Huck Finn
American Studies
Mr. Struzziero
Study Questions
“All modern literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.”
- from Ernest Hemingway’s The Green Hills of Africa
Chapter 1
1. Identify the point of view of the novel.
2. Summarize the conclusion of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
3. How does Huck Finn feel about being “civilized”?
4. Who is the Widow Douglass?
5. Who is Miss Watson?
Chapter 2
1. Summarize the prank that the boys play on Jim.
2. How does Huck feel about it?
3. Summarize the consequences of the prank for Jim.
4. What do we learn about Huck’s father?
5. What do we learn about Tom as the head of the gang?
6. What is the confusion around the word “ransom”?
Chapter 3
1. What does Huck finally decide about prayer?
2. When they play, Huck and Tom have very different outlooks on “A-rabs” and
“rubbing lamps” and several other details. What does this show about them?
Chapter 4
1. What is Huck’s opinion of school?
2. What does Huck discover at the end of the chapter?
Chapter 5
1. Describe Huck’s father.
2. What does Pop want from his son? Why?
3. Summarize Pap’s attempt at reform.
Chapter 6
1. Why does Pap “thrash” Huck?
2. Where does Pap take Huck? Why?
3. Why does Huck initially enjoy living with his father?
4. As time passes, how does Huck feel about his circumstances?
5. What does Pap get upset about when he is drunk?
Chapter 7
1. Summarize the preparations that Huck makes to fake his own death.
2. As he prepares to escape, he wishes Tom Sawyer were there. How are Huck’s
preparations different from the ones that Tom would make?
3. Where does Huck hide?
Chapter 8
1. Describe Jim?
2. Why does Huck agree to help Jim?
3. What does the chapter say in criticism of slavery?
Chapter 9
1. Where do Huck and Jim make their camp?
2. What do Jim and Huck find inside the floating frame house?
Chapter 10
1. What does Huck’s reaction to Jim’s snakebite show about him?
Chapter 11
1. What does Huck learn about his “murder”?
2. At the end of the chapter, what do Jim and Huck do?
Chapter 12
1. What is a “tow-head”?
2. What is Huck’s opinion of “borrowing”?
Chapter 13
1. How do Jim and Huck escape Walter Scott?
2. Why does Huck decide to save the thieves?
3. What happens to the thieves?
4. Research the name of the boat. Why is the sinking ship an element of satire?
Chapter 14
1. According to Jim, why wasn’t King Solomon the wisest man who ever lived?
2. During this debate, what do we learn about Huck?
3. What is Twain criticizing in this chapter?
Chapter 15
1. After being separated in the fog, how does Huck explain their reunion to Jim?
2. Why is Jim so hurt by Huck’s trick?
3. Why is Huck’s response to Jim’s feelings so significant?
Chapter 16
1. Why does Huck feel bad about helping Jim?
2. What does Huck do to save Jim?
3. What is Twain criticizing here?
4. How do Jim and Huck get separated?
Chapter 17
1. What does Huck think of the Grangerfords?
2. After reading the poem by Emmeline Grangerford entitled “Ode to Stephen
Dowling Bots, Dec’d” and reading Huck’s observation that Emmeline, it is clear
that Twain is using Huck to criticize something. What is it, and what is Twain’s
criticism?
Chapter 18
1. How does Buck explain the word “feud”?
2. Why is Twain so vague about who started the feud?
3. Buck tells Huck, “There ain’t a coward amongst them Shepherdsons- not a one.
And there ain’t no cowards amongst the Grangerford’s either.” Explain Twain’s
criticism of this kind of courage.
4. What is ironic about the sermon at church?
5. What are the consequences of Ms. Sophia’s actions?
Chapter 19
1. Please paraphrase the following quote: “It’s lovely to live on a raft.”
2. Describe the two men that Huck saves as he is canoeing down a creek looking for
berries.
3. Summarize the work that these two men do.
Chapter 20
1. Summarize how the king fools everybody at the camp meeting.
Chapter 21
1. What type of town is Bricksville, Arkansas?
2. Why has Boggs come to town?
3. Summarize the murder of Boggs.
4. How do the townspeople react to the murder?
Chapter 22
1. How does Colonel Sherburn stop the mob?
2. What is Twain saying here in criticism of mob justice?
Chapter 23
1. Why doesn’t the audience ‘take care” of the king and duke after the first
performance? How is this decision significant?
2. On the third night, how do the king and duke escape the angry crowd?
3. As they are floating away, what do Huck and Jim decide about royalty?
4. What does the story about Jim’s daughter ‘Lizabeth reveal about Jim? Why does
Twain need this scene to persuade his reader about his themes?
5. What does this reveal about Huck?
Chapter 24
1. Why is he king asking so many questions about Peter Wilks?
2. Copy down the words that Huck uses to voice his disgust at this latest con. How
do you feel about the words that Huck uses?
Chapter 25
1. Why do the frauds decide to give the money to the girls?
2. Why doesn’t the doctor believe that the king and the duke are genuine?
3. What does Mary Jane do to demonstrate her belief that the frauds are telling the
truth?
Chapter 26
1. What does Huck decide to do about this situation, and why does he decide to do
it?
2. If you were the king or duke, what would you decide to do?
3. According to the king, why is it sage to risk stealing more money from these
people?
4. What is Twain criticizing in this chapter?
Chapter 27
1. Where does Huck hid the gold? Why?
2. What do the king and the duke decide to sell the day after the funeral?
3. How does Huck react to watching this sale?
4. What does the king and the duke believe happened to the money?
Chapter 28
1. Why is Mary Jane the only person to whom Huck tells the truth?
2. What other important information does Huck share with Mary Jane?
3. After Peter Wilks’s entire estate is sold at auction, who arrives in town?
Chapter 29
1. Where does everybody go to get to the bottom of the mystery of Peter Wilk’s
heir?
2. How does Huck manage to escape from the town?
3. Why does Huck end the chapter by writing, “so I wilted right down onto the
planks then, and give up; and it was all I could do to keep from crying”?
Chapter 30
1. What do the king and duke argue about?
2. Why do the king and duke makeup?
Chapter 31
1. What do the king and duke do to Jim?
2. Why does Huck decide to write a letter describing Jim’s situation to Miss
Watson?
3. Why does Huck decide to tear up the letter?
4. Why is this a very significant moment?
5. What does Huck do to outsmart the duke?
Chapter 32
1. When Huck arrives at the Phelp’s farm, who do the Phelps think Huck is?
2. At the end of the chapter, what does Huck do?
Chapter 33
1. What happens to the king and the duke?
2. How does Huck feel about their fate?
3. By having Huck react this way, what is Twain criticizing?
Chapters 34, 35, 36, 37
1. Where is Jim being held?
2. What is Huck’s plan for freeing Jim?
3. What are Tom’s objections to Huck’s plan?
4. When they finally break into the cell what does Jim want to do to escape?
5. Why does Jim go along with the boys’ plan?
6. How do you feel about what he boys are doing?
7. How does Twain satirize Romanticism in this chapter?
Chapters 38, 39, 40
1. At the beginning of the chapter on what are the boys working?
2. What does Tom conclude must be done with the inscriptions?
3. What is ironic about fetching the grindstone?
4. Why does Tom insist that Jim have animals in his cell?
5. How do Jim’s criticisms of the escape plan reflect Realism?
6. What is Twain doing in the chapter?
7. What happened to Jim after the animals were delivered to his cell?
8. Why does Tom write the “nonnamous letters”?
9. Summarize what the two letters say.
10. How does Tom feel about the “house full of men”? Why?
11. Summarize how Jim, Huck and Tom escape the farmers and the dogs?
12. What is the significance of this quote; “We was all as glad as could be, but Tom
was gladdest of all, because he had a bullet in the calf of his leg”?
13. What is Huck talking about when he says, “I knowed he was white inside”? How
do you feel about this quote?
Chapters 41, 42
1. Summarize Old Mrs. Hotchkiss’s theory of the escape.
2. What is Twain criticizing here?
3. Why don’t the farmers hang Jim?
4. What is the Doctor’s opinion of Jim?
5. How do the townspeople react to the Doctor’s story?
6. Why did Tom work so hard to get Jim freed?
7. How do you feel about what Tom did?
Chapter The Last
1. Now that he is free, how is Jim treated by the Phelps’s?
2. What does Tom give to Jim for playing the role of prisoner?
3. How does Jim react to the gift?
4. How do you feel about this?
5. What were Tom’s plans for Jim once Jim was free?
6. What happened to Huck’s fortune?
7. What does Huck find out about his father?
8. Why did Jim wait so long to share this news with Huck?
9. What is Aunt Sally planning to do with Huck?
10. How does Huck react to the news?