Huck Finn Chapters 14-16
Thomas DeMassa, Kazhra Kelcho,
Jake Stephan, Maren Fox, Cole Leslie
Settings
-Takes place on a raft
constructed by Huck and
Jim floating up foggy
Mississippi River
-Searching for Cairo
Vocabulary
careened- (verb) to turn (a
ship) on it’s side for
cleaning or repair
gaudy- (adj.) bright or
showy
thicket- (noun) a dense
group of bushes or trees
Chapter 14
Jim and Huck get loot from the robbers who died in the Walter Scott
incident.
Among the loot were some books that Huck reads to Jim while they
wait to travel again.
They begin to talk about kings and how they make money just by
sitting around with their many wives
Jim thinks that Solomon (the only king he’s heard of) is a fool
This chapter reveals Jim’s close-minded opinions on things he does
not fully understand, such as french speaking people
“I’d take en bust em over de head- dat is, if he warn’t white. I
wouldn't ‘low no n****r to call me dat.”
Chapter 15
Huck and Jim make their way to Cairo, when the two get
separated in a storm, Huck in the canoe and Jim on the
raft.
Huck can’t find Jim, so he decides to rest for the night and
find him in the morning when the fog has lifted.
Huck finds Jim and pretends that the storm never happened
and that Jim dreamed it all.
Jim was upset to hear that it was a joke because he had really
been worried about Huck
Huck apologizes to Jim after about 15 minutes and never plays
a joke on him again
Chapter 16
Jim and Huck worry that they missed Cairo
Jim rambles on about freedom for himself and eventually his
family
Makes Huck feel guilty for “stealing” from Miss Watson
When they think they’ve reached Cairo, Huck was ready to
give Jim up, but had a change of heart.
Huck encounters some men on a boat who want to search the
raft for runaway slaves
Huck decides not to give Jim up and lies to the men, saying
no one would help his sick family
Not wanting to get sick either, each man gives Huck 20
dollars worth of gold and leaves.
Chapter 16 (continued)
Huck and Jim think they missed Cairo back in the fog
They stop for the night to create a game plan
They decided to rest for the night and move in the morning
When they wake up, they discover that the canoe is gone
The raft is hit by a steam boat, separating Jim and Huck in the
accident
Huck makes it to shore alone, only to be greeted by a pack of
dogs
Lesson
Lesson Learned
Conventional morality is not always correct
How the Lesson is Learned
Huck realizes that Jim is a human being, and shares the
same qualities as Huck himself.
Evidence
“Well, he was right; he was almost always right; he had an
uncommon level head for a n*****” (Twain, 79).
Lesson (Continued)
Evidence
“Dat truck dah is trash; en trash is what people is dat puts dirt
on de head er dey fren’s en makes ‘em ashamed’” (Twain 89)
“It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and
humble myself to a n*****; but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry
for it afterwards, neither. I didn’t do him no more mean tricks,
and I wouldn’t done that one if I’d a knowed it would make him
feel that way” (Twain 89).
Lesson (continued)
“‘Here was this n*****, which I had as good as helped to run
away, coming right out flat-footed and saying he would steal
his children—children that belonged to a man I didn’t even
know; a man that hadn’t ever done me no harm’” (Twain 92).
“‘Jim won’t ever forgit you, Huck; you’s de bes’ fren’ Jim’s
ever had; en you’s de only fren’ ole Jim’s got now’” (Twain
92).
Study Guide Answers
1. What is the irony of the Walter Scott?
In the book, the “Walter Scott” is a shipwrecked steamboat. In
real life, Walter Scott is a romantic writer.
2. What is Jim’s attitude toward Solomon?
Jim believes Solomon is not king worthy and abuses his power
as king. He also thinks Solomon’s way of solving problems is
dumb and not logical.
Study Guide Answers
3. What is revealed in the conversation about the
Frenchmen?
Jim is very stubborn and close-minded to things he does not
know first hand, such as other languages.
Study Guide Answers
4. In Chapter 15, several death images strike the reader at
once. Examples are: “I hadn’t no more idea which way I was
going than a dead man.” “You feel like you are laying dead
still on the water” etc. What is the significance of these
images?
Huck is feels as if he is basically dead, like he’s on a raft that
leads him to his doom.
Study Guide Answers
5.Why does
5.Why
does Huck
Huck feel
feel free
free to
to tease
tease Jim?
Jim?
Huck feels free to tease Jim because of his Southern conception
that African Americans are unintelligent and gullible.
6.What is the significance of Jim’s lecture to Huck?
The lecture shows Huck that he needs to think more for himself
than how society would view Jim, and more of a friend.
Study Guide Answers
7. What
7.
What new
new knowledge
knowledge of
of human
human nature
nature has
has Huck
Huck gained?
gained?
Huck learns not to discriminate against someone by the way
they look, and to realize its personality and personal being over
societal views.
8. How does Huck battle with his conscience?
Huck wants to be good friends with Jim but his Southern
background interferes with their friendship.
Study Guide Answers
9. What
9.
What is
is ironic about Jim’s plans?
plans?
While Jim talks about his plans to free his family, Huck is
simultaneously thinking about giving Jim up as a runaway slave.
Literary Analysis
Tone: Ironic, mocking, sarcastic,
“Well, he was right; he was most always right; he had an
uncommon level head for a nigger”
Mood: Adventurous, easygoing, fearful, suspenseful, careless
“I just give up then.” (Twain 85)
Literary Analyses
Colloquial language:
“Roun’ de which?” (82)
Jim when he asks where Solomon resides. AKA “Where do they
hang out?”
Figurative Language:
“...behind a monstrous long raft that was as long going by as a
procession.” (91)
Describing their journey on the raft. Word choice makes
journey seem impactful and venturesome.