HUCK FINN

About the Novel

Point of View:

  • Huckleberry Finn is told by the character Huck, using words like I and we. Therefore, it is told from the first-person point of view. The reader sees everything through Huck’s eyes and is given his perspective on events.
  • When examining a narrative point of view, it is important to distinguish the narrator from the author.
  • Huck is an uneducated fourteen-year-old boy living in a village in the 1840s. He has the knowledge, beliefs, and experiences of such a boy.
  • Twain, on the other hand, was a well-traveled writer and experienced lecturer. He was well aware of how to use narrative techniques, adopt different points of view, andspeak in the role of different characters, and he used that knowledge to create a narrator who is very differentfrom himself.

Unreliable Narrator

Huckleberry Finn is also an example of an unreliable narrator—one who does not understand the full significance of the events he describes and comments on. Huck is not intentionally unreliable; his lack of education and experience makes him so. Much of the humor in the first chapters comes from Huck’s incomplete understanding of the adults around him and their “sivilized” ways.

Satire and Irony

Satire is a kind of literature that tries to open people’s eyes to the need for change by exposing the flaws

of a person or society. Satirists’ main weapon is humor, which is created through techniques such as irony.

Irony is the contrast between what appears to be true and is actually true, or between what we expectto happen and what actually happens. Through the use of irony, Twain develops some of the most important themes of Huckleberry Finn. As you read Chapters 16 through 31, look for examples of irony, and think about the flaws that Twain is attempting to expose.

It is impossible to read Huck Finn intelligently without understanding that Mark Twain's consciousness and awareness is larger than that of any of the characters in the novel, including Huck. Indeed, part of what makes the book so effective is the fact that Huck is too innocent and ignorant to understand what's wrong with his society and what's right about his own transgressive behavior. Twain, on the other hand, knows the score. One must be skeptical about most of what Huck says in order to hear what Twain is saying. In a 1991 interview, Ralph Ellison suggested that critics who condemn Twain for the portrait of Jim that we get in the book forget that "one also has to look at the teller of the tale, and realize that you are getting a black man, an adult, seen through the condescending eyes -- partially -- of a young white boy." Are you saying, I asked Ellison, "that those critics are making the same old mistake of confusing the narrator with the author? That they're saying that Twain saw him that way rather than that Huck did?" "Yes," was Ellison's answer.

The Antihero

Traditional heroes are often superhuman. We look up to them because they are braver, stronger, more clever, or more unwilling to sacrifice their principles than we. Antiheroes, on the other hand, are very human. Like us, they have faults, make mistakes, and puzzle over difficult decisions. In the end, however, antiheroes usually do the “right thing”—what we, ourselves, hope we would do in similar circumstances. As you read the final chapters of Huckleberry Finn, think about the heroes of the novel. Are they traditional heroes or antiheroes? What makes them so?

Language:

Something new happened in Huck Finn that had never happened in American literature before. It was a book, as many critics have observed, that served as a Declaration of Independence from the genteel English novel tradition. Huckleberry Finn allowed a different kind of writing to happen: a clean, crisp, no-nonsense, earthy vernacular kind of writing that jumped off the printed page with unprecedented immediacy and energy; it was a book that talked. Huck's voice, combined with Twain's satiric genius, changed the shape of fiction in America, and African-American voices had a great deal to do with making it what it was. Expose your students to the work of some of Twain's African-American contemporaries, such as Frederick Douglass, Charles Chesnutt, and Paul Laurence Dunbar. Those voices can greatly enrich students' understanding of both the issues Huckleberry Finn raises and the vernacular style in which it raises them.

Vernacular: (adj)

a: using a language or dialect native to a region or country rather than a literary, cultured, or foreign language b: of, relating to, or being a nonstandard language or dialect of a place, region, or country c: of, relating to, or being the normal spoken form of a language

noun

1: a vernacular language, expression, or mode of expression : an expression or mode of expression that occurs in ordinary speech rather than formal writing

2: the mode of expression of a group or class

Major Characters

Huck Finn

______

Widow Douglas

______

Tom Sawyer

______

Miss Watson

______

Jim

______

Huck’s father (Pap)

______

Duke

King

Miss Sally

Journal Prompts: When we write at the beginning of class, you may, at times, select any prompt from below to start your journals regarding Huck Finn. You will have 10 graded journals at the end of the unit.

You’ll work on a Quick 8 for each day. You’ll write for eight minutes at the start of each class). Below are the topics that you will write on.

You may choose the order in which you complete them, as well as choosing which to skip.

Be sure that to number, include the prompt, and date for each entry. Please use a clean side for each journal.

  • #1: In your opinion, what types of books should be banned in schools? Have you read abook that you though wasn’t appropriate for school reading? (Please focus on offensive/disturbing.) Also consider, should people read things that are offensive?
  • #2: How is Jim stereotyped in the novel?
  • #3: How is the friendship between Jim and Huck developed?
  • #4: How does Twain use satire (and Huck’s naiveté) to poke fun at institutions? How do you feel about this? How is this similar or different to today’s satirists?
  • #5: How does Huck’s journey parallel others that you have read? How is he forced to mature because of his circumstances?
  • #6: How are both Huck and Jim fighting for freedom?

Topics 7-10 are quotations from Mark Twain. Write about the meaning of them and the connections

you see to our world.

#7: “Always do right. This will gratify some people, and astonish the rest.”

#8: “A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.”

#9: “It’s impossible to maintain one’s innocence in a corrupt world.”

#10: “Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to.”

Study Guide:

Chapters 1-7: Due ______

Discussion Credit:

Write TWO questions for the class (that came to you during or after the assigned reading). Briefly answer them so that you can help generate conversation in class.

Study Guide:

Chapter One: I Discover Moses and the Bulrushers

  1. At the beginning of the novel, with whom is Huck living? In what ways do they try to change Huck?
  2. What does Mark Twain satirize in this section?
  3. On page 13, Huck discusses some superstitions. What are these and what might the point of including these be?

Chapter Two: Our Gang’s Dark Oath

  1. Who does Jim work for?
  2. What is Jim’s story that he loves to tell?
  3. What do you learn about Tom Sawyer in this chapter? What kind of character is he? (Include 1 specific event or statement from the novel to support your point.)
  4. Where does Tom get all of his ideas from for the “oath”?
  5. On page18, the boys say that when they will keep people “till they’re ransomed”. What is funny about this scene? What is Twain making fun of here? How does this characterize the boys?

Chapter Three: We Ambuscade the A-Rabs (20-23)

  1. How does Huck feel about prayer and religion? Why?
  2. How is Huck’s Pap depicted (20)?
  3. How did Huck know that his father had not drowned?
  4. What is the outcome of the boys playing “robber”?

Chapter Four: The Hair-Ball Oracle (24-27)

  1. How has Huck recently changed?
  2. Why does Huck go to give his money away?
  3. ow HoHo adasdasHHow does Judge Thatcher respond to Huck? (26) What do you think about the judge?
  4. Who What is tWhat is the story about the hairball? How does this characterize Jim?
  5. How Who is in Huck’s room at the end of the chapter?

Chapter Five- “Pap Starts In On A New Life” (27-31)

  1. How does Huck feel about his father?
  2. Why does Pap disapprove of Huck? Is this logical? What do parents usually want for their children?
  3. What does Pap want from Huck? How does he plan on getting it?
  4. At the end of the chapter (30), what does the new judge try to do with Pap?
  5. What decision is made by the judge at the end of the chapter?(31)

Chapter Six- “Pap Struggles With the Death Angel” (31-37)

  1. What does Pap try to prevent Huck from doing? How does Pap do this?
  2. What do you think about Huck’s point of view about his situation with his father? How does he seem to feel?
  3. On pg. 32 we learn that Huck has been taken away by his father. What change occurs in Huck? (Cite a line or two that tells you this.) What do you think this change shows about Huck in general?
  4. What is Pap’s goal (33) as told by Huck?
  5. What plan does Huck form (34)?
  6. Pap is an outwardly angry individual. What does his discussion about the government and race lead you to believe about Pap?

Chapter Seven- “I Fool Pap and Get Away” (38-44)

  1. How does Huck escape?
  2. How does Huck make sure no one will look for him?
  3. Where does Huck end up at the end of the chapter?

What do you predict will happen? Why?

Chapters 8- 11: Due ______

Chapter Eight: I Spare Miss Watson’s Jim (44-54)

  1. What was the mission of the ferryboat? (pg 44)
  2. What makes Huck think that others’ prayers may work (pg. 45)?
  3. What do the townspeople think has happened to Huck?
  4. How successful does Huck seem to be at caring for himself? How does this contribute to the theme of civilization vs. nature?
  5. Who does Huck run into on pg. 49?
  6. What does this person think Huck is?
  7. Summarize, in a few sentences, Jim’s account of his “running off” (pg. 50-51).
  8. What does Jim give a list of on pg. 52? What does this tell you about Jim?
  9. The final sentence of the chapter is very telling. What makes Jim “rich”? (pg. 54)

Chapter Nine: The House of Death Floats By (54-58)

  1. What escape plan will Huck and Jim enact if people look for them on the island?
  2. Where do Jim and Huck spend the night hiding?
  3. What do Huck and Jim discover on the raft? How do they react?
  4. How does Huck protect Jim at the end of the chapter? How would you describe their relationship thus far?

Chapter Ten: What Comes of Handlin’ Snake-Skin (58- 61)

  1. Jim tells Huck two more superstitions- what are they?
  2. What is the outcome of Huck’s trick on Jim?
  3. Why do Huck dress up like a girl? 9pg. 61)?

Chapter Eleven: They’re After Us! (62-69)

  1. What is Huck’s female alias?
  2. Huck is well-received as a woman. Based on what you have read so far, do you think he would have been treated the same way if he were a boy? Why or why not?
  3. Why do people suspect Jim for Huck’s “murder”? (pg. 63)
  4. Why might they suspect Huck’s Pap?
  5. Why is the woman’s husband going to Jackson Island?
  6. What lie does Huck tell about his family? What does this lead you to believe about Huck as a character?
  7. How did the woman identify Huck as a boy (what gave him away?) 67-68
  8. At the end of chapter 11, Huck wakes Jim. What does he say? What does this show you about their relationship?

Chapters 12-15 Due ______

Chapter Twelve: “Better Let Blame Well Alone” (69-75)

  1. Which two states are Huck and Jim travelling between?
  2. How does Huck seem to feel about being on the run (based on his description of activities on pages 70-71)?
  3. How do Huck and Jim justify stealing? (71)
  4. What situation do Huck and Jim come across ?(73-74)
  5. What did Bill and Jake do? (75)

Chapter Thirteen: Honest Loot from the “Walter Scott” (76-81)

  1. On page 77, Huck and Jim jump on the robber’s boat. Why would they do this?
  2. What is strange about the fact that Huck worries about the men? (77)
  3. On page 78, Huck finds a watch man. What does he tell him?
  4. Why does Huck wishes the widow knew about his good deed? (80). What does this show about Huck?

Chapter Fourteen: Was Solomon Wise? (81-85)

  1. How do Huck and Jim differ in their view of “adventures”? Cite the line that tells you this!
  2. What does Huck explain to Jim? What does this show you about both characters? (81-82)
  3. Who is the only king that Jim knows about? Why does Jim think Solomon was not wise? What does Jim liken this to?
  4. When Jim says “de real pint is down furder- it’s down deeper” and then discusses “Sollermun” what does this show about Jim? (Read this paragraph closely.) (83)

Chapter Fifteen: Fooling Poor Old Jim (85-90)

  1. Where do Jim and Huck want to go? Why?
  2. Describe Jim and Huck’s reunion on page 88.
  3. What resolution does Huck make at the end of the chapter?

Chapters 16-18: Due ______

Chapter 16: The Rattlesnake-Skin Does Its Work (91-99)

  1. Describe Huck and Jim’s raft.
  2. Why is it important that Huck and Jim make a turn at Cairo?
  3. How does Huck feel about Jim being “free”? (92) What is your reaction to this?
  4. What does Jim hope for?
  5. Why does it seem that Huck is so conflicted about his role in Jim’s escape?
  6. How does Huck’s quick thinking save Jim again? (94)
  7. What do Huck and Jim blame the rattlesnake skin for? (97)
  8. What happens to the raft at the end of chapter 16?

Chapter 17: The Grangerfords Take Me In (99-107)

  1. What is Huck’s alias?
  2. Why do the men react to Huck with apprehension?
  3. How would you characterize Buck? (Cite an example from the text).
  4. Who was EmmelineGrangerford? What talents did she have? How does huck react to learning of her?

Chapter 18: Why Harney Rode Away for His Hat (108-119)

  1. Characterize Colonel Grangerford. How does Huck seem to feel about him (based on the narration)?
  2. What is the financial status of the Grangerfords?
  3. What do you think happened to Jim? Is it strange that Huck has not spoken of him?
  4. Why does Buck want to kill Harney?
  5. What do Huck’s questions about the feud show you about him? (111)
  6. Based on the errand Miss Sophia had Huck complete, what do you assume about her?
  7. Who is Huck led to on page 114?
  8. What happens to Miss Sophia?
  9. How does Huck respond to what happens to Buck? (118)
  10. How does Huck feel about the raft? Quote the line that tells you this.

COMPARISON CHART FOR HUCK AND BUCK

Characteristic / Same or Different? / What in the text highlights the similarity or difference? (do not answer for age or name)
Age
Name
Sense of Humor
Ideas about Civilization
Ideas about Killing
Ideas about Slavery

Chapters 19-21: Due ______

Complete a triple entry journal in addition to these abbreviated study guide questions. Your journal will be due on the same day as the study guide, but submitted as a separate paper, so please complete it on separate paper.

Chapter 19: “The Duke and the Dauphin Come Aboard” (119-127)

  1. What is the effect of the imagery in the opening chapter of 19? How do you think Huck feels about life at this point? How do you know?
  2. Why do the two men come on board the raft? How are they described?
  3. The young man claims he is ______. How do Huck and Jim respond? How does the older man respond? (124-125)
  4. What is wrong with the older man’s claim about being King Louis XVII?

Chapter 20: “What Royalty Did to Parkville”(127-135)

  1. How does Huck explain Jim’s presence? (127-128)
  2. How do the Duke and Dauphin use their “positions” to their advantage?
  3. What do the Duke and Dauphin decide to do to earn some money at the next town?
  4. How does the King take advantage of the preaching scene? (132-134)
  5. What plan will allow the men to travel during the day?

Chapter 21: “An Arkansaw Difficulty” (136-145)

*Note- we will analyze the speech on page 137 in class. Hint- It is not all from Hamlet.