just always live the life of a slave regardless of whether or not he was legally free.

The theme of silence and Huck really being unable to speak is also in these chapters. On page 205 Huck says, “and I couldn’t answer”. We discussed what is keeping Huck from speaking up and making Tom stop these ridiculous plans. Another important question was whether or not Tom could ever come to conscience and if so what would it take to make him realize his mistakes.

[H] Sarah: Chapters 35-37

“Tom was in high spirits. He said it was the best fun he ever had in his life” (page 188). Stealing Jim is a game to Tom: just another one of his adventures without consequences; an adventure with European “heroes” as he says on page 180. “You got to invent all the difficulties. Well, we can’t help it, we got to do the best we can with the materials we’ve got. Anyhow, there’s one thing – there’s more honor in getting him out through a lot of difficulties and dangers…” (Page 180).

Huck intersects all of Tom’s fantasy with a strain of reality. “What do we want to saw?” Tom says “What do we want of it? Hain’t we got to saw the leg of Jim’s bed off, so as to get the chain loose?” Huck says “Why, you just said a body could lift up the bedstead and slip the chain off.” (page 180). This shows some of the differences between Huck and Tom. The reality and sense in Huck’s thoughts Tom’s fantasies (that Huck follows along with because he doesn’t know what else to do and has no control over Tom).

Huck always has a notion of reality, consequence, and capture on his mind. This can be contrasted with Tom’s belief in fantasy and his incredible impunity and “honor” (pg. 180). This is all a game and a challenge to Tom while Huck needs to (and does) treat this as reality that has real consequences. If this doesn’t work or if they treat this as a joke, Jim’s life is in danger.

Tom, on page 181 said, “Huck, you don’t ever seem to want to do anything that’s regular; you want to be starting something fresh all the time.” Huck then responded, “Well, I says, if it’s in the regulations, and he’s got to have it, all right, let him have it; because I don’t wish to go back to no regulations; but there’s one thing, Tom Sawyer – if we go tearing up our sheets to make Jim a rope-ladder, we’re going to get into trouble with Aunt Sally, just as sure as you’re born.” (Page 181-182).

Tom feels that he has to obey all the white man’s regulations and the middle class conventions. He’s very unoriginal in that he follows in other people’s footsteps and does what he reads in books. Huck needs to think things up on the spot and is, on the other hand, very original. He has no regulations because of his previous life with Pap, though he does display his knowledge of consequence specifically through the above quote from pages 181-182. He wants some of these regulations to fit in with Tom, but others so he doesn’t have to deal with the life he lived before he was with Jim. Tom uses his authority to determine the impress upon Huck the regulations he could place on people.

The regulations that Tom submits to always affect Huck and his following decisions. Huck sometimes tries to resist the regulations, but always surrenders and follows Tom’s command. Tom even says that Huck is not “regular” and uses this standpoint of a white, middle class, male authority to manipulate Huck and the things he does. Huck generally submits to what Tom says, but thinks about it and ways to get around it by saying what he thinks only to be shot down by Tom saying that he (Huck) is uneducated and is inferior to him in many different ways.

Tom uses his white, middle class authority to determine right and wrong in each and every situation in addition to the regulations as I said above. He says that it was wrong for Huck to take the watermelon and proceeds to scold him. The stealing versus borrowing aspect of these chapters is very important in my mind. Tom uses his regulations and his authority to determine what’s right and wrong: what’s okay to steal and what’s not. Huck, as he learned from Pap, is allowed to borrow when he feels like it and doesn’t necessarily need to give it back afterward. For example, in these chapters, Huck borrows the pick-ax, but Tom steals the case-knife. Huck steals the watermelon and Tom says it’s a bad thing to do! That’s not abiding by the rules. Tom says that stealing is okay as long as it’s part of the plan, but not if it’s not part of the plan. This is part of the reason why Tom says it’s wrong for Huck to take the slave’s watermelon but okay to steal a case-knife from their Aunt Sally and Uncle Sirus.

Huck says, “Picks is the thing, moral or no moral; and as for me, I don’t care shucks for the morality of it, nohow. When I start in to steal a nigger, for a watermelon, or a Sunday-school book, I ain’t ways particular how it’s done so it’s done.” (page 186). Tom responds, “Well,” he says, “there’s excuse for picks and letting-on in a case like this; if it warn’t so, I wouldn’t approve of it, nor I wouldn’t stand by it and see the rules broke – because right is right and wrong is wrong and a body ain’t got no business doing wrong when he ain’t ignorant and he knows better. It might answer for you to dig Jim out with a pick, without any letting-on, because you don’t know no better; but it wouldn’t for me, because I do know better.”

Huck and Tom’s morality are VERY different. Tom has a flexible morality – the white morality but can still be adventurous. If he needs something, then it’s moral, but if he doesn’t need it, then it’s immoral which follows what he said before about stealing and whether or not it w as right or wrong, depending on the circumstances. Huck rejects Tom’s morality. He’s very concerned for Jim in these chapters and makes moral decisions based on humanity and helping Jim, for the most part, whereas Tom could care less about Jim, and instead wants adventure. Whatever will help him get that will suddenly be moral and within the regulations.

Tom has put himself at the top of the hierarchy in their current group of people; he’s in the position of superiority. Huck falls far below Tom in the hierarchy, and Nat is behind Huck. Nat and Jim are at the bottom of the totem pole in the scale of hierarchy. Nat resists white supervision and white superiority. Tom is one of the many white authority figures in Nat’s life. He resists this by letting go and not involving himself in the witch pie scandal at the end of chapter thirty-seven.

We talked, a week or so ago, about Jim’s silence in certain situations. Well, Jim is completely silenced in this group of chapters so Huck takes over and has the responsibility to the novel to report what Jim thinks, though that scarcely happens. Huck is only reporting what Jim thinks. There is a clear example of this on page 188, in the last line of the first paragraph where Huck says (for Jim), “Jim he couldn’t see no sense in the most of it, but he allowed we was white folks and knowed better than him; so he was satisfied, and said he would do it all just as Tom said.” I think, in a sense, that Jim’s silence has to do with the fact that he had been sold back into slavery and his severe unhappiness and willingness to speak of the subject. He feels that at this point he has no hope of getting out of slavery or seeing his family again. I don’t think that this time he’s trying to trick Huck to get something out of it; he’s genuinely upset and discouraged by this sequence of events, and rightly so! Jim’s silence is extremely important throughout the whole book and his is a prime example of it!

[F] Noah: Chapters 35-37

These three chapters, just as most chapters so far, test Huck’s morals and his ability to stand up to the bad judgment of others. The difference between these chapters and others are found not only in Huck’s response when influenced by others in an important situation, but in the subtlety of the morals which Huck questions. In other chapters, these differences were found in characters such as the “duke” and “king”. Their actions were clearly immoral, as they live by tricking others out of their money. Throughout the course of his time with the two con-men, Huck realizes that what they are doing is wrong, and begins to take actions to prevent them. Once Huck has finally escaped from them, Tom takes their role as a bad influence on Huck. Neither Tom nor the con-men completely accept in reality, pretending to be things that they are not. The immorality of Tom’s actions is more subtle than that of the con-men; he appears to be working towards a positive end, but does so for the selfish reason of his own boredom. The question presented is whether Tom is a morally sound character, and why Huck’s reaction to his actions is different from his reaction to the actions of the con-men earlier.

Tom’s actions are clearly immoral, although they are due not to his own bad intention but to his upbringing; he does not see the urgency in the situation. Despite this, Twain obviously is not using Tom as an example of a moral character. Tom is used instead as a way to show that Huck has not become a perfect character. Instead of convincing Tom to help him without trying to turn the situation into an adventure, or simply running away with Jim and leaving Tom behind, which he certainly has the chance to do; Huck plays along and eventually seems to enjoy delaying Jim’s escape as much as Tom does. The positive changes which Huck has gone through throughout the novel have been reversed. However, if it was this easy to change Huck, then one can see that he might not have been changed at all. There are a few possible explanations for this. Twain could simply be making an attempt at realism through this: that a boy of Huck’s age who was raised in a racist society could not miraculously change into a righteous man. It is important to remember that the last time that Tom had an idea of this type, Huck was relatively quick to dismiss it (i.e. in the beginning of the book, when Tom forms his gang). In this case, when more is at stake and Huck is supposedly a changed man since the first incident, Huck does not dismiss the plan. As he had predicted earlier, “the pinch comes there ain't nothing to back him up and keep him to his work, and so he gets beat” (Chapter XVI).

Huck has forgotten Jim’s humanity at some point between setting out to free him and meeting Tom Sawyer again. Even when he does attempt to convince Tom not to overcomplicate Jim’s rescue, he says “when I start in to steal a nigger, for a watermelon, or a Sunday-school book, I ain’t ways particular how it’s done so it’s done” (Chapter XXXVI). This sentence implies that Huck views Jim as comparable to a watermelon or a book; in this case it seems that he is saving Jim for his own sake, as opposed to Jim’s sake, viewing Jim as property. It is even clearer that Tom views Jim this way; he thinks that because “Jim’s a nigger … he wouldn’t understand the reasons [for sawing off his legs]” (Chapter 35).

Questions for Discussion:

1. What is Tom’s role in these chapters? (Remember how unlikely it would be for Huck to run into him like this)
2. Why is Tom used as opposed to a new character?
3. How does Tom compare to the king and the duke?
4. Does Huck not want to free Jim? Does he not want to lose Jim as a father figure and a friend, or as a slave?
5. If Tom is not acting morally in these chapters, should he be considered a bad person?
6. Should Huck be considered a bad person for going along with Tom’s plan?
7. Compare the situation at Tom’s Aunt Sally’s house to the situation at the house of the Grangerfords and the Wilks’s.
   

A few important passages:
“when I start in to steal a nigger, for a watermelon, or a Sunday-school book, I ain’t ways particular how it’s done so it’s done”, page 186
Page 188-189
Page 185
Page 169 “being Tom Sawyer was easy…”

[H] Jack: Chapters 32-34

In the beginning on chapter 32 occurs, I my opinion, the sickest joke of the entire novel. Sally asks Huck, “Good gracious! anybody hurt?" and Huck replies, “No’m. Killed a nigger.” Huck’s use the word “nigger” is obviously profoundly racist, but not just because of the meaning of the word; it’s the meaning Huck gives this word in this context. Huck is saying that a “nigger” is a no-one, a non-human. The sick joke lies in the response to the query “anybody hurt?” The way Huck’s response is punctuated furthers the racist connotation of his reply. Its should be read “No’m. [PERIOD, stop] Killed a nigger.” The forced pause in the middle of the line is the sick joke because Huck could have just stopped at “No’m.” His addition of the words “killed a nigger” forces home the racist agenda at the time.

In chapter 33, Huck asks for Tom’s help in freeing Jim from captivity. Tome replies, “I'll HELP you steal him!” and Huck then narrates, “Well, I let go all holts then, like I was shot. It was the most astonishing speech I ever heard—and I'm bound to say Tom Sawyer fell considerable in my estimation. Only I couldn't believe it. Tom Sawyer a NIGGER-STEALER!” Perhaps, Huck and Tom’s meaning of the word “steal” differ in that Tom is an apparently racist character and it just does not seem right for him to jump at the chance to free a runaway slave. Tom’s meaning of the word “steal” is that he will steal Jim for himself and make Jim his slave.

Tom’s apparent disregard for Jim’s life appears in chapter 34 when he proposes an elaborate plan to “steal” Jim. Huck first proposed a sound plan to get Jim to freedom. However, Tom shot down his plan and proposed his own “fifteen times” more elaborate.
This is another one of Twain’s sick jokes regarding Jim and his condition as a slave.

[F] Jonathan: Chapters 32-34

1. Huck was explaining what happened on the steamboat to Ms. Sally. Sally asks why he has been delayed and Huck says a steamboat explodes. Sally then asks, “Was anyone hurt?” Huck replies, “No’m, only a nigger”. Then Sally says that was so lucky. What does this tell us about the racism in the novel? Is Huck putting on an act, or is that how he really feels?
2. Why does Twain decide to make Tom appear out of nowhere in the end of the book. What is the purpose? He appears in a place where some of us believe that Huck is becoming a hero in the story?
3. Why do you think Tom so willingly agrees to help Huck free Jim? Did you expect him to do something so wrong by society’s standards?
4. What do you think of Tom? Is he how Huck described him?
5. Why does Huck feel so bad when he sees the king and the duke being chased by the mom of people? “Human beings can be awful cruel to one another. (pg. 174)

Whether or not Huck still retains some racist thoughts, it is unclear in these chapters. It is possible that he could just be putting on an act in order to make Sally believe that he is really Tom. In the previous chapter, Huck spoke of how he missed Jim and wanted to free him from his capture at Phelps. He says, “And went on thinking. And got to thinking over our trip down the river; and I see Jim before me, all the time, in the day, and in the night-time, sometimes moonlight, sometimes storms, and we a floating along, talking, and singing, and laughing. But somehow I couldn’t seem to strike no places to harden me against him, but only the other kind. I’d see him standing my watch on top of his’n, stead of calling me, so I could go on sleeping; and see him how glad he was when I come back out of the fog; and when I come to him again in the swamp, up there where the feud was; and suck like times; and would always call me honey, and pet me, and do everything he could think of for me, and how good he was always was; and at last I struck the time I saved him by telling the men we had small-pox aboard, and he was so grateful, and said I was the best friend old Jim every had in the world..(pg. 161)” At this point Huck is no longer concerned with the fact that Jim is “nigger”, he now sees Jim for all the good that he has done for him. It seems as though Jim is more a father or big brother to Huck.

Tom is a pivotal character in the book and his appearance is a large-turning point in the story. When he was first introduced he was the leader and Huck was the follower. As he comes and appears in the novel is takes his aforementioned role by coming up with a wild plan to free Jim and Huck just follows along (although Huck questions Tom’s plan by stating that it could kill all three of them). It seems as though Tom just stunts all of Huck’s growth in the novel. In the beginning it was stated that Huck and Tom planned to rob Spaniards and A-rabs when in fact it was just a picnic. Huck questioned this and Tom just brushed it off as he usually does being the more dominant partner in the relationship. The most puzzling question though is why does Tom so willingly agree to help Jim? He was perceived as the typical young racist southern boy. Huck himself is puzzled by Tom’s willingness. “It was the most astonishing speech I ever heard – and I’m bound to say Tom Sawyer fell, considerable, in my estimation. Only I couldn’t believe it. Tom Sawyer a nigger-stealer. (pg. 171)” It is baffling what Tom has to gain by helping Huck get his nigger back. Maybe, he is still afraid that Huck is a ghost, maybe he’s just a good friend, but that doubtful, he probably has an ulterior motive.

This chapter again shows Huck gaining a conscience as the story develops. These men, the duke and the king, have done many wrong things to Huck and have allowed for Jim to beb captured. Even so, Huck feels horribly for their fate. He now believes that humans are very cruel to one another when it seemed that he had no opinion before this. He also shows a lot of faith in God. He said that “Providence” helped him to not be caught in a lie by Aunt Sally. He now shows recognition that there is a God and thatnks him when he “helps” him when he is in a tight situtation.

[H] Chris: Chapters 29-31

In Chapters 29-31, the readers see a significant growth of maturity in Huck’s character. His growth takes place from pg. 160 to the top of 162 when he ends on “All right, then, I’ll go to hell” in what is known as his “crisis of conscience”. In his “crisis of conscience”, Huck Finn debates whether or not going after Jim is the right thing to do or not, but more importantly, if he wants to go after Jim or not because he would then be making a confrontation with decisions that he usually would run away from. It is because he debates, has the capacity to think, that is the reason the readers love him as a protagonist and his debates consist of many of the books ideals such as equality between whites and blacks and if Jim is just a oblivious runaway or the mastermind behind the scenes, and finally if any of it matters at all.

The “crisis of conscience” deals with whether or not Huck should or should not rescue Jim. Huck starts thinking of how “wicked” he’s been for stealing Jim away from Miss Watson, and the blow to his reputation that it would do. Here the reader sees Twain showing how the Southerners actually that blacks were inferior and should be treated as animals.

He then becomes “clean of sin” when he at first decided to let Jim be taken away, but then he thinks of the “good times” that he has experienced with Jim and finally decides that “ All right then, I’ll go to hell.” This is possibly the most important statement that Huck will say in the entire book, and it is ironic how we, the readers, are rooting for him because he made what the reader believes to be the right choice, but he, the doer of the deed, actually thinks that he is going to hell because he’s going to rescue a runaway slave. Not only does he decide to go to hell for the sake of Jim, he is not running away from the decision and just watch it past by him, he’s actually confronting what seems to be a his future after life decision, whether or not to go to hell, and the reader sees Huck grow as a character and as a man when he decides to do something instead of allowing the “grown-ups” to decide what to do.

[F] Emily: Chapters 29-31

The key plot line in these three chapters that stood out the most was Jim being caught as a runaway. What I found most interesting about this was the reaction from Huck and how it revealed some of what his and Jim’s relationship is about. In Ezra’s entry he discussed if the relationship between Huck and Jim is more like a father son relationship or a slave master one. When talking to the duke about how the king has sold off Jim, Huck says that Jim is the only PROPERTY he has. We are meant to believe this is a lie, however is it? Does Huck think of Jim as property and want to get him back because he has value or is it because he has a friendship with Jim and genuinely wants to save him?

Although Huck refers to Jim as property to the duke, when Huck first realizes that Jim is gone, he starts to cry. Crying is one of the ultimate signs of emotion, and we see it when Mary Jane cries by her father’s coffin, mourning his death. Is Huck mourning his loss of Jim as if he were a father to him? These two points contradict each other and so it is somewhat unclear how Huck truly sees his relationship with Jim.

One big question I came across while reading was where has Jim been? The king, duke and Huck have been away for quite a long time, leaving Jim all by himself. What has he been doing? What has happened to him? Huck says Jim is extreamly happy to see Huck when he arrives back at the raft however how happy can he really be for Huck leaving him for so long?

One thing we do see in these chapters is a definitive choice by Huck. He contemplates for a while what he should do about Jim. However in the end he does come to a decision to save him. We can see Huck is changing in that he is now able to make a complete choice, not choosing silence or to ignore what is happening. However why is this the thing that makes Huck choose instead of just ignoring it like he has in the past?

[H] Michael: Chapters 26-28

Huck’s actions in these chapters represent his first direct acts of kindness. He decides to reveal the true identities of the Duke and King, and by doing so potentially puts himself in harm’s way by risking the repercussions of his confessed lie. Did Huck confess to Mary Jane because it was the right thing to do, or simply to unburden his own guilt? If he truly was doing what was right, then why did he wait until now when he had many opportunities beforehand to save the Wilk sisters a lot of grief? What needs to be considered is this case is the difference between ideological dedication to a cause, and voicing your opinion for something only when it’s convenient for you. It is likely that Huck falls into second category, and only tells Mary Jane because he feels guilty about seeing her cry. In uncharacteristic form, he suddenly blurts out the secret in a moment of weakness instead of thinking it through in detail the way he usually does.

Unfortunately, it seems that every situation that Huck finds himself in is dealt with on a case by case basis. He doesn’t have any firmly rooted morals or beliefs, as demonstrated by his constant lying, adoption and re-adoption of various identities, and lack of any long term affiliation to anyone or anything. In truth, Huck’s whole life has been a series of temporary experiences and affiliations molded together into what is his “childhood”. He doesn’t take any real action until he is forced into it, or pinned against the wall by a consequence he doesn’t want to face. It’s definitely possible that he told Mary Jane about the fraud because he harbors a romantic interest in her, but it is also possible that Huck is slowly beginning to become a morally righteous person. His lack of roots predicates his capricious existence—he does not have a background or any guidance to define him or to live by. This aspect is at once what we respect most about him, but also what makes his life extremely complicated, and what prevents us from putting a finger on his true identity.

Huck is a perfect role model for society’s confusion about itself and its own identity. What does it mean to be good or bad in Twain’s society? Is there room for a gray area, and does Huck represent that middle ground? Huck’s persistent lying and belief in faulty explanations disputes the validity of what society considers “good” and “bad”. For example, the “good people” who Twain identifies in the book such as Mrs. Watson and Mary Jane are still hypocrites due to their ownership of slaves, yet they are portrayed as kind as a result of their cordial interactions with white people. If a solid definition existed for either term, perhaps Huck would not always need to create his own histories and explanations for situations. It could be argued that the Duke and Dauphin are in some way more respectable than characters like Mrs. Watson since they are open about their cruelty and fully own up to it. At the end of the day, Huck is really just a metaphor for how lost society is, and how society should be more accepting of a comprise between extreme political views, or a gray area. Unfortunately, during this period in the nation, many things remained distinctly segregated—you either a northerner or a southerner, white or black, an abolitionist or an anti-abolitionist.

Twain’s mixture of satire, social commentary, and moral seriousness are an appropriate for his purpose of making his readers listen to his criticism without feeling judged by it. First, comedy is often the best way to subtly discuss serious issues. The polar opposite, perhaps a lecture or ‘fire and brimstone’ type sermon, would be written off as extremist propaganda. Secondly, Twain’s protagonist is one of the best conceivable narrators for his message because Huck is an unimposing, non-condescending, young white boy who at once elicits sympathy as an orphan, and earns respect for his independent decision to run away from an abusive father. Simply put, Twain’s message would not have been as well received if it was conveyed by a rich white lawyer, or anyone who readers felt was immediately established as a ‘higher’ person in society.

Questions:

1. What is the difference between an ideological dedication to a belief vs. Huck’s circumstantial, well-rationalized approach to forming opinions? The latter involves the aspect of personal motive, while the ideological one has a clear motive—pure faith in the issue.
2. If Huck has grown so attached to Jim and views him so highly, then why is he not moved by the plight of the slaves that are being forced apart as Jim was with his family?
3. Do you think its hypocritical that Huck does not directly oppose slavery, but instead makes an exception for Jim? Do you think he realizes this hypocrisy?
4. When Huck tells Mary Jane that the slaves will be back in less than two weeks, is he doing it just to make her feel better, or does he recognize their plight as a reason for his confession?
5. Is it part of human nature to need to feel good about oneself, even if it requires lying or believing in a lie? Are people constantly trying to relieve themselves from moral responsibility by rationalizing their actions and creating special exceptions? If the slaves were only going to be gone for one whole year, do you think Mary Jane would have changed her decision? Or, is she just happy to blindly believe that the slaves are coming back in two weeks, even though it is just a young white boy with limited credibility telling her?
6. Is there a lack of introspection and self contemplation in society? Huck contemplates every decision in great detail, but no other characters function on his level. He is concerned with whether or not his actions would displease others, lead to future troubles, or hurt his overall situation. Without questioning his motivations, were people of that time too readily accepting of being put in a category? Did anyone truly look inside themselves to discover individuality, instead of passively siding with the north or south as a whole as a result of mob mentality?

[F] Sam: Chapters 26-28

Chapters 26-28 are important to the novel because it shows Huck’s maturation throughout the book, especially since we first meet the Duke and the King. Huck makes some large decisions (hiding the money, telling Mary Jane about his entire plan) and acts for the first time NOT about only himself, but others around him. Surrounded by lies and deceit, Huck decides to come clean and try to help out these girls who are being swindled out of a lot of money. Huck’s motives may have potentially been because he finally wants to put the Duke and King out in the open, or perhaps because he has strange feelings for Mary Jane (which will be discussed later). His behavior, other than the entire scene with the “Harelip” where he keeps slipping up and lying, seems way beyond any kid his age, and although he lost the money, he, and the ones he was helping, can say that he did a good thing.

The major theme of Chapters 26-28 regards Huck and love. From when he meets the three sisters, he holds all three in unusually high regards, especially Mary Jane. Huck finds it hard to believe that the King and Duke are trying to con these three girls, even the Harelip, who Huck still likes (as demonstrated on page 132, when she asks his pardon). Although he is also stealing, he finds it ok to “steal from the stealers”, and is happy when he hides the money. One must not forget that one of Huck’s initial ideas was to come clean and tell about everything to Mary Jane before stealing the money, but he decided against it because “…her face would give [the Duke and King] a hint.” (132)

Eventually, when he DOES tell Mary Jane, which was an admirable idea on his part, they share some heartfelt moments, and she leaves saying “[she] sha’n’t ever forget [him], and [she’ll] think of [him] a many and a many a time.” (144). The next paragraph is Huck telling about how great Mary Jane is, and how he will never forget her, and how he has thought about her many times since they saw each other. It is a moment that shows that Huck really likes Mary Jane, and that she will always be in his heart forever. It was a powerful passage, and it seemed appropriate for Mark Twain to end all of Huck’s maturation throughout the three chapters with him being in “love”.

[H] Darius: Chapters 23-25

Throughout chapters 23 through 26, we see a multitude of issues rising to the surface. Primarily, we see the Duke and Dauphin’s malicious and deceiving behavior reach untold levels. In fact, the deception which they befall on the seemingly naïve yet well intended country folk becomes unbearable for even Huck, who describes their actions as “enough to make a body ashamed of the human race.” (page 123). Huck’s realization of their atrocious actions is key, for until now, Huck has been stuck in a “quagmire of moral self conscious” – lacking the ability to perceive right from wrong.

Contrarily to the cruel and immoral actions of the Duke and Dauphin, yet similar to Huck’s moral “epiphinany” we see another transformation in these chapters. This transformation involving Jim, who reflects upon the mistreat he inflicts upon his deaf and dumb daughter in a very sincere and heartfelt manner. Stating in a moment of reflection, “Oh, she was plumb deef en dumb, Huck, plumb deef en dumb- en I’d ben a-treat’n her so!” (page 118). Also present in this Jim’s dialogue, is a very important subtlety. Specifically, during Jim’s entire account of his abusive behavior towards his daughter, Huck maintains a position of silence. One can only perceive this to be a moment of reflection for Huck with the abuse he has endured at the fist of his own father.

Finally, earlier in the reading (in chapter 23) we are shown another instance of the father son/ son father relation held amongst Jim and Huck (whichever you believe). This being Huck’s description of the nature of “all kings” as being “rapscallions” to Jim. This conversation is all too similar to the previous conversation where Huck and Jim reflect about King Solomon.

[H] Johnny: Chapters 23-25

The relationship between Huck and Jim seems a little different in these three chapters as Jim begins to open up to Huck, while Huck continues to hid information from Jim. Jim tells Huck a story he is ashamed of as a way to express himself to somebody he confides in. Is Huck really that friendly figure as he does not even respond to the story? Is there a parallel between Huck’s silence and Jim’s silence in earlier chapters of the novel? It seems as if Huck is discrediting Jim’s opinion now that they are with the King and the Duke as opposed to before when Huck would listen and depend on Jim as Jim would to Huck. It seems as if the games Huck used to play with Tom Sawyer are turning to reality as the King and Duke as swindling people out of their money with ease. Although Huck is constantly saying in the book how dumb the King and the Duke act calling it “sickening” and “disgusting,” he never personally confronts them for it. Jim tells Huck he’s against the King and the Duke for being “rapscallions,” but Huck tells Jim “But we’ve got them in our hands, and we’ve got to remember what they are, and make allowances.”(117) Knowing that neither of them agree with how the King and Duke act, Huck makes an excuse for them because he feels like he is on an adventure. Stealing money from people, though in a different fashion, is what Huck wanted to do with his friends however it now happened. This is now the reality.

However, Huck is confused if he thinks that the King and the Duke are in his hands. Huck has no idea whether or not the King and the Duke will actually share the money with him, or actually try to sell Jim when they make it to New Orleans. All the King needs to due is start using some sign language that baffles Huck, and the King and the Duke are already on the same page. “He turns around and begins to make a lot of signs to the Duke hands…all of the sudden he seems to catch his meaning, and jumps for the King.”(122) Huck may know the false identity of the two con artist, however, he does not know their real identity. They might not care about Huck and Jim judging by the way they treat them. In public, Huck is their servant while Jim gets tied up or dressed in a ridiculous costume to avoid being caught by others. The fact that Huck is not paying as much attention to Jim might come around to haunt them because there could be an instant where the King and the Duke will take advantage of them and what can a child and a runaway slave do about it? There is not much that can be done.

[F] Lindzay: Chapters 23-25

On pages 168-169 (of my edition), Huck tells Jim “you don’t know kings, Jim, I do.” He proceeds to give him a muddled lecture on these “rapscallions” which attributes just about every story about a king to Louis VII. Huck’s vague perception of history and general knowledge of the world is at times hilarious. Though, why do you think, now a free man by his own definition, Jim accepts often being treated as a child by Huck? Their naïve discourse presents Jim as willingly agreeing with whatever jumbled myth Huck puts in front of him.

In some ways I think Huck’s “ignorance” which has previously been discussed may be a strange, backwards sort of enlightenment. When Huck discusses the difference between a duke and a king, which to a normally educated adult would simply be their status, he comments that when a duke gets drunk he acts almost as badly as a king. Though I agree that deeply entrenched racism has made it hard for Huck to get past what he has been taught to believe thus far in the novel, it seems that his ability to see things in a unique light will be what allows him to accept Jim’s humanity, and feel true empathy for him, rather than perceiving him as an oblivious child.

Currently, Huck seems to refer to Jim as almost a separate species. Of Jim’s guilt for abandoning his family, Huck says, “I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks did for theirn. It don’t seem natural, but I reckon it’s so.” When Huck uses the word natural, at first it seems as though he is referring to literal human nature. However, is Huck truly using “natural” to mean what he was taught to believe by society? Huck’s silence during Jim’s admission of guilt at what he did to his daughter is an ominous reminder that though these two have developed a comradery, Huck still is not able to feel empathy for Jim.

The fact that Huck so far refuses to recognize the inhumanity of the king and the duke, who’s behavior is immoral even by Huck’s slightly criminal moral compass is not encouraging. By virtue of their supposed “cleverness” and their whiteness, they somehow exist on a higher plane that Jim, even though Jim is Huck’s friend. This brings us to the question of Huck’s morality, especially when he remains silent as the king and the duke describe their new scheme to act “deef and dumb.”

Though Huck is silent, his thoughts betray his morality as he realizes the duke and the king’s actions make him “ashamed of the human race.”

Does Huck ultimately represent a blank slate, where the abandonment of intrinsic racism can give way to a wider understanding of the world, or, in typical satire, is Huck simply a victim of several points of view coming at him at various moments? In other words, is Huck Finn a purely satirical, archetypal character, or do his emotions represent a shift towards a new understanding? Is Huck Finn an anti-hero, or merely a pawn used to express a larger point about ignorance?

[F] Ms. Stokes: Chapters 23-25

For me, the centerpiece of these chapters is the deafening silence that surrounds Jim’s admission of guilt about the treatment of Elizabeth. Huck’s discovery of Jim’s private grief is yet another of the “pinches” that challenge his Southern indoctrination: “I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for theirn.” However, much to our dismay, Huck cannot satisfactorily incorporate this epiphany into his worldview, as evidenced by the immediate shift in focus to the ongoing antics of the Duke and the King in Chapter 24. A question arises here: on what authority does Huck feel entitled to stand in judgment of the type of father Jim is? We are keenly aware of Twain’s satire at this moment; having experienced nothing other than an abusive, drunken father for the majority of his childhood, the fact that Huck’s racism precludes his ability to recognize Jim’s grief as “natural” reveals how entrenched his socialization has been. Later, when Twain has the King and Duke echo Jim’s sorrow by deciding if, in their next con, they will play “deef and dumb,” we are doubly reminded of Huck’s silence (he doesn’t speak up on this decision) and how an awareness of Jim’s humanity is ephemeral at best, once it becomes clear that his chances for freedom continue to dwindle.

[H] Katherine: Chapters 20-22

In the chapters twenty to twenty-two, there were a couple of things I noticed. The first thing I found interesting was the incident in the woods where Huck, the dauphin, and duke come across a preacher giving a sermon to a large audience in Pokeville. The preacher calls out to all the people with a “broken spirit . . . a contrite heart” (p. 99) and that “the waters that cleanse is free”. He tries to convince the people to rid of their sin. The King comes up and pretends to be a pirate who has been inspired to “change” his ways, and the people eat it up. These people are extremely gullible it seems and this is not the first time we have seen such actions. Huck’s father, “pap”, does the same thing on page sixteen with Judge Thatcher. Is there a reason Twain has made these people so oblivious? My answer would be yes. It seems to me that this has to do with Huck’s development as a character. He sees the people in the south trying as hard as they can to believe the white man is great, and trying their hardest to see the black man as inferior. It seems to me that Huck sees Jim as more than a black man at times and as he tries to ignore this, he realizes he has to look at Jim because he is the kindest person he has met along this journey.

It seems that everyone we meet in this book is either a liar or a fake, and this only continues throughout these chapters. In chapters twenty-one and twenty-two we meet Boggs and Sherburn, two men who get into a feud and one is killed. Sherburn, the murderer, is lynched by the angry mob, but ends up giving one of the most truthful and admirable speeches so far in the book. This brings up the subject of hypocrisy. A lot of people in this book are hypocrites. Even Ms. Watson, a supposed figure for good and Christianity, was a hypocrite in owning slaves. I believe Mark Twain has used hypocrisy as a source to show the reader that no one is perfect, whites and blacks included.

Continuing the subject of liars and fakes, we must not forget about the Duke and Dauphin, the biggest con men of all. These two men stir up a lot of questions in my mind. I wonder why Twain has made the book full of lies and agendas. Even Huck must lie often, and he covers up the fact that he knows the men are frauds to Jim. It seems to me that Twain is poking fun at the fact that white citizens try to trust and believe in each other and gang up against the blacks, but the ironic part is that they are all lying to themselves and each other. Even the white narrator, our “hero”, is untrustworthy. It seems to me that the blacks are equal to the white men if not better and more honorary.

[F] Brandi: Chapters 20-22

Chapter 20 starts off with the introduction of the Duke and the King- and the first thing that caught my eye was something the Duke when giving up his comfort because the King outranked him. He said, “‘Tis my fate to always be ground into the mire under the iron heel of oppression. Misfortune has broken my once haughty spirit; I yield, I submit; ‘tis my fate. I am alone in the world- let me suffer; I can bear it.” Later we come to see how much more intelligent and clever the Duke is, how much more educated he is. This struck me as so interesting because one would think the smarter of the two would be the King, and the lesser would be the Duke- but it was reversed. I found it also comparable to Huck and Jim’s situation in that Jim is still really under the control of Huck, not really being a freedman after running away, though Jim is older and more compassionate. Is it Jim’s fate to be under oppression too (though I question whether the Duke is actually oppressed)?

In Chapter 21 we begin to see how well educated the Duke is, as he refers to works of William Shakespeare, and how remarkable he would seem to people of the South- being uneducated and unworldly. But I wondered why Twain would make the Duke so smart, and yet when he recites what is supposed to Hamlet’s soliloquy- the whole thing is just a mess of bits and pieces from a bunch of different plays. If the Duke is so intelligent and learned, and clearly has the potential to do more with his life, why does Twain make him a bum and a con man? And why is it important that Huck meets the Duke, who is like this? What do the Duke and the King do to/for Huck that Twain would find essential for them to be a part of his voyage?

In these two chapters, Huck knows that the Duke and King are frauds- and Jim even recognizes it too, and shows his concern for their presence. They have the potential and ability to mess up the whole plan. So why would Twain put them in the story at this point, when the stakes are so high, and it puts Jim’s freedom and life on the line? What about Huck’s morals, are they unaffected by the Duke and King’s antics? Will Huck reach a point where his conscience will start to conflict him- about Jim and his threatened freedom? About the poor people that have put some trust in Huck and he just lied to them? About all the people the Duke and the King conned?

Chapter 22 is focused around the murder of Boggs by Colonel Sherburn, and the Colonel’s speech after words to the entire town. And undoubtedly, the most important part of the whole fiasco was the Colonel’s speech to the whole town- speaking of cowardice, self courage, and what a real man is. He says that a “real man” of the South would lead an angry mob to lynch a man the right way, with masks on in the dead of night. He claims that the leader of the mob, Buck Harkeness isn’t a whole man, and the mob that followed him did it so not to look like cowards- and otherwise, no one would have come to Sherman. And that the South isn’t any braver that any other people because they aren’t brave enough to purvey justice with courage, but gives the responsibility to a “real man” to lead others to do it. What I wonder is if this speech changed Huck, and is image of what a “real man” is, and maybe impact his conscience and in what way?

[H] Sean: Chapters 17-19

Chapters 17 through 19 represent a departure from focusing on Huck and Jim’s relationship and put more of a emphasis on Huck’s solo adventures. As the raft was unable to reach Cairo, the story becomes less about Jim’s aspiration of escaping bondage and more about the aspirations of Huck (namely to have adventures and be like Tom Sawyer). Huck’s brief stay with the Grangerfords, while funny, clearly shows Twain’s opinion of the “American Aristocracy.” In the name Huck provides for himself in his phony back-story (George Jackson) presents a hidden dichotomy. In the name George (as in king George III) we have an aristocratic tyrant who attempts to keep the American people subjugated. In the name Jackson (as in Andrew Jackson) we have the first an American war hero an the first “people’s president’ the first president to abandon the aristocratic heirs of colonial America and focus on ideas of popular sovereignty and democracy. How these to entirely opposite ideologies can appear in one name is symbolic of the contradictions twain is attempting to expose in American (and especially Southern) society. The Grangerfords are a family of contradictions: they bring guns to church during a sermon about brotherly love, they treat Huck (a complete stranger) with kindness yet still have over 100 slaves and in order to make their lives meaningful they engage in an aristocratic feud with the Shepardson’s while still trying to pass off as the all American family (Washington paintings, Henry Clay speeches, red and blue eagle table clothe, etc,)

The description of Colonel Grangerford on page 79 continues the slew of contradictions. The Colonel’s description closely parallels that of Huck’s Father which is ironic because Huck’s father got very angry at him for “putting on airs” which is exactly what the colonel is doing. The only difference is that the Colonel is “well born” and Huck’s Father sleeps with pigs.

Other people who put on aristocratic airs are the Duke and the Dauphin. They use their story of royalty in order to gain a position of power on the raft. Their made up back stories of royalty vary greatly of Huck’s made up stories of hardship. This shows Huck as a pragmatist who will only lie to save his life, not take advantage of people.

[F] Eliza: Chapters 17-19

Discussion Questions:

1. What is the significance, and before we read on, what do the color discriptions on pages 14 vs. 73 tell us about the charaters? What is the color spectrum of the book?
2. Pg. 83-Read around. Why does the family bring guns to Church? Why does Twain make the Grangerfords so hypocritical? Is this a satrical element of the book?
3. Why did Twain use a proper, pious and rich family to house huck? This is hypocritical. (Satire)
4. Why is Huck so curious and critical of the feud?
5. Pg. 85-86. Why doesn't Huck want to talk about this?
6. Pg. 87. Read around. Why does Huck feel so uncomfortable with death in this scene when he seems to be facinated with it in others?
7. Pg. 90-read around. What is significant about them being naked?
8. In his adventures, why does Huck only stay with royalty.
9. Comapare the Duke's lies to Huck's.

[H] Gemma: Chapters 14-16

In chapters 14 through 16, racism is a very significant theme. Although it is a theme that is distinct throughout the novel, I feel that it is really brought to the surface in these three chapters. Beginning in chapter fourteen when Huck discusses that Jim “had an uncommon level head, for a nigger” because of the fact that he didn’t want to continue on any more risky “adventures” for fear of anything bad happening to them. My question is: do you think that by Huck saying that Jim is smart “for a nigger” he is complimenting him, or insulting him?

Something else that was noticeable in chapter fourteen was Jim’s maturity level, or the way Huck projects Jim in his narration. For instance: “I read considerable to Jim about kings, and dukes and earls, and such…Jims eyes bugged out, and he was interested.” Do you think that the way that Jim is reacting to stories makes Jim appear more like a curious child than Huck should be acting?

Huck’s story telling generated some quarrelling between Huck and Jim. When Huck and Jim quarrel do you think it has to do with race differences, or because they are getting tired of being around each other, or do you feel there is another reason why they are bickering? On page 58 we see the beginning of their quarrel which I interpreted developed into who was more knowledgeable than the other, and although it would seem that Huck is more knowledgeable than Jim does it seem as though towards the end of the argument on page 60 the argument is leaning towards the side of Jim? Is this apparent stupidity all an act put on by Jim? If so why do you think it is an act? Does this argument regarding language have a deeper connection to Huck and Jim’s different races or do you think that it’s just a difference in opinion?

In chapter 15 Huck tries to confuse Jim and convince him that he was dreaming on page 63 when Jim questions Huck about where he had disappeared to; Huck replies: “gone away? Why, what in the nation do you mean? I hain’t been gone anywheres. Where would I go to?” Why would Huck do this to Jim, and then at the end of the chapter admit the truth to Jim after “warming up to a nigger.” Do you think that this lie will do anything to their relationship, and why after all of that effort would Huck revoke his lie out of pity?

In chapter 16 Huck struggles with an issue that he has with himself concerning his conscience and why he took Jim with him when he ran away. Has Huck had issues with his conscience before? Is this a reoccurring theme that we have seen or will see more in the following readings or is this just a glitch in his conscience? When Huck is confronted by officers why does he decide to side with Jim? Is this for the good of Jim or the good of Huck as well? Might that influence his decision? Why does Huck keep struggling with his conscience throughout this chapter? Does this say anything about Jim and Huck’s relationship and their individual motives?

[F] Ezra: Chapters 14-16

Chapters 14-16 are the first chapters in which we finally get a sense of Jim’s character, including his intelligence, his relationship with Huck, his family, etc. The three chapters play off each other more then any other chapters before, and foreshadow what is to come. In chapter 14 we get a better sense of Jim’s intelligence when he has a verbal argument with Huck about King Solomon. Jim refuses to believe that King Solomon was a wise man because he wanted to cut a baby in half and does not realize the meaning of it. Huck never tells Jim what the real meaning of the story is, but only says that he is wrong and implies that he feels Jim is stupid.

Huck lets the argument go because he knows he can’t get anywhere with it but then the two talk about the French. Huck tries to simplify for Jim the reason why the French do not speak English. The conversation makes Jim sound almost like a child, or maybe even a slave. At the end of the chapter Huck ends the argument by saying, “I see it warn’t no use wasting words-you can’t learn a nigger to argue.” When I read this it seemed to me that Huck felt that he was better then Jim almost like a master and a slave. To me this section posed the question of whether Huck saw Jim as an equal and maybe even a father figure, or if he was just a slave.

In chapter 15 Huck accidentally lets go of the raft while trying to tie it up and it floats away with all of the belongings and Jim. It seemed odd to me though, because when this happened Twain mentions nothing about Jim trying to paddle to Huck, or trying to slow himself down. Twain does not even mention Jim till Huck makes noises to try to locate him. It is only then that Twain talks about Jim. Another interesting thing was that Twain puts a lot of seemingly unnecessary detail in this chapter about how hard it is for Huck to locate Jim, why would he put so much detail into something that seems so unnecessary?

It is in this chapter that the relationship between Huck and Jim changes. After Huck plays the joke on Jim he says it took him 15 minutes to get up the courage to say sorry to a “nigger.” It is obvious that he feels more important then Jim and thinks that Jim is even less human then him.

It is in chapter 16 that Huck makes it obvious that he feels that Jim and he are not friends but slave and master. Huck feels bad not for Jim for being a slave, but feels bad for himself and for the Misses for letting a slave go free. It is also interesting because in this chapter we see that this relationship changes a little, and you almost begin to think that Huck actually does have a heart. He is unintentionally guilt tripped by Jim to make him feel bad, and in turn become friends again.

[H] Ali: Chapters 11-13

The good versus evil conflict is shown through the influence of Pap over Huck is seen throughout chapters 11-13 as Huck recounts Pap’s lessons on “borrowing.” The lesson to “take a chicken when you get a chance, because if you don’t want him yourself you can easy find somebody that does, and a good deed ain’t ever forgot” (page 49) and “it warn’t no harm to borrow things, if you was meaning to pay then back, sometimes” (page 49). Since Huck was raised with a low morale, he has trouble differentiating between right and wrong. Huck depends on other people to guide him, which is why when he runs away, he either comes back or stays with someone else. Every time Huck switches who he lives with, the rules change and put him in a point of confusion. Huck does not choose his situations and ideas, but they are chosen for him which leaves him without any decision for himself. Even when he runs away, he is dependent on Jim to make the decisions for him because he has never made any himself.

Another reoccurring theme in the novel is Jim’s participation in his and Huck’s “friendship.” At first glance, it looks as though it is double sided, but “because we read Benito Cereno” (Ms. Stokes) Jim’s silence and reluctance to share with Huck shows the perhaps usage of Huck for Jim’s gain. In chapters 11-13 what leads us to question Jim’s behavior is his loss of strength during the time Huck believes they are in great danger as well as falling asleep and losing the raft. Both are damaging to Huck and lead to Huck’s further dependence on Jim. In the past chapters, Jim uses his knowledge of superstition to get money off of the other slaves, and now the question is “what is he trying to get out of Huck by damaging them?”

Finally, there is Huck’s misconception of helping the “wrong.” After helping the gang of murderers, Huck thinks to himself “I wished the widow knowed about it. I judged she would be proud of me for helping these rapscallions, because rapscallions and dead beats is the kind the widow and good people takes most interest in” (page 56). This shows the naïve side of Huck as well as his trouble differentiating right from wrong.

[F] Andre: Chapters 11-13

Mark Twain uses chapters 11 to 13 to, first of all, move the plot forward. The crucial turning is when Huck and Jim leave Jackson Island and embark on their marvelous adventure down the Mississippi. Up until this point, Huck could have returned home. He would have to admit he faked his death but presumably, though, everyone in the town would understand why he had to get away from Pap. By setting course down the river, he makes a definitive move that cannot easily be reversed.

In these three chapters, we get additional evidence proving Huck’s intelligence and also of his remarkable creativity. Huck’s plan to dress as a girl was brilliant in some ways, but flawed in others. It is hard to imagine a teenage boy instantly transforming himself into a believable girl. It is not surprising, therefore, that Mrs. Loftus is able to see through his disguise. Giving credit to Huck, though, when he is caught, he instantly makes up a new and more believable tale. (page 45) Through his cleverness, he learns important information about Jim’s situation – unless they leave the island instantly, Jim runs the risk of being captured by Mr. Loftus and his friends. Upon returning to the island Huck demonstrates another aspect of his quick thinking. Knowing Loftus is about to come to island to capture Jim and collect 800 dollars, Huck builds a fire at his old campsite. Being smart about human nature, he figures that the men will immediately go to the campfire and wait there, giving Huck and Jim a chance to make a clean getaway.

It almost seems that Huck is getting cleverer and cleverer as the trip continues. His plan to capture the criminals on the wrecked steamboat, the Walter Scott would have been perfect except that the disastrous disappearance of the raft made the plan impossible. True to form, Huck came up with an alternative plan. This one worked. A little later when Huck tries to get the watchman of the ferryboat to rescue the stranded men, he again invents an ingenious cover story. What’s more, Huck uses information that the watchman gives him to trick the watchman into action.

We can decisively say now that Huck is boy with a remarkable wit, but, so far, not much light has been shed on the intelligence or creativity of Jim. We know ways in which he seems ignorant: his way of talking and his superstitious beliefs. We know that he is loyal and caring in his treatment of Huck. He almost seems fatherly. Up until they leave the island, Huck is the mastermind and survivalist. Now we discover that Jim has his own fair share of survival techniques. The wigwam he builds on the raft is a terrific job of engineering, providing shelter and comfort. In upcoming chapters, it will be interesting to look for other examples of Jim’s creativity.

The question of Huck’s morality comes up several times in these chapters. He lies to Mrs. Loftus and the watchman. But we are used to his lying by now. For the first time, though, we see him stealing, although he calls it borrowing. He knows that this is moral from Pap’s point of view and immoral from the Widow’s. Huck decides to accept the moral system that is most convenient for the moment. He does something different for the stranded men, though. Huck goes out of his way to try and help them. He does not do this because it is the moral thing to do, but because he can all-too-easily imagine himself in such a circumstance. “I says to myself, there ain’t no telling but I might come to be a murderer myself, yet, and then how would I like it?” (page 54)

One final aspect of this chapter is how Huck’s relationship with Tom Sawyer has dramatically changed. It is interesting to see how Tom is in the story even though he isn’t on the adventure. Huck uses Tom as an inspiration and at times tries to compete with him. The fact is, without realizing it, Huck is outdoing Tom. Tom’s adventures are fantasies of being a wild bandit, and nothing will come of them. Huck, on the other hand, is living adventures Tom can only dream about.

[H] Chyna: Chapters 07-10

Huck and Jim’s meeting on the island begins the main story arc of the novel. Huck and Jim, both estranged from society in underlying ways, find themselves sharing a pastoral, dreamlike setting: a safe, peaceful island where food is of an abundance. From this point in the novel forward, their fates are connected. I believe that Jim has had no more say in his own fate as an adult than Huck has had as a child. Freed from the insincerity and prejudice of society, they find themselves in what seems to be a paradise filled with the essences of life at that time; smoking pipes, watching the beautiful river as it flows forever, and feasting on catfish and berries. There are two episodes in these chapters, however, that remind Huck and Jim of the alarming threat from outside and give us the sense that this fantasy on the island is unlikely to last. The first involves the house that floats down the river past the island. The man inside the house has clearly been murdered, and the house bears other marks of human vices: playing cards, whiskey bottles, and obscene graffiti. Although Huck and Jim gather some useful goods from the house, it reminds them that Jackson’s Island is not completely isolated from the outside world. The second incident involves Jim’s rattlesnake bite, a direct result of a dim-witted prank Huck tries to play on Jim. Once again we notice that Huck and Jim are reminded that no vicinity is safe for them at this point in the book. We can also draw a connection between the Garden of Eden and the location of Huck and Jim at this point. First, how was the scenery described to us? We were told that Huck and Jim felt that they were in paradise, smoking pipes and having a good old time; this would be the Garden of Eden. But as we all know that in the Garden there lurked a snake and Adam was bitten because he was unwise.

[H] Lizzie: Chapters 07-10

There are a lot of interesting plot points and trends which come up reoccuringly in chapters 7-10, many of which will be applicable (or, at least, likely applicable) to the entire book. The relationship between Huck and Jim, for example---is there any difference between the way in which they relate to one another when in civilized society and the way they relate to one another once alone in the wild? When there is no pressure put on them by old generations of white southerners; when Huck and Jim no longer have roles in society to fufill as slave and master, what sort of relationship crops up? Already they seem to be much more friendly with one another..."I bet I were glad to see him... I was ever so glad to see Jim." (page 31). The conversation flows between the two of them almost as if, back home, they would have been considered equals. And does Huck consider both himself and Jim to be of the same status, now? The distinct contrast between Huck and Jim's vernacular is accentuated by Twain---he makes most of their conversations continuous, with very little narration separating a visual manifestation of each character's grammar. Jim's mispronounciations and the spelling in which his dialect is shown look very lowly and common when put next to Huck's more refined speech (although Huck is not too grammatically correct to begin with). This is yet another way Twain manipulates the reader into thinking that Huck is the person in control, here...but we shouldn't be fooled. Though this isn't a direct insinuation that Jim is in control of the younger boy, it is still a wise idea to note the way that Jim, though having acted shocked when he had realized that Huck has meat and can catch fish, is the one who profits from Huck's fishing hooks and line. Though Jim allows Huck to "discover" that all he has been eating are strawberries for the past couple of days, one must remain aware of the fact that it is now possible that Jim is profiting off of Huck in manners that are all to subtle for the younger boy to pick up on.

Another theme to follow throughout the book is the concept of materialism. Huck is constantly referring to objects in terms of their monetary value; even when he prays it's only for fishing lines. Does this tendency, perhaps, arise from past experiences with his father, who values only the immediate, the tangible, what he can get as soon as he can get it? Or are these his own morals cropping up—the essential question being, is Huck himself a materialistic person? After all, greed is one of the seven deadly sins, and Huck doesn't seem to be particularly interested in the idea of religion. This leads into the question: from whence DO Huck's morals come from, if not a belief in some higher power? The boy has been living out in the wild for much of his youth and has now been taken out of society for a second time. When left out to fend on his own what morals might he develop, if any at all? He doesn't see it as wrong to cheat, or steal, or lie...so what does he consider to constitute "wrong"? Does he, perhaps, consider slavery wrong? We haven't spent a long enough time in the presence of both characters to know Huck's opinions for certain. Does Huck believe in his father? Does he believe in Jim's superstitions? Huck appears, in Chapter Eight, to be leaning more towards the latter, as superstition tends to have a more immediate effect on the tangible world than does religion. It simply appears to make more sense to him than does praying or hoping for some sort of heavenly strength, or reward. Then again, looking at the play as one large satire, the idea that shaking a tablecloth out after sundown causing you bad luck seems sort of ridiculous. Yet Huck believes it. And are Huck's morals at all influenced by his father, even though he says he'll do anything to spite him?

Something else to consider in the context of the storyline is Huck's sense of self-esteem. Though he's been beaten for most of his life his narration has a sort of spirit, hinting at an inner strength which he knows nothing about as of yet. He's not depressed, or sullen, but has instead learned simply to state the facts, as objectively as he knows how to do. He (obviously) doesn't count himself as one of the "quality". As was mentioned once during a class discussion, abused children usually think that it is through some fault of theirs that they have been beaten, etc. Huck consistantly calls himself an idiot, a dunce, somebody not worthy of a prayer working for...sometimes because he's repeating what others have told him, and sometimes of his own reasoning and volition. It's simply something which is interesting to note. My final concept to note/follow throughout the remainder of the book is Huck's fufillment of the "destiny" predicted for him by the hairball; remember Jim told him to stay away from water. Yet the entirety of the book takes place on a raft.... It's simply something interesting to keep in the back of your mind while reading this novel.

[F] Aaron: Chapters 07-10

Chapters seven through ten answer some questions raised in past journal entries and discussions while also creating many new ones. First, the chapters answered Laura and Cara’s questions about Huck’s intelligence. Laura had asked if Huck was “bright but simply ignorant.” Based on Huck’s elaborate plan to fake his own death and his very successful execution of the plan we learn that Huck is unquestionably bright. Huck had tricked Pap, Judge Thatcher, Becky Thatcher, Jo Harper, Aunt Polly, his entire community and even Tom Sawyer in believing he was dead. A “stupid” person would not have been able to fake his or her death so well. The definition of ignorance is having little knowledge, education, or experience. While Huck may be considered ignorant when it comes to worldly knowledge such as A-rabs trading elephants on the Mississippi, Huck is certainly not ignorant when it comes to knowledge of survival and of the area. As seen in chapter eight, Huck new everything that his town would do to search for his body. Huck knew to search for the bread filled with quicksilver as well as how to tell when the river was rising and how much logs sold for. Therefore, Huck was very bright and not ignorant when it came to his surroundings.

A question the chapter raises is Huck’s view toward lying. In discussing previous chapters the class came to the conclusion that Huck did not lie. This conclusion was biased on Huck’s conversation with Judge Thatcher on page thirteen and even the first few lines of the story on page one. In chapter seven, however, Huck tells two lies. The first was on page 23 when Huck told his father he was holding the gun to shoot someone who was at the door the night before. Huck “told” a second more serious lie by faking his death. On page 41, Huck prepares to be a girl and is therefore lying about his gender. The question Huck’s sudden increase in lying raises is when does Huck find it ok to lie? While some conclusions can be made, it is worth waiting to read more chapters to see if a pattern in Huck’s lying can be observed.

Chapter eight raises a question about Huck’s loneliness. On page three we learn that Huck is very lonesome in Miss Waton’s house. “I felt so lonesome I most whished I was dead,” Huck said, “I got so down hearted and scared, I did wish I had some company.” On page 18, when Huck was locked in Pap’s Cabin for three days, Huck said, “It was dreadful lonesome.” Considering the references to being lonely, it was surprising that Huck would choose to run away and fake his death therefore making him as lonely as he possibly could be without even Tom Sawyer as a friend. The night Huck arrived on Jackson Island he began to feel lonely. “By-and-by it got sort of lonesome and so I went and set on the bank and listened to the currents washing along,” Huck said on page 29. The question Huck’s loneliness creates is, why would Huck run away and fake his death if he knew he would be so lonely? Did his abusive captivity override any feelings of loneliness that would have prevented him from escaping? What does Huck’s willingness to be lonesome demonstrate about the life he had left behind? Did Huck view loneliness like lying, that some kind of loneliness was better than others?

To try and answer a few of those questions, the abuse that Huck experienced with his father and the captivity Huck experienced with Miss Watson was a lot worse than the loneliness that Huck would be facing. Huck also had control over his loneliness when he was by himself. When he was with his father he could not escape the cabin. When he was by himself and became lonely he would have nature to sustain him as page 29 demonstrates.

Pages 32 and 36 are very important in understanding the social hierarchy of the south. On page 32 after Huck swore he would not tell anyone about Jim immediately said, “People would call me a low down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum- but that don’t make no difference.” On page 36 Jim says, “Yes-en I’s rich now, come to look at it. I owns myself, en I’s worth eight hund’d dollars.” This exchange demonstrates how slavery has corrupted southern society. Huck was so happy to see Jim yet was shocked that he would become and abolitionist and be despised. Jim was so corrupted by slavery that even though he had run away he still saw himself as eight hundred dollars and as property. Reading that line, Jim sounds ridiculous yet it was slavery that forced such ideas into his head. It will be interesting to see how references to slavery change as they move down the river and are free for longer and longer.

[H] Spencer: Chapters 04-06

The idea of slavery that we talked about in chapters 1-3 is seen again in the flowing chapters. The lies that are brought upon Huck just bring set backs to the progress he was starting to make. Heaven vs. Hell is foreshowing the future. Jim brings up the idea that Huck’s father has two angels, one which is black and white, and one which is bad and one good. For now Huck is safe but we do not know which angle will prevail by the end of the novel. Pap calls Huck the “Angel of death” which is contradictory statement in itself and only adds on to Huck’s uncertainty.

Huck is at a point of confusion in the novel. He is finally starting to go to school which is the right thing to do but it is not ok by the views of his father. Pap is truly a burden on Huck because finally Huck is starting to come around but can not move any further in the right direction because of his father’s jealously. Pap does not love Huck, he abuses him, and makes numerous references to the money Huck has. Pap did not come back to Huck to be his father, he came back to retrieve the money. “I heard about it away down the river, too. That’s why I come you git me that money tomorrow- I want it.” (pg. 15) The social values that are mirrored in the court’s decisions about Hucks’s welfare are slaves who run away from their masters and are returned. Huck is even treated as a slave because he is forced back to his owner, or his dad, after being abused and mistreated. Pap wants one thing and that is money and he will go to any measure to get this.

Pap’s attack on the township in chapter six is ironic because the mixed-race man who visits the town is a problem for Pap because he is actually better then he is. Pap is the white man but he is also the white trash who can not read, racist, and abusive. The mixed-race man is smart and a professor who is well respected. This idea leads back to our discussion of is the book racist or is this a book with racism in it. Is Mark Twain racist or is he actually showing that the whiteness of Pap is the evil and the mixed-race man is the good. The idea of what is actually good and what is actually bad is what is confusing the characters in the book.

[F] Ravi: Chapters 04-06

This may jump back and forth because the ideas are connected to each other.

In these chapters, we are now introduced to Pap, Huck’s father, and we can see why Huck doesn’t like this. It is quite interesting how the first thing Huck does is sell of his fortune before meeting his father, who he knows has returned. Clearly, Huck fears something about his father having this money. Also, it shows how clever Huck is, as well has his detachment from materialistic things (at least this is implied by this action).

The description of Huck’s father is a bit scary: “He was most fifty, and he looked it. His hair was long and tangled and greasy, and hung down, and you could see his eyes shining through like he was behind vines. It was all black, no gray; so was his long, mixed-up whiskers. There warn’t no color in his face, where his face showed; it was white; not like another man’s white, but a white to make a body sick, a white to make a body’s flesh crawl – a tree-toad white, a fish-bell white.” Obviously, Huck feels uncomfortable around his dad. From the start, Pap is introduced in this negative light. Coupling this negative introduction with the fact that Pap is illiterate, poor, and racist, when Pap later gives his “discourses” on government and slavery, how is the reader supposed to take his comments? Everything that he says should be taken in the mind of satire, and I think that Twain is implying the opposite of what Pap says.

I view Huck’s captivity in the cabin as a parallel to slavery, where Pap is a cruel master who beats and threatens Huck. It is interesting to apply the actions in this cabin to the institution of slavery. By doing so, you set up Huck as a slave to his father, and since the new judge had granted Pap custody of Huck, Huck is bound to Pap, even though Pap’s influence is hurting him. Pap causes Huck to leave school and to resume cursing, as well as instructing Huck to lead a lazy lifestyle. Another connection to slavery: Pap forces Huck under his custody in order to get his money. If you compare this to slavery, many of the masters did cruel things to their slaves simply to make a profit at the end of the day. I believe that this is another of Twain’s statements against slavery.

Guiding Questions:

1. What is the feel that you get of how Huck’s father treated him?
2. How is he treating him now? How is he described now?
3. Why do you think Huck rids himself of the money before he meets his father? Does this suggest a level of maturity and understanding of Huck?
4. Clearly Huck defies his father by attending school? Why does he continue school (before the move to the cabin)?
5. What do you make of the sentence on page 18 “…it warn’t long after that till I was used to being where I was, and liked it, all but the cowhide part”?
6. Why does Huck enjoy his father’s company after Huck clearly disapproves of some of it?
7. It seems as though Huck enjoys when his father is there to provide company, but is immediately discouraged by the loneliness. What do you think about this and how this shows Huck’s personality?
8. We know that Jim and Huck will take a trip together. Know that, what do you think Pap’s anti-freedom of slaves has to do with it?
9. I think that with Huck Finn as a satire, this “lecture” is actually criticizing others who agree with keeping slaves in bondage. By setting up Pap with all these negative traits and then to have him speak like this about slavery would lead you to ask yourself, “Who would listen to a stupid man like that?” Also, after the hallucination scene, Twain sets up Pap as a mentally insane person.
10. Let’s talk about the white-black setup. What is with the black man in the white clothes? What about how a free black man is smarter than a white man (black man and Pap) – Spencer’s response? What about the two angels that Jim talks about and how the black angel comes and disrupts the white angel? Why set up this competitive color battle?
11. What type of societal values are mirrored in the court’s decision about Huck’s welfare? Why is this significant to our understanding of Huck’s world at this point in the novel? [Stokes]
12. What is ironic about Pap’s anti-government diatribe in Chapter Six? [Stokes]
13. Doesn’t Huck’s captivity in the cabin seem a lot like bondage? Who else are in bondage? If we set up this parallel, what does that reveal in what Twain is trying to say?

[H] Evan: Chapters 01-03

From the first chapter of the novel there is a theme that emerges, whether to do the right or wrong thing. Tom Sawyer symbolizes the wrong path, or as the Widow Aunt Polly says, the path to hell. The Widow herself symbolizes a path to self-righteousness and more importantly, a sure way to heaven. Huck Finn, seems to be caught between the two worlds, one “good” and one “bad”, however he makes it clear that wants nothing to do with the good one. While the literal theme of heaven versus hell might not continue in the novel, the contrast and struggle of right and wrong choices most likely will. Thus, it will serve as an interesting thing to track throughout the novel.

The slave Jim, who later joins with Huck Finn on a long journey, is described in a similar way as Huck, foreshadowing their future friendship. After Tom plays a trick on Jim, Jim begins to think that witches came to him. He formulates a fictional story about his necklace that was said to be a charm that the devil gave him allowing him to cure people and summon witches. Everyone believes the story and Jim has a wonderful time as slaves line up to see the charm. Then later Huck Finn joins a band of robbers with Tom Sawyer. They sign their name in blood and promise kill people and their families who had done anything to someone in the band of robbers and if someone told the secrets of the band, their throats would be cut, and they would be burnt. These two fantasies, one of a group of robbers living off their steals, and another about the power to heal and summon witches, are two similar childish beliefs. In this way Jim and Huck are connected, as people who fantasize about an alternative reality, one away from slavery, and one away from a strict religious mother. Also, when talking to the Widow, Huck said, “I wished I was there,” in reference to hell. Mirroring this, Jim has a “relationship” with the devil in which he was given a necklace. The author sets up their similarities most likely to foreshadow their future friendship, and sets up the idea of right and wrong, to relate to the obstacles either might face in the novel.

[H] Henry: Chapters 01-03

Unlike The Scarlet Letter or Benito Cereno, the narrator in Adventures of Huckleberry Fin is in fact the main character, Huck. In the first three chapters, Huck leads us through his adventures with Tom Sawyer, Jim, and the boys in Tom’s “gang.” However, how much can Huck be trusted as a narrator. He starts the novel by telling us about the writer of the popular book Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain (writer of Huck Finn also), saying, “There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth. That is nothing. I never seen anybody but lied, one time or another...” Right off the bat, Huck Finn practically admitting that he will have the tendency to stretch the truth. Furthermore, how safe can the reader feel when the narrator portrays himself as a mischievous child with aspirations to be a crook. And there are scenes in the first three chapters where the reader does think twice about what Huck is claiming to be the truth. For example, when Tom is starting the gang, “Everybody that wants to join has got to take an oath, and write his name is blood… And if anybody that belonged to the band told the secrets, he must have his throat cut, and then have his carcass burned up and the ashes scattered all around…” Tom is setting us up for being an extremely unreliable narrator.

Furthermore, Huck seems to be extremely naïve in his first encounter with Jim. Huck and Tom are described as being inches away from Jim and yet they still think that Jim is oblivious to their presence. It is in fact Huck and Tom that are being oblivious to Jim’s intelligence. He uses the boys and lets them play tricks on him. This enables him to fabricate the stories he tells about witchcraft and in the end enables him to get closer to the boys who are, after all, in a position of power over him.