1835-1910
•Samuel Langhorn
Clemens (Mark Twain
was his pen name)
was born in Missouri
and grew up in a
small town near the
Mississippi.
•At 18 he moved
east and worked as
a printer in New
York, Washington,
and Philadelphia.
He became a steamboat
pilot on the Mississippi
(he got his pen name
from this experience –
Mark Twain means
“twelve feet of water”)
•He lived
during the Civil
War (18611865).
•His books and
stories reflect his life
on the Mississippi
and the political
struggles he saw
during his life.
•Twain was
simply writing
about the world
around him, the
• Huck Finn is ranked number
five on the American Library
Association’s list of Most
Frequently Challenged books:
–Addresses issues that are
hard to talk about:
1. Racism 2. Slavery 3. “N”
What is Censorship?
•to examine in order to suppress
or delete anything considered
objectionable
•“We uphold the principles of
intellectual freedom and resist
all efforts to censor library
resources.”—ALA Code of Ethics
“
What is Censorship?
• “They that can give up
essential liberty to obtain a
little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor
safety.”—Benjamin Franklin.
The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn
•The novel is set in
various locations along
the Mississippi River
(what is now known
as the Mid-west)
during the 1830’s or
1840’s .(see map)
•This region was
still a frontier
during this time –
only a few cities
and towns along
the river- only
partially civilized.
Mississippi River
Huck Finn Map
• Huck Finn is set Pre-Civil War.
Boarder towns would require
paperwork for a slave to
become free. If a slave were
to run away, they would have
to travel to a Northern
city/state not bordered by a
slave state.
Huck Finn Map Handout
• Look at the handout of
the map I gave you and
mark the states “free”
or “slave” using the next
map. Huck Finn is set
Pre-Civil War.
Civil War Map
Pre-Civil War
• Industrialization was in its
early stages (steam
technology- steamboats,
railroads)
• Slavery was abolished in
Northern states, but the South
still supported slavery at this
time (racists beliefs were
commonplace)
Literary Elements
• Point of View -First-person
narrator- Huck tells the story
• Use of dialect –uses southern
regional
-Spelling is even unorthodox
(sivilized) to suggest Huck’s brief
exposure to formal education.
•Tall tale- story featuring
larger than life characters
that perform superhuman
feats
•Satire- mocking or making
fun of human characteristics
and society as a whole
•Symbolism- Mississippi
River is a symbol of life
and maturity
•Imagery- descriptive
passages of life on the
raft
•Foreshadowing- hint of
things to come
•Characterization- brings
characters to life with dialect
(each has a distinctive
vocabulary) -notice Huck
Finn’s growth
• Lampoon- the literary form in
which vices or follies are
ridiculed (type of satire)
• Themes: slavery and racism;
individual and society;
transformation and maturity
• Irony –uses situational irony
to show simple-mindedness of
his characters
•Realism- A
literary manner
that seeks to
portray life as it
really is lived.
-Usually focused on
everyday middle or working
class conditions and
characters, often with
reformist intentions
(wanting to change society,
or conditions for the
character)
•
Themes to look for:
• Society’s values and laws can be in
conflict with higher moral values.
• People must live outside of society to
be truly free.
• Gullible people are partially
responsible for their own deception.
• People tend to behave irrationally and
even cruelly in large groups.
Questions,
Comments,
or Concerns?
• The End.