The Adventures of Huck Finn - Northwestern High...
Transcript of The Adventures of Huck Finn - Northwestern High...
Mark Twain
Real Name: Samuel Langhorne Clemens
“Mark Twain”: a phrase Mississippi riverboat
crews used to signify that the water was 2
fathoms deep, and thus passable for the boat. (How many feet is that? Remember, you learned that during Old Man and the Sea)
Born 1835 in Florida, Missouri
Moved to Hannibal, Missouri, at age 4; lived
there, along the banks of the Mississippi River
until age 18.
Mark Twain
Born to a slave-holding family
Became a printer’s apprentice at age 17
Returned to Missouri at age 21 for his
“dream job” – as a Mississippi riverboat
pilot, the most desirable job he could
imagine
Career cut short by Civil War. He
enlisted in Confederate Army; deserted
2 weeks later
Mark Twain
Went west and worked as a writer,
reporter (Nevada, California)
In 1866, he traveled to Europe and
Middle East, wrote Innocents Abroad.
Married in 1870 into an abolitionist
family
Mark Twain
Received honorary degrees from Yale &
Oxford
Died 1910
Halley’s Comet
○ In 1835, the year Samuel Clemens was born,
Halley's Comet passed over. Twain vowed that
he would not die until he saw the famous comet
again. Then, just before Twain died, Halley's
Comet passed over. He died the next day--April
10th, 1910 at 6:30 P.M.
Mark Twain – The Humanist
Though born into a slave-holding family, Twain became a vocal activist against all forms of racism.
Wrote about the persecution of Chinese laborers in San Francisco.
In 1885, wrote a letter to the Yale Law School dean explaining why he wanted to pay the tuition for Warner McGuinn, one of the first African Americans admitted to Yale Law School.
“We have ground the
manhood out of them and the
shame is ours, not theirs,
and we should pay for it.”-Mark Twain
“When I was a boy of fourteen my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”
-Mark Twain
“Let us endeavor so to live
that when we come to die
even the undertaker will be
sorry.”
-Mark Twain
“It is better to keep your
mouth shut and appear
stupid than to open it and
remove all doubt.”
-Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Other Famous Works:
“Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”
Innocents Abroad
Roughing It
Prince and the Pauper
Life on the Mississippi
Mark Twain
First major writer to:
Use real American speech (and not only in dialogue)
Deal with themes and topics that were
important to Americans
Treat the concerns of Americans seriously
Mark Twain
Detested the hypocrisy of the world which insisted on the importance of conventional manners while ignoring inner corruption. (appearance vs. reality)
Believed the dictates of conscience should take precedence over the dictates of society. (conscience vs. conformity)
Glorified the individual who escapes contamination by society. (individuality vs. conformity)
Considered the peak period of nobility in a person’s life to occur during youth. (youth = noble vs. age = immoral)
“All American literature comes
from one book by Mark
Twain called The Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn.”-Ernest Hemingway
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Is on all the suggested reading lists for allcolleges in Indiana
1st “real” American book – departs from the sophisticated English novel tradition.
Introduces American Regionalism –focuses on the characters, dialect, customs, and other features of a particular region.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Twain researched southwestern dialects
for authenticity in his story.
Dialect = the version of language
spoken by the people of a particular
region or social group.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Is written in the “vernacular”
Vernacular = the everyday spoken language of a particular locality/group, as distinguished from its formal, literary language
Huck – the narrator – uses the vernacular of a poor, Southern boy (about age 14)
Jim uses the vernacular of an adult male Southern slave
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Uses many idioms (very American)
Examples: break a leg, kick the bucket, wild goose chase, bark up the wrong tree, keep tabs on
Differs from slang - idioms use known words for new meanings, not new words.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Published in 1885; story takes place in 1830s or 1840s. The Civil War occurs after the story takes place, but before it is published. Therefore…
○ He is writing about slavery, but after it has been abolished.
○ He employs “zeitgeist” - the spirit of the time; general trend of thought or feeling characteristic of a particular period of time.
American audiences after the Civil War wanted Realism, not Romanticism; he gave it to them.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
After writing approximately half of the book, Twain returned to the Mississippi River in the early 1880s and traveled down the river for inspiration.
He was appalled by the post-Civil War era treatment of former slaves.
The second half of book takes on darker tone.
“Huckleberry Finn is a book
of mine where a sound
heart and a deformed
conscience come into a
collision and conscience
suffers defeat.”
-Mark Twain
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Twain, a lifelong humorist and satirist, uses satirethroughout the novel
Satire = a humorous form of social criticism. Poking fun at human vices and follies with the intent of bringing about social change.
Modern examples include: Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, Scary Movie, Weird Al Yankovich, Mad TV
Look for satire when Huck is highly complimentary of people
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Controversy: HF is the most frequently challenged/banned book in American high schools
Uses the “N-word” 215 times; it appears on nearly every page.
Use of the N-word is jarring, shocking, appalling. Makes readers uncomfortable. Did Twain intend that?
Exploring the Controversy:
The “N” Word
“nigger” derives from the French “negre,” the Spanish “negro,” and the Latin “niger.” All mean “black.”
First recorded in 1587 as “negar,” a dialectal pronunciation of negro in northern England and Ireland.
-Anti-Bias Study Guide, Anti-Defamation League, 1998
Exploring the Controversy:
The “N” Word
In the U.S., “nigger” was first used as a
derogatory way of distinguishing a black
man who shared the same first name as
a white man.
Considered an abusive slur when used
by a white person.
Exploring the Controversy:
The “N” Word“Used rightly or wrongly, ironically or seriously, of necessity for the sake of realism, or impishly for the sake of comedy, it doesn’t matter.” Negroes do not like it in any book or play whatsoever, be the book or play ever so sympathetic in its treatment of the basic problems of the race. Even though the book or play is written by a Negro, they still do not like it. The word nigger, you see, sums up for us who are colored all the bitter years of insult and struggle in America.”
-Langston Hughes in The Big Sea
Exploring the Controversy:
The “N” Word
In recent years, a belief is present that
the word can be defused and reclaimed
by its use in youth culture through song
lyrics and comedy.
However, most adults continue to view
the word as offensive and harmful.
Exploring the Controversy:
The “N” Word In general, who can or can’t say the word?
When, if ever, can it be said?
How do you feel about the use of the word?
Is the use of the word in the classroom different from its use outside the classroom?
Is it different to read a text by an African American who uses it than it is to read it in a text by a white person? Why or why not?
Does the use of the word in a “classic” literary work give students authority to use the word outside of the classroom?
60 Minutes tackles the N-word in Huck Finn.(12 min video)
Is this controversy still relevant?
Yes! Colts Cheerleader vs ignorance
Yes! “Classic Books [TKAM & Huck Finn]
Yanked From Virginia County Schools after
Parent Complaint” December 1, 2016
Yes! “Virginia school board unanimously
rejects mother’s request to pull literary
American classics” December 7, 2016
This book is Controversial!
Mainly because it is a
Misunderstood Satire!
Twain is stereotyping society
though his characters!
Here’s the deal:
Huck is taught the stereotype of blacks by white society and then becomes close to one; the stereotype is shattered and he
becomes confused between right and wrong.
What is a Satire?
“Satire is a technique employed by writers to
expose and criticize foolishness and corruption
of an individual or a society by using humor,
irony, exaggeration or ridicule. It intends to
improve humanity by criticizing its follies and
[faults]. A writer in a satire uses fictional
characters, which stand for real people, to
expose and condemn their corruption.
(Literary Devices.net)
Some satires are obvious;
Some are more latent
Obvious Satire(8:19 minutes)
Do you think Donald Trump likes this
satire?
Do you think Press Secretary Sean
Spicer likes this satire?
Why?
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Twain wanted to criticize the
mistreatment of African Americans in the
Reconstruction South, but he had to do
so covertly. Why?
Irony – Many in the South loved the
book. They did not recognize that he
was criticizing/satirizing them.
The Mississippi River
Story is set in the Mississippi River Valley
Some say the Mississippi River is the story’s “third main character.”
Mississippi = Native American word for “Big River”
Second longest river in North America, at 2,320 miles, from Lake Itasca in northwestern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico (The longest river is the Missouri River, a tributary of the Mississippi, at 2,341 miles)
The Mississippi River
Other major tributaries are the Arkansas River and the Ohio River
At its source, Lake Itasca, the river is 20 to 30 feet wide, its most narrow width.
It is widest at Lake Onalaska near LaCrosse, Wisconsin, where it is 4 miles wide
Its depth goes from 3 feet at its headwaters, to 200 feet deep near New Orleans and the Gulf.
The source of the Mississippi River, Lake Itasca in Minnesota
The Mississippi River
The story begins in “St. Petersburg,” Missouri, a fake name for Twain’s childhood home of Hannibal, Missouri
The story follows the Mississippi River south to St. Louis
The story continues further south to Cairo, Illinois, where the Ohio River meets the Mississippi.
Huckleberry Finn - Structure
Written in the Spanish style of the “Picaresque” novel.
An adventure story that involves an anti-hero (morally complex) or “Picaro” who wanders around with no particular destination
The picaresque novel has many key elements: It must contain an anti-hero who is usually described as an
underling with no social standing in society
It is usually told in autobiographical form
It is episodic, meaning it is a series of seemingly unrelated stories or adventures
As such, it is potentially endless, meaning that it has no tight plot, but could go on and on.
Huckleberry Finn - Structure
In the Picaresque novel:
The main theme often is the individual’s
struggle against a hostile society
Comedy is mixed with truth to shed light on
dark corners of a society
The hero is forced to leave his home in
order to find a way to live in the corrupted
society
Huckleberry Finn - Characters
Huckleberry Finn, a young WHITE boy (14 yrs old)
○ Poor, orphaned, uneducated, sensible
Tom Sawyer, Huck’s best friend
o Well off, educated, daydreamer, craves adventure
Jim, a slave owned by Huck’s foster parent, Miss Watson
○ Young adult male, kind, superstitious
Huckleberry Finn - Plot
Story is told in 3 sections, with no obvious
break between them:
1. Huck – the narrator – introduces himself, his
friend Tom, and the adult slave Jim
2. Huck and Jim run away down the river
3. Huck on Uncle Silas’s farm with Tom and Jim
Huckleberry Finn - Narration
Huck is the story teller.
This forces us to see the world through his
eyes, hear it through his language, and
understand his struggle with conscience.
His narration leads us to understand Twain’s
themes of the tale.
Huckleberry Finn - Motifs
Moral Development
Learning right from wrong
Youth to maturity
Boy to Man
Initiation into respectability
Huck with Widow Douglas
Quest for freedom
Jim from slavery
Huck from society
Huckleberry Finn - Motifs
Appearance vs. reality
Lies/truth
Family/friend loyalty
Even when family/friends are bad
Symbolic death & rebirth of main
character