essay on huck finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

By mark twain, the adventures of huckleberry finn essay questions.

Select five characters that Twain does not admire in Huck Finn. Name and describe the specific traits that each possesses that makes him or her not an admirable person.

Select five characters that Twain does admire. Name and discuss the specific traits that each possesses that makes him or her admirable.

Violence and greed are motivations of much of the action in this book. Discuss, giving at least three examples of each.

Mark Twain was able to find humor in situations that most people would regard as serious. Discuss and provide specific references from the novel.

Some critics claim that Jim is Huck's "true father." Defend or refute this statement.

Discuss the qualities Huck posesses which are necessary for survival on the frontier. Give specific examples from the novel.

What is the symbolic importance of the setting of the novel (land vs. river)?

What does the reader infer about Twain's attitude towared slavery and racism?

Discuss how the river provides freedom for Huck.

What is "civilization" in the mind of Huck?

Discuss how Huck grows as a person; what life lessons does he learn from his encounters on the river?

Although Mark Twain, in his introductory "notice" to the novel, denies that there is a moral or motive in the story, the work itself contradicts its author. How?

Discuss the role of religion in the novel.

Discuss Huck as an archetype hero.

What does Twain admire in a man and what is he contemptuous of?

This novel is also a satire on human weaknesses. What human traits does he satirize? Give examples for each.

What evidence do you find of Twain's cynicism?

Discuss three recurring motifs (any idea, object, feeling, color, pattern, etc. which repeats itself) in the novel. Give specifics.

Discuss the role of superstition in the novel. Explain how Twain criticizes superstitious beliefs and give specific examples.

Appearance versus reality is a major theme in Huckleberry Finn. Using specifics from the book, discuss this very prevalent theme.

How does Huck search for a family? What does he find and what does he learn?

How is Huck's trip down the river actually a passage into manhood?

How would you defend Huckleberry Finn against charges of being a racist novel?

Huckleberry Finn has been called the "Great American Novel." However, it is the sixth most frequently banned book in the United States. Discuss why this masterpiece is banned mostly in Christian academies and in all black institutions.

Explain how the American Dream is or is not achieved by three characters in this novel. Begin by explaining what each character holds as his or her American Dream.

Discuss how Huck displays several textbook characteristics of the child of an alcoholic.

Analyze and trace the moral maturation of Huck Finn. Discuss the events that disgusted and depressed him, the coping skills that he learned, and his actions and the circumstances for such.

"Picaresque" is a word used to describe a character who comes from a low class of society, is poor, lives by his/her wits, travels, and has eposodic adventures. Using specific examples and quotes from the novel, explain how Huck is a picaresque figure.

A persona is an alternate name and personality uses for many different reasons. Discuss the many personas used in the novel.

Discuss the similarities and differences between Jim and Pap, as parents.

If you had to name a modern day Huck Finn who would it be?

Explain how Huck's loss of innocence as a boy is symbolic of America as the country moves towards the Civil War.

Compare and contrast Realism and Romanticism in the novel.

Select two of the social institutions (i.e. democracy) at which Twain pokes fun. Use specific references to show how he accomplishes this.

What do you think makes this novel an important record of American culture?

Point out the weak and strong character traits in Huck. How do his character and personality compare with those of Tom Sawyer?

Lionel Trilling says that Huck possesses a sense of humor. Do you think this is so? Site examples for a yes or no answer.

A major unifying element in the novel is illusion (pretense) vs. reality. Find examples. Explain their significance to Twain's overall themes.

Identify the literary techniques used by Mark Twain in Huckleberry Finn. Consider techniques such as: figures of speech, language, narrative techniques, sentence structure, diction, organization, syntax, detail, structure, imagery, irony, and tone.

How does Mark Twain create a humorous effect (exaggeration, irony, satire, understatement)?

How does Twain use satire to expose and criticize human failings?

Discuss Jim as a Christ figure.

As a way of illustrating his theme, Twain deliberately sets certain events with Huck and Jim on the river and others on the shore. Compare and contrast the major events on the river with those on the shore and develop a supportable thesis for why you think he makes the choices he does. How do these choices subtly reinforce his theme? Back up your thesis with specific quotes and detailed explanations.

Discuss how Twain criticises the values of Southern society by showing the difference between Huck's acquired values and his own innate sense of goodness.

Discuss the theme of individual conscience verses society and how it relates to the theme of freedom in the novel.

Authors often use dramatic irony to define something. Describe how Mark Twain uses dramatic irony to define "freedom."

In some ways Huck's story is mythical but it is also an anti-myth -- a challenge to the deceits which individuals and cultures use to disguise their true natures from themselves. In the midst of this deceitful culture, Huck stands as a peculiarly honest individual. Discuss, referencing the novel.

Discuss the Civilized, Primitive, and Natural Man in Huck Finn.

Huck is born into nature, but is morally influenced by society.How does the book show Huck's development into trusting his natural morals again?

Discuss historical revisionism and whether Huck Finn should be part of a high school curriculm.

The overall American critical reaction to the publishing of The Adventures of Huck Finn in 1885 was summed up in one word: "trash". Louisa May Alcott (author of Little Women and Little Men) said, "If Mr. Clemens cannot think of anything better to tell our pure-minded lads and lassies, he had better stop writing for them." The Public Library Committee of Concord, Massachusetts excluded the book as "a dangerous moral influence on the young." Defend or refute the position that the novel is indeed "trash" with evidence from the text to support your claim.

Compare and contrast Rule of the Bone by Russell Banks with Huckleberry Finn.

Twain's writings were directly affected by him growing up in Hannibal. How did Twain write about himself through the characters Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer as well as through many others?

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 Summary
• 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

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions, huckleberry finn, the duke and king, the widow douglas and miss watson.

Colonel Sherburn

The grangerfords and shepherdsons, sally and silas phelps.

95 Huckleberry Finn Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best huckleberry finn topic ideas & essay examples, 📌 most interesting huckleberry finn topics to write about, 👍 good research topics about huckleberry finn, ❓ huckleberry finn essay questions.

• Racism in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain The character of Pap is used to advance the theme of racism in the book. In the closing chapters of the book, Huck and Tom come to the realization that Jim is not property but […]
• Literary Criticism on Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In the essay, Wallace examines the racism in the novel in a bid to protect the African Americans from “mental cruelty and harassment depicted in the novel. We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• Should Huck Finn Be Banned in Schools? Huckleberry Finn Should Not Be Banned Essay In spite of the controversy The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn generates, its hidden values support the use of this book in schools and prove the point it should not be among banned books.
• Huckleberry Finn and Holden Caulfield Comparison Both are realists, intelligent and intuitive, especially when it comes to unearthing the pretense and fakeness from the people and society around them, and they experience immense amounts of such shams the more they interact […]
• Modernism in Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn Huck fears his father and apparently never knew his mother; a homeless waif, he sleeps on doorsteps or in hogsheads; he is troubled by no ambition and steers clear of Sunday school; his life is […]
• How “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Addresses Slavery The insensitivity in this mistreatment and dehumanization of Black people is pervasive to the extent that Jim considers himself “property” and was proud to be worth a fortune if anyone was to sell him. To […]
• Morality and Humane Traits in Huckleberry Finn The most important one, in the presence of which it is possible for the author to commit a legal crime, is the fact that doing otherwise would cross my own ethical values.
• Twain’s “The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn” and Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave” The judge goes to the extent of taking the boy’s father in his own home to help him reform his drinking problem. The father then decides to visit the house of the widow during which […]
• Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”: An Analysis It can be stated that at the ending of Huckleberry Finn, Huck, the protagonist is a failure because it does not provide any resolution to the major theme of the book that is the protagonist’s […]
• “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Novel & “Catch Me If You Can” Film In the novel “The Adventures of Huck Finn”, the writer portrayed the theme of ‘racism and slavery’ in South America during the end of civil war.
• Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and Campbell’s “The Hero With a Thousand Faces” Joseph Campbell in the introduction to “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” writes: A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and […]
• Protagonists in “Huckleberry Finn”, “Emma”, “My Name Is Asher Lev” There are a great number of different pieces of literature, which became to be the works representing significant value to the world of literature, literary critics and people fond of the enormous world created by […]
• Huckleberry Finn – Was Mark Twain Being Racist in Writing His Novel? In their article “Racism and Real Life: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the Undergraduate Survey of American Literature”, Annemarie Hamlin and Constance Joyner suggest that “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” should simply be banned […]
• Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” The chronology of Pop’ action after he left the hut was in the following manner: Went to Judge Thatcher and threatened him to give up the money.
• “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain We can see the world through the eyes of the white boy, Huck, who is the narrator. They just lose the ability to see things not the way they are said to be, but the […]
• Huckleberry Finn Living Today He would provide support not because minorities are underprivileged, but rather because of his belief that everybody has the right to lead his own life and is granted equal rights.
• Self-Awareness of Emma, Huckleberry Finn, and Asher Lev This essay will portray the commonalities in these three novels and try to draw a contrast between them and discuss them in the light of three similar literary tools used, i.e.theme, antagonist, and irony in […]
• Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain The book of Mark Twain is a classic, and has proven its worth over a century, which until now provides significance to its readers, hoping against hope that convention is thrown out the window once […]
• Inner Conflicts in Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Huck, the key character in the book, brings the collision of a sound heart and a deformed conscience, a conflict well illustrated through the theme of racism, civilized society, and slavery among others.
• The Novel “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain He acquires the role of the liar and follows it to the end. He realizes that the society of people is not for him.
• The Maturation of Emma, Huckleberry and Asher The conflict between the protagonist and the community helps the readers to understand the source of growth in the protagonist life in the novel.
• The Thoughts and Feelings of a Teenager in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• Women’s Role in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• Tom Sawyer as a Representation of Walter Scott’s Romanticism and Tradition in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• Tricksters in Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• The Theme of a Young Boy’s Coming of Age in Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• Study of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” in Schools
• The Transformation of Huckleberry Finn in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• The Theme of Freedom in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• The Use and Belief in Superstitions in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• Transcendentalism as Perceived in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• The Societal Influence of Mark Twain on the Character of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• Discussion of Huck’s Morality in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• The Several Flaws in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• Understanding What Is Morally Right of Wrong in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• The Mirror of Racism in the South in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• The Uniting of Theme and Plot in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• The Traditional American Ideals in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain and “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck
• Comparison of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn From “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• The Religious Hypocrisy in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• The Special Relationship Between Huck and Jim in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• Depictions of Slaves in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• The Value of Friendship and Loyalty in the Journey of Huck in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• The Use of Fraud for a Living in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• The Vague Ending in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• Water’s Representation of Freedom in Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• The Themes of Experience and Knowledge in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• Escaping the Clasps of Society in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• The Moral Dilemma in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• Humor in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• Self-Reliance and Self-Contempt of Huckleberry Finn in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• Twain’s Use of Jim as an Argument Against Slavery in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• The Role of Social Satire in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• Violence and Freedom in Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• The Voice of Society Through “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• The Theme of Disguise and Reality in Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• Values, Morals, and Ethics in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• The Use of Symbolism in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• The Works of Realism in “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• The Worthless Image of Man in Society in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• The Story of Violence and Slavery in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• The Symbolism of Superstition Used by Mark Twain in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• The Struggle to Find Identity in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• Understanding of American Culture in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• The Theme of Racial Discrimination in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twin
• Understanding the Author’s Personal Philosophy in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
• How Does the Author Portray Individuals vs. Society in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”?
• When Was “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” First Published?
• How Does Mark Twain Convey His Ideas About Right and Wrong in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”?
• What Does “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Teach Us?
• How Are Family and Friendship Values Brought in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”?
• How Was Huck Affected by Alcohol in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”?
• What Had 19th Century America in Common With “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Characters?
• How Huck and Tom Show Lost Freedom in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”?
• At What Age Should You Read “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”?
• How Does Huckleberry Finn From “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Adapt to His Environment to Survive?
• Who Is the Audience of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”?
• How Did Huckleberry Finn From “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Develop His Identity?
• How Huck’s Freedom Changed Throughout “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”?
• What Did Huck Witness When He Was Sitting in a Tree in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”?
• How Huck Uses His Quick Wit in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain?
• Is a Christian Worldview in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”?
• How Mark Twain Speaks to the Reader in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”?
• How Mark Twain Uses Language and Dialect to Differentiate Between Characters in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”?
• How Does Huck Mature in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”?
• Should Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Continue to Be a Required Reading in Schools?
• How Many Chapters Are in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”?
• Should the Word “Negro” Be Removed From “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”?
• What Makes “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” an Amazing Novel?
• Who Is Sarah Williams in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”?
• What Is the Primary Conflict in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”?
• How Does the Weather in the Graveyard of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Contribute to the Mood?
• What Happened to Jim in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”?
• How Do You Know That Material Things Don’t Matter to Huck in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”?
• How Does Judge Thatcher Respond to Huck in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Introduction to adventures of huckleberry finn.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written by the great American classic writer, Mark Twain . It was first released in the United Kingdom instead of the United States. It almost took three months to go on the shelves in the United States in February of 1885. Although its slow popularity could not fetch the desired wealth for Mark Twain, its forceful entry into the classic American fiction won the author matchless fame later. Marked with regionalism and colorful description of the Mississippi River and its adjoining areas and people, the novel shows the use of different colloquialisms used in the South at that time. The storyline introduces a young boy, Huckleberry Finn, unveiling racism and slavery during his adventures on the Mississippi River

Summary of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The novel opens with the introduction of the character with the previous novel’s hero , Tom Sawyer, setting the stage for Huck Finn, showing him how he gets hold of some money and lives with the Widow Douglas who takes care of him, but he is fed up of this urban lifestyle of manners with schooling and theological learning. Shortly, he rejoins Tom as a valuable member of his gang and does some thuggery but then Pap, his drunken father, appears from nowhere and asks for money from Huck. Soon he finds himself with his father again but a wrangle with the new judge and the old local judge over his rights and his father’s rights again land him to live with his father, Pap, making his life miserable. After long harassment and miserable life, Douglas, the Widow, again starts civilizing him but Pap hangs around, enraging Douglas who has to issue him a warning but he abducts his son.

Living in a cabin with his father has sucked Huck. Fed up, he finally makes his way after pretending himself dead by making his father believe that the pig’s blood is actually his blood. After his successful escape, he hides on Jackson’s Island and meets Jim, a slave of Miss Watson with whom he befriends to live on that island until a storm forces them to raft their way to a house where they find a dead body. When they sense that their pursuers know about the traces of Jim’s presence on the island, they leave it downriver journey to go to the free states. Finally, they reach St. Louis and meet a gang on the wreckage of a boat and share their loot with them. Soon they find themselves trapped in fog that makes them miss the Ohio River and meet a group looking for slaves. Huck feels it his responsibility to shield Jim from the onlookers by pretending that they are looking for medicines for his father suffering from smallpox which makes others shun them. They restart their journey but an accident with a steamboat breaks their raft, separating them in the river. But later reunite and when Jim confronts about the separation, Huck tells him that he was dreaming to which Jim gets deeply hurt, and Huck apologies to him.

When Huck comes to his senses, he finds himself with the Grangerfords, a nice Southern family. He becomes friends with Buck Grangerford, a boy his age. However, the family has a feud with the Shepherdsons due to the elopement of their daughter with the young man, a fact which has taken many lives, witnessing even the death of Buck in front of his eyes. Terrified of the family feud Huck ducks himself low until Jim arrives with his repaired raft and they restart their journey. During this journey they come across two men pretending themselves as con artists one among of whom claims to be the lost Dauphin and chased by robbers, calling themselves the ‘Duke’ and the ‘King’. Finding no way out from this conundrum , they take the pair with them and continue with the duke and the dauphin, enjoying their scams on the way until they reach the town of a dead man, Peter Wilks, who has left a considerable inheritance for his brothers who have gone to England.

The duo jumps to the occasion and shows themselves as Wilks’s brothers until they find themselves welcomed by their nieces when some of the people suspect them. Meanwhile, Huck takes away some gold from the duke but throws it in Wilks’s coffin. He also plans to uncover the plan of the duo when the real brothers reach the spot, causing a pandemonium in which both the con artists flee unharmed. However, the heirs find the gold, while Jim and Huck, too, take to their heels back to the raft from where they restart their journey. Soon both of them come to the worst scam of their journey when they find that the artists have sold Jim, who have bought to return him to the rightful owner for the reward, while Huck is imprisoned. To their luck, the farmer on the Phelps’ farm proves that he is Tom’s uncle whom Huck introduces himself as Tom to which he accepts and continues his search until he catches Tom coming to the house and Tom becomes Sid, his own half-brother.

With Huck, Tom plans to free Jim, who sides him despite misgivings about it, and both attempt to free Jim, while Tom is shot in the leg during the escape. Both Huck and Jim, then, take care of Tom but they end up with Phelps again. Then Tom musters up the courage to reveal everything to his uncle, while Aunt Polly also identifies them. It is, then, revealed that Jim is now a free man since Miss Watson died two months ago and freed him in her will, and Pap, Huck’s father is dead after which Aunt Sally takes Huck with her and educates him.

Major Themes in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

• Conflict : The conflict between the life in nature and the life in the urban centers is the major theme depicted by the character of Huckleberry Finn, for he prefers to leave the Widow Douglas. When he learns that he has unknowingly stepped into the trap of his father, Pap, a violent and abusive alcoholic. After this, he suffers for it and comes to know the value of cultured life. His early upbringing, though, plays its part in his unruly and rebellious behavior toward Douglas, for she tries her best to force civilization upon Huck whose representative reading is the Bible as well as a clean lifestyle. However, this morality does not suit him and he leaves her as soon as he finds time, though, by the end, he comes to know its value in the changing American landscape.
• Honor: The conflicting concepts about honor, too, make up the major theme of the novel. It happens in the 2 nd chapter when Tom announces the foundation of the gang whose ultimate objective is to win the honor. Although it does not become the centerpiece, it transpires later that robbery is not honored when both Tom and Huck meet Dauphin and King and witness their daylight robberies and plunder. However, they, too, adopt the same mode to win honor by the end. It shows the ethical framework that keeps changing with the passage of time as well as circumstances.
• Food: Food is another important theme that is not only temporal but also circumstantial. It is temporal on account of its significance at that time as Huck used to fight even with the animals to get his share and that too may not be sufficient. The kindness of the Widow Douglas feeding him and Huck becomes a symbolic act of feeding the hungry souls. Later, when they live on Jackson’s Island, food again becomes an important motif for both friends.
• Mockery of Religion: Although there is some ambiguity about the role of the Bible in the civilized upbringing of Huck that he finally accepts, generally Twain has stayed consistent in his criticism of religious beliefs throughout the novel. Huck shows Twain’s mockery when he mockingly refers the hell as having more fun than that of heaven. His escape from the Widow Douglas, too, shows his escape from the forced biblical study, while the incident of King to exhort money from the people in the name of religion is a ridicule of the use of religion by all and sundry.
• Superstition: The novel derides superstitions prevalent at that time through the rational thinking of Huck and Jim. However, though they appear quite mature, they act like children when they flee and see dangers even when Huck spills down salt that is a simple act of mistake rather than a risky behavior. Pap returns and when a snake bites Jim, it is not because of Huck’s action of touching the skin, it is rather a natural animal behavior when it sees itself at risk .
• Slavery: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn sheds light on the theme of slavery through the character of Jim and whom Huck takes with him when he is fed up with serving Miss Watson. It transpires on Huck during the journey how it is difficult to shed this blot of slavery on account of his color though Huck does his best to get his free by the end when he is caught.
• Money: The theme of money in the novel appears in the shape of having money such as the Widow Douglas who could afford nurturing Huck and having no money such as Pap, Huck’s father, and Huck himself, who could not afford to live a respectable and independent life. The role of Jim, too, revolves around money, for he cannot work independently on account of his being a slave so that he could earn his freedom.
• Education: Education is a significant theme of the novel on account of the importance associated with, for except Judge Thatcher, almost all the characters are either illiterate or not well educated to stand up in the American society. Pap is entirely illiterate and does not support education, while Aunt Polly and Widow Douglas support education but are not educated themselves.
• Racial Discrimination: Race and discrimination based on race appear when Jim flees Miss Watson and attempts to win freedom. It is also discussed by Huck, a child’s perspective who helps Jim navigate his way to the free states.

Major Characters Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

• Huckleberry Finn : Known as Huck in most part of the story is the narrator and also the main character of the novel. He vows to follow Tom with whom he forges a gang but disbands it soon after he starts living and leaving Widow Douglas, hating civilized life and theological learning. His sympathy toward Jim and support for him is part of his efforts to bring equality and end slavery, while his adventures with various other characters show his dynamic character running side by side with Jim to win freedom for him. Finally, he joins his family members, Tom, and others, and leaves his father who has made life hell for him. His life and adventures show the true American landscape as well as the social fabric of that time.
• Jim: The Runaway African American, Jim is fed up with slavery, who despite his stereotypical background, shows his wisdom and intelligence by working alongside Huck to win his freedom as well as inclusion in society. He nurses Huck after the death of his father, though, it might not have made any difference for him. Jim’s presence is Twain’s presentation of bringing equality in the American society that is not hard to come by.
• Tom Sawyer: A legendary character of Twain’s other novel, Tom and Huck are cousins who meet in this novel again and then also at the end. Tom, too, goes through some adventures but he is financially sound, having good background. His ethical adamance has forced Twain to create another character who is quite opposite to him, and yet a good boy. In this connection, Huck could be a foil of Tom, though, Tom is not only funny and humorous but also passionate like Huck, who helps Jim win his freedom by the end.
• Pap Finn: Huck’s father, Pap is an irresponsible and also highly greedy, and emotionally imbalanced person. He vents up his anger on his only son whenever he feels chagrin during his drunken state. Although Huck flees once, he again appears and subjects him to torture until he flees again. He dies by drowning in the river by the end of the novel.
• Duke and Dauphin: The duo join the other duo of Huck and Jim when they are navigating the river in their homemade raft. However, the excellence they show to the boys in taking up different garbs and innocently robbing people exposes their true colors to them soon. Finally, they leave them when their cover is blown up during their coverup of becoming Wilks’s brothers to grab his inheritance. They show the seamy side of American society.
• Widow Douglas: Despite her low education and extra care, Widow Douglas fails to satisfy her conscience that she has brought up Huck in the best possible manner. Perhaps, her too much obsession with ethics and religiosity irritates Huck who escapes twice from her attempts of cultivating a cultured taste in him.
• Judge Thatcher: The character of Judge Thatcher is significant in the course of the novel as he is the only character who genuinely appears educated. Despite them being at loggerheads with the Shepherdsons, Judge Thatcher extends refuge to Huck, the reason that he becomes somewhat significant in the course of the novel.
• Aunt Polly: The character of Aunt Polly becomes significant on account of the popularity she has won with reference to Tom Sawyer as she is his guardian, including his brother. She appears only at the end of the novel to show her relationship with Huck, too.
• The Grangerfords: The way Grangefords treat Huck when Jim and Huck cross the river on the raft makes a minor difference. However, when they come to know about the family feud, they soon leave the family for good.
• Mary Jane Wilks: The character of Mary Janes is significant in the novel in that she helps the Wilks to identify the scammer duo and wins the heart of Huck by her goodness.

Writing Style of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Written in the first-person point of view and told in Huck’s voice , the novel presents simple but southern sentence structure and specific southern diction . It means that stylistically and grammatically sentences are mostly choppy and incorrect but the simple diction of the southern regions has made it a specific document of the era and area in which it was written. Therefore, it is called full of regionalism. The use of different techniques such as dramatic irony and intertextuality has created a unique style of Mark Twain.

Analysis of the Literary Devices in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

• Action: The main action of the novel comprises the adventurous life and growth of the boy, Huckleberry Finn. The falling action occurs when Aunt Polly arrives and identifies Tom and Huck both. The rising action , however, occurs when Miss Watson joins hands with the Widow Douglas to bring up Huck in the best possible way.
• Alliteration : Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shows the use of alliteration in several places. A few examples are given below, He drank and drank, and t umbled down on his blankets by and by; but luck didn’t run my way. He didn’t go sound asleep, but was uneasy. He groaned and moaned and thrashed around this way and that for a long time. (Chapter-VI) ii. I went off in the canoe to ask about it. Pretty soon I found a man out in the river with a skiff, setting a trot-line. (Chapter-XVI) Both of these examples show the use of consonant sounds such as the sound of /d/ and /s/ in the first and then again /s/ in the second.
• Allusion : The novel shows good use of different allusions as given in the examples below, 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. (Chapter-I) ii. We passed another town before daylight, and I was going out again; but it was high ground, so I didn’t go. No high ground about Cairo, Jim said. I had forgot it. (Chapter-XVII) iii. I hain’t hearn ’bout none un um, skasely, but ole King Sollermun, onless you counts dem kings dat’s in a pack er k’yards. How much do a king git?”. (Chapter-XIV) The first example shows the reference to another book by Mark Twain, the second to a town, and the third to Bible.
• Antagonist : Pap Finn, Huck’s father, is the primary antagonist of the novel as he appears to have tried his best to obstruct all avenues for him to constrain his civilized upbringing and free life.
• Conflict : The novel shows both external and internal conflicts. The external conflict is going on between Huck and the external world, while the internal conflict is going on his mind about his moral duty toward Jim, his African American friend, about whether he should turn him in or help him to win his freedom.
• Characters: The novel shows both static as well as dynamic characters. The young boy, Huckleberry Finn, is a dynamic character as he shows a considerable transformation in his behavior and conduct by the end of the novel. However, all other characters are static as they do not show or witness any transformation such as Pap, the Widow Douglas, Miss Watson, Aunt Polly, etc.
• Climax : The climax in the novel occurs when the plan to win freedom for Jim is made and then matured with the help of other characters at the house of Phelps.
• Foreshadowing : The novel shows many instances of foreshadows as given in the examples below, 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. (Chapter-1) ii. WE went tiptoeing along a path amongst the trees back towards the end of the widow’s garden , stooping down so as the branches wouldn’t scrape our heads. (Chapter-II) The mention of Tom in the first and of their movements in the second shows how Huck is going to follow Tom in his adventures. Both of these instances foreshadow the coming events.
• Hyperbole : The novel shows various examples of hyperboles as given below, There was a place on my ankle that got to itching, but I dasn’t scratch it; and then my ear begun to itch; and next my back, right between my shoulders. Seemed like I’d die if I couldn’t scratch. (Chapter-II) ii. We’d got to find that boat now–had to have it for ourselves. So we went a-quaking and shaking down the stabboard side, and slow work it was, too–seemed a week before we got to the stern. No sign of a boat. Jim said he didn’t believe he could go any further–so scared he hadn’t hardly any strength left, he said. But I said, come on, if we get left on this wreck we are in a fix, sure. So on we prowled again. (Chapter-XIII) The above sentences exaggerate things the first one about his itching and the second about the strength of Jim.
• Imagery : Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, Well, we swarmed along down the river road, just carrying on like wildcats; and to make it more scary the sky was darking up, and the lightning beginning to wink and flitter, and the wind to shiver amongst the leaves. This was the most awful trouble and most dangersome I ever was in; and I was kinder stunned. (Chapter-XXIX) ii. Betwixt the hut and the fence, on the back side, was a lean-to that joined the hut at the eaves, and was made out of plank. It was as long as the hut, but narrow–only about six foot wide. The door to it was at the south end, and was padlocked. Tom he went to the soap-kettle and searched around, and fetched back the iron thing they lift the lid with; so he took it and prized out one of the staples. (Chapter-XXVIII) These two examples show images of color, sound, distance, and shapes.
• Metaphor : Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shows good use of various metaphors as given in the below examples, He didn’t know what to make of my voice coming out of the tree at first. (Chapter-XVIII) ii. He said it would fetch bad luck; and besides, he said, he might come and ha’nt us; he said a man that warn’t buried was more likely to go a-ha’nting around than one that was planted and comfortable. (Chapter-X) These examples show that several things have been compared directly in the novel such as the first shows the man compared to an invisible voice and second a dead body to a spirit.
• Mood : The novel shows various moods; it starts with an adventurous and exciting mood and passes through suspense as well as thrill before it ends.
• Motif : Most important motifs of the novel are childhood, cons, and lies.
• Narrator : The novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , is narrated in the first-person point of view, who is Huckleberry Finn. The novel not only starts with him but also ends with him.
• Personification : The novel shows examples of personifications as given in the examples below, It was all black, no gray; so was his long, mixed-up whiskers. There warn’t no color in his face, where his face showed; it was white; not like another man’s white, but a white to make a body sick, a white to make a body’s flesh crawl–a tree-toad white, a fish-belly white. (Chapter-V) ii. Then here comes the ferryboat; so I shoved for the middle of the river on a long down-stream slant; and when I judged I was out of eye-reach I laid on my oars, and looked back and see her go and smell around the wreck for Miss Hooker’s remainders. (Chapter-XIV) These examples show as if the face and the ferry have emotions and lives of their own.
• Protagonist : Huckleberry Finn is the protagonist of the novel. The novel starts with his entry into the world and moves forward as he grows young and goes through different adventures.
• Setting : The setting of the novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , is the town of St. Petersburg, Missouri.
• Simile : The novel shows good use of various similes as given in the below examples, She was a big one, and she was coming in a hurry, too, looking like a black cloud with rows of glow-worms around it; but all of a sudden she bulged out, big and scary, with a long row of wide-open furnace doors shining like red-hot teeth, and her monstrous bows and guards hanging right over us. (Chapter-XVII) ii. Pretty soon a splendid young man come galloping down the road, setting his horse easy and looking like a soldier. (Chapter-XVIII) iii. The duke he never let on he suspicioned what was up, but just went a goo- gooing around, happy and satisfied, like a jug that’s googling out buttermilk; and as for the king, he just gazed and gazed down sorrowful on them new-comers like it give him the stomach-ache in his very heart to think there could be such frauds and rascals in the world. (Chapter-XXIX) These are similes as the use of the word “like” shows the comparison between different things; the first shows the comparison of lady with that of a furnace, the second of a person with a soldier and the third shows the duke compared to a jug.

Related posts:

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Themes
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Quotes
• The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn Characters
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
• Literary Writing Style of Mark Twain

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Religious Satire in Huck Finn

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Published: Mar 20, 2024

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Table of contents

Huck's relationship with religion, satirical depictions of religious figures, the king and the duke, jim's spiritual journey, reception and criticism, historical and social context.

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James by Percival Everett: Reimagining Huck Finn

There is humour and humanity in this recasting of mark twain’s flawed classic.

Percival Everett reimagines Huck Finn from the slave’s perspective. Photograph: Joyce Kim/The New York Times

Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) – his sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) – is a controversial classic. First banned in the US for its use of “coarse language” (ie slang, for example using the word “sweat” rather than the more elegant “perspiration”), Huckleberry Finn has more recently come into question for its prodigious use of the n-word. In an essay on this “amazing, troubling book”, Toni Morrison described her “ muffled rage ” at the minstrelisation of the character of Jim. Reading the racial epithet “hundreds of times”, however, “embarrassed, bored, annoyed – but did not faze” her.

Percival Everett agrees that Huckleberry Finn should not be banned or redacted to omit the n-word, which “makes perfect sense in the story”, he has said. “Without it, it would be impossible to understand the world in which this story happens.”

In James , Everett reimagines the story from the slave’s – rather than the 13-year-old white boy’s – perspective. When James learns that Miss Watson plans to sell him, thus separating him from his family, he hides out on a nearby island. After Huck fakes his death to escape his abusive father, unintentionally putting James under suspicion, the pair flee along the Mississippi river.

The stakes here are higher than in Twain’s picaresque of Huck’s boyhood “adventures”: James’ odyssey involves evading capture (there’s a $300 reward for his return) and liberating his wife and nine-year-old daughter from slavery. One poignant scene has him witnessing the rape of a girl who reminds him of his daughter. “If one knows hell as home,” he wonders, “then is returning to hell a homecoming?”

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Much of James’ survival is thanks to agile code-switching, which Everett plays to great effect. Illiterate in Huck Finn, here James has taught himself to read by surreptitiously borrowing books from Judge Thatcher’s library. Even the slaves who can’t read or write are “bilingual”, using dialect only when whites are in earshot. James offers “language lessons” in “the correct incorrect grammar” to black children to secure their “safe movement through the world”.

“White folks expect us to sound a certain way and it can only help if we don’t disappoint them,” he tells them. “The better they feel, the safer we are,” the kids chant back in unison. Or, as one of them translates the phrase into “slave talk”, “Da mo’ betta dey feels, da mo’ safer we be.”

A sly satirist (like Twain), Everett is the author of more than 30 books, including Telephone (2020), a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; the Booker-shortlisted The Trees (2021); and Erasure (2001), which was recently adapted by Cord Jefferson for the Oscar-winning screenplay of American Fiction (2023). Everett shifts the story of James forward from the 1830s/1840s to the 1860s, on the cusp of the civil war.

He recreates some of Huckleberry Finn’s best-known scenes, including James getting bitten by a rattlesnake, Huck disguising himself as a girl, and their interactions with the “rapscallions” the Duke and the King. Other storylines are new, including James being bought by the Virginia Minstrels, a blackface singing troupe in need of a tenor. James finds himself in the absurd situation, as such, of putting bootblack on his face and feet to try to pass as white underneath – a meta-minstrelisation, of sorts.

[  Narrative crackles with fixated mathematical brilliance and propulsive wordplay  ]

By inverting Twain’s childlike depiction of Jim, Everett returns James to his rightful role of father figure to Huck. In taking back his name and narrative, he reclaims his dignity. He is called Jim by whites and even his wife; when he begins to introduce himself as James, “my name became my own”. Every time he sneaks into the library, he wonders “what white people would do to a slave who had learned how to read. What would they do to a slave who had taught the other slaves to read? What would they do to a slave who knew what a hypotenuse was, what irony meant, how retribution was spelled?” When he later holds up the slave owner who has bought his wife and daughter, “it was not the pistol, but my language, the fact that I didn’t conform to his expectations, that I could read, that had so disturbed and frightened him”.

“In language, and in ownership of language, there resides great power, and resides an avenue to any kind of freedom that we’re going to have,” Everett has said . It can come at a high price, however: a slave is lynched for stealing the Faber pencil stub with which we watch James write himself “into being”. “My interest is in how these marks that I am scratching on this page can mean anything at all,” James writes, in what is to become the book we’re reading. “If they can have meaning, then life can have meaning, then I can have meaning.”

By recasting Twain’s flawed classic as a portrait of an enslaved man – in all the fullness of his courage, humanity and humour – Everett leaves a meaningful mark on American letters.

Mia Levitin

Mia Levitin, a contributor to The Irish Times, is a cultural and literary critic

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