English 213—Junior EnglishName:

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Newton South High School Mission Statement

Newton South High School, a community of students, parents, faculty, and staff

(1) Is dedicated to equality and opportunity for all; (2) Expects integrity; responsibility; and respect for self, others, and the environment; (3) Creates a climate of safety and kindness; (4) Encouragescommunication and personal connections; (5) Nurtures curiosity, creativity, and a passion for learning; (6) Fosters self-confidence and success for all learners.

Pre-Reading Webquest for

Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

  1. On “Alan Reinstein’s Teacher Page,” click on the photo of Mark Twain and this will get you directly to the Huck Finn page, where the first thing you should do is click on E.W. Kemble’s illustrations from the 1885 first edition of the novel.
  2. Look at the “frontispiece” (the illustration at the beginning of the book).

What is Huck holding up?

  1. Peruse some of the illustrations (or many) from the list.
  1. Finally, click on “Jim!” from Chapter 2. The presentation and perception of Jim in the story is one of the sources of controversy for the novel. How would you describe Jim’s representation in this picture?
  1. Now, back on the Huck Finn page, click on “Representing Jim, 1885-1985,” and notice the two different likenesses at the top of the page. Describe the difference between the two:

And look over some of the other likenesses from various editions of the novel.

  1. Click on “Loudit.org” from the Huck page and listen to the beginning of any chapter. Nothing to write down, but know that this resource is available. Likewise, there’s the University of Virginia’s “etext site” for reading the text only—in case you misplace your book or don’t have it available for completing an assignment.

Finally, click on the “first edition” of the text, which is a pdf version of an 1885 first print copy of the novel. Click or scroll to page 10 to find Twain’s famous “Notice” that introduces the novel. Write it down:

  1. Now, click on the “hyper-concordance” and type in the word nigger under “Query.” If you scroll down, you’ll see what is said to be about 163 sentences containing the word. (This is short of the 219 that I have read to be present.) Click on the first use of the word—line 136—to see how Twain creates Jim’s speech. How does Jim say, “Who’s there?”?
  1. From the Huck page, Click on the icon for the Broadway musical “Big River” and you’ll find selected songs from the show. Click on the first song, “Do You Wanna Go to Heaven?” According to the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, what does Huck need to know how to do in order to get to Heaven? Why?
  1. This brings us to “The N-Word in Huck Finn.” Click on this and watch both videos on the page. This will take about fifteen minutes. Be ready to share your opinion on whether you support the publication of a version of the novel that replaces the word nigger with slave. Write a few of your thoughts here:
  1. Back on the Huck page, click on Nobel prize-winning author Toni Morrison’s “Introduction to Huck Finn” (left side, under Criticism) and read just the fourth paragraph from the beginning, which begins, “In the early eighties I read Huckleberry Finn again.” Paraphrase Morrison’s suggestion for approaching the N-word in the classroom.
  1. Finally, know that author Jane Smiley’s “Say it Ain’t So Huck: Second Thoughts…” essay is here, which argues that Uncle Tom’s Cabin should really be the novel considered America’s finest anti-slavery novel and that Huckleberry Finn isn’t even a good novel. She has a lot to say, which we will read after our reading through the novel. Check it out, though.