ENGLISH
DEPARTMENT
May 2011
Dear Students,
Welcome to Trends in American Literature. This is an exciting opportunity to
study the major ideas in American essays, fiction, and poetry. The semester will be both
challenging and enlightening as you begin your study of the American literary tradition.
In order to create a consistent pace that is not overwhelming, your journey will begin this
summer.
The Reading
PARKWAY
NORTH
HIGH SCHOOL
12860 Fee Fee Road
St. Louis, MO 63146
314-415-7654
FAX 314-415-7634
ENGLISH
DEPARTMENT
Debbie Banashek-Cole
Jennifer Bannecker
Mark Bannecker
David Beck
Bailey Bolinger
LuAnn Fallahi
Heather Fleming
Kim Hanan-West
Scott Kreher
Melissa Lynn Pomerantz
Allison Ramsaroop
Nicole Rasch
Dana Regenbogen
Christian Schaeffer
Tracy Silvagnoli
Adam Stiller
Wendy Surinsky
Beth Tobin
Greg Wagener
Anne Lipson
SECRETARY
Novel:
 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain: ISBN: 0-553-21079-3
Criticism:
(Handed at the end of spring semester. Available online at www.jbannecker.wordpress.com or
www.etobin.wordpress.com)



“Huckleberry Finn and the Problem of Freedom” by Sanford Pinsker
“The Ending of Huckleberry Finn: ‘Freeing the Free Negro’” by Charles H.
Nilon
“The Case Against Huck Finn” by John H. Wallace
You will begin with Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Ernest
Hemingway said about this text that “All modern American literature comes from a book
by Mark Twain called The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn…it’s the best book we’ve
had.” It is a satirical novel, critiquing nearly every facet of antebellum American culture:
education, religion, morality, government, law and slavery. It is a novel about the
blindness of the empowered and the plight of the marginalized. Additionally, the piece
relies heavily on the regional dialects of the time period to flavor the novel with local
color. Twain uses the language, the harsh expressions and racial epithets of
Midwesterners to illustrate their moral shortcomings and deep-rooted biases. Imagine, if
you can, that language is another character in the novel conveying the depths of racism
and the blindness in these characters—only they are unaware of them. Use this idea to
increase your understanding as you encounter words and phrases that shock your core
moral sensibility.
This novel is deceptively easy to read; however, its moral complexity gives it a
prominent place in American literature. This combination makes The Adventure of
Huckleberry Finn a fitting introduction to the course and an excellent summer read.
After reading the novel, look at the criticism you picked up at the end of your
sophomore year (or downloaded from the website). Read through the ideas presented
and, as always, annotate thoroughly. Consider the ways in which the ideas discussed
help you to further your understanding of the novel. While you may not agree with each
critic’s point of view, literary criticism is a great way for you to come to new insights
about the work.
Journal
In addition to reading and thoroughly annotating these pieces, you will
complete a dialectical journal. The focus of the journal is on quality commentary. Your
journal will have two parts, one devoted to the novel and another devoted to the literary
criticism. For your journal on the novel, choose a big idea from the list below and then
select five important quotes or passages from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to
comment on based on your big idea. Each quote or passage should be discussed in its
own entry. Remember, entries should span the whole book (you should not be quoting
solely from the first few chapters). Your commentary will be detailed, referring to other
parts of the novel or outside sources when necessary. Each entry should be about 2/3 of a
page—that means you need to fully explore your topic. Make sure to include proper
MLA page citations for each quote.
Choose only one of the following big ideas to use as your focus in your quote
selection and discussion for the novel:
 Morality: How does Twain define morality? How does Huck develop his morals
throughout the novel? In what way are the moral struggles in this novel distinctly
American?
 Individual vs. Society: What does Twain say about the conflict between society
and the individual?
 Child Narrator: Discuss Twain’s use of Huck, a youthful and naïve character,
as an important aspect of the novel. Why would Twain have us see the world
through such a naïve point of view?
 Satire: Which institutions are critiqued in the novel and what does Twain want
the reader to understand about them?
 Language: What does Twain illuminate about the importance of language in the
novel? How does language function as a character in the novel?
 Conscience vs. Heart: What does Twain reveal about the collision between a
pure heart and a deformed conscience? Why does conscience “suffer defeat”?
For the literary criticism part of the journal, select three significant quotes or
passages from the text and discuss the implications for your understanding of Huck Finn
in a 2/3 of a page journal entry. In your response, link back to specifics from the novel to
support your discussion (quotes are always nice here). Don’t assume that you have to
agree with the critic. If you find an interpretation or idea that you do not share, discuss
that in your journal entry, supporting your differing opinion.
On the first day of class, please bring a hard copy of your journals (typed, doublespaced, in 12-point font) to hand in as well as a digital copy to upload to Turnitin.com.
Included with this letter, you will find sample entries as well as a scoring guide to help
you in creating your journals. Use these resources to fully understand the expectations of
the assignment.
To provide support for you during your summer work, we have set up a class on
Nicenet. To register, go to http://www.nicenet.org. To register for our class, you must
either sign in with an existing account or create a new account. Enter the class key to get
access to our class discussion board: Z3Z4439T95. Use this space to introduce yourself
to your classmates, pose questions or ideas about the reading, and discuss topics to help
further your understanding of the texts. We will check this discussion board weekly and
respond to your ideas. Participation in this discussion board is optional, but it will be
helpful in understanding the pieces.
It is our hope that you enjoy this introduction to the course. If you have any
questions regarding the journal or novels feel free to contact one of use through email or
on the discussion board. We look forward to a terrific semester!
Sincerely,
Jennifer Bannecker
Beth Tobin
jbannecker@parkwayschools.net
etobin@parkwayschools.net