English 11
Miss Heidt
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Study Guide
Setting
The novel is set on the Mississippi River where Huck and Jim travel on a raft. It also occurs in several villages where Jim and Huck visit on their journey including Miss Watson's House, the Grangerford's, Huck's fathers house, and Aunt Sally's.
Background Information
Huck is friends with Tom Sawyer, a boy who is constantly seeking difficult solutions to easily solvable problems because he is a hopeless romantic. Huck lives with Miss Watson, who tries to civilize Huck's barbaric style of living and rescue the orphan child from his crude ways. Huck's mother died early in his childhood and his father is an abusive alcoholic who rarely sees his son unless he is in need of money. Huck seeks to run away from Miss Watson and his Father, and be able to live on his own and take care of himself.
Major Characters
Huck Finn- A young boy who seeks to run away from home. He is smart and efficient. Huck is the orphan of an absentee father and a deceased mother. He is uncivilized in manner and habit. He desires to flee his life, living on a raft, floating down the Mississippi River and doing as he pleases.
Jim- A slave on Miss Watson's Plantation who later escapes and becomes Huck's first true friend. He is searching for his family and freedom. He is very superstitious and religious.
Huck's father (Pap)- An abusive, drunk, old man who is using Huck for his money and advantages.
The Duke and The King- A devious duo who are corrupt and cause trouble. They meet up with Jim and Huck on the raft and scam cities out of money.
Tom Sawyer- A boy who is about Huck's age. He is an idealist and a hopeless romantic, constantly pretending and creating situations in his head.
Miss Watson- Huck’s foster mother who tried to civilize Huck. She is the owner of Jim.
Themes
Maturity-Huck is forced to take care of himself because he has no parents. Although he is a young boy, he faces many problems that adults struggle with, and is forced to deal with them maturely. Some of those problems include Jim's freedom, confessing to the Wilk's, etc.
Friendship-Huck never really had any true friend before Jim, but the time spent with him allowed the two to become very close.
Legality vs. Morality-Huck faces the question of whether he should obey the law and turn in Jim or if he should risk a bad reputation and keep his friend happy.
Love-Jim loves Huck and has been a true friend through many tough situations. Huck learns to love through his friendship with Jim, who is devoted and willing to do anything for Huck.
Racism-The novel is set in the South. Blacks are slaves with no legal rights and are faced with high degrees of discrimination. Their status is lower than that of a white person, and Huck grows up debating that reality. It is a barrier between himself and Jim, which they eventually realize and overcome.
Freedom -Literally, Jim seeks freedom from slavery. Figuratively, Huck seeks to be free, and not have to live in fear of his father, or being civilized.
Lessons, Morals, and Applications
Huck learns that although society has taught him to regard blacks as inferior, he should listen to his own opinion, even if it means sacrificing his reputation and being labeled. He realized this when he befriended Jim and went out of his way to secure Jim's freedom by risking his own safety and name.
Huck also learned that although people in his life may have hurt him, he is able to be loved and to love back. He learns this when his friendship with Jim evolves, and they become like family. Huck is able to love Jim back, and is willing to help him escape slavery if it will attain happiness.
Huck realizes that Tom's intricate plans for solving problems are sometimes, but are not usually the best solution. Huck is a more realistic character and understands that effort and efficiency are better than confusion and complication. He demonstrates this when Tom's plan to free Jim becomes too involved and eventually backfires. Huck's plan was more reasonable, but he used Tom's plan instead.
Study Guide Questions
Chapters 1-8
1. With whom does Huck live? Does he have any living relatives? If so, who?
2. What are three of the superstitions of this time period?
3. Why did Huck go back to the place where he was living?
4. Who is Jim? What views of religion are presented to Huck? Who presents these views?
5. Who is in the gang of robbers? Who does Huck offer up as a sacrifice if he violates the oath of the gang? What eventually happens to the gang?
6. What does Judge Thatcher hold for Huck? What does Huck want the judge to do with this item? Why?
7. What sort of man is Pap? What kind of relationship does Huck have with Pap? How does Pap feel about education?
8. Why does Pap kidnap Huck? Where does he take Huck? How does Huck get away?
9. Where does Huck go when he escapes? What is the significance of the ferryboat, the cannon, and the quicksilver?
10. Who does Huck encounter on the island? How did he know that someone was on the island? What is this person’s reaction to Huck? Why is this person there?
Chapters 9-11
1. Where did Huck and Jim go to live? Why was it fortunate that they went there?
2. What goes floating past them? When they investigate this item, name at least five things they found, including the four items they take with them.
3. What does Huck touch that Jim believes to be bad luck? What practical joke does Huck play on Jim? How does this joke backfire?
4. Why does Huck decide to go ashore? What information does he find out about himself and Jim?
5. One of the constants of the novel is Huck telling stories. What story does he tell when he goes ashore?
6. Huck has really changed his priorities since he met up with Jim. What does he say at the end of Chapter 11 that proves this?
7. List three examples of superstition that you encountered.
Chapters 12-16
1. How does Jim improve the raft after they escape the island?
2. When Jim and Huck enter the stranded steamboat, what do they find? When Huck returns to the raft to escape, what does he find? How do Huck and Jim escape?
3. Why does Huck believe that the Widow Douglas would be proud of him after the adventure on the steamboat?
4. When Jim and Huck are close to Cairo, they have a misadventure. What is the misadventure and what trick does Huck play on Jim? How does Jim react?
5. After playing this trick and then telling the truth, how does Huck feel? What does he do?
6. As Jim gets closer to his freedom, how does Huck feel? What does he decide to do when he goes ashore to see where they are? What changes his mind?
7. What story does Huck tell to save Jim? What does he receive from the two men?
8. What happens to the raft? Where does Huck end up? Who greets him on the shore?
Chapters 17-20
1. How is Huck received? What story does he give to explain his arrival?
2. Huck cannot remember the name he used for himself. How does he find out his name?
3. What is the story with the Grangerfords and Sheperdsons? How long have they been feuding?
4. How does Huck get involved in the feud? What happens to his hosts? How does Huck feel about all that happened?
6. How does Huck explain Jim’s presence on the raft? What do the two men do when they go ashore?
Chapters 21-30
1. What production do the King and Duke plan to put on?
2. Who is Boggs and how does he impact Huck?
3. How is the show received? What do the people do to get others to come see it?
4. What does Jim tell Huck about his daughter? How does this change Huck’s view of Jim?
5. Who does Huck and the King encounter when they are out in the canoe? How does the King take advantage of this meeting? How does Huck feel about this plan?
6. Who are the members of the Wilks family? Why are the King and Duke accepted as members of the family?
7. What do the “brothers” decide to do with the money? How does this win the girls over?
8. Is the doctor fooled? How do the girls react to the doctor?
10. What do the Duke and King do to try to raise more money? Why does this upset Mary Jane? How does Huck make her feel better?
11. Who arrives to confuse things? How do the townspeople finally decide to tell which pair was telling the truth? What do they discover at the same time? What does Huck do?
12. As Huck and Jim are leaving, who arrives in the canoe? Who do the Duke and King blame for putting the gold in the coffin?
Chapter 31-End
1. After being on the run for several days, the King and Duke allow Huck to land the raft. What happens to Jim when they land?
2. Why does Huck think of writing Miss Watson? What happens when Huck tries to pray? What does Huck decide to commit himself to?
3. When Huck arrives at the Phelps’ plantation, who does Phelps’ think he is? How does Huck find out who he is thought to be? Why is this good news for Huck?
4. When Huck goes to retrieve his luggage, what person does he meet? How does this person react to Huck? When Huck tells this person his plan, how does he react? Why does this surprise Huck?
5. After Huck returns to the plantation, who does this person claim to be when he arrives? What trick does he play on Aunt Sally? Who does he say he is then?
6. What do the boys find has happened to the King and the Duke? How does Huck feel about this?
7. How does Tom feel about Huck’s plan to free Jim? What happens to Huck when he is back with Tom?
8. How do the boys explain unexplainable events to Nat, the slave?
9. Why do the boys write a letter to the Phelps family?
10. How are the boys detected? What has happened to Tom?
11. Who does Huck run into while in town? Why does he go back to the plantation? What does this prove about Huck?
13. As a letter from Aunt Polly arrives, who else arrives? How do the people feel about Jim? Who gets them to change their minds?
14. How does Aunt Sally learn about their plans to free Jim? What ironic thing does Tom tell Huck about Jim?
15. Who arrives to clear up the identities of the boys? What explanation does Tom give for planning the adventure despite his inside knowledge?
16. What does Tom give to Jim? Why does Huck believe he cannot take part in any more adventures? What does Jim tell him about the floating house?
Vocabulary Terms
1. affix- to attach physically
2. bashful- socially shy or timid
3. bewitch-to influence or affect especially injuriously by witchcraft
4. blubber- to swell, distort, or wet with weeping
5. bowie- a stout single-edged hunting knife with part of the back edge curved concavely to a point and sharpened
6. budge- a fur formerly prepared from lambskin dressed with the wool outward
7. chaw- chew, chewing tobacco
8. clatter- to make a rattling sound
9. commence- to enter upon, begin
10. curry-comb- a comb made of rows of metallic teeth or serrated ridges and used to curry horses
11. cuss- to curse or swear
12. deed- a signed and usually sealed instrument containing some legal transfer, bargain, or contract
13. dodge- an act of evading by sudden bodily movement
14. evasion- to elude by dexterity or stratagem
15. frock- an outer garment
16. galluses- suspenders
17. gaudy- marked by extravagance or sometimes tasteless showiness
18. goggle- to stare with wide or protuberant eyes
19. fidgety- making unnecessary fuss
20. frivolous- of little weight or importance b : having no sound basis
21. imposter
22. ingot
23. jest
24. lynch
25. meddle
26. numskull
27. ornery
28. pious
29. ransom
30. rapscallion
31. raspy
32. reckon
33. reticule
34. skiff
35. slouch
36. solemn
37. stanchion
38. tallow
39. thicket
40. trifling