Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Chapter notes

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Chapter notes

Intro: Huck FinnTwain wasnt entirely sure at the time of composing the notice that begins the book which aspect of his creation he wanted to emphasize its seemingly innocent evocation of the past, or its highly ironic and humorous condemnation of that past, especially the race-based social system that persisted in the South.

Chapter 1: Huck FinnHucks tone: friendly, honest, and maybe a bit rascal-like: He almost calls Twain a liar, although he doesnt realize that it could be taken as an insult.Twains trick: Hell be expecting you to understand things better than Huck: a simple, almost illiterate kid. Twain will almost be winking at us over Hucks head.

Notes adapted from Joseph Claro in Mark Twains Huckleberry Finn, Barrons Educational Series; and Ronald Goodrich in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Living Literature Series.

Chapter 1: Huck FinnThe Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me.Huck was introduced in Tom Sawyer as a free soul who cannot endure the restraints imposed upon him by the genteel society of his day.Hucks newfound wealth and the Widow Douglass care drag him into society, making it almost unbearable.

Chapter 1: Huck FinnThe restrictions of the widows conventional household as much as Paps cruelty compel Huck to run away and begin his adventures.Although in his own mind Huck is simply trying to avoid conventional restraints, consider his escape as a rejection of his societys hypocritical faade.

Chapter 1: Huck FinnI dont take no stock in dead people.Huck listens with keen interest to the story of Moses and the Bullrushers but loses interest when he discovers that Moses has been dead for thousands of years.He simply cannot bring himself to care about the plight of people who lived in the long-ago, dead past.

Chapter 1: Huck FinnThis indicates very early in the novel Hucks intense and practical concern for live people. Subsequent episodes fully establish his sympathetic attitude toward people in trouble, which often grows into active involvement to help them.

Chapter 2: Huck FinnRead Toms scheme carefully: Youll get a good picture of who Tom is, which is a kid who is smarter than most but not nearly as smart as he thinks he is.Huck doesnt see how ridiculous Toms statements are: He assumes that Tom is much smarter than he is, and he takes Toms statements at face value. Twain doesnt expect us to be that nave.

Chapter 3: Huck FinnDeep glimpse into Hucks views on religion: He talks about the difference between the God that the widow tells him about, and the one he hears about from Miss Watson. Huck thinks they are two different Gods: This is Twain suggesting that God can be imagined in different ways by people with different personalities.Clue: Red (need this for extra points).Huck says he prefers belonging to the widows God, but he doesnt see how God would want him. But Twain doesnt share Hucks low view of himself, and doesnt expect the reader to, either.

Chapter 3: Huck FinnHuck believes that just about everyone he comes in contact with is better than he is. Huck does not miss his father.He also isnt very excited about playing robber with Toms gang. Read the conversation between Huck and Tom carefully, as it shows the contrast between the two boys. Huck thinks about the concrete world around him; Tom follows a set of rules he has compiled from his books.Tom calls Huck a sap head; Huck doesnt dispute this.

Chapter 4: Huck FinnPlot begins to develop here.Huck is at least slightly warming to living civilized. Interesting insights into Pap here:Pap is not someone Huck respects. Pap is an abusive father, thief, and drunkard.But Huck refuses to tell a lie to his father (regarding the money).We also meet Jim. This introduces all kinds of issuesCensorship: Jim is illiterate, superstitious, childlike, and easily led: Some critics think readers will conclude that is what all African Americans are like.

Chapter 4: Huck FinnThe same people might be offended by Hucks use of the word nigger. But remember: The novel is set in a Southern state in the middle of last century. In that setting, the word nigger had no special meaning, good or bad. It was simply a regional pronunciation of negro. In that setting, Jim would be typical.Also remember: Theres often a big difference between what Huck says and what Mark Twain believes.

Chapters 5-6: Huck FinnHuck is not afraid of Pap; he sees him as a pathetic, ragged, old man.Pap sees Huck as an uppity kid trying to show up his old man by reading, wearing clean clothes, etc.Huck is kidnapped; and although he is imprisoned by his father, Huck finds he likes getting back to his old style of living: roughing it.Twain talks above Hucks head here again: We know that Pap never had anxiety raising his son; he is not a good citizen; that his threat to leave the country is laughable; and that Pap look s ridiculous for suggesting that he is superior to a black college professor simply because Pap is white.

Chapter 7: Huck FinnHuck lies by saying someone tried to break into the cabin: This lie is told out of sheer self-preservation.Read the description of Hucks escape carefully: Its pretty elaborate, obviously the work of a bright kid that doesnt need the fancy touches of Tom Sawyer.Huck wants everyone to think he was murdered: including the people who care about him, which indicates hes determined to set out on his own and leave his life behind.

Chapter 7: Huck FinnWhen he escapes and sets up on Jackson Island, Huck describes what its like on the river: The sky looks ever so deep... When he does this throughout the book, his language becomes gentler and almost becomes poetic.Huck loves the river like most of us love people.