AP Language Huck Finn Summer Assignment
***PLEASE NOTE: If you are not scheduled for the AP Language course, please
click on the 11th-Grade assignment for English III, which is also on Huck Finn.***
Please purchase the DOVER THRIFT edition of the text, available through Amazon.com.
(ISBN-13: 978-0486280615) The cover is green and yellow with a steamboat. Please
take care in purchasing this particular edition, as it’s important to have corresponding
pagination as we discuss the novel as a class.
Your assignment is two-fold:
(A) First, annotate the novel thoroughly. You’ll need to annotate the entire novel by the first
day of school. Here are guidelines for annotating well:
(1) On the whole, quality is more important than quantity; thorough annotations every
five pages will help you engage with and process the novel more meaningfully than
scribbling single words on every page. Do not stress about writing something down on
every page; by the same token, one annotation every twenty pages—even a detailed,
paragraph-length note—won’t help you connect parts of the book together as thoroughly
as you need to.
(2 Avoid writing down single literary terms like “symbol,” “theme,” or
“characterization.” Talk about the book—not around it. Those terms don’t really help
you make any sense of anything unless you comment more deeply about them. Don’t just
notice things: try to explain or describe them.
(3) Personal comments (“Cool!” “Weird!” “I don’t get this!”) won’t really help you. If
you’re compelled to write such comments, follow them up with legitimate comments
about characterization, voice, symbolism, setting, theme, etc.
(B) Second, you need to complete a quotation journal in which you grapple with the
characters and concepts of the text. You’re responsible for submitting seven quotation
explanations. These seven quotation explanations need to address the questions you see below,
and we’ll use these moments and your thoughts about them to shape our opening lessons on the
book.. These journals will be due in the first two weeks of school.
Required Questions
Question #1: Consider the role of nature in this novel. (Does Huck act differently on the raft than
he does on the banks of civilization?)
Question #2: Consider the role of freedom in this novel. (Take into account Jim’s status as a
fugitive slave; you might also treat Huck’s limitations-- are there ways in which Huck too is
“trapped?”)
Question #3: Choose a quotation that demonstrates hypocrisy and explicate at least one element
of social satire that Twain uses in the novel. (Hypocrisy is an important theme in the novel, as
Twain satirizes “sacred” societal elements such as religion, schooling, and the legal system.)
Question #4: Discuss the role of the “father figure” in this novel. (Consider Huck’s relationship
with his biological father and Huck’s friendship with Jim.)
Question #5: Look at the scene on page 161-162: Huck decides to tear up the note revealing the
information about Jim’s whereabouts, proclaiming: “I’ll go to hell.” Use this quotation as a basis
for your discussion of Huck’s transforming attitude towards slavery in this text and of Huck’s
understanding of “morality.”
Question #6: What is your perception of the ending of the novel-- Jim’s imprisonment in the
cabin and Huck’s and Tom’s antics to “free” Jim? (Does this ending provide a satisfying
resolution? A progression in Huck’s maturation or a regression?)
Question #7: Free choice. Using the ideas that you’ve explored in the previous questions as a
guide, identify a quotation of your choice and write a paragraph analysis.
***Assignment for annotations created with the help of Dr. Aaron Lehman***