Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Other Ideas (Discussion Topic)
Do you have ideas or insights regarding the novel that don't fit into any of the posted discussion topics? If so, please share your ideas here. Remember to read the other comments before posting your own so that you can engage with the ideas already put forth. Also, remember to use specific examples from the novel and quotations (with page numbers, of course!) whenever possible.
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Greetings and salutations
ReplyDeleteI would like to discuss how in the very beginning of the story, the author out-right pokes fun at himself and his other literary works. This is an enjoyable style of writing, because it's a-typical, such as how he starts off the story with Huck telling the reader:
"You don't know about me, without you have read a book by the name of 'The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer', but that ain't no matter. That book was made by Mr.Mark Twain, and he told the truth mainly. There was things which he stretched but mainly he told the truth" (1)
This passage puts Huck's perception on people fairly blunt, yet humorously to the reader. Personally, I think this makes to book more enjoyable in a way
Good to hear from you Isaiah. One thing going on in the passage you cite from page one reflects on a significant difference between Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Twain chose to write the first novel using an omniscient narrator: Tom doesn’t tell his own story. So when Huck says “that book was made by Mr. Mark Twain” he’s pointing out just how radically different this one will be. Here, the protagonist tells his own story and controls the narrative. It’s as if Twain chooses to surrender more authority to the boy telling the story than he does in Tom Sawyer’s narrative. Why do you think that might be? There’s also a huge irony where Huck says, “There was things which he stretched but mainly he told the truth” in the fact that, by pretending to surrender narrative authority to Huck, Twain is stretching the truth even further than he had done in the first novel. How many other ways does Twain “stretch” the truth?
ReplyDeleteHey Everyone!
ReplyDeleteI find that the banning of this book is really interesting in terms of what makes it offensive. I’m guessing it was deemed inappropriate because children contemplate murder, and that the word "nigger" is used constantly throughout the novel, but really in my opinion I think that maybe what really pushed this book "over the edge" is probably Jim's dialect. As Michael told us, Mark Twain tried to humanize dialect, but I really think this could be misread for someone who didn't know about this before reading the book. Jim's dialect I really associated with racist depictions of slaves before the civil rights act, or the speech actors used in blackface performances. When Jim says things like “O my Lordy, Lordy Raf’! Dey ain’ no raf’ no mo’, she done broke loosen gone!- en here we is!” (P85) I feel slightly uncomfortable reading his dialogue out of context. But Jim’s dialogue is much more understandable and a bit more natural as the novel progresses and I think that maybe those who deemed it inappropriate were reading sections of this out of context.
The first few chapters of this book explored many different aspects of Huckleberry’s life. He has very strong racial views and looks down upon African-Americans, but is somewhat amused by the slaves his family owns. He is willing to interact with them.
ReplyDeleteHuckleberry doesn’t have a normal father sun relationship with his father. He sometimes has fun with his dad, although he thinks of him as a drunk and sometimes is scared of him. He doesn’t love him, and would rather not be arpund him most of the time.
yes, i agree the fact that Huck has some racial view but through out the book, his interaction with Jim seems to be very friendly, more of a son-father relationship.
ReplyDeleteAs far as his father i don't think he cares much whether he stays with him or not because we learn that Huck doesn't enjoy spending time locked in a cabin.
From What I have noticed about the interactions between Huck and Jim is, in the beginning of the story he referred to him as "n-word" Jim, like how everyone else would have referred to him as. After reading a few chapters in, he doesn't refer to him using the racial slur: he instead replaced the n-word with "Miss Watson's" as if he belonged to her. When they run off and are floating down the river,attempting to find free territory, Huck sees that Jim is an actual human other than the other folks who see him as an "n-word" or a piece of property
ReplyDeleteHuck talks a lot about changes. He seems to like them because they're, well, changes. He finds that life is dull and monotone without out them. His life with The Widow Douglas is that of a normal middle class boy, going to school during the week and to church every sunday. Because his life keeps repeating itself day after day he begins to find it monotone at that point he joins Tom's band of robbers for a change. After a while of fake stealing and killing he begins to get bored again. Than Pap kidnaps him which is yet another change. He likes it because he doesn't have to go to school or church he can just laze around, but he doesn't much like his father who beats him and is constantly drunk, so he fakes his death and leaves.He lives on the island a little while with Jim and than people start looking for them. Life on the river is ever changing but is always easy and pleasant.I think that this is why Huck likes it so much, because it never becomes monotones but it's easy. At the end of the book Hucks life changes again first when he impersonates Tom and then when Aunt Sally decides to keep him. Huck is now back to his life at the beginning of the book in which he must go to school and to church and try to be a good boy. Will it last?
ReplyDeleteHi everybody, hope you're all having a good summer.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I was thinking about was the maturity of Huck. I kept seeing him get into all these mishaps and fast talking his way out of them. (The raftsmen pg.121, the old lady pg. 74) or just getting lucky (too many to name individually) Constantly I would see him get into trouble and think: "why did he want to ______ when it was probably not a good idea" At times like when he managed to escape from his Pap, he seemed to be an intelligent, quick lad. But in contrast, he is always getting into trouble! A constant question that forms in my mind is: Is Huck really mature or not? Jim is more grounded, he has more to fear if they are caught. But Huck constantly overrides him and gets the pair into a series of close calls.
Huck is a very handy outdoorsman, he can make his way on his own very well, but I think this is the difference between knowledge and wisdom. He knows alot about fishing and rafting and things of that sort that make him appear to me as mature, but he still behaves a child might, his curiosity causing him trouble. I haven't finished the last part of the book yet, but I am hoping he will start learning from his many mistakes soon.
I would like to discuss the notice at the beginning of the novel:
ReplyDelete“NOTICE
Persons attempting to find a Motive in this narrative will prosecuted; persons attempting to find a Moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a Plot in it will be shot.
By Order of the Author
Per G.G., Chief or Ordnance”
This is first worth mention because it is directly ordering the reader not to do what we are all doing. There are several reasons why Twain may have put in this notice. Perhaps he genuinely wished his book to be enjoyed as entertainment as a whole, rather than picked over and broken down. Perhaps he was actually challenging the reader, almost daring them to read into the text by making it a dangerous undertaking. The notice does have a certain humorous feel (the rhyming of “plot” and “shot”, the ludicrous idea of being “banished” for seeking moral instruction), which leads one to consider its hidden intention. The notice raises the question: is it possible to read a book without examining the motive, moral and plot? If it is possible to read without discerning, is there a point to reading at all? Perhaps this is a challenge to the reader to not only examine the novel, but to examine the examination and consider both what is gained with analysis and what it lost.
I would like to continue Sophies thoughts up above. I think some of the reasons for this notice can be found by looking at authors in general. Most people who write stories, or even just document events that happened, want the readers to understand, and continue reading, and they do that by taking the readers imagination, and putting things there that will capture it. This notice was most likely put there to enchant the reader, and make them imagine for what purpose the notice was put there for, and so, they will most likely go on to read the novel. Another of the things I would like to touch on is something else Sophie mentioned, and that is whether there is a reason to read without analyzing. I think that there is, and that reason is that almost all readers pick up a book to read about something interesting, something they will most likely never see for themselves. They want to be entertained. Other times it will be because they are interested in the subject they are reading about, and others want to learn something. But when I asked my mom why she picks up a book to read it, one of the things she said stuck with me. She told me about a series she had read, and know she feels like she knows how the environment is like there, how the characters feel, ect. and I agree. After reading so much about how life on the river is like, I feel like I know what it's like, even though Iv'e never stepped foot on a raft before. I feel like I know what mornings look like on the river, even though I've never seen the Mississippi. I feel this way due to Huck's story telling. I also feel there is something that is lost when one has to really examine the novel while reading it. It doesn't allow the reader to fully get caught up in the story, and just experience the events as they happen. It requires the reader to step back, and look at the story as if one was an investigator, looking at the facts as a whole, and dissecting them. Although at the end, one does feel as if one really knows what happened, it doesn't let the reader accept things as they come, then move on, but makes them keep the whole story in mind, and relate different things back to other things. This can be god when trying to unravel complicated story lines, it can ruin the big picture it the web of connections becomes too complicated in itself. Without the use of plots motives, and morals, a story would be nothing but a complicated presentation of facts, which Huck Finn is not. But I do think, that if one works hard enough, one could ignore the plot, thinking that it is but a random series of events. One could ignore the moral, just taking the story for a story, and one might even be able to ignore the motives of the main character, and think of them as random ideas the person thought of and used, but all of this would reduce the story again to a collection of pages where ideas were put together with no though to how it would turn out. I think it is important to accept that the plot, moral, and motive are there, but not go too in depth, as to not ruin the story by searching for them, and ignoring the tale, or facts, being told.
ReplyDeleteI really do hope this makes sense. Sorry if it doesn't.
I would like to bring up a discussion point about Huck and the con men claiming to be the "duke" and "king". Did Huck know they were phony and just act like he believed them, or did he actually fall into their trap?
ReplyDeleteActually Huck as we all know is very intelligent for his age and I think maybe for a quick second as the con men introduced themselves to Huck he might have believed them for a short amount of time. I knew right away that Huck would definitely figure them out and maybe toy with them in many ways. These con men are doing no good and Huck being with them makes him feel uncomfortable. There are many examples of this which goes back to chapters 24-27. The one I can really remember now is the one where Huck has been saying at the Wilks house and the con men the "duke" and "dauphin" had conned the women into giving up $6,000 to them. This makes Huck feel terrible and he feels that the con artists should not get away with it. He then sneaks into the con mens room, takes the money and hides it in a coffin belonging to Peter Wilk's. Huck's original plan was to warn Mary Jane about the scheme but hadn't had much time and was stuck? That's what I got out chapter 27. The point is is that Huck his a smart boy! I can't explain more how kind hearted and innocent this kid is! What a Bro.
ReplyDeleteI also think that for a short while, Huck may have been fooled by these, men, although he had them figured out pretty fast. I don't think it was a good idea for him not to tell Jim though, because maybe if he wasn't the only one who knew, he could have gotten help before they sold Jim. I think Huck was very upset at the affect these men had on him and Jim. At first it seemed as if he didn't mind their presence, but he began develop a dislike for them as he watched them scam innocent people out of their money. It put him over the edge when they sold Jim, and he decided he was done with them.
ReplyDeleteI wish to touch on a different topic. In the book, Huck has to deal with characters who have an addiction to alcohol. His father is the first, then later The King and The Duke. Jim also drinks, but doesn't have an addiction to it. When his father is it town, he does nothing but threaten and beat Huck up for money for whisky, then after he gets drunk, beats him up again. He is treated terribly, but he keeps on enduring it, because he doesn't want to sound like a wimp, asking for help. When his father abducts him, he doesn't try particularly hard to get away until his pap get raving drunk, and chases Huck around the cabin, yelling that he's going to kill him. I cannot imagine this is a very fun experience for Huck, but he doesn't even complain about it once. The next person he has to deal with who has an addiction to alcohol, and plays a part in the story is Boggs, the man who gets drunk monthly, that gets killed by Shepburn. The next people who Huck has to deal with are The King and The Duke. The are the worst in Hucks opinion, seeing as they get their money from scamming people, and stealing when they can. In the town of Pokeville, The King scams a group of people and gets around 90 dollars and steals a 3 gallon jug of whisky. Jim asks Huck latter if they are going to come across any more kings, and Huck says no and Jim is glad and says "dat's all right, den. I doan' mine one er two kings, but dat's enough. Dis one's a powerful drunk, en de duke ain' much better"(176). This shows that both are drunkards, just not to the point where everyone can tell, and they still have their wits about them. Another example of when they are drunk is when they just left the town where they had almost gotten the 6,000 dollars and they are both accusing one another of hiding it, and they get mad, and take to their bottles. "So the king sneaked into the wigwam, and took to his bottle for comfort; and before long the duke tackled his bottle; and so in about a half an hour they was thick as thieves again, and the tighter they got the lovinger they got; and went off a-snoring in each others arms"(264). Then they mention not being able to get drunk enough from what they get from the towns they work. Then one of the big blows came when they sold Jim for money to get drunk. This shows how far they are willing to go. Huck does not show surprise about them getting drunk. What really gets him mad is that they sold Jim,(273). Huck has the most trouble from the people in his life that are drunkards. His father, then The King and The Duke. Treating most anybody else like this would have them disgusted, and trying to run away at any chance they got, but because Huck grew up this way, he just accepts it.
ReplyDeleteI feel silly posting again here before anyone else has, but I wanted to bring up another topic. This one is about how Hucks relationship with Tom Sawyer. In the beginning, Huck spends time with Tom, and Tom has all sorts of ideas for what they can do, but somehow, it always seems to relate back to a book he read, or a story he was told(15). Huck seems to question the sanity of the "raids" they were doing, and he hardly believed Tom when he told him that "it was all done by enchantment. He said there was hundreds of soldiers there, and elephants, and treasure, and so on,but we had enemies which he called magicians,"(15-16). Tom tells him things about genies, and some such stuff, but laughs at him when he suggests getting "genies" for them selves, probably knowing there are no such things. Huck works this out for himself, when he tries rubbing an old lamp, and figures that "all that stuff was only another of Tom Sawyer's lies"(17). I feel that it's strange to think Huck knows that Tom lies on a regular basis, but still keeps him as a close friend. This may have to do with the fact that Huck also lies on a regular basis through out the book, but that has to do with survival and keeping free. When Tom lies, I seems to have to do with his own amusment, or for keeping others to believe his stories. Another fault I find in their friendship is the fact that when they are breaking out Jim, Huck could have done it the simplest way, and they could be gone, but Tom drags it on for weeks, making both Huck and Jim suffer through all of the things Tom read about heroes doing when they break out. I feel that this is a very trying test to their friendship when Tom forces Jim to suffer through all sorts of different things, like rats, snakes, and spiders, none of which Jim likes the least bit, but suffers through anyway because Huck is going along with it, and Jim trusts Huck not to let him get hurt. I find most of Hucks faith in Tom to be not worthy, and I think Huck only goes along because he loves the feeling of adventure that Tom brings.
ReplyDeleteMasculine roles are not hard to find in Huckleberry Finn, however the depth of the characters in those roles is absolutely limited. There are hardly any successful male role models in Huck's life, save for Jim and the qualities of some of the people he meets throughout his journey. More often than not, the people he encounters (most often men), are shallow, manipulative, troubled or disinterested in Huck's situation. His father is one of the worst, as an absent alcoholic (abusive when present), Judge Thatcher seems decent enough but doesn't provide anything for Huck aside from the promise of secure finances, the duke and the king are both incredibly self-serving and cold, and the list goes on. Huck's friends, those in the Tom Sawyer gang are giddy and brutish, superficial connections to a world of belonging that Huck seems never to find. Though his young companions are whimsical and very much in their own realm (9, 15) as is to be expected at their age, they are in many ways more put together than those of older age that Huck encounters. Huck himself is a dramatically imbalanced and transient character: woefully ill-equipped and is taken advantage of by the (29, 122, 260, 273) and yet intelligent, helpful, and mature beyond what is expected at his age (52, 127, 148, 239). Huck confronts assumptions of self-worth and superiority and challenges them with the depth of his relationship with Jim, his unconventional kindness towards Mary Jane (238), and his essential decency in regard to those he meets. With hopelessly inadequate examples of morally just or accepting individuals, Huck must discover how to be in the world on his own. In a novel focusing upon self-discovery and journeys this absence of role models is perhaps not a flaw, but a function, purpose of the story.
ReplyDeleteI guess this post goes here because it is mostly about an important time when Huck chooses between Jim, and going to hell and being shamed. A very significant part in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is when Jim gets sold to Tom Sawyer’s uncle. Huck is not sure what to do and his conscience really plays in. He doesn’t know whether to rescue Jim or not because if he rescued Jim, people would know him as the person who helped an escaped slave to freedom and he would be shamed not to mention the fact that he would have to explain why he was alive when he had faked his own murder. Huck knows that he would feel even worse if he didn’t rescue Jim so he decides to pray. He can’t seem to pray and he says that the reason is that: “I was trying to make my mouth say I would do the right thing and the clean thing, and go and write to that nigger’s owner and tell where he was; but deep down in me I knowed it was a lie-and He knowed it. You can’t pray a lie”(269). In saying this Huck shows that in his mind, and really deep down he wanted to rescue Jim. Later, he clearly admits that he treasures Jim and Jim’s friendship much more than the opinion of others and is willing to risk getting caught saving him and the possibility of him going to hell. He is contemplating sending the note to Miss Watson telling her where Jim is but then tears it up and says, “All right, then, I’ll go to hell” (271).
ReplyDeleteI’ve noticed that nobody’s really talked about the symbolism of the river, so I guess I’ll talk about that. In my opinion the river in this novel symbolizes a few things including peacefulness, the unknown, and freedom and the dangers associated with it. The river is often described as slow moving and calm, symbolizing peacefulness. Also there is, for the most part, a sense of general calm and well being while Huck and Jim are on the river. The river can be a symbol for the unknown in that it is sometimes depicted as having a huge bend in it that one cant see beyond or when it has fog on it that is impossible to see through. For Huck and Jim there is always an air of not knowing quite where they are going, and Twain has the river reflect this feeling. Possibly the most obvious of the rivers symbols is Freedom. On the outside, it very obviously symbolizes freedom because a slave can go up river to freedom in the north, but as you dig deeper it shows more. For Huck the river is a place where he is free from the troubles of the world, where he can escape to. He phrases this perfectly in his famous quote “We said there warn’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and comfortable and easy on a raft”. Though the river mostly shows the hope and glory involved in freedom, it also shows how dangerous trying to achieve that freedom can be, for instance the rough water may symbolize the struggle involved in escaping captivity. Another example would be the threat of being hit by a steamboat symbolizing the constant fear of being found by slave catchers. These are only a few examples of symbols that the river could be.
ReplyDeleteI also find it interesting how Huck says “nigger” very often, but still holds a very strong and respected relationship with Jim. It is almost as if he is saying it unintentionally and simply because of the era and what was going on regarding slavery.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to point out Huck’s connection to nature. Huck often talks about how powerful and beautiful nature is. Huck already feels a connection to nature because it provides him transportation, a home, and comfort as he proceeds through his journey. He describes nature to be intense, strong and beautiful. He says “It would get so dark that it looked all blue-black outside, and lovely; and the rain would thrash along…and then a perfect ripper of gust would follow along and set the branches to tossing their arms as if they was just wild” (59). Huck describes the looks and qualities of nature. He describes them as intense and life like. Huck’s connection and love for nature is interesting given his young age. He appreciates nature in a way most adults would. His descriptions are also interesting in the way they almost contradict each other. For example describing the intensity and force or nature as something lovely and beautiful, instead of something scary and harmful.
@Jackson: There's a whole section on it. It's under the month of July. :3
ReplyDeleteOn a (very) different note:
The only thing I find at all admirable about Huck is that he's working his beliefs and feelings about the world. A lot of people just push beliefs to the side or act they're totally devoted to it, or ignore the possibilities of anything all together. Huck on the other hand never turns anything down until he’s given it a try. He's making a genuine effort to try to figure it out. He's not walking blindly into, or away, from things. He tried out praying and didn't care for it, and then he tried again because he thought what he was doing for Jim was a sin and he discovered what was important and “right” to him.
“I’d got to decide, forever, betwixt two things and I knowed it. I studied it a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself:
‘All right, then, I’ll go to hell’ —and tore it up.
It was awful thoughts, and awful words, but they was said. And I let them stay said.” (270-271)
He found his own truth and realized that what he believes is important to him doesn’t have to matter to other people or fit into their agenda, if it’s right for him it IS important. I think that's pretty fantastic. He sheds his fear of doing it all wrong in trade for finding his own truth. That’s dammed admirable if you ask me, because of that he was able to over come the wall he up put and take down some barriers that kept him for feeling what he really feels for Jim. He's making an effort to try to figure it all out, realization and revelation doesn't just fall into his lap, he works for it, and works it out for himself. He doesn't expect anyone to believe them or try to change them. He knows what works for him and continues to do so. That, my friends, is the single thing I like about Huck.
-Char
Hello all, I hope you're enjoying your last days before the academic year begins
ReplyDeleteI noticed sort of a bad decision on the part of William Thompson in chapter 33 when he unexpectedly kissed "aunt" Sally. He followed the advice from "them" who said that she'd enjoy it. The reaction he got was not what he hoped to get:
"I'm surprised at you, m'am." "you're s'rp- Why, what do you reckon I am? I've a good notion to take and say, what do you mean by kissing me?"... "what made you think i'd like it?" "Well, I don't know. Only they - they told me you would." (287)
It seems that Mr.Thompson made a grave error in trusting the words of "them" whom he never explains the identities of to Sally, which in turn enraged her further than when he suddenly kissed her.
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ReplyDeleteChapter VII takes place on a dark night at the beginning of summer on which sound is distorted and people can float by as invisible as ghosts.
ReplyDeleteIn his escape from the ways of life he dislikes, Huck experiences and notices things on the river more clearly than others. Huck describes his father’s return just before he escapes: “he went by so close I could a reached out the gun and touched him. Well, it was pap, sure enough-and sober, too by the way he laid to his oars” (42). Huck is physically very close to his father- whom Huck can see-but is himself unnoticed. Interestingly, Pap is sober, so there isn’t the usual barrier to make him unaware of Huck in the shadows close by. Huck’s ability to notice things is unmatched by Pap. He is keen on the night of his escape because he feels empowered (not simply scared); he is getting away from his abusive father as well as the manners and starched clothes that the townspeople favor. Huck had articulated to Miss Watson that “all [he] wanted was to go somewheres; all [he] wanted was a change-[he] warn’t particular” (4). The moments after Huck’s escape signify the beginning of him getting what he wants, change; Huck wants to be free on the river because it is changing all of the time.
Huck accomplishes his escape by faking his own death. He is not only empowered, but as he sneaks around unnoticed, Huck becomes ghostlike. He drifts and eavesdrops, an action which Twain may allude to the fact that everyone that Huck knows believes him dead. Another episode of unseen closeness occurs on the river the same night: “when [the lumber-raft] was most abreast of where I stood I heard a man say, ‘Stern oars, there!-heave her head to stabboard!’ I hear that just as plain as if the man was by my side” (44). As in the passage about his father, Huck emphasizes the proximity by remarking “I could a reached out a gun and touched him” and mentioning that the man seemed to be “by [his] side”. In the same way that the dead, some believe, can observe the living, Huck, alone and believed dead, stumbles across many unrelated snippets of life on the river.
Huck is unnoticed as he watches his friends search the river for his dead body. Twain writes: “They all crowded up and leaned over the rails, nearly in my face, and kept still, watching with all their might. I could see them first-rate, but they couldn’t see me” (47). Ironically, the townspeople fail to see Huck when they are trying their hardest to see him. The people on the boat expect a corpse; Huck wants people to think that he’s dead. Twain combines the expectations, resulting in an invisible, unnoticeable, and ghostly Huck. The townspeople are so close to Huck that they are almost in his “face”; he can see them yet they cannot see him. This is similar to the way that Huck observes his sober father returning and is unobserved himself. Also, in all of these situations, Huck is taken somewhat by surprise, spying is not what he lays in wait for. This distinction between planning espionage far ahead and accidental cases of eavesdropping sustains Huck’s temporary identity as a ghost.
Finally, Huck remarks to the reader, perhaps to explain why he has heard so much unseen and unheard: “And how far a body can hear on the water such nights!” (42). (Although the episode with the townspeople didn’t take place at night)
@ Isaiah: I believe that making her mad WAS the point. By using the word "them", he hoped to enrage Sally, because it suggested that a group of people collectively considered her promiscuous.
ReplyDeleteThis had been touched on briefly, but I would also like to comment on the role of Tom Sawyer in the novel.
ReplyDeleteHuck's close relationship with Tom is clear from the start of the story with the formation of "Tom Sawyer's Gang," however there are strong dynamics present within their friendship. While Huck is prone to lying and does so for convenience sake, Tom lives to lie, tell stories, and create adventures. Tom establishes his position as leader quickly, commenting to Huck, "'Shucks, it ain't no use to talk to you, Huck Finn. You don't seem to know anything, somehow--perfect sap-head'" (17). Tom says this to Huck after Huck questions the practicality of a genie. To Tom, not believing in stories seems to be the equivalent of "knowing nothing."
Huck is quick to follow suit that Tom is more knowledgeable and clever than he, and throughout his journey down the river, he often compares himself to Tom, at one point noting "Tom Sawyer wouldn't back out now, and so I won't either" (82). Huck's thoughts of Tom Sawyer and his courageousness indeed encourage Huck's own spirit and bravery, yet not always for the better. Tom is held in such high regard in Huck's mind that it often causes Huck to push further into dangerous situations, just for the pride he receives from comparing himself to Tom. It is also shown how much Huck idolizes Tom when Tom offers to help Jim escape. Huck says, "I couldn't believe it. Tom Sawyer a nigger stealer! ... That was the thing that was too many for me" (284, 292). Huck has already decided to free Jim and while he battled previously with the guilt of not turning Jim in, he is now determined to get Jim to freedom. However, he cannot fathom that a person such as Tom would set a black man free, therefore showing how he holds Tom's morals and social image above those of his own.
Tom serves an interesting purpose in the novel. Since he does not come in until close to the end of the tale, we've grown accustomed to Huck and his lies, and Huck is viewed as an avid storyteller/liar and adventurist, however when Tom appears, he makes Huck seems wise and practical. Huck clearly holds much respect for Tom and his endeavours, yet personally, by the end of the novel, I was faced with much more appreciation for Huck and his sensible lies, rather than Tom's out-of-control thirst for unnecessary trouble under the guise of adventure.
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ReplyDeleteI think this book really got good when Huck and Tom Sawyer were together. I thought it was comical how Tom Sawyer always wanted to do things the hard way. This hurt them while rescueing Jim, however. They had it all planned out, but Tom had to leave a note to the owners of Jim telling them what was going to happen because this would happen in a book. This got the entire town up in arms, and resulted in Tom Sawyer being shot. This put Tom in critical condition, where he admitted that they helped Jim escape to aunt sally, but he was enraged when he found out that Jim had been captured again and they were thinking about killing him. Then he revealed that Miss Watson had passed away about two months ago and decided she wanted to free Jim. This shows how Tom really just wanted to go on an adventure, even though he knew that it was meaningless. Although Tom had a very unorthodox attitude towards doing things, because he always wanted to do things like people did in the books he read, I liked his character a lot and enjoyed the parts of the book he was in the most. Even though he grew up around very racist people, him and Huck weren’t completely brainwashed and they ended up risking there lives for someone they use to consider not even human, but instead just property. They both wanted Jim to be free and considered him one of their best friends.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading Huck Finn, it was obvious that Jim viewed his journey to the north as a way to freedom, but in my opinion Huck felt the same way. Jim, friend of Huck and fugitive slave, is running from the horrible treatment of slavery. Jim confides to Huck while on the raft, “ Jim talked out loud all the time while I was talking to myself. He was saying how the first the first thing he would do when he got to a free State he would got to saving up money and never spend a single cent, and when he got enough he would buy his wife which was owned on a farm close to where Miss Watson lived; and then they would both work to buy the two chidden; and if their master wouldn’t sell them , they’d get an ab’litionist to go and steal them” (pg. 124) This quote demonstrates only some some the obstacles slavery has placed on him; separation from his family, having his own money, and land. Although Huck in no way does he suffer from slavery the way Jim does , but he too is trapped by his abusive, alcoholic dad. In these ways both Huck Finn and Jim suffer the consequences of slavery and therefore view the river and their journey to the north as freedom.
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ReplyDeleteBecause The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a first person account, narrated by Huck, Huck’s personality and mindset are very important to the flow of the story. Huck, though able to survive on his own, is very dependent on the companionship of Jim. He has always had a guiding figure in his life, and during the time he spends alone on Jackson’s Island he becomes very lonely. Huck’s relationships with older male figures have never been ones of friendship but ones of control such as his relations with Pap and Judge Thatcher. Though Huck and Judge Thatcher were friendly with each other they never had a bond like the one Huck shared with Jim.
ReplyDeleteThe friendship between Huck and Jim is very fraternal. As close friends who depend greatly upon each other for survival they take turns sharing knowledge and making decisions.
“Well, you wouldn't a' ben here ‘f it hadn't a' ben for Jim. You'd a' ben down dah in de woods widout any dinner, en gittn' mos' drownded, too; dat you would, honey." (p. 60)
“Looky here, Jim, does a cat talk like we do?”
“No, a cat don’t.”
“Well, does a cow?”
“No, a cow don’t, nuther.”
“Does a cat talk like a cow or a cow, or a cow talk like a cat?”
“No, dey don’t”
“It’s natural and right for ‘em to talk different from each other, ain’t it?”
“‘Course”
“And ain’t it natural and right for a cat and a cow to talk different from us?”
“Why, mos’ sholy it is.”
“Well, then, why ain’t it natural and right for a Frenchman to talk different from us?—you answer me that.” (p. 97)
Jim is often the practical planner, preparing for rain and ensuring that the raft is safe, though he is also the more superstitious of the duo. Huck on the other hand has a less innocent view of the world and tries to share his knowledge with Jim. Though Jim sees that the King and the Duke cannot quite be called model citizens it is Huck who determines that they are persons whose company should be avoided. Huck and Jim strongly respect each other, each filling an important role in the other’s life.
I found it very interesting that Jim and Huck became totally opposite of their original characters by the end of the story. In the beginning of the book everybody thought Jim was dumb and Huck was basically a “nobody” in society. Even at the start of their journey they both became very import whether that was good attention or not. By the end of the book Jim was thought of as a smart and positive person that Huck really bonded with and Huck was shown as a kid that has been through a lot but has proven his abilities and endurance.
ReplyDeleteI think that the sole reason for Huck’s moral shift towards slavery is his exposure to Jim. Huck humanizes Jim the more time he spends with him because of the various experiences they have shared. Some of these experiences include Jim saving Huck from an inevitably fatal outcome. Jim relays this back to Huck when he states “you wouldn’t a ben here, if it hadn’t ben for Jim. You’d a ben down dah in de woods without any dinner, en getting mos’ drownded too, dat you would honey. Chickens know when it is gwyne to rain en so do de birds chile” (Twain 60) Jim’s knowledge of animals and weather patterns manage to save Huck this time from an unseemly death. Huck eventually comes to the conclusion that Jim is as good as any white man because of this exposure. Near the end of the journey Huck refers to Jim by saying “I knowed he was white inside. This implies that Huck sees Jim as an equal in a very racist society. This digression from moral turpitude is astonishing considering that at the beginning of their journey Huck was heavily considering returning Jim to Miss Watson.
ReplyDeleteI think family is something that has been over looked in this book. The lack and finding of it really shapes Huck.
ReplyDeleteHuck starts out, before we know him, in an abusive household with only his father. His father is an alcoholic and constantly abuses Huck mentally and physically. Then Huck is transfered over to the widow Douglas. There he experiences serious culture shock. He is put into a new box, he's told what to believe, what to wear, and so on. He is not abused but he's still afraid and hasn't found people who truly love him. When Huck's father comes back into the picture Huck's lost part of his fight and builds it back up when he finds that he has a chance to escape and do something. This entire time he's been pushed down and told that he can't do all the things he wants to or forced to do what he hates, but now he has a chance to be who he wants to be.
When Huck meets the Grangerford family he discovers the workings of a real family. Sure they are part of what is essentially a gang war but that's not the point. They constantly protected Huck and treated them as one of their own. Huck has in the past been made to feel like an outcast in his various "homes." (There's even Buck who has basically the same name and looks just like Huck in the illustration, and has a very similar personality) When they're gone Huck experiences his first real taste of loss. He truly loved these people and once again the people he cares about and are supposed to care for him leave him.
When Huck meets the Wilks family. He sees how broken it is and how a family really needs one another and becomes so attached to them that he gives them the truth and tries to protect THEM. Huck goes out on a limb for them letting go of all selfishness. Huck's seen a family in action, how it's meant to be and he does what he fears most to keep them safe, telling the truth. For him that's a serious sacrifice and puts him in a load of danger.
Next is Aunt Polly who knows and treats him as Tom. Huck gets to stand in the shoes of someone with a really family. He sees how people act when they care about him and most of the time it shocks him. He's not looking from the outside in anymore, he's expiriencing what it's like to have someone cry for him, tuck him in at night, and tell them how much they love him.
... She grabbed me, and hugged me, and says:
"Oh, what a turn you did give me! and ow glad and grateful I am it ain't worse... When I see that truck I thought we'd lost you..." ((337-338)
Aunt Polly's concern throws Huck off and it's the first time anyone has ever told something like that to Huck before (in the book anyways). He learns what hurts people and how to take care of them.
All through this Huck doesn't realize he's got a family in Jim. Jim plays a father and mother figure for Huck, praising him when he's done good, telling him when he's wrong, protecting and teaching him, letting him be a kid, teaching him respect, and humoring him in his various adventures. Jim also plays a brother like character, a partner in crime. Always there to help Huck and play with him and never treating him as anything but an equal. Jim gives himself away to protect Huck and even Tom because they become HIS family too. "He raised a considerable row about it, but me and Jim stuck to it and wouldn't budge" (341). Jim wants Tom to be safe so he stands up to him in order to do that. He even gives away his escape to help the doctor save Tom's leg. He knows it won't end well for him but he will give himself up in oder to protect his new found family.
At the end of the book Huck becomes an official part of Aunt Polly's family. I'm very curious to know how that works out. If he'll let himself become part of a new family.
-Char
After a night of intense gastrointestinal turmoil (so totally not eating indian food for another 6 months zomgosh), I have managed to separate myself from my significant porcelain other long enough to construct this post. Unfortunately, the frequent stomach spasms I currently suffer from have discouraged me from skimming other posts so as to see if anyone else has touched on this topic, but either way Tom Sawyer is a dick.
ReplyDeleteNot having read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, I do not know the origins of the character, but in Huckleberry Finn, the only purpose Tom seems to serve is unnecessary lengthening of plans due to his outlandish misconceptions and adamant belief in the fact that everything he says is correct. Maybe Tom is supposed to represent some facet of idyllic boyhood, such as constructing massively inconvenient fantasies that require others to do exactly as you tell them, or maybe he's just an arrogant prick. Arguably Tom does deserve some amount of respect (street cred, bro points, merit badges, balls in cups, whatever preferred accolade) for taking a bullet in the leg, but that circumstance did also arise because of his inordinate need to warn the locals about Jim's escape. It seems like every time I want to credit some small thing to Tom, I realize that it's really more of a fault of his own, such as his complete lack of growth throughout the entire book. Although Huck changes as a character during his travels, when Tom reappears in the end, he's the exact same overblown, full-of-shit kid he was in the beginning. By being such a terribly immature person, Tom manages to make Huck look that much better, I'm impressed. While I'd love to go on as to precisely what circle of Hell spawned Tom Sawyer, and all the cardinal sins he is directly culpable for, whatever foul poison is currently wreaking havoc within my intestinal tract is gaping its ugly, pustulated maw once again and I must heed its call lest I wish to have one hell of a mess on my hands.
The US and its’ citizens have come very far since times of slavery. The concept seems fairly simple, but the fact that just 150 years ago, people enslaved others based on skin pigmentation and forced them to work backbreaking jobs with no pay or luxuries for most of the day. Today people consider slavery a thing of the far past, but 1865 was not that long ago. Disregarding the fact that people in the US still believe slavery is an appropriate action for modern America, it is hard to comprehend just how African Americans were treated and presumed in those times. When a steamboat accident is being described, the character explaining the accident said, ‘nobody was injured, xept one dead nigger’. This really says a lot; if a life was lost on a modern day Cruise ship, it would be a tragedy no matter the race of the deceased.
ReplyDeleteIf you stop and think about, it is unfathomable how much they were treated like livestock. It is truly scary that people treated and precieved others in such a vile and hideous way.
When analyzing the river, its important to remember that without it, Hucks journey wouldn’t have ever been possible. Early in the book when Huck is trying to escape his abusive father, the river provides him his opportunity, written as “I went along up the bank with one eye out for pap and tother one out for what the rise might fetch along. Well, all at once, here comes a canoe; just a beauty, too, about thirteen or fourteen feet long” (40). Furthermore, the river provides huck with transportation, shelter, and opportunity. It is not always gentle or kind however, and often creates hardships for Huck and company along there journey.
ReplyDeleteIn a broader sense, I think the river represents life in it’s essence. It both creates & destroys, heals & wounds. The river is at times eery & dangerous while at others calm & beautiful. All around the river lies a world ever morphing, yet the river simply flows on undeterred.
I think that the Huck & Jim’s journey down the river also serves as a metaphor, representing how we are just getting swept down the current of life, unsure of where it will take us. From ending up in the midst of a long standing family feud to saving a gang of bandits, Huck constantly finds himself in new & unexpected circumstances where he is forced to make difficult decisions & painful sacrifices. In many ways Huck represents the unity of all people, as we blindly journey though our lives, trying our best to deal with whatever experiences & people we meet along the way.
Something that Huck Finn spends a lot of time dwelling on is ethics. This is true especially after he begins to have doubts about helping Jim escape to the Free States. Though Jim’s flight from slavery is a prime example of Huck’s internal struggle with his sense of right and wrong, something which is rarely discussed is the hypocrisy of most character’s ethics. While Huck lives with the widow Douglas he notes that she takes snuff but will not allow him to smoke. Though he is aware of the hypocrisy in this, he also seems to take it for granted. “And she took snuff too. Of course that was all right, because she done it herself.” (p. 3).
ReplyDeleteThough Huck sees hypocrisy in others, and accepts it, he is guilty of his own form of subjective ethics. “…concluded to drop crabapples and p’simmons. We warn’t feeling just right, before that, but it was all comfortable now. I was glad the way it come out, too, because crabapple ain’t ever good, and the p’simmons wouldn’t be ripe for two or three months yet.” (p. 80). Though after their deliberation Huck and Jim are still taking just as much as before from riverside residents the two feel they are less of a burden on the community. Similarly, Huck decides to save Jake Packard and Bill, the bandits aboard the Walter Scott, though he knows they will be hung when captured by local law enforcement. This is hardly different from the decision the bandits made to leave Jim Turner aboard the sinking ship, simply to avoid placing the burden of having killed him on their shoulders. Many characters in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn make decisions which seem benevolent, but in actuality only serve to improve how the see themselves.
in reference to Samuel Clemons' reasons for writing huck finn
ReplyDeleteMark Twain’s reasoning for The adventures of Huckleberry Finn to revolve around the social dilemma of slavery which had seemingly been resolved involves many different reasons. The most central one being that Mark Twain could see that not all was well with the attempts of reconstruction in the south. He realized that the changing social structure of the south was beginning to collapse which would most likely result in slavery once again. Of course Mark twain didn’t know that Hayes would end reconstruction after being elected president, but I do think that he believed that it would be brought to an end in a reasonably short time span because of the timing in which Huckleberry Finn was published. The novel is also an attempt to humanize African Americans by portraying Huck as an ignorant kid who thought that skin color meant a varied degree of intellect.
I would like to expand on what White tiger was saying about alcohol in the novel. You bring up many good points about the effects that alcohol has on people’s actions such as pap beating Huck and The king and The duke selling Jim into slavery, but you don’t mention the outcomes of each character who touches booze. You do mention the misfortune of Boggs who learned the hard way of why not to fuck with Shepburn, but you did not mention that both the duke and the king get tarred and feathered in the end of the novel. Nor did you mention that the most problematic drinker Pap was the dead man floating down the river in the house they find. So in essence everybody who touches alcohol ended up in a worse place then they started.
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