The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
• 1835-1910
• Born as Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida, Missouri
• His father moved the family to Hannibal, Missouri, on the
Mississippi River.
o Discovered a love for steamboats that filled the Mississippi River.
• At 17, he left home to work as a printer’s assistant.
o Returned home at 21 to be a steamboat pilot – his dream job.
o Received his pen name “Mark Twain” from boat, dealing with
marking water depth - Twain = 12 ft.
o Job was cut short by the start of the Civil War in 1861.
• Active in Civil War with Confederates, but abandoned
military life quickly to be a gold prospector in Nevada.
o Didn’t get rich, but became inspired through storytelling
• In 1871, he moved to Connecticut and built a large
home that is visited today by thousands of tourists yearly.
• Began publishing work (including Roughing It and Life on
the Mississippi)
Mark Twain
• Began writing The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876)
o Tone and voice difficulties / couldn’t decide if he was writing for
children or adults
• In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), Twain found the
voice he was seeking.
• Most celebrated humorist in American history and literature.
• In addition to being a humorist, he is also labeled as a Realist
(a bit ironic)
• Behind the humor in his literature, exists a revelation of reality
• Could never duplicate the success of Huck Finn, but continued
to write
• His later years were filled with financial, professional and
personal tragedy
• Bankruptcy
• Death – oldest daughter in 1896 (meningitis), wife in 1904
(chronic illness), and youngest daughter in 1909 (epileptic
seizure)
• “I know now what the soldier feels when a bullet crashes
through his heart.”
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• Genre · a quest or journey; satire of popular adventure and
romance novels; novel of education or moral development
• Language · English; frequently makes use of Southern and
black dialects of the time
• Time and place written · 1876–1883; Hartford, Connecticut,
and Elmira, New York
• Date of first publication · 1884
• Setting (time) · Before the Civil War; roughly 1835–1845; Twain
said the novel was set forty to fifty years before the time of its
publication
• Setting (place) · The Mississippi River town of St. Petersburg,
Missouri; various locations along the river through Arkansas(a
small town modeled on his hometown of Hannibal, Missouri)
• Point of view · Huck’s point of view, although Twain
occasionally indulges in digressions in which he shows off his
own ironic wit
• Tone · Frequently ironic or mocking, also contemplative, as
Huck seeks to decipher the world around him; sometimes
boyish and exuberant
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• A novel that contains serious motives and moral lessons =
a bit unlike Twain’s previous style, which was more
humorous
• In some ways, Huck Finn is a sequel to Tom Sawyer.
o Huck was an important member of Tom’s group of friends in the
earlier novel, and Jim appeared as well.
• The earlier novel (Tom Sawyer) tells of the good times
had by all and is recognized as one of American
literature’s finest portrayals of a happy childhood.
o Readers, therefore had reason to expect more lighthearted
escapades and harmless ideas in Huck Finn.
• The structure of Huck Finn centers around a journey,
allowing Huck and Jim to meet many different kinds of
people.
• The society of the small towns and villages along the
great river mirrors American society as a whole, with all
its variety.
• The cast of characters includes many personalities with
whom Twain was familiar: liars, cheaters, and hypocrites.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• Twain is especially bitter about the ways slavery
degraded the moral fabric of life along the river.
o He grew up thinking there was nothing wrong with a system
that enslaved human beings.
• The novels shows that people can make the right
decisions and defy injustice, that an individual’s
moral beliefs can lead him or her to reject what is
wrong in society, and that sound personal values
can overcome evil.