1. Time-line: - The widow Douglas took Huck as her son - Tom Sawyer decides starts a band of robbers - Huck sneaks out with Tom Sawyer and starts walking through the tree's - Ms. Watson's slave hears them walking through the trees and tries to find them - They eventually sneak away to the other boys starting the band of robbers - They crawl into the cave and go over the band's rules - After a while Huck and all of the boys quit the gang - Huck talks to Jim about what his father wanted - Huck finds his father in his bedroom - Huck's dad asks about his money and takes the dollar he got from the judge earlier - The Judge and the Widow Douglas try to gain custody but failed - Huck's father ends up in jail after being drunk
2. Describe the time period.
- The time period of this novel is way back in the 1800's. There are many examples this, such as the way most of the people can't read, the way the boys are willing to rob and kill without hesitation, the slaves many of the people have, and the currency. In one part of the book Tom Sawyer bribes another boys with five cents and now days that isn't very much money at all but back then it was a lot.
3. The perspective/POV
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is written in present tense and has Huck narrating it. This changes the way the book is written in because it has the slang this young boys would use. Also, the book has many exaggerations because a 12 year old boy would try to tell a story and make it sound as good as possible, so the truth is bent a little.
Chapters 5-11 Summary Questions
1. Explain Why Pap has Huck locked up.
Pap has Huck locked up because Pap told Huck to stop attending school but Huck kept going. He kept going just to go, but mostly just to spite.
2. Create a visual of how Huck escapes The Shanty.
3. In chapter 8 Huck and Jim run into each other. Huck says that people will call him a "low down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum" in reference to Jim running away. Explain what it means to be a abolitionist. Why is Huck concerned about being called one? You'll have to consider both the time period and the setting of the novel to answer the question.
To be an abolitionist is to support the abolishment/disbanedment of slavery. Huck is concerned about being called this because the book takes place in the south (Mississippi) just before the civil war. Being called a abolitionist in the south was a very heavy insult because it was just a huge part of their lives and they stood by it religiously.
4. . There are several things that give Huck away when he pretends to be a girl. List them. Then, come up with 3 things that would give a boy away and 3 things that would give a girl away (if the roles were reversed) in our modern times.
Huck gives away that he isn't a girl by the way he throws the piece of lead at the rat, how poorly he threads a needle, and by the way he gets nervous in certain confrontations.
Fake boy give away: Style/clothing, voice, and by the way they react in certain confrontations. Fake girl give away: Make-Up, voice, and style/clothing.
Chapters 12-16
1. What is the story of King Solomon and his child? How does Jim interpret that story? Huckleberry Finn explains to Jim about all the earls, dukes, and kings. Jim was completely crazed by this because he had no idea there were so many. Jim was explaining how he had never heard of any kings before except King Solomon. As Huck explains how they get all the money they want and don't have to do anything. Jim is confused by this and how kings can get all the riches they want just by sitting around all day doing nothing. Jim relates this to how he, a slave, does all the work for his "masters" and they get all of the riches and profit. 2. When Jim wakes up after their separation in the fog, what does Jim’s reaction to Huck tell us about him? How do you feel about Jim at this point?
After Jim wakes up after they get separated in the fog and finds Huck he was very mad. Jim found out that Huck was playing a joke on Jim and he was very made because he cares a great deal about him and wishes no harm to come upon him. Once before Jim thought he lost Huck once and was extremely worried. This just showed how much Jim cares about Huck. I feel really bad for Jim because he is already not treated well and the only person he can trust starts playing jokes on him. He is an uneducated slave trying to get to the north to soon save his family. I feel bad for Jim because his one friend would play jokes on him and make him feel as bad as he did. 3. Jim is very superstitious. From a historical standpoint, why do you think this is?
From a historical standpoint, I would believe that Jim would be very superstitious because he is an uneducated slave in the deep south so it would make sense that he would be superstitious because for generations they are cut off from the rest of the world and they would need to compensate for certain things happen in their life. They would need a way to make things seem better or even make them think that doing certain things would make them better. 4. “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger – but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards, neither.” What does this line tell us about Huck?
This line tells us that Huck isn't really in a southern mindset because slaves wouldn't be considered to have rights or feelings so it wouldn't mean anything to many people in the south to bother to apologize. Although he did it, it took a while for him to "humble down to a slave" which also meant that he was kind of nervous or wasn't used to apologizing to slaves.
5. At the end of chapter 16 Huck is struggling with giving Jim up. Outline the battle that he has with himself, and explain his actions when the men come up looking for the 5 escaped slaves.
In chapter 16, Huck begins to think over everything he is going through or doing. He doesn't know if it would be better to betray Jim and give him up, or whether to keep helping Jim escape. As discussed earlier, Huck doesn't want to be recognized as an abolitionist. Huck believes that either way, he loses something and doesn't know what to do. When the men come looking for the 5 escaped slaves and they ask if Jim is on the boat he says yes but so is his family and they are sick with smallpox. Huck's quick thinking for the men saved Jim and the friendship they had created.
1.Describe the Grangerford family (Chapter 17 &18).
The Grangerford family consists of 6 children counting the dead Emmeline. Them and the Shepherdsons have a feud which results in the death of two of the Grangerfords in a gunfight. Also, the youngest Grangerford, Buck, tries to shoot Harney Shepherdson who later runs off with Sophia Grangerford becuase they fell in love. This feud explains why they were so passionate when they met Huck because they thought he was a Shepherdson. The family themselves are actually very weird because they have many poems and artworks about dead people. The only normal one I think is the father, Colonel, because he is much more easy going and nice to Huck than the rest of the family. Overall I think that the Grangerford family is actually quite crazy because of the huge feud with the Shepherdsons and the creepy poems and artwork they care so much about.
2.Mark Twain alludes that the feud between the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons is about traditional feuds between farmer (“granger”) and rancher (“shepherd”). Why would he write this into the novel? What does it say about these two occupations at this time (Chapter 18)?
I think Mark Twain writes this into the novel because it shows you how competitive farmers and ranchers were at this time. They had to fight for the same customers and for the same land. They had to fight for the land so they could keep their produce the best out there and to be able to make more of the produce. The shelpherds or the ranchers cattle would ruin the farmers which would probably end up starting all of these feuds or disliking between the ranchers and farmers. All of this fighting was at the beginning of their process to make money, but when they are at market they had to keep these feelings to themselves and try to push their own product. This is shown in the book by how the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons fight when they are at their houses but when they are in town or at church they have to keep these feelings to themselves.
3.Toward the end of chapter 18 Huck says “I don’t want to talk much about the next day. I reckon I’ll cut it pretty short.” Huck says this prior to telling us about the big battle. How does our narrator’s perspective play a role in what we think and feel reading this section (Chapter 18)?
In the end of chapter 18 he says this because he really like the whole Grangerford family was very sad when the two died. He liked the family so much because the father was so loving and nice which was the complete opposite from his real father. The narrators perspective plays a large role in what we think and feel in the end of the chapter because is feels like he really talking to you and you aren't just reading from a book, you can really feel the sorrow in the words he says and the way he says it. This helps because it helps you empathize with him and feel really bad for his because he lost a really good friend, Buck, and the father he never had.
4.Explain who the King and the Duke are. Why does Huck go along with their story (Chapter 19)?
During Huck's journey he meets King and Duke while him and Jim are floating down the river. They were both begging him to let them join them on the raft because they were running away from something, probably the law because they were both criminals and con men. King was a white male about 30 years old but Duke was also a white male but much older than King. I believe that Huck and Jim go along with their story because they were both eligible to turn both Huck and Jim in and because they were probably not very good people. Huck goes along with their story to keep Jim and him safe from being turned in and to keep both of them save from the danger of the criminals.
5.What problems do you anticipate with the Duke’s solution to how they can all run the raft during the day (Chapter 20)?
I think that they might get in trouble because if they tell people they captured Jim they might get attacked in order to get the reward for Jim. Also, they might run into people that want to punish Jim for running away by hurting him or maybe killing him. It wouldn't be very smart because it endangers the whole group in the broad daylight.
6.Illustrate the town that the play will be held in (Chapter 21).
Chapters 22-26 Discussion Questions
1.At the very end of chapter 22 we see the handbill that the king and the duke will pass out. The duke says “if that line don’t fetch them, I don’t know Arkansaw!” Why would the line at the bottom of the handbill work to get people into the play?
At the bottom of the handbill is says "ladies and children are not admitted." Saying this would help get more people to come because it provides a "Saturday is for the Boys" type thing. The men of the town would want to do something that would allow them to get away from their family thus the no children and no women handbill. This could also mean that the play has explicit things in it that the town doesn't want to show the women and children.
2.Towards the end of chapter 23 we see this line: “What was the use to tell Jim these warn’t real kings and dukes? It wouldn’t a done no good; and besides, it was just as I said; you couldn’t tell them from the real kind.” a.Why doesn’t Huck see the use in telling Jim?
Huck doesn't tell Jim because he thought that Jim might not agree with traveling with con-men. Huck didn't want to start a discussion or argument that could result in them getting sold out by the criminals. It wasn't really a big deal and Huck didn't want Jim to get all stirred up over nothing. Lastly, it looks better to other people if they travel with two older men instead of a small, two person group with only a young boy and a black man.
b.What does Huck mean by “you couldn’t tell them from the real kind.”?
Neither Huck or Jim had ever met a king or a duke so they would never be able to spot a fraud. Neither Jim nor Huck could tell them apart and Jim more than Huck because he has no education. Neither of them were educated enough to tell a real king or duke from a fake one so that is why he says "you couldn't tell them from the real kind."
3.The final line in chapter 24 reads: “It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race.” What is Huck talking about? What does it tell us (the reader) about Huck that he feels this way?
The King and the Duke had made a plan to rob the family of Peter Wilks who had recently died. Peter had left all of his money and land to his two brothers who hadn't claimed it yet and nobody has ever seen them. One of the brothers is 30-35 and the other is deaf and dumb. They though that they could take the money and sell the land. They were using Huck and Jim as their servants. That is the plan but Huck says this and says it like this because he is sorry and doesn't think that it is right to steal this money that this dead man left for his family. He just doesn't think that it is the right thing and he feels really bad about it.
4.In chapter 25 we meet the doctor. How does the doctor know that the king and the duke are a fraud?
The doctor knew that the King and the Duke were frauds because they didn't know anything about Peter Wilks or his other family. The doctor also knew that they were frauds because when the King gave his speech he had the worst British accent he had ever heard. He warns the town many times to not give them the money but they don't listen.
5.The king and the duke consider leaving in the middle of the night with the money (chapter 26). Why don’t they?
They consider leaving in the night with the $6000 gold but they end up not leaving because they wanted to wait for the end of the trip because they also wanted to stay so they could get all of the families land. If the King and the Duke could end up getting all of the money and all of the land they would end up being very rich people. The Duke wasn't sure about taking everything but the Kings greed was too much and they eventually agreed to try to get everything.
Chapter 27-30 Summaries
1.Why did people stay up with the dead during this time period? (Chapter 27)
During this time period people would guard the baby out of respect. They wouldn't want the body to be stolen or eaten by rodents, insects or any other animals. Overall, protecting the bodies was just to respect the people before they were put into the ground for eternity just like a last gesture.
2.What do we learn (or reaffirm) about Huck when he tells Miss Mary Jane the slaves will see their family again in inside of two weeks? (Chapter 28)
At this time were are reaffirmed about Huck's good heart. Huck saw that Mary Jane was upset to hearing about the slaves families being split up and he could tell that she was very sad about the death because he saw her crying by the casket. He was trying to make her feel better by telling her the slaves wouldn't be separated from their families forever. Once, again this shows the empathy and kindness he has displayed throughout the book.
3.What were the two methods the townspeople used to try to identify who the brothers were and who the frauds were? (Chapter 29)
The first way the town found out that the King and the Duke were frauds were having the two real brothers and the King and the Duke take a writing test. The test proved that the King and the Duke were the frauds but the King said that the test wasn't fair because the real brother (Harvey) had a broken hand and the other brother wrote for him. The second way they found out that the King and the Duke were frauds was by describing the tattoo on Harvey's brothers chest. The town had both the king and Harvey describe the tattoo but they then dug up the body to find out that there is no tattoo. Upon digging up the body they found a bag of $6000.
Chapter 31-35 Summaries
1.Huck says “You can’t pray a lie.” What lie is he trying to pray about? What does he mean? (Chapter 31)
I believe that Huck was asking god for forgiveness when he was praying. He was asking god to forgive him for helping Jim escape. In this time period and in this part of the United states it is illegal and a very bad thing to do. On the trek to the north he had grown quite close to Jim and was very good friends with him. "You can't pray a lie" means that he was originally praying for forgiveness about helping Jim escape but then said this because he didn't believe he did anything wrong so he took it back.
2.Why does Huck tear up the letter he writes? (Chapter 31)
In chapter 31 Huck decided to write a letter to Tom Sawyer telling him to talk to Miss Watson and tell her were Jim is. While writing the letter he remembered about how nice and how good of a fried he had become. He decided to protect Jim and rather maybe get in trouble. He tore up the letter so that Miss Watson would never find out about where Jim is. This shows how Huck doesn't agree with the rest of society in the way of slavery and racism.
3.Huck is disappointed that Tom would help him steal Jim. He says “Tom Sawyer fell, considerable, in my estimation. Only I couldn’t believe it. Tom Sawyer a nigger stealer!” What do you think of this? (Chapter 33)
I think that Huck is obviously very surprised by the new things that Tom is doing. Tom Sawyer who was originally was a guy who created a gang and wanted to steal things and kill people to a person who would help a slave escape his owners. Being in the time period this was a very big deal helping slaves escape and in the south it was almost a sin. When Tom says that he will help his steal him out of slavery Huck was confused because he didn't expect Tom to say yes. This surprised Huck because Tom was always trying to fit in and do what others thought was cool but not he is going against societies rules and what others he knew though was right. This shows that either Tom was just trying to do a crime just to do it or he has actually changed as a person. If he changed that is really good because it shows that he is a good person inside. I think that this shows a lot of grown on Tom Sawyer's part and it gives Huck someone he can trust again. 4.Huck says two things at the end of chapter 33: 1.“Human beings can be awful cruel to one another.” 2.“But that’s always the way: it don’t make no difference whether you do right or wrong, a person’s conscience ain’t go no sense, and just goes for him anyway.” What does Huck mean by these two statements?
For number 1 this means that humans will be cruel to one another no matter what so it doesn't matter what you do you just feel bad or in someones perspective you did something wrong. For number 2 he means that it doesn't matter what you do your conscience will nag on you or make you feel bad about yourself either way. What Huck means when he says these things is that he doesn't care if what he does anymore because right or wrong he isn't going to feel good about it. He also says these things because he feels responsible or bad for the King and the Duke because even though they were bad people he had grown quite fond of them.
5.Why are Tom and Huck looking for a more difficult way to break Jim free? (Chapter 34)
They chose to make the plan more difficult because Tom thought that Huck's plan was much too simple. Tom wanted to add more style and make it look cooler. Tom decided that if he wanted to steal a slave he wanted to make sure that it would look cool and be talked about by people for a long time.
Chapters 36-40
1. In the process of breaking Jim free, what is Tom’s motivation? What is Huck’s motivation? (Why are they doing it?)
Tom and Huck had very different intentions when they were trying to break Jim out because Tom wanted to have the coolest and the best escape there ever was. He wanted everyone in America to hear about it and know about who did it. Huck on the other hand just wanted to get Jim out period. He didn't care how it happened he just wanted to make sure that it did happen because he felt bad about Jim being captured and wanted his friend back. Huck just wanted to get Jim out and have his friend back and Tom wanted to go down in history for the best breakout ever.
2. What do Huck and Tom mean when they say they “let on” about something? Why do they do this? (Begins on chapter 37)
Tom and Huck made a rope out of Jim's bedding. At the beginning of the paragraph is says, "we let on it took nine months to make it." He says this because he wanted to make it look like to took nine months to make the rope. Whenever they use the phrase "let on" they mean they are trying pretend to do something or to trick something into thinking something different.
3. Why is Tom writing the letters and posting warnings? Why did he give instructions to his aunt and uncle’s slave? What are his motivations for this? (Chapter 39)
Tom writes these letters to his uncle and aunt so they don't tell everyone that Tom had captured the runaway slave Jim because he might be in the News Papers and this would mean that Miss Watson would see them. He does it to make sure that his uncle doesn't post and ad to let everyone know.
4. We’ve worked a great deal on this novel’s satirical elements. How is the planning and plotting of Jim’s escape by Tom and Huck satire?
I believe that it is satire because it is making fun of how much extra things people do just to look cool in the eyes of some people. They could've broke Jim out in a much easier way and a much faster way but Tom wanted to look cool and have a fun story to tell everyone. In our live many people do the same thing. People will put on way to much make up or try too hard to look like a popular person than to just be themselves. This is satire because it displays how people have acted all throughout history trying to hard to be cooler or look better rather than just being your self.
5. Towards the end of the chapter Huck says “I knowed he was white inside” about Jim. Why does he say this and what does he mean?
When they got on the boat Jim was refusing to let the boat take off because he wasted to get a doctor for Tom. Jim knew that Tom would do the same thing for him and he wanted to reciprocate that kindness to him. This put the whole group in danger of being caught and after a while Huck says, “I knowed he was white inside,” this is showing that he knew that Jim was a good person and had a kind heart and wasn't just a slave. Huck thinks that Jim is different from all of the other slaves because he doesn't believe that any others would risk their lives to save his.
Chapters 41-End
Towards the end of chapter 41: “And then when I went up to bed, she come up with me, and fetched her candle, and tucked me in, and mothered me so good I felt mean and like I couldn’t look her in the face”. Why does Huck feel this way?
I believe that Huck feels guilty because she thinks that he lost Tom and he feels bad because he knew he was still alive and because he helped get Jim free. He doesn't look her in her face because he is afraid he will tell her everything they did and she wouldn't approve. She showed him how much she actually cared for him and he feels so much guilt because he made he scared for him and broke the law for helping Jim escape. Sally stays a little longer talking about Tom and this shows how she actually cares so much for Huck and Tom.
In chapter 42 we hear the doctor’s account of his experience treating Tom: “so I says, I got have help, somehow; and the minute I says it, out crawls this nigger from somewheres, and says he’ll help; and he done it too, and done it very well.” Can we come to an understanding about Jim from this? What do we learn about him?
Jim was worried and felt guilty for Tom getting shot while setting him free. Jim was willing to give up his new freedom to help Tom get better. Jim, even though he was a slave for his whole life, was an extremely caring and thoughtful man which was shown in the way he was willing to save his friend. The doctor found Tom injured to be left alone while he gets help, and Tom told the doctor that he needed help. When Jim heard him say that he wanted and needed to help no matter the consequence. Jim was extremely faithful and careful and the doctor recognized that and knew that he was exhausted. Jim was great with treating and helping Tom which showed that he was a great person and a great slave.
What do we learn about Tom from what he says when he wakes up after being treated for the gunshot wound (Chapter 42)?
We learn that Tom was a thrill seeker, he wants to be remembered and do things the coolest way possible. When he said that Ms. Watson had passed and that they just freed an already free slave he was shocked. This showed how Tom just wanted to be adventurous more than wanting anything else. He knew that Jim was a free man and that Ms. Watson was dead but he still went along with the whole escape thing because it was new and it was cool.
You’ve finished the novel: Tell me, in three to four sentences, what you think of Huck?
Huck was an extremely brave and adventurous person. At the beginning of the novel I wasn't sure what to expect with his family, the money he had, and the band of robbers they started. It was very interesting how in that day and time they could just do whatever they wanted, they started a band of robbers who planned to kill and rob a ton of people and everyone in the gang was like just teenagers. From the beginning of the book you could tell that he was a very intelligent kid by the way he got into trouble a lot and always got himself out of it. He also showed how smart he was by faking his own death because that isn't an easy think to do but it also shows that he will do anything to make his life better because his father was making it terrible. Lastly, Huck was a very kind person by the way he helped anyone who needed it, this was shown mostly in Jim, and by his generosity. He did many things that would make most people hate him but he didn't care because he just wanted to do the right thing.
Our Satire Video
Our Idea: We want to make a video based on teachers and how they can be very hypocritical. We want to show how teachers expect certain things from us but don't follow those rules or know those things themselves.
Then, there is an English/History teacher with bad grammar and showing videos to teacher her class
The satirical part is that as an English teacher, she/he should have good English, but in this she/he doesn't
She/He also doesn't know anything on the subject so when the class asks questions, she/he has to look it up.
After that, there will be a math teacher
Much like the social studies teacher, the math teacher isn't going to know anything about math and not teach the kids well at all
It starts with a gym teacher who is telling his students what to do to be healthy
The satirical part is that the gym teacher himself is very unhealthy
The gym teacher is fat and eating unhealthy foods and drinking unhealthy drinks while teaching how his kids to be healthy