The Wilkses Part 2
Chapters 27-29
Maymuna Elmi, Priscilla Fernandez, Mia Ramos, Zach Williams, & Kendall Wright
Summary
Chapter 27:
Huck hides the sack of money in Peter Wilks’ coffin
The coffin is sealed without the money being removed
The Duke plans to send the Wilks girls to England after selling the estate and separating the slave
mother and children, everyone is upset
Huck believes that everything will return to normal once the King and Duke are exposed as frauds
Chapter 28
Huck sends Mary Jane to a friend’s house to keep her safe and give him time to get away
He leaves her a note with the location of the money but tells her not to open yet
Summary
Chapter 29
The real Harvey and William Wilks have arrived and confront the frauds, who still claim to be
the real Wilkses
The real Wilks are asked to prove they’re telling the truth
Lawyer Bell suggest the King and Duke give up the money until true identity is revealed
Letters between Peter and true brother are found
Harvey claims to know the tattoo on his chest but burrier doesn’t recall a tattoo
At the grave the gold is found
The Lesson
What is the lesson learned?
Huck overall learns about selflessness as he experiences it for
himself
The selflessness isn’t immediately learned, it’s forced upon him in
various situations
Huck grows as a person and has a lot of small milestones that
increase his morality
The Lesson
How was the lesson learned?
Huck is put through several situations in which he feels morally
conflicted but chooses not to take a side, but then he comes to
the conclusion that he must act
In these chapters we see Huck take concrete steps in trying to
impede the King and the Duke in their plans
The Lesson: Evidence
“Them poor things was that glad and happy it made my heart ache to
see them getting fooled and lied to so, but I didn’t see no safe way for
me to chip in and change the general tune,” (165-166).
Huck recognizes that what the King and the Duke are doing is wrong
and he feels bad about it, but not enough to act. He is slowly changing,
however, and this shows when he takes his $6,000 and putting it in
Peter Wilks’s coffin so that the frauds wouldn’t be able to find it.
Literary Analysis; Simile
“And then up she jumps, with her face afire like sunset,” (Twain 167).
Huck informs Mary Jane that the men whom she thinks are her uncles,
are actually frauds who are faking relationships with her, and now
when Mary Jane is remembering the past image, she realizes that she
is angry with herself that the fraud king betrayed her.
Literary Analysis: Diction and Tone
Diction:
stirred, solemn, scandalous, frauds, dreadful, natural stupidness
(Twain 164, 167, 176)
Tone:
disapproving, denouncing, criticizing
Study Guide Questions
Q: Why does Huck say at the end of Ch. 28, “Tom Sawyer couldn’t ‘a’ done it no neater himself.
Of course he would ‘a’ throwed more style into it, but I can’t do that very handy, not being
brung up on it”?
A: Tom Sawyer is
imaginative and good at making up situations, but Huck is not primarily due to him being
uneducated.
Q: Why is the crowd laughing and shouting at the second set of “Wilks brothers” to the
square?
A: The
crowd is laughing at the absurdity of the situation, and since one of the set of brothers are
fake, they’ll have a fun time dealing with the imposters.
Study Guide Questions
Q: What disappointment does Huck face at the end of Ch. 29?
A: Just as he was about to escape onto his raft, he is caught by
the King and the Duke.