The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

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The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain
Mark Twain

Samuel Clemens (1835-1910)
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Grew up in Hannibal, MO – a river town
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1860s became Mark Twain
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Mark Twain=2 fathoms= you are safe in the water

Steamboat captain until the Civil War

Was most well paid author until he invested $1 million into a
“paige machine” and went bankrupt
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White suit – last 3 ½ years of his life after his wife died
The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn

Tom Sawyer published in 1876
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Huck Finn was written in 3 stages
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1876 Chapters 1-11 and the first half of 12, 15-17 and half of 18
1879 Chapters 17-21 – picaresque
1883 Second half of 12-14, 21-43
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1876 Tied election between Hayes (Republican) and Tilden (Democrat) – Went
to the Senate because of Florida

South was mostly Democrats – Hayes made promise to the south that he would
pull troops out of the south and let them run the race issue how they wanted

1882 Lecture tour in the south – treatment of blacks was the same as before the
civil war

Many scholars believe this is what got him to finish the book – watch for the
change in approach and subject matter
The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn

1876-1886 Culture for the novel
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Question of the time – Where can a free black man go and make a life?

Most canonized piece of American Literature
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1910’s the craze began

Until 1950’s nobody cared about the race issue – Try to consider
some other issues the book brings up
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1st edition was sold door to door
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Pictures – Dirty pictures in the original text – had to republish
The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn

Banned for bad morals – “It is rough, coarse, and inelegant”

Today it is banned for racial issues and language
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Twain died in 1910 – book suddenly became popular

Use of 1st person tried to established that it actually happened –
common during this time

Story takes place before the civil war – written after the war
Themes
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Journey Narrative – Americans come from all over trying to make
the journey to find a better life
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Being an individual – It’s all about ME!
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Get away from restrictions! No more rules!!

Why do people leave their home?

How are influenced by the “Mob Mentality”?
Satire

A type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or
institutions in an attempt to bring about a change

Why use it? – It teaches us something about ourselves and society to
change our attitudes.

Context is very important with satire. Without it no one will get the
jokes.

Varieties of Satire: Exaggeration, Irony, Sarcasm, Ridicule, Parody,
Caricature
Dialect
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A way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social groups or
of the inhabitants of a certain geographical area

See Explanatory
Final Essay Options

Are Jim and Huck truly friends?
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Is the novel really making a statement against racial inequality, or
does it miss the mark?

What is Huck’s motivation for leaving Hannibal, and is he
successful in the mission he sets out on?

How do you account for Huck’s flip-flopping in who he is and what
he believes in?
Journal: Chapters 1-2

What are your first impressions of Huckleberry
Finn? Find some examples in the text to help you
describe him. How do you feel that you can relate to
this character?

We meet two new important characters in Chapter 2;
what are their names? What are you first
impressions of each?
Quiz Chapters 1-2

Just before the start of the book, what has Tom stopped Huck from
doing? How did he convince him?
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Huck lives with two other people. Who are they? How does each
of them treat Huck?
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Huck hears a cat outside. When he climbs out the window what
does he find?
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In Chapter 2, Huck and Tom go to a meeting. What is this meeting
about? What are they planning on doing?

Huck is almost left out of the group. Why? How does he convince
them to keep him in?
Journal: Chapters 3-4

In Chapter 3 we learn of the differences between
Huck and Tom. Using examples from the text
describe how Huck and Tom are different. What is
Tom able to do that Huck cannot understand?
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Jim makes a long prophecy about Huck’s future. He
takes this information from a large hair-ball taken
from the stomach of an ox. What object do you have
that you think would have the power to predict the
future? What superstitions do you believe in?
Quiz: Chapters 3-4
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How does Huck feel about religion and prayer? What do you think
has made him feel this way?
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How does the raid go for Tom and Huck? What can we learn about
their relationship from this section?
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What does Huck do with his money?
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Why do you think he decides to do this?
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Huck has a surprise visitor in chapter 4. Who is it? What do you
make of their relationship based on the first 4 chapters?
Journals: Chapters 5-6
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Huck’s father “pap” is introduced at the
end of chapter 4. In chapter 5 we learn
more about him. Using examples from
the text, describe Pap’s character and what
picture he gives of the Southern white
man.

What is Huck’s life like with his father.
How do you think this environment has
changed or affected Huck?
Quiz: Chapters 5-6
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How does Pap feel about school? What reasoning does he give for
this view?

Whenever Pap gets money, what does he do with it, and where does
he end up?

The new town Judge tries to help Pap become a real man. Describe
this process and the outcome.

Where is Huck living now?
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Huck seems to have mixed emotions about his father. At times he
likes living with Pap and at times he hates it. Explain why, you
think, he both likes it and hates it.
Journal: Chapters 7-8

Huck is very resourceful in this chapter. He uses
those items at his disposal to help him get away. If
you were in his position how might you have
handled the situation?

In Chapter 8, Huck says, “People would call me a
low-down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping
mum-but that don’t make no difference.” What does
this first tell us about how the South views slaver?
What does it tell us about Huck’s character?
Quiz: Chapters 7-8
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What does Huck find in the river? Why is this so important?

Explain how Huck fakes his own death. Give as much detail as
possible.
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Who does Huck meet up with on the island?
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Why is this person there? Why did they leave their home?
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Why can Jim consider himself to be rich, even though he doesn’t
have any money?
Quiz Chapters 9-11
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What unusual object to Huck and Jim find floating down the river
after the storm?
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Describe the prank Huck plays on Jim.
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Who is Sarah Williams?
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What does the lady of the house find out about Sarah Williams?
How does she figure it out?
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What do Jim and Huck do at the end of chapter 11? How do they
know they need to do this so quickly?
Quiz Chapters 12-14
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What do Jim and Huck find on the raft?
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How do Jim and Huck get away from the wreck?
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How does Huck convince someone to go back to the wreck?
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What does Jim think of Kind Solomon? Why?
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What does Jim think about Frenchmen?
Quiz Chapters 17-18
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List at least 2 lies that Huck tells when he meets the Grangerfords.

Thinking back to earlier in the novel, how might you compare Tom
Sawyer and Buck Grangerford? Try to list at least 3 similarities
and/or differences.

What is the cause of the feud between the Grangerfords and the
Sheperdsons?
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What does Huck do for Miss Sophia? What does this lead to?

Where has Jim been the whole time Huck has been at the
Grangerfords?
Quiz Chapters 19-20
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What do Jim and Huck pick up in the canoe?
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Who/what do the two men insist that they are?

What does the King do at the camp meeting?

What idea does the Duke come up with so they can travel during the
day?
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How does Jim feel about the Duke and the King?
Quiz Chapters 21-23
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What does Col. Sherburn do to Boggs?

What speech does Col. Sherburn make about “the man” from his
roof ? Explain what the speech was about.

Explain the performance that the Duke and King perform.

How do they convince the audience to come back two nights? What
does the audience decide to do on the 3rd night?

At the end of chapter 23, Jim explains one interaction with his four
year old daughter. What had he done to her?
Quiz Chapters 26-28
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What does Huck decide to do to help out the girls?
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Where does Huck end up hiding the money?
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What happens to the slave families at the auction?
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What does Huck tell Mary Jane? Why does he send her away?
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Who shows up at the second auction?
Quiz Chapters 36-38
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When things don’t work out (the knives for digging, Tom can’t climb up
the lightening pole) what solution does Tom always come up with.

How do you account for the fact that Jim goes along with the plan to
keep him in the shed for a longer period of time to make the escape
more exciting?

Name at least 3 different ways that Huck and Tom confuse Silas and
Sally in these chapters.

What types of things does Tom insist Jim needs in the shed while he is
a prisoner?
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Why does Tom get mad at Jim at the end of this section?
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