The Adventures of

Huck Finn

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

“Damn these human

beings. If I had invented

them, I would go hide my

head in a bag.”

-Mark Twain

“Often it does seem a pity

that Noah and his party did

not miss the boat.”

-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

Homework

Let’s get started!

Receive your “new” book

Write your name on the inside cover

Quiz over the Introduction tomorrow

I would like to introduce you to the novel by reading Chapter 1 aloud to you. You’re on your own after that!