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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

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Adventures of Huck Finn: Introduction

Adventures of huck finn: plot summary, adventures of huck finn: detailed summary & analysis, adventures of huck finn: themes, adventures of huck finn: quotes, adventures of huck finn: characters, adventures of huck finn: symbols, adventures of huck finn: literary devices, adventures of huck finn: quizzes, adventures of huck finn: theme wheel, brief biography of mark twain.

Historical Context of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

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• Full Title: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• Where Written: Hartford, Connecticut, and Quarry Farm, located in Elmira, New York
• When Published: 1884 in England; 1885 in the United States of America
• Literary Period: Social realism (Reconstruction Era in United States)
• Genre: Children’s novel / satirical novel
• Setting: On and around the Mississippi River in the American South
• Climax: Jim is sold back into bondage by the duke and king
• Antagonist: Pap, the duke and king, society in general
• Point of View: First person limited, from Huck Finn’s perspective

Extra Credit for Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Dialect. Mark Twain composed Huckleberry using not a high literary style but local dialects that he took great pains to reproduce with his idiosyncratic spelling and grammar.

Reception. A very important 20th-century novelist, Ernest Hemingway, considered Huckleberry Finn to be the best and most influential American novel ever written.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

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Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-7

Chapters 8-16

Chapters 17-29

Chapter 30-“Chapter the Last”

Character Analysis

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Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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SuperSummary New Releases

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• Literature Notes
• Freedom versus Civilization
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn at a Glance
• Book Summary
• About The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis
• Notice; Explanatory
• Chapters 5-6
• Chapters 9-10
• Chapters 12-13
• Chapters 15-16
• Chapters 17-18
• Chapters 19-20
• Chapters 21-23
• Chapters 25-26
• Chapters 27-28
• Chapters 29-30
• Chapters 32-33
• Chapters 34-35
• Chapters 36-38
• Chapters 39-40
• Chapters 41-42
• Chapter the Last
• Character Analysis
• Huckleberry Finn
• Character Map
• Mark Twain Biography
• Critical Essays
• Characterization — Pap versus Jim
• Famous Quotes
• Film Versions
• Full Glossary
• Essay Questions
• Practice Projects
• Cite this Literature Note

Critical Essays Freedom versus Civilization

 As with most works of literature, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn incorporates several themes developed around a central plot create a story. In this case, the story is of a young boy, Huck , and an escaped slave, Jim , and their moral, ethical, and human development during an odyssey down the Mississippi River that brings them into many conflicts with greater society. What Huck and Jim seek is freedom, and this freedom is sharply contrasted with the existing civilization along the great river. The practice of combining contrasting themes is common throughout Huck Finn , and Twain uses the resulting contradictions for the purposes of humor and insight. If freedom versus civilization is the overarching theme of the novel, it is illustrated through several thematic contradictions, including Tom 's Romanticism versus Huck's Realism.

The Romantic literary movement began in the late eighteenth century and prospered into the nineteenth century. Described as a revolt against the rationalism that had defined the Neo-Classical movement (dominate during the seventeenth and early eighteenth century), Romanticism placed heavy emphasis on imagination, emotion, and sensibility. Heroic feats, dangerous adventures, and inflated prose marked the resulting literature, which exalted the senses and emotion over intellect and reason. Authors such as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allan Poe all enjoyed immense popularity. In addition, the writers of the New England Renaissance — Emerson , Longfellow, Holmes, and Whittier — dominated literary study, and the public's appetite for extravagance appeared to be insatiable.

By the end of the 1870s, however, the great age of Romanticism appeared to be reaching its zenith. Bawdy humor and a realistic portrayal of the new American frontier were quickly displacing the refined culture of the New England literary circle. William Dean Howells described the new movement as "nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material." A new brand of literature emerged from the ashes of refined Romanticism, and this literature attacked existing icons, both literary and societal. The attack was not surprising, for the new authors, such as Mark Twain, had risen from middle-class values, and thus they were in direct contrast to the educated and genteel writers who had come before them. Literary Realism strove to depict an America as it really was, unfettered by Romanticism and often cruel and harsh in its reality. In Huck Finn, this contrast reveals itself in the guise of Tom and Huck.

Representing the Romantic movement, Tom gleefully pulls the logical Huck into his schemes and adventures. When the boys come together at the beginning of the novel to create a band of robbers, Tom tells the gang that if anyone whispers their secrets, the boy and his entire family will be killed. The exaggerated purpose of the gang is comical in itself; however, when the gang succeeds in terrorizing a Sunday-school picnic, Twain succeeds in his burlesque of Romanticism. The more Tom tries to convince Huck and the rest of the boys that they are stealing jewelry from Arabs and Spaniards, the more ridiculous the scene becomes. After the gang steals turnips and Tom labels them as jewelry, Huck finally decides to resign because he "couldn't see no profit in it."

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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

By mark twain.

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Summary

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is often considered Twain's greatest masterpiece. Combining his raw humor and startlingly mature material, Twain developed a novel that directly attacked many of the traditions the South held dear at the time of its publication. Huckleberry Finn is the main character, and through his eyes, the reader sees and judges the South, its faults, and its redeeming qualities. Huck's companion Jim , a runaway slave, provides friendship and protection while the two journey along the Mississippi on their raft.

The novel opens with Huck telling his story. Briefly, he describes what he has experienced since, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer , which preceded this novel. After Huck and Tom discovered twelve thousand dollars in treasure, Judge Thatcher invested the money for them. Huck was adopted by the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson , both of whom took pains to raise him properly. Dissatisfied with his new life, and wishing for the simplicity he used to know, Huck runs away. Tom Sawyer searches him out and convinces him to return home by promising to start a band of robbers. All the local young boys join Tom's band, using a hidden cave for their hideout and meeting place. However, many soon grow bored with their make-believe battles, and the band falls apart.

Soon thereafter, Huck discovers footprints in the snow and recognizes them as his violent, abusive Pap 's. Huck realizes Pap, who Huck hasn't seen in a very long time, has returned to claim the money Huck found, and he quickly runs to Judge Thatcher to "sell" his share of the money for a "consideration" of a dollar. Pap catches Huck after leaving Judge Thatcher, forces him to hand over the dollar, and threatens to beat Huck if he ever goes to school again.

Upon Pap's return, Judge Thatcher and the Widow try to gain court custody of Huck, but a new judge in town refuses to separate Huck from his father. Pap steals Huck away from the Widow's house and takes him to a log cabin. At first Huck enjoys the cabin life, but after receiving frequent beatings, he decides to escape. When Pap goes into town, Huck seizes the opportunity. He saws his way out of the log cabin, kills a pig, spreads the blood as if it were his own, takes a canoe, and floats downstream to Jackson's Island. Once there, he sets up camp and hides out.

A few days after arriving on the island, Huck stumbles upon a still smoldering campfire. Although slightly frightened, Huck decides to seek out his fellow inhabitant. The next day, he discovers Miss Watson's slave, Jim, is living on the island. After overhearing the Widow's plan to sell him to a slave trader, Jim ran away. Jim, along with the rest of the townspeople, thought Huck was dead and is frightened upon seeing him. Soon, the two share their escape stories and are happy to have a companion.

While Huck and Jim live on the island, the river rises significantly. At one point, an entire house floats past them as they stand near the shore. Huck and Jim climb aboard to see what they can salvage and find a dead man lying in the corner of the house. Jim goes over to inspect the body and realizes it is Pap, Huck's father. Jim keeps this information a secret.

Soon afterwards, Huck returns to the town disguised as a girl in order to gather some news. While talking with a woman, he learns that both Jim and Pap are suspects in his murder. The woman then tells Huck that she believes Jim is hiding out on Jackson's Island. Upon hearing her suspicions, Huck immediately returns to Jim and together they flee the island to avoid discovery.

Using a large raft, they float downstream during the nights and hide along the shore during the days. In the middle of a strong thunderstorm, they see a steamboat that has crashed, and Huck convinces Jim to land on the boat. Together, they climb aboard and discover there are three thieves on the wreck, two of whom are debating whether to kill the third. Huck overhears this conversation, and he and Jim try to escape, only to find that their raft has come undone from its makeshift mooring. They manage to find the robbers' skiff and immediately take off. Within a short time, they see the wrecked steamship floating downstream, far enough below the water-line to have drowned everyone on board. Subsequently, they reclaim their original raft, and continue down the river with both the raft and the canoe.

As Jim and Huck continue floating downstream, they become close friends. Their goal is to reach Cairo, where they can take a steamship up the Ohio River and into the free states. However, during a dense fog, with Huck in the canoe and Jim in the raft, they are separated. When they find each other in the morning, it soon becomes clear that in the midst of the fog, they passed Cairo.

A few nights later, a steamboat runs over the raft, and forces Huck and Jim to jump overboard. Again, they are separated as they swim for their lives. Huck finds the shore and is immediately surrounded by dogs. After managing to escape, he is invited to live with a family called the Grangerfords. At the Grangerford home, Huck is treated well and discovers that Jim is hiding in a nearby swamp. Everything is peaceful until an old family feud between the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons is rekindled. Within one day all the men in the Grangerford family are killed, including Huck's new best friend, Buck. Amid the chaos, Huck runs back to Jim, and together they start downriver again.

Further downstream, Huck rescues two humbugs known as the Duke and the King. Immediately, the two men take control of the raft and start to travel downstream, making money by cheating people in the various towns along the river. The Duke and the King develop a scam they call the Royal Nonesuch, which earns them over four hundred dollars. The scam involves getting all the men in the town to come to a show with promises of great entertainment. In the show, the King parades around naked for a few minutes. The men are too ashamed to admit to wasting their money, and tell everyone else that the show was phenomenal, thus making the following night's performance a success. On the third night, everyone returns plotting revenge, but the Duke and King manage to escape with all their ill gotten gains.

Further downriver, the two con men learn about a large inheritance meant for three recently orphaned girls. To steal the money, the men pretend to be the girls' British uncles. The girls are so happy to see their "uncles" that they do not realize they are being swindled. Meanwhile, the girls treat Huck so nicely that he vows to protect them from the con men's scheme. Huck sneaks into the King's room and steals the large bag of gold from the inheritance. He hides the gold in Peter Wilks 's (the girls' father) coffin. Meanwhile, the humbugs spend their time liquidating the Wilks family property. At one point, Huck finds Mary Jane Wilks , the eldest of the girls, and sees that she is crying. He confesses the entire story to her. She is infuriated, but agrees to leave the house for a few days so Huck can escape.

Right after Mary Jane leaves, the real Wilks uncles arrive in town. However, because they lost their baggage on their voyage, they are unable to prove their identities. Thus, the town lawyer gathers all four men to determine who is lying. The King and the Duke fake their roles so well that there is no way to determine the truth. Finally, one of the real uncles says his brother Peter had a tattoo on his chest and challenges the King to identify it. In order to determine the truth, the townspeople decide to exhume the body. Upon digging up the grave, the townspeople discover the missing money Huck hid in the coffin. In the ensuing chaos, Huck runs straight back to the raft and he and Jim push off into the river. The Duke and King also escape and catch up to rejoin the raft.

Farther down the river, the King and Duke sell Jim into slavery, claiming he is a runaway slave from New Orleans. Huck decides to rescue Jim, and daringly walks up to the house where Jim is being kept. Luckily, the house is owned by none other than Tom Sawyer's Aunt Sally. Huck immediately pretends to be Tom. When the real Tom arrives, he pretends to be his younger brother, Sid Sawyer . Together, he and Huck contrive a plan to help Jim escape from his "prison," an outdoor shed. Tom, always the troublemaker, also makes Jim's life difficult by putting snakes and spiders into his room.

After a great deal of planning, the boys convince the town that a group of thieves is planning to steal Jim. That night, they collect Jim and start to run away. The local farmers follow them, shooting as they run after them. Huck, Jim, and Tom manage to escape, but Tom is shot in the leg. Huck returns to town to fetch a doctor, whom he sends to Tom and Jim's hiding place. The doctor returns with Tom on a stretcher and Jim in chains. Jim is treated badly until the doctor describes how Jim helped him take care of the boy. When Tom awakens, he demands that they let Jim go free.

At this point, Aunt Polly appears, having traveled all the way down the river. She realized something was very wrong after her sister wrote to her that both Tom and Sid had arrived. Aunt Polly tells them that Jim is indeed a free man, because the Widow had passed away and freed him in her will. Huck and Tom give Jim forty dollars for being such a good prisoner and letting them free him, while in fact he had been free for quite some time.

After this revelation, Jim tells Huck to stop worrying about his Pap and reveals that the dead man in the floating house was in fact Huck's father. Aunt Sally offers to adopt Huck, but he refuses on the grounds that he had tried that sort of lifestyle once before, and it didn't suit him. Huck concludes the novel stating he would never have undertaken the task of writing out his story in a book, had he known it would take so long to complete.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Huck says this because he has come to realize that Jim is far more than Miss Watson's slave.... he is Huck's friend, and he is a member of humanity. Huck doesn't care because he knows that his friendship with Jim is more important than the...

I think it is supposed to mean poison.

What did Judge Thatcher want to do with the interest on Huck’s money?

He wanted to invest it.

Study Guide for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn study guide contains a biography of Mark Twain, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis of Huck Finn.

• About The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Video
• Character List

Essays for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Huck Finn by Mark Twain.

• Twain's Pre-Civil War America
• Censorship and Classics
• An Examination of Religion in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• Examination of Freedom as an Overall Theme in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• Twain's Women

Lesson Plan for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Introduction to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• Relationship to Other Books
• Notes to the Teacher

E-Text of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn e-text contains the full text of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

• CHAPTER II.
• CHAPTER III.
• CHAPTER IV.

Wikipedia Entries for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

• Introduction
• Illustrations

• Info & Policies

Huckleberry Finn Discussion Questions

Studying long-form literature as a class fosters meaningful dialogue and critical thinking.  Here are my Huckleberry Finn essential questions and my Huckleberry Finn discussion questions. I have organized the discussion questions based on my reading schedule , but cut and paste in any way that works for you.

• Pre-reading
• Week 1: “Breaking Away” (chapters 1-8)
• Week 2: “Is Huck Trash?” (chapters 9-16)
• Week 3: “Frauds and Fools” (chapters 17-22)
• Week 4: “Stories within Stories” (chapters 23-28)
• Week 5: “Huck’s Conflicts” (chapters 29-35)
• Week 6: “Twain’s Themes” (chapters 36-43)

Essential questions for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn : What ideas does Twain want to explore?

• What is morality?

Of Huck Finn Twain says, “a book of mine where a sound heart and a deformed conscience came into collision and conscience suffers defeat.” Huck (and, to a lesser extent, his comrades) strives to form a moral compass that maintains a certain logic and allows him to navigate an ambiguous world.  By the end of the book, Huck realizes that the morality imposed by society is hypocritical, arbitrary, and/or useless.

• What makes a person noble?

Huck’s concept of nobility is based on society’s models.  People like the Judge, Colonel Grangerford, European Kings, and even con-men like the Duke and the Dauphin are noble by virtue of the fact that society views them to be.  Huck realizes that nobility, like much of ‘sivilization,’ is more about perception than substance.  Twain counters that true nobility can be found in the virtues of people like Jim and Huck.

• How authentic are we?

Much of the The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn examines performance.  Huck must perform, Jim must perform, and people in general are the sum of their affectations, artifices, and personas.  Huck’s greatest strength is his ability to recognize all of the performances that surround him.

This concept is emphasized in the Duke and Dauphin’s rehearsals.  The two supposed nobles take on acting (an act of fraud in itself) and one feigns expertise. The audience is Huck, the supposed farm boy, and Jim, his supposed slave.

• Is society a positive influence?

Twain suggests that popular thoughts and behaviors are often idiotic or malicious.  Their popularity is based on attraction rather than morality or logic.  This can be seen in the romanticism of Tom Sawyer, the foolish pride of the Grangerfords, the gullibility of the townspeople, and the acceptance of slavery and racism.  The fact that Huck decides to break with ‘sivilization’ permanently is key.

• What are humanity’s greatest faults?

There is much to admire in the characters of Huck, Jim, Mary Jane, Widow Douglas, and others, but Twain spends much of his time satirizing human frailty.  The people in Huck Finn’s world build their morality around their desires rather than the reverse.  It is obvious that Twain is a cynic, but what are his greatest criticisms of human nature?

• How does one find freedom?

By the end of the novel, Huck turns his back on comfort and security in the interests of his freedom.  Jim, on the other hand, is compelled to seek his freedom as an alternative to being sold down the river.  For Huck, freedom means defying social constraints and impositions of conscience.  For Jim, freedom means the opportunity to ensure his family’s future.  They find freedom on the raft, where they can pursue happiness and relate as equals.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn discussion questions sets:

Pre-reading discussions.

Should students ever read a text that includes the n-word in school?  Under what conditions (if any) is it acceptable. Explain you views.

Should teachers only choose texts with admirable protagonists?  Should students ever be asked to root for a poor role model?

How do we know what is right? We receive varied and sometimes contradictory messages about what is right and wrong. How do you know the difference between right and wrong? Does the distinction even matter?  Think about the influences that have shaped your views on moral behavior.

What are the qualities that make a book appropriate for study in school?   What should schools and teachers look for when selecting literature?

Should some books be banned from schools?  Is banning a book ever appropriate? Explain your answer.

What qualities make a book a “masterpiece” in your view?   Huck Finn  is considered an American masterpiece by many.  Include the idea of social importance in your discussion and try to express the nature of this importance.

Does America have a unique history of racism or is racism around the world fundamentally similar?   Explain your perspective.

Why are human beings so superstitious?   Do superstitions have a place in you mind? Think about how popular superstitions serve(d) have social and psychological functions.

To what degree are people giving performances in their everyday lives?   Do you act differently depending on the context?  How do you know when someone is putting on an act?  Is this type of performance dishonest? Explain your answers.

Discussion Questions 1: “Breaking Away” (chapters 1-8)

Why does Twain use dialect so extensively?   Twain might have offered narration in standard English (and avoided offending English teachers of the period).  Why did Twain feel that the dialect was an important element to the point of view?

Why does Huck feel free to ignore the propriety (proper behavior) of the community?   What are his justifications? What can we infer about Huck’s character based on these views?

How do the episodes with Tom Sawyer’s Gang (chapters 2 and 3) demonstrate the moral confusion of Huck and the other boys?   Think about how Twain uses irony and humor to make his point about different moral codes.

Who is to blame for Huck’s decision to leave society?   Has he failed as a member of society or has the society failed him?

What is Twain trying to say with Pap’s brief return to propriety (proper behavior)?  Review chapter five to determine Twain’s theme in this episode.

What do Jim and Huck have in common?  Separate your thoughts into to the trivial connections (like shared interests) and the more profound (meaningful), unstated connections.

What are some of the ironies of Pap’s personality and behavior?   Is Pap’s portrayal purely entertainment or is there a deeper message? Explain.

Discussion Questions 2: “Is Huck Trash?” (chapters 9-16)

Why do you think Jim and Huck are so faithful to their superstitions?   What role do superstitions play in their lives? What inferences can we make about them based on this recurring element?

What is the symbolic importance of the river? Twain has already established the river as a key symbol in the novel.  What does it mean?  Use textual evidence to support your interpretation of the river’s symbolism.

What can we conclude about Huck’s intelligence?  Is he intelligent? If so, what is the nature of his intelligence? Use examples from the text to support your conclusion.

What do we learn about the relationship between Huck and Jim from their arguments?   Think about their disagreements about adventures, King Solomon, different languages, etc. in order to draw inferences.

How do Huck and Jim navigate morality? Look back on chapter twelve to read their discussions on stealing.

Is Huck trash? Consider what Huck thinks of himself. Think about the decisions that make him feel “low down.”  Is he trash in some ways and admirable in others? Refer to the text in your answer.

What are the complexities of Jim and Huck’s friendship? In what ways are they equals? In what ways are they not equals?

Related Post:  Huckleberry Finn Unit Plan for High School

Discussion Questions 3: “Frauds and Fools” (chapters 17-22)

What role does nature play in Huck’s life?   How does the natural world impact his practical life and his psychological/spiritual life? Analyze a key citation to support your answer.

Explain one example of satire from popular culture.  Satire is basically mockery to make a point.  Think about how comedians, TV shows, movies, songs, commercials etc. make fun of something in order to criticize.  Choose an example and explain the target, purpose, and method of the satire.

Who or what is being satirized in Huck Finn ? Satire is basically mockery to make a point (think SNL making fun of politicians through imitation). What are the main targets of Twain’s mockery?

Analyze one example of satire in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn .   It is easy to choose an example since Twain includes so many.  Explain the satire by identifying the target, purpose, and method (how the mockery works).

What is Twain trying to show with the family feud?   The battles between the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons are certainly entertaining, but what is the theme (message)?

Why is Huck so charitable towards men he knows are malicious liars?

Are Huck’s pranks and deceptions any different than those of the Duke and Dauphin?   If so, what is the nature of this difference? Use examples from the text to support your view.

Discussion Questions 4: “Stories within Stories” (chapters 23-28)

Why does Twain include so many little stories within The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ? Are the sub-plots effective or distracting? Explain.

What traits are shown by the episode of the Royal Nonesuch ? What is Twain a saying about people with his portrayals of both the frauds and the audiences.

Is Huck worldly? (Worldly means experienced and sophisticated.) In what ways is Huck experienced and sophisticated? In what ways does he fail to be worldly?

Why does Huck feel such a strong connection to Mary Jane?   Is it simply because she is charming and attractive or is there more to it?

What does Twain think of people in general? Is there a difference in how he views people behaving individually and how he views people acting in a group?

Related link: “Mark Twain on Religion and Our Human Egotism”

“I have been studying the traits and dispositions of the lower animals (so-called), and contrasting them with the traits and dispositions of man.  I find the result humiliating to me.  For it obliges me to renounce my allegiance to the Darwinian theory of the Ascent of Man from the Lower Animals; since it now seems plain to me that the theory ought to be vacated in favor of a new and truer one, this new and truer one to be named the Descent of Man from the Higher Animals.”

How gullible are we?   Twain’s portrayals of gullibility are pretty extreme.  Is he taking it to the point of silliness or is there a kernel of truth in these satires?

When is Huck free? Think about the different forces at work to limit his freedom.  Think about how Huck expresses himself when he feels free.

Are the Duke and the Dauphin capable con-men?  What are their professional strengths and weaknesses? (You could save this question for the next section.)

Discussion Questions 5: “Huck’s Conflicts” (chapters 29-35)

How are Huck’s external and internal conflicts related? Start by creating comprehensive lists of Huck’s external and internal conflicts respectively.

Has Huck resolved his internal conflict over helping Jim gain his freedom? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

Is Huck a racist?  Is it possible that he is a racist in some ways but not in others? Explain your view.

How are the Duke’s reasons for turning in Jim different from Huck’s reasons to turn in Jim?

How effective is Twain’s structure? An effective plot structure will create responses in the reader (like mystery, tension, and suspense.)  Did the episode with the Wilks brothers have you on the edge of your seat or falling asleep in your chair? Explain.

How are enslaved people viewed by white people in the novel?  Make sure to think about the contradictions in the views of people like the Wilks sisters. (Enslaved people are both valued members of the community and property to the Wilks sisters et al.)

Why is Huck disappointed in Tom when he agrees to help free Jim?   Look back to chapter 33 in order to examine Huck’s logic.

Have Huck’s views on morality (right and wrong) changed? Explain.

Why does Huck continue to pity the Duke and the Dauphin?   What can we infer about Huck based on this response?

What are the main differences between the personalities of Huck and Tom?   What are their respective values? Think about their differing plans for freeing Jim. What is Twain illustrating with the boys’ differences?

Why is Tom’s escape plan so silly?  Why is it so important that Jim’s jailbreak be convoluted and spectacular?

“‘It don’t make no difference how foolish it is, it’s the right way – and it’s the regular way.’”

Discussion Questions 6: “Twain’s Themes” (chapters 36-43)

Is the ending terrible? Many critics of Huck Finn argue that the ending is a let-down.  Why is Jim’s emancipation such an anticlimax? Did Twain get carried away in silliness and lose his way, or is there more going on?

Related link: “Is Huckleberry Finn’s ending really lacking? Not if you’re talking psychology.” from Scientific American

Related link: “Defending the Ending of Huckleberry Finn” by Richard Hill

Related link: “Say it Ain’t So, Huck: Second thoughts on Mark Twain’s ‘Masterpiece'” by Jane Smiley

What would be a more satisfactory ending? Briefly outline your alternate ending, and explain why you think it would better for the reader.

What is being satirized with Tom Sawyer?  In this novel it seems that Tom is being used as a satire. Who or what is the target? Hint: There is more than one answer. (The main targets associated with Tom are romanticism and slave owners.)

What is the significance of Huck’s decision to strike out into the world? Is it important that he decides not to return to his community and his fortune?

Why does the leadership change once Tom is wounded? Look back to chapter 14, and think about this important shift for the characters.

Why is Jim’s treatment at the Phelps’ farm so contradictory? Think about how he is treated upon his capture, when he returns, and in the end.  What is the meaning of these contradictions?

What is the allegory?   An allegory is a story that is contains a hidden interpretation. (For example, the novella Animal Farm  focuses on pigs, horses, and poultry but is actually about communist Russia.)  Interpret the prison break in Huck Finn as an allegory: The story of the jail break is really about…

Is the entirety of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn an allegory?   What might the hidden interpretation be?

In what ways has Huck changed since the beginning of the novel?   Use examples from the story to support your answer.

Why doesn’t Jim scold Tom for pranking him? Remember that Huck received a harsh admonishment after his prank in the fog.  Tom’s deception is much more cruel, but Jim lets it go.

To what extent is Jim putting on an act?   The fact that Jim finally reveals the death of Pap in chapter 43 is telling.

Related link: “Finding Jim Behind the Mask” by Leslie Gregory

Related link: “The Jim Dilemma: Reading Race in Huckleberry Finn “

What is the significance of clothing as a recurring element? Twain uses clothing very strategically in Huckleberry Finn .  Think about Huck’s view of clothing, examples of nudism, and the Duke and the Dauphin to reach your conclusion.

How does Twain’s satire work?   Make generalizations about the targets, methods, and purposes of his brand of satire.

Should schools chuck Huck ? Some schools are dropping Huck Finn from the curriculum, yet many defend it as the most important work of American literature. Express your view with thoughtful justifications.

Related link: “In defense of Huckleberry Finn “ from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Related link:  “The Flawed Greatness of  Huckleberry Finn “  by Tom Quirk

Related link: “Schools Continue to Grapple with Huckleberry Finn “

Thanks for checking out Huckleberry Finn Discussion Questions!

If you have found my Huckleberry Finn discussion questions helpful, consider using my complete Huckleberry Finn unit and teacher guide .

Related post: 30 Tips for Teaching Huckleberry Finn

Related post: defending huckleberry finn in the classroom.

Most of the discussion questions relate back to the Huckleberry Finn essential questions:

When students are engaged with the right questions, they can go beyond comprehension and ELA standards.  Once a lesson reaches the discussion stage, students should be thinking critically about the author’s craft, assumptions, context, and legacy.

I hope that these Huckleberry Finn discussion questions will help you engage your students in some thought-provoking dialogue.

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Racism In The Mark Twain's Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

1. introduction.

"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is a celebrated novel and a moneymaker. The adventures are over. We are anti-climax. The novel has run out of adventures and is ending in a repine. And, as a result of all the excitement we've been through, the tangle of mystery has been unwound at last and laid bare. Huck says of himself, at the end, that "he soaped himself in the washbowl, and, of course, that didn't really clean him; he only began to think he was clean." The same can be said of the novel. It is the romance of the untidy and the unwashed - of old Jim, the N-word slave. Twain has drawn a splendid mosaic. He has painted a masterly picture. Though it is a challenging job to interpret it, high school students are taught Huck Finn as unproblematic because it seems to be about an unproblematic relationship. The paradigm formulation of the nature of this relationship is Judith Loftus' problematic explanation of blackness: "Goodness knows, I've cried till I was about blind over poor Nigger Jim." To some, "poor Nigger Jim" may mean just a sorry figure; but Miss Judith means no such thing. In the eyes of Miss Judith and nearly all the rest of the people who figure in the narrative, Jim is "poor" because he is a Negro; because he is the old N-word slave. Race is at the heart of Twain. Huck Finn and Chronicles of racism.

1.1. Background of Mark Twain and the Novel

Samuel Clemens, under his penname Mark Twain, wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn at the end of the first decade of the twentieth century. The novel first appeared in 1885, landing it at the beginning of Reconstruction. Twain, who grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, a slave state, built his novel on observations of human nature and of the society in which he found himself. Recorded in his journal, the story grew from an event that he witnessed on one of his trips down the Mississippi River. The original story featured an African American man with a harelip. The novel, while submerging the characters of color in demeaning stereotypes, represents the transformation of the United States that occurred after the Civil War. The main action lasts only a few weeks, from June 20th through to the end of July. Yet Huckleberry Finn was an immediate success because it told the truth about the ways people treated others who appeared to be different. A year prior to Huck's adventures, an unfortunate amendment to the United States Constitution (XIII) attempts to limit the consequences of prejudice. Late President Abraham Lincoln signed a new amendment into law on 15 December 1865. It stated, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” This statement plus Article XIV and Article XV were the harbingers of a brighter day for people classified as unlucky by whatever society included them. If the Constitution could regain its original strength, people might begin to concept of a free society through the actions structures to see advantage in the concept of resurrecting a nation destroyed by their own hatred. Twain's novel was a boat on the stream leading away from timeless, deadly behavior. In a time when concern about injustice filled the public domain, Twain sounds a note of caution to post-war Americans.

2. Historical Context of Racism in the 19th Century

The concept of racism has been the focus of much societal and academic attention in recent history. Early meanings of racism still apply, but over time they have taken on quite negative aspects that are hard to ignore. In the 19th century in America, people from various ethnic or racial backgrounds experienced unspeakable acts of hatred, stereotypes, bias, and racist remarks. Mark Twain's 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' is a significant novel in this respect because it is a story about enlightened progress and gains in learning for the very young nation. One of the writing values is that contemporary themes are present in novels, articles, speeches, and other forms of communication that educate on the injustice that takes place in the world, reinforce the fact that racism is divided into forms, and make people think about the effects of tolerating racial discrimination. Slavery was the base of virtually every part of the lives of black people in the 19th century. African Americans received no constitutional protections when the country was established and developed alongside the European American experience. Originating in the early 17th century, slavery was a means of work and economic regeneration for the United States of America. Although blacks were initially thought of as company or even commodities, even those of social and political prominence began to see them as racially and racially different. As the right to life, freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are naturally occurring freedoms of the human being, the struggle against the worldwide domination of whites over blacks, which was particularly severe within the borders of the United States, began to become stronger. This demand for Abdias do Nascimento also attaches negative aspects to the act of gratitude. The history of racist society and religious beliefs fuels a sense of self-confidence that is at odds with the principles of the philosophy of music and creative thought that argues its social and cognitive origins within the common African and Caucasian groups of the Homo sapiens species.

2.1. Slavery and Race Relations in the Antebellum South

Racism in the United States during the early- to mid-1800s was deeply rooted in the anglicization of America, adding to the fact that the ruling class in the South was American and the slaves were African in origin. African slaves and American masters had different appearances, spoke different languages, had different belief systems, and possessed different traditions. Fear, curiosity, hatred, concern, and fascination in the presence of a slave were some of the often experienced feelings of Americans. White Americans looked at slaves as both human beings and slaves, repressing their guilt feelings by easily arguing that African slaves are an inferior race, that African slaves are to be tutored, and slavery is for their good. As a result of all of these, it was no longer a bizarre phenomenon to see racist perspectives and behavior being fitted into religious and moral concepts. It was accepted without reservation that the African was biologically, intellectually, and physiologically different from the white, representing an inferior race; and slavery was being defended as a tradition that had roots several thousand years in the past. Each individual in the South was subjected to authoritative institutions, the whole society being organized around slaves. The freeing of a few courageous slaves was perceived as a betrayal of the principles of solidarity required by the system. Laws, society, courts, and religion each had its own role in accepting slavery just the way it was.

3. Racial Stereotypes and Language in the Novel

For all readers, Twain's use of racial caricature and slurs might make the novel unsuitable for today's multicultural classrooms. Some teachers feel that as long as the novel is taught with sensitivity and students are prepared for it, any work that accurately explores the use of racial stereotypes in American literature could still be used. If the novel is censored and Huck is viewed as simply a novel set in the pre-Civil War South, those important discussions will disappear. As Greg Hise claims, we must question whether Twain's goal was to offend and denigrate. In the context of the mid-nineteenth century, was the novel racism masquerading as satire or was it progressive for its time? Earlier period novels did not always include the dialect of African Americans in their pages, but Twain's novel does use it. While Twain employs the same colloquialisms white speakers use, Huckleberry Finn does provide students with examples of an oral dialect from the period rather than the literary standard by white authors. Readers are confronted with a dialect established by a long tradition of a culture which means that regional language is not inferior or wrong but one of the native tongues, neither black nor white, of a particular place and time. Its authenticity, however, is built on racial stereotyping.

3.1. Portrayal of African American Characters

Certainly, this novel presents some valuable, thought-provoking material about the challenges and complexities of racism. Twain principally approaches the topic by using African American characters like Jim and the Duke and King to attack racist attitudes perpetuated by white society. These characters are far from the only ones that offer a critique of racism. In the episode where Huck comes into conflict with Aunt Sally, Twain hammers home his point: Aunt Sally is mainly concerned about whether a major accident that allegedly occurred on the boat on which she believes Huck to be traveling, involving a steamboat boiler explosion, damaged her property. Researcher John H. Wallace also explores slavery and racism in Huckleberry Finn. Wallace writes, "Jim, the slave of Miss Watson, feels that Huck has unjustly killed the snake who had tried to harm him. Huck has given reason for Miss Watson to not sell Jim down the river; to get Miss Watson "tuf to do, en'ut none of de no-accounts about de place". Twain's satire, or manner of exposing Red America, is directed portraits of representative types opposed to slavery. Huck tells his father about the way Jim would never be parted from him, as the mass of fathers force a parting of a small boy from a bigger slave. Jim tells Huck, "Dah you goes de ole true Huck; de on'y white genlman that evah kep his promise to ole Jim." This loyalty is the exception to the rule that only African Americans were trusted and could ultimately be loyal. Only a few, like Huck, could transcend the evil of racism and see the truth.

4. Criticism and Controversies Surrounding the Novel

Although some African American critics have applauded the book for exposing the abuses and hypocrisies of white racism, for most of the novel's history, there has been astonishingly little positive criticism of the book's portrayal of African Americans and their dialect. Most African American critics have concluded that though the novel does indeed reveal how guilt-ridden some whites were about racism, the book's dominant stance is racist and unenlightened. They censure its portrait of Jim as a passive, childlike superstitious caricature; they decry the novel's unrelenting use of the word "nigger" and its degrading view of African Americans; they object to its portrayal of Southern society as a just and moral place; and they criticize Twain himself for having avowedly avoided commenting on other social ills, such as child labor and prostitution, that existed at the time. Clearly, most of this criticism is valid and needs to be taken seriously, and it has indeed reached a point in recent years where it is often vacuum-packed and crated as if doubt, confusion, or lack of perspective did not exist in the reception of the novel. Indeed, the excess of negative readings has made it easier for many scholars who would afterwards defend the book against censorship to lose sight of the massive evidence that condemns the novel's portrayal of racism and stands as a warning against its use in the classroom. Because the criticism has gone too far in this direction, the result is that the novel is no longer interesting except as a historical precipitate, and it is no longer read with the serious attention it both requires and deserves. It is often only noted for its perseverance as the residue of a difficult problem that can never be completely resolved in an unsatisfactorily post-structuralist age.

4.1. Debate on the Use of Racial Slurs

Much, if not all, of the debate over the novel deals with the use of racial slurs in the novel. Some have argued that Twain's use of such language should disqualify the book from being taught in schools, and that it keeps the book from its true purpose of racism satire. Others have retorted that the new use of racial slurs in the novel is a version of political correctness and historical revision, since that sort of language was common at the time of the novel's writing. Some have said that the novel's views concerning race can't be fairly understood isolated from its satire of nearly every other way to think about the unknown, while others have complained that such a claim is simply damage control for a novel that's clearly racist. Yet another camp have said that while the novel isn't racist, and that it doesn't condone racism, that everyone should let it go and teach other books because enough people find the book racist to the point where its race relations message is futile, and that respect for those people's feelings should come first. Note, however, that some critics of the novel see the problem, not as its use of racial slurs, but rather in its portrayal of the African-American characters rather than the white characters. However, scenes in the novel depicting slavery are racial stereotypes used to ignite hilarity, as the slaves are depicted as comical. Characters like Pap, and the all around racist tension, given Huck himself rather than the African American characters, are themselves targets of satire. Given all of the ambiguity concerning the figures of race in the novel, perhaps one of the approaches to the novel that's most central to its heart is writing an essay where you argue whether the novel's deepest satirical targets are in fact the white characters, the African American characters, or both.

5. Impact and Legacy of 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'

Other attacks on the book have been generated by Moral Majority activists such as the AFA, who have condemned the book's vulgarity and bad language. However, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the book's powerful anti-racist message has resulted in public apologies for its absence in the curriculum. The National Council of Teachers of English issued a call to place the book back on school syllabuses in 2000, and subsequently Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush both praised the book. Whilst the novel has certainly been subjected to much criticism, it has also had a remarkable impact and legacy. It remains a classic of American literature, is widely used by American school children, and is much esteemed by American school teachers. Whatever the debates about race and racism which raged during its history, it remains loved and respected, and its literary merits continue to be recognized. The novel itself is a creature of great complexity that exhibits elements of the minstrel tradition as it both seeks to depress the minstrel and to amuse its readers through humor. Debates have raged among scholars over the meaning of the work, with some disputing Twain's association with the text and others disputing the serious 'morality' supposedly exhibited in the book. The novel's central characters - Huck and Jim - struggle visibly with complex moral issues in a racist world, and recent critics have concluded that the novel is not as racist as has been supposed. Indeed, the text challenges anti-racists as much now as it did a hundred years ago to confront and combat the racism that existed and exists in American life.

5.1. Influence on American Literature

Mark Twain, the author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is often and seriously criticized over his use of the word "nigger." Critics have said that it is worth for the insultation of the black people as of capturing the soul of the work and precious. As a matter of fact, the writer uses this word in order to tell the truth or for spite. Through this novel, he criticizes the slaves, their administration, the mind and the politicians of that time and the civilization. He believes that the real clowns are not the working people, i.e. appeared by bowing downwards. Then, the people who pretend to be courteous and supposedly good people are more inclined to debate of instincts. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn takes an important place in the history of American Literature, and authors since this novel has inspired other writers to use racism and slavery, which were the most critical problems of that time. Because of the lack of other writers done for protesting these problems, Mark Twain's own ideas of criticizing will be discussed in a lot of approaches by giving reference to the criticisms in folklore, fable, and folk narratives to deal with the problems of the slavery of the middlebrow.

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The Best Books of 2024 So Far

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W hat does it mean to really belong? What happens when we can no longer recognize where we came from? And what do we owe to the places that raised us? These questions and more drive the best books of the year so far, a crop of novels, memoirs, and essay collections that tackle love, loss, friendship, and more. From Lydia Millet’s exploration of our collapsing planet to Kaveh Akbar’s portrait of an orphaned son looking for answers about his family’s history, these narratives interrogate deep feelings about the world and how to find a place in it.

Here, the best books of the year so far. 

There's Always This Year, Hanif Abdurraqib

In Hanif Abdurraqib’s There’s Always Next Year: On Basketball and Ascension , the Ohio-native channels his musings on life through the sport and the state that have shaped him. Structured in quarters with timestamps and timeouts like a basketball game, the essay collection moves through reflections on his father’s jump shot, a dissection of the legend of LeBron James , and more. Abdurraqib, a poet, cultural critic, and National Book Award finalist, offers a complex rumination on home, belonging, and mortality. — Cady Lang

Buy Now : There's Always This Year on Bookshop | Amazon

Martyr! , Kaveh Akbar

The protagonist of poet Kaveh Akbar’s devastating debut novel is grappling with a death that shaped him from an early age. When he was just a baby, Cyrus Shams lost his mother to a plane crash over the Persian Gulf. He then moved from Tehran to the U.S. with his father, who worked in the Midwest as a farmer. Now a college graduate and freshly sober, Cyrus finds himself drawn to an exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, where a painter with terminal cancer is spending her remaining days on display. Martyr! explores the connection between these two characters, culminating in a decades-long examination of addiction, art, and belonging. — Annabel Gutterman

Buy Now : Martyr! on Bookshop | Amazon

Beautyland , Marie-Helene Bertino

Much like a certain lord and savior, the heroine of Marie-Helene Bertino’s strange, engrossing third novel is at once fully human and entirely otherworldly. Born in 1970s Philadelphia and raised by a penniless single mother, Adina Giorno also happens to be a space alien who communicates via fax with extraterrestrial overlords who’ve sent her to report on earth’s society. Beautyland tells the bittersweet story of her similarly contradictory life, a regular existence punctuated by flashes of the extraordinary. Underlying these paradoxes is the poetic observation that there’s nothing more human than the experience of gazing out at a planet full of incomprehensible people who look just like you and deciding that you must be from outer space. —Judy Berman

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James , Percival Everett

In James, Percival Everett finds new insight in retelling Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from a different point of view—that of Jim, who is enslaved by one of Huck’s guardians. Everett follows the original’s episodic adventures on the Mississippi river, but sticks with Jim as he escapes the plantation to find his wife and child. In reimagining the story through Jim, the author adds to it, imparting depth through keen observation and sharp humor as he exploits the familiar tale to skewer American racism and social expectations. The reader gets the inside view of James in his full, varied self, and how he hides his erudition and humanity to play an amenable caricature for the white people around him. With Everett’s deft writing, this playful, pointed novel is a commanding and captivating read. — Merrill Fabry

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Anita de Monte Laughs Last , Xochitl Gonzalez

It’s 1985 when Anita de Monte—the new jewel of the art world—falls out of a window and dies after a fight with her husband, the minimalist sculptor Jack Martin. De Monte’s legacy is shrouded and forgotten by time until Raquel Toro, a third-year art history student at Brown University, rediscovers her story in 1998 and goes on her own journey of navigating class, race, and misogyny in creative spaces. Inspired by real-life Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta’s untimely death and her relationship with artist Carl Andre, author Xochitl Gonzalez’s latest novel delivers a hilarious, vivid, and blistering account of how power manifests not only in art but also in history—and who ultimately gets the last word. —Rachel Sonis

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Coming Home , Brittney Griner

Even those who closely followed the news of American basketball star Brittney Griner’s unlawful detainment in Russia in 2022 will find new insights in her story. In Coming Home , a searing memoir co-written with Michelle Burford, Griner takes readers behind the scenes to trace her steps from the airport security screening that resulted in her arrest on drug charges, to her first days in jail and on trial, to her transfer to a remote prison, and finally to her release in a prisoner swap. Griner’s voice jumps off the page as she turns an international news story into an intimate, moving tale of perseverance. — Lucy Feldman

Read TIME's excerpt from Brittney Griner’s Coming Home

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Splinters , Leslie Jamison

In her bruising memoir, Leslie Jamison traces the cracks in her marriage, which fell apart shortly after she gave birth to her daughter. Splinters follows the author as she navigates the COVID-19 shutdown while unexpectedly raising a child as a single mother. She also chronicles the ennui of teaching through a computer screen—and dating through one, too—in frank prose, imbuing passages with startling honesty and lush turns of phrase. — Meg Zukin

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Real Americans , Rachel Khong

Rachel Khong broke out in 2017 with her debut novel Goodbye, Vitamin , which told the story of a woman caring for a parent after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. In Real Americans , she builds on her interest in the family story, this time offering a multigenerational tale that traces the lives of a mother, a daughter, and a grandson from Cultural Revolution-era China to near-future San Francisco. Khong never lets her reader settle too comfortably in any one character’s narrative, gently calling for deeper curiosity and compassion for the people in our lives, who, she posits, we may never fully understand. — L . F.

Read TIME’s profile of Rachel Khong

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The Book of Love , Kelly Link

When The Book of Love begins, teenagers Laura, Daniel, and Mo have just been resurrected from the dead. Though it’s news to them, the trio mysteriously disappeared almost a year ago, and they now have the opportunity to return to their lives, which are inextricably changed. But the chance to reverse their bad fortune is tricky—and made even more complicated by their burgeoning supernatural capabilities. Bizarre in the best way, Pulitzer Prize finalist Kelly Link’s debut novel offers a dizzying narrative about grief, love, and possibility as the group attempts to adjust to their new normal. — A.G.

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We Loved It All , Lydia Millet

Lydia Millet’s award-winning fiction is rooted in her deep admiration of nature—and she dissects that passion in her first memoir, We Loved It All . In her strikingly clear voice, Millet moves between moments in her own life and those of the nonhumans that surround us all. She’s as honest in her reflections on love, motherhood, and ambition as she is in capturing the terrifying realities of climate change. Her novel is a love letter to the earth and all who inhabit it, punctuated by sharp and lyrical prose. — A.G.

Buy Now : We Loved It All on Bookshop | Amazon

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Write to Lucy Feldman at [email protected] , Annabel Gutterman at [email protected] and Cady Lang at [email protected]