Comprehension Questions for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Chapter 1

  1. What point of view is the story written in?
  2. How did Huck become wealthy and how much money does he have?
  3. Is Huck superstitious? Explain.
  4. Who does Huck live with?

Chapter 2

  1. Who is Jim?
  2. What trick does Tom play on Jim? What does this say about Tom?
  3. What story does Jim tell to explain Tom’s trick?
  4. What is “Tom Sawyer’s Gang”?

Chapter 3

  1. How does Huck feel about prayer?
  2. What kind of father was Pap Finn?
  3. How effective is Tom Sawyer’s Gang?

Chapter 4

  1. How does Huck know he will have a bad day?
  2. What does Huck do with his property? Why?
  3. Who does Huck go to in order to ask about his future?
  4. What is Huck’s fortune and who foretells it?
  5. Who is sitting in Huck’s room when he gets home?

Chapter 5

  1. What does Pap look like?
  2. Why is Pap upset with Huck?
  3. What does Pap want from Huck? Can Huck give it to him?
  4. What is the new judge’s decision about Huck?
  5. Is Pap a reformed man?

Chapter 6

  1. Where does Pap take Huck?
  2. Does Huck like living with Pap? Why or why not?
  3. Does Huck want to be civilized?
  4. What does Pap complain about?
  5. What happens after Pap gets drunk?

Chapter 7

  1. What does Huck find?
  2. How does Huck escape?
  3. Where does Huck go?

Chapter 8

  1. Who else is on the island? Why?
  2. What other superstitions are we introduced to?

Chapter 9

  1. Where do Huck and Jim find shelter?
  2. What are some of the things they find that are useful?

Chapter 10

  1. What does Huck do that brings bad luck? What happens?
  2. What does Huck decide to do when he gets bored?
  3. What does Huck where?
  4. Who does Huck see?

Chapter 11

  1. What information does the woman provide?
  2. Who is suspected of “killing” Huck?
  3. Does Huck fool the woman?
  4. What advice does the woman give?

Chapter 12

  1. What do Jim and Huck do to modify the raft?
  2. What do they see on the river? How do Huck and Jim’s opinions differ?
  3. What does Huck witness?
  4. What happens to the raft?

Chapter 13

  1. How do Huck and Jim get off the steamboat?
  2. What do Huck and Jim find?
  3. What story does Huck tell the watchman? Why?
  4. What happens to the crashed steamboat? How does Huck feel about this?

Chapter 14

  1. Jim and Huck argue about King Solomon. Who is King Solomon? What are Jim and Huck’s differing opinions?
  2. Jim and Huck also argue about languages. What is each of their positions on language?

Chapter 15

  1. What is the weather like? Why is this problematic?
  2. What lie does Huck tell Jim?
  3. What happens after Jim realizes that Huck lied to him?

Chapter 16

  1. As Huck and Jim get closer to Cairo, Huck starts to think. What is his problem?
  2. What does Jim say he will do when he is free?
  3. Why won’t the two men help Huck?
  4. What is the conflict of Huck’s conscience?
  5. What happens to the raft?

Chapter 17

  1. Who does Huck stay with?
  2. Who do they dislike?
  3. Who is Buck?
  4. Who is Emmeline Grangerford? What did she do that Huck finds interesting?

Chapter 18

  1. What is Col. Grangerford like?
  2. How would you describe the Grangerfords?
  3. What is a feud?
  4. What does Miss Sophia ask Huck to do for her?
  5. What has Jim been doing while Huck lived with the Grangerfords?
  6. What happened to Miss Sophia? What happens to the Grangerfords because of this?

Chapter 19

  1. What is life like on the raft?
  2. Who do Jim and Huck meet? How and why?
  3. What are these men like?
  4. Does Huck believe them?

Chapter 20

  1. How does Huck explain Jim to the men?
  2. Where are the townspeople?
  3. What does the King do involving the townspeople? What is the result of this?
  4. What does the Duke do to protect Jim and allow daytime travel?

Chapter 21

  1. Why do Huck, the King, and the Duke go into town?
  2. Who is Boggs? Sherburn? What does Sherburn do to upset the townspeople?

Chapter 22

  1. What does Sherburn say to the mob? How do they react?
  2. What trick is played at the circus?
  3. What statement does the Duke put on the sign to draw a crowd to the show?

Chapter 23

  1. Is the statement successful in drawing a crowd?
  2. What is ironic about the outcome of the show?
  3. What happens on the third night of the show?
  4. What is Jim’s opinion of the King and Duke?
  5. What story does Jim tell about his daughter?

Chapter 24

  1. What is the Duke’s solution to leaving Jim tied up on the raft?
  2. Who are the King and Duke pretending to be? Why?

Chapter 25

  1. Are they successful in their deception of the townspeople?
  2. What is wrong with the sack of money? How do the King and Duke react and what is their solution to this problem?
  3. What do they decide to do with the money?
  4. Who does not believe them?
  5. What does Mary Jane do with the money?

Chapter 26

  1. Why does Huck begin to feel bad for deceiving the sisters?
  2. What does Huck decide to do?
  3. What is the King and Duke’s plan?

Chapter 27

  1. Where does the money end up?
  2. Is it discovered?
  3. What does Huck tell the King he saw? What is the result of this?

Chapter 28

  1. What out-of-character thing does Huck do?
  2. Why must Mary Jane leave?
  3. Who shows up during the auction?

Chapter 29

  1. How does the lawyer attempt to determine who the real brothers are? Does it work?
  2. How does the real brother try to expose the frauds? Is he successful?

Chapter 30

  1. Is Huck able to escape the King and Duke?
  2. What happens between the King and Duke?

Chapter 31

  1. How is business for the two scammers?
  2. What do Huck and Jim decide to do?
  3. What goes wrong with their plan?
  4. Huck has two choices. What are they and what does he decide to do?

Chapter 32

  1. Where does Huck go?
  2. Who does he pretend to be?

Chapter 33

  1. Who does Huck meet on the road?
  2. Who does Tom pretend to be?
  3. What happens to the King and Duke? How does Huck feel about this?

Chapter 34

  1. Where is Jim being held?
  2. What is Tom’s plan for freeing Jim?

Chapter 35

  1. What is “escaping properly”?
  2. What do you think about this?

Chapter 36

  1. Does Tom’s plan work?
  2. What adjustments are made to the plan?

Chapter 37

  1. How do Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas explain the missing items?
  2. What do Tom and Huck do to antagonize Aunt Sally?

Chapter 38

  1. What else does Jim need to properly escape?
  2. What do Tom and Huck steal?
  3. What dos Tom think will give Jim glory?
  4. How would you describe Tom’s personality?

Chapter 39

  1. What do tom and Huck collect to put in Jim’s shack?
  2. What does Tom write? Why?
  3. How do the boys’ actions affect the family?

Chapter 40

  1. What is the result of the letters?
  2. How do Huck, Tom, and Jim escape?
  3. What happens to Tom?

Chapter 41

  1. Who does Huck accidentally run into? What does he tell him?
  2. What is the scene at the house? How does Aunt Sally react to Huck?
  3. How does Huck feel about Aunt Sally?

Chapter 42

  1. Who shows up at the house?
  2. What does the doctor think of Jim?
  3. What surprise does Tom reveal?
  4. Who shows up to reveal the boys’ true identities?

Chapter 43

  1. What happens to Jim?
  2. What does Tom give Jim and why?
  3. What happened to Pap Finn?
  4. What will happen to Huck?