Ms. Engel
 English 3 CP 
Mark Twain – Huckleberry Finn
THE HUCKLEBERRY FINN RESEARCH PRESENTATION
GOAL: You and your group are going to create a presentation on your assigned topic.
Your presentation can take the form of: PowerPoint, Prezi, movie (using Windows
MovieMaker or iMovie; for this option, check to see the compatibility of the tool that
you are using to make the movie before the day of presentations), or a poster.
USEFUL STUDENT RESOURCES:
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/maai/index.htm
http://historymatters.gmu.edu
TOPIC 1
Part 1: Visit the link and answer the questions for Enslavement.
Link: http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/maai/enslavement/enslavement.htm
Framing Questions
• How did enslavement in America affect Africans and their descendants?
• How did enslaved peoples maintain selfhood in the slave-master relationship?
• What aspects of slavery did freed men and women emphasize when relating their
experiences?
• How did a person respond to being the slave of another?
• What impact did slavery have on white people?
Part 2: Visit the link and answer the Illustrating Slavery in MT’s Books.
http://twain.lib.virginia.edu/wilson/slavery/mtslavhp.html
Key Questions:
1. What has been controversial about Huckleberry Finn? How does this article
debunk this?
2. Why were Mark Twain’s sketches to the Atlantic significant?
3. How does the role of slavery change in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?
4. In what ways does Mark Twain’s writing reflect the setting of his childhood?
What do we learn about this setting through his writing?
5. What role does the topic of slavery play in MT’s other texts?
6. How are MT’s illustrations as important to his storytelling as the stories
themselves?
7. Write three critical thinking questions about this topic and answer them in your
presentation.
TOPIC 2
Part 1: Visit the link below and answer the questions on Community.
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/maai/community/community.htm
Framing Questions
• How did enslaved and free African Americans construct communal identities in
antebellum America?
• What obstacles did they confront from white people? from other African Americans?
• How did they respond to these obstacles?
• How did African Americans exercise autonomy and influence through community?
Part 2: Visit the link below and answer the questions for The Life that Shaped Mark
Trains Anti-Slavery Views.
http://www.aft.org/newspubs/periodicals/ae/fall2002/trillingsbburns.cfm
1. The article begins with the following description of Mark Twain: “He was a
Southerner and a Northerner, a Westerner and a New England Yankee—a
tireless wanderer who lived in a thousand places all around the world.” What
are the connotations behind this description? What does this tell us about
Twain?
2. Give a brief description of Twain’s background (childhood to adulthood).
3. What types of writing is Twain known for?
4. How did Twain’s life shape his anti-slavery views?
TOPIC 3
Part 1: Visit the link below. Then answer the questions having to do with Identity.
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/maai/identity/identity.htm
IDENTITY
Framing Questions
• How did African Americans construct identity in antebellum America?
• How did enslaved and free blacks differ in their exercise of power and selfdetermination?
• How did African Americans define themselves as members of groups?
Part 2: Visit the link below. Then answer the questions for Slave Narratives.
http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/
SLAVE NARRATIVES
Browse at least 3 of the slave narratives.
1. What types of experiences did the slaves undergo?
2. Compare/contrast the narratives.
3. Incorporate your findings into your presentation – Suggestions: Create a
slideshow or scrapbook with images about the individuals.
Topic 4
Part 1: Visit the link below. Then answer the questions for Emancipation.
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/maai/emancipation/emancipation.htm
EMANCIPATION
Framing Questions
• How did enslaved African Americans envision and pursue freedom?
• How did free African Americans participate in anti-slavery campaigns and in
individual slaves' efforts to be free?
• How did these efforts set the stage for African Americans as a free people after the
Civil War?
Part 2:
1) Visit the link:
http://chnm.gmu.edu/exploring/18thcentury/runawayfromfreedom/assignm
ent.php
2) Download the excel worksheet by clicking the link “database spreadsheet.” Save
to your H drive.
3) Read at least 10 of the advertisements from the link below. Construct your
spreadsheet using information from the 10 ads. To access the ads, click
Resources (on the left-side of the page). Then, click Geography of Slavery in
Virginia. Then, click Advertisements. Then, Browse the Ads. Click on any of the
links (such as 1730s, 1740s, etc.) to browse ads from those time periods. Once
you click on the time period, click on any of the links for the months. Then, you
will be taken to a database containing any ads that were published in those
months. Try choosing ads from each time period so you can get a sense of the
progression and frequency with which they appeared in the newspaper. This
might tell you something about the changing trends. Use the guiding questions
below. You do not have to answer them but they will help you make your
selections because there are tons of ads to choose from.
GUIDING QUESTIONS (YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ANSWER THESE)

First, did you notice any change between 1728 and 1783? Did ads for one kind of
runaway become more common? Did the things the ads said, or the information they
gave, change over time? Was there any evidence of change in attitudes from the
Revolutionary War?

What kind of unfree labor are you seeing most often? Apprentices? Slaves? Servants? Is
it sometimes hard to tell? Does it become easier over time to tell if the runaway is a
slave, an apprentice, or a servant?

How old were the runaways? Did their age change over time? Where were they from?

What kinds of marks distinguished them? Did they try to disguise themselves?

Did the runaways seem to have any resources--that is, were they poor and ragged, or
well dressed? Did they seem to have help, or were they alone?

Was there a reward offered? Did it vary depending on the person?

Did the runaways appear to have any skills?

How often did the ads give the race or color of the runaway? Was it sometimes hard to
tell?

Did the runaways attempt to disguise themselves?

Is there any consistent pattern to their movements—that is, are most of them escaping
from one place to another? Does that pattern change?
4) Print out your spreadsheet or save it electronically to incorporate it in your
presentation.