CHAPTER 15
Holly Robinson
THEMES
Civilization Vs. Natural Life
 “Well, on the second night a
 “I judged the raft must be
fog began to come on” page 105
butting into the bank every now
and then.” page 107-108
THEMES
Honor and Acting in a Way to Earn Honor
 “As soon as I started I took
out after the raft, hot and heavy,
 “It was fifteen minutes before
could work myself up to go humble
myself to a[black man]; but I done it,
right down the tow-head.” page
and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards,
105
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.” Page 112
THEMES
Mockery of Religion
 “It was fifteen minutes bore I
 “’I could a ‘got’ down on my
could work myself up to go humble
knees en kiss yo’ foot’…I could
myself to a [black man].” page 112
 Mocks religion by placing whites
above slaves. No matter how much
he cared for Jim he still had these
hang ups. (Infered)
almost kissed his foot to get him
to take it back.” page 11-112
THEMES
Superstition
 “So Jim went to work and told
 “ The whoops was warnings
me the whole thing right through;
that would come to us every now
just as it happened, only he painted
and then, and if we didn’t try to
it up considerable. Then he said he
make out to understand them
must start in and “’terpret” it
theyd just take us into bad luck,
because it was sent for a warning.”
‘stead of keeping us out of it.”
page 111
Page 111
LITERARY DEVICE:
FORESHADOWING
“It had clouded up pretty dark just after I got on the raft,
but it was clearing up again now.”
Page 111
LITERARY DEVICE:
DICTION
The authors use of dialect allows the reader
to feel the change in emotion from Jim when
he realizes what Huck has done.
LITERARY DEVICE:
AUTHORIAL INTRUSION
“If you think it ain’t dismal and lonesome out in a fog that
way by yourself in the middle of the night, you try it onceyou’ll see.” page 107
LITERARY DEVICE:
POLYSYNDETON
“I throwed the paddle down. I heard the whoop again: it was behind me yet,
but in a different place; it kept coming, and kept changing its place, and I
kept answering, till by-and-by it was in front of me again, and I knowed the
current had swung the canoe’s head downstream, and I was all right if that
was Jim and not some other raftsman hollering.” Page 106
QUESTIONS
1)
2)
What does the fog and rough travel foreshadow in the next chapter?
Do you feel that Huck was insensitive in his joke toward Jim, or
that Jim took it too seriously?
3)
What do you feel contributed the most towards Jim’s resentment of
the prank? (age, race, etc.)
QUESTIONS
4) What is the significance of the river?
5) What is the role of the time frame in Huck’s treatment of
Jim?
CHAPTER 16
THEMES
Civilization Vs. Natural Life
 “Of course there was a
 “Right then along comes a
booming current; and of course
skiff with two men in it with
that boat started her engines again
guns, and they stopped and I
ten seconds after she stopped
stopped.” page 116
them, for they never cared much
for raftsmen” page 122
THEMES
Honor and Acting in a Way to Earn Honor
 “I was paddling off, all in a
 I”I see I was weakening; so I
sweat to tell on him; but when
just gave up trying, and up and
he says this it seemed to kind of
says: ‘He’s white.’” Page 117
take the tuck out of me.” Page
117
THEMES
Mockery of Religion
 “Here, I’ll put a twenty dollar
gold piece on this board, and you
get it when it floats by.” page 118
 This mocks religion by showing
that the religious will help, but only
from a distance (inferred).
THEMES
Superstition
 “Po’ [black men] can’t have
 “Anybody that don’t believe yet
no luck. I awluz ‘spected dat
that it’s foolishness to handle a
rattle snake-skin warn’t done wid
snakeskin, after all that snakeskin
its work.” Page 120
done for us, will believe it now if
the read on and see what more it
done for us.” page 121
THEMES
Money
 “He was saying how the first
 “Then we talked about the
thing he would do when he got to
money. It was a pretty good raise-
a free state he would go to saving
twenty dollars a piece. Jim said we
up his money and never spend a
could take a deck passage on a
single cent, and when he got
steamboat now and the money
enough he would buy his wife.”
would last us as far as we wanted
Page 121
to go in the free states.” Page 119
LITERARY DEVICE:
IRONY
“coming right out flat-footed and saying he would steal his
children- children that belong to a man I didn’t even know; a
man that hadn’t ever done me no harm.” page 115
LITERARY DEVICE:
AUDITORY IMAGERY
“There was a yell at us, and a jingling of bells to stop the
engines, a powwow of cussing, and a whistling of steam.”
page 122
LITERARY DEVICE:
METAPHOR
“hadn’t the spunk of a rabbit” page 116-117
LITERARY DEVICE:
FIRST PERSON NARRATION
The storing being told by Huck increases tension throughout this chapter.
The single point of view creates tension when Jim is missing, and the
reader is not allowed any information beyond what the narrator knows.
QUESTIONS
1)
2)
3)
If put in Huck’s situation would you turn Jim in?
Do you feel that Huck’s age plays a role in his treatment of Jim?
During earlier chapters and this chapter, Huck emphasizes the negative
connotation of the title “abolitionist.” Why do you think titles can have
such a strong affect on people? How can this be related to present day?
QUESTIONS
4) What romantic traits can be seen in this chapter?
5) Do you think that Huck growing up with minimal influence by adults
shaped his decision at the beginning of this chapter?