Huckleberry Finn

Off the raft

Mob mentality

• What happens between Colonel Sherburn and Boggs?

• Here Twain satirizes mob mentality. How? • The villagers fail to speak up for what’s right.

How is this scene also a commentary on the South’s attitude toward African Americans?

High and low

• The Shakespearean performance is a mixture of high and low culture. How?

• In the end the Shakespearean revival doesn’t draw a lot of theatergoers. The King and Duke come up with a solution that appeals to the baser interests of the men. What do they do? Why is this ironic?

Royal Nonesuch

• What is the Royal Nonesuch performance? • This is section of the novel is Twain’s satire on

entertainment. – The entertainers and the villagers are satirized.

How?– What, then, is Twain’s critique of entertainment?

The Wilks orphans

• This scam represents a significant moment in Huck’s maturity. Why?

Eternal damnation

• When Huck decides not to tell Miss Watson about Jim he acts against the laws of society and religion. Through his decision, Twain articulates an important theme of individual responsibility. What is his point?

Huck Finn, hero?

• Hero status– Character growth– Individual conscience– Moral clarity

• Not yet– Final section of the novel– Huck plays second fiddle

to Tom– “No’m. Killed a [black

man].” Huck’s response to Aunt Sally’s question about the blown cylinder-head on the steamboat.

Civilized, again

The Phelps’ farm

Hemingway

• American novelist Ernest Hemingway was influenced by Mark Twain, but nonetheless calls the ending of Huck Finn “cheating.”

• What does he mean by this? • Do you agree?

A study in contrasts

• Tom– Romantic hero– Complex plan to free Jim– Make-believe

adventures– Friendship around

adventure– Entertainment at the

expense of others

• Huck– Realist– Simple plan to free Jim– Real adventures– Friendship based upon

honesty– Defies established rules

In captivity

• Conflicting interpretations: – Jim’s silence is a sign of his intelligence. He’s deep

in slave territory and cannot risk alienating Huck.• OR

– Jim loses his voice during this section of the story. What’s your take?

– Tom represents society. Off the raft, Jim and Huck must follow the rules. What does this tell us about the Mississippi River as a symbol?

The Territory ahead

• Huck is among the first of many protagonists in American literature to stand against society.

• What do you think of Huck’s solution? • How does Huck compare to these other

American rebels? – John Proctor– Holden Caulfield

Bibliography

• Twain, Mark, and Alfred Kazin. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Bantam, 1981. Print.

• Wasowski, Richard. Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York, NY: Hungry Minds, 2001. Print.