Time-line: Chapter One: -Talks about his life, and how the widow takes care of him Chapter Two: -Huckleberry Finn hangs out with Tom Sawyer, Jim was introduced as one of the widows slaves, and he had a lot of stories to make other slaves fear him. Tom Sawyer creates the gang. Gang: Exclusive, it involves robbing and murder, holding people for ransom, and keeping the women. Chapter Three: -The boys resigned from the gang because they didn't rob or kill anyone, they just pretended. Tom Sawyer was making up stuff about Spaniards and Arabs, magicians were their enemies, and there were genies in lamps. Chapter Four: -Huckle Finn goes to school and learns how to read and write. He gives up all his money to Judge Thatcher ($6,5150) and his visits him at night. Chapter Five: -It introduced Huckle's dad, and described who he was. He gets frustrated at Huckleberry Finn for being able to read and write, and became more intelligent than him and his late mother. He wants Huckle's money but Huckle doesn't have it anymore, He borrowed 3 dollars from Judge Thatcher to give to his dad, and he spent it on liquor. The Judge and the widow tried going to the law to take Huck away from his dad, and allow one of them to be his guardian, but it was a new judge,and that didn't happen.
Time period: In the novel, the time period has an old time southern dialect, and it was probably in the 1800's because 3 dollars was worth a lot in the book. In the introduction, it has a chronological order of Mark Twains life which was in the 1800's. Everyone's grammar was difficult to understand (in todays time). It still had slaves in the book, so it was a long time ago.
Point of View: In the novel, since the narrator (Huckleberry Finn) is so young, the perspective seems to be more innocent. It's creative, and the narrator uses a lot of his imagination. He describes everything in a very short, sweet or simple way. He wouldn't portray things the way older people would, which makes the perspective more childlike.
Chapter 6-11
Why was Huck locked up? Pap has taken Huckleberry hostage because pap want's his money. He was trying to file a law suit to get the money, and he basically kidnapped Huck Finn because he thought he would lose custody of him. What is an abolitionist? Why is Huck concerned about being called one? An abolitionist is someone who wants to abolish slavery. Huck is concerned about being called an abolitionist because he's in Missouri, which is in the south. During this time period, people wanted slavery in the south, and people believed that abolitionism was a bad thing. What gave Huck away about being a girl? List 3 things that would give each gender away today? Huck's 'costume' was given away by: -He didn't know how to thread a needle -When he threw a lump of lead at a rat, he almost hit it. Girls have to miss it by 6 or 7 feet -When girls try to catch something in their lap, they throw their knees apart, not clap them together. 3 things that would give a girl away: -voice and pitch -gait -cleanliness/hygiene 3 things that would give a boy away: -voice -interests/actions/behaviors/manners -face structure and height.
Chapter 12-16: What is the story of King Solomon and his child? How does Jim interpret the story? -King Solomon was posed with a difficult choice. He had 2 women claiming a baby boy their own, but he needed to figure out the true mother, so he sent 4 a sword and said that the baby would be cut in 2. One mother did not protest, saying that if she couldn't have him then no one could. The other asked to spare the child's life and give it to the other woman. King Solomon declared the second woman as the mother because a mother would do anything to save her child, including giving it away. Jim interpreted the story by thinking the King would actually cut the child in half and make it worthless to both women. He thinks that it's foolish to make the child worthless because the king has a "million" children. When Jim wakes up from the fog, what does his reaction to Huckle's joke tell us about him? When they got separated, and Huck made the separation fell like a dream, Jim's reaction shows us that he actually cares about the boy and he didn't like being made to think that it was all a dream because he was so worried about Huck that night. Jim is very superstitious, from the historical standpoint, why do you think that is? -Jim is very superstitious because as a slave, he's not educated, so his superstitions are ways for him to explain how things happen. “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? At first huck was "afraid" to talk to a slave/Jim but now that he has, he doesn't regret it. Where he is from, he's afraid to be portrayed as an abolitionist. 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. Huck has a lot of character conflict because he wants to help Jim escape but he doesn't want to be the reason for setting a slave free, because were he was raised it makes sense that he has a fear of being seen as an abolitionist. But Huck really likes Jim's company and he doesn't want to lose his friend because if Jim is free then they will go separate ways. When the men came up the river looking for the 5 escaped slaves and they asked Huck if that was his raft, he replied with yes. he told them that his family was sick and he needed help docking the raft so he could get them help. When the men asked him what his father had, he replied with a nonchalant answer of nothing just a fever. They immediately assumed that it was smallpox and that Huck just needed the help so they left him with money and told him to go dock and to not let any slaves pass. Huck saved Jim. When Huck doesn't want them to leave, he doesn't want them to be forced into slavery.
Chapter 17-21: Describe the Grangerford family. (Chapter 17&18) They have a deceased daughter named Emmeline. They are currently in a feud with the Sheherdsons. Colonel Grangerford is a gentle, warm hearted man who owns a large estate. He's the head of the family. The children are Bob, Tom, Charlotte, Sophia, and Buck. Each child had their own slaves. No one can remember why or how the feud between the two families started. Sophia is in love with a Shepherdson boy named Harney. Buck and a 19 year old Grangerford are in a gun fight with the Shepherdsons and they end up dying. 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)? The Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons are rival pre-Civil War aristocratic families, who both want to be the top family in the county. Mark Twain wrote this into the novel to show what it was like to be a farmer and a rancher before the civil war. Farmers and Ranchers had to co-exist in that "business" but they were rivals and they clashed. The Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons had to co-exist in church but they would go back to their rivalry at home. This says that the 2 occupations were very competitive with each other, and they would compete for the same clientele. 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)? Huck actually cared about the family that took him in and didn't want to go to that place where he found them again. He didn't want to face that grief this early. His friend died in front of him in the battle, and it really affected him. Huck really admired the family, whether it was the kind, gentle father or the fact that they are a genuine family. To see that the feud took more lives, it wasn't too easy for Huck to accept. Explain who the King and the Duke are. Why does Huck go along with their story (Chapter 19)? The King and Duke are two men that Huck came upon on one of his solo expeditions. Their clothes were battered and they were begging to be let onto the raft in order to get away from trouble. One man (the Duke) is 70 and bald, while the other (the King) was 30. They are both con men. The "King" sold paste that took off tartar from teeth, but it took more than that, and the locals were furious. The "Duke" use to run a temperance revival, but others found out that he drank. They both sought help from Huck Finn. What problems do you anticipate with the Duke’s solution to how they can all run the raft during the day (Chapter 20)? The Dukes plan was to make it look like they have actually captured Jim, and that means a way to "hold" him. This could make for some troubles as they might have to prove that they don't care for Jim, if any other ships come upon them. We can anticipate that others would try to capture Jim fore a reward and that would present possible dangers for the crew. It would also affect Huck's conscience because he cares for Jim and wouldn't want Jim to suffer. Illustrate the town that the play will be held in (Chapter 21).
Chapter 22-26: 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? The line at the end of the handbill says "Ladies and children are not admitted". The handbill would get people into play because many men would do things if their wives can't come. It allows them to have a "night off" and have more freedom due to the fact that their wives and kids can't come (because they aren't admitted). It's a night for the boys. 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 see the use in telling Jim because Huck and Jim had been discussing it, and he couldn't get Jim to see that they were con-men. It wouldn't have done any good, and he didn't want to get into an argument. It was also less suspicious if they traveled in a group. b.What does Huck mean by “you couldn’t tell them from the real kind.”? Huck and Jim had never met a King or a Duke, so they wouldn't know what real Kings and Dukes were like. The two con-men would go through a lot to pull off that act, and they were good enough to convince Jim. 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 Duke made up this plan when they heard that a man named Peter Wilks had died and left a fortune to his brothers that no one had ever met or heard of. One was about 30-35 and the other was deaf and dumb, so the two conmen pretended to be the brothers and have Huck and Jim be their servants. They wanted to sell the land and gain all this money from the dead man and his brothers. Huck was ashamed about lying and stealing from the grieving family. The shame that he feels is probably from consorting with the 2 men. In chapter 25 we meet the doctor. How does the doctor know that the king and the duke are a fraud? Doctor Robinson knows that the King and Duke are a fraud because when the King gave a speech, his British accent was terrible. The Doctor said that it was the worst accent that he had ever heard and that "a time's coming when you're going to feel so sick whenever you think of this day". He knew that the King and Duke were a fraud were most certainly not related to Peter Wilks, and they didn't know anything about Peter. 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 middle of the night with the 6,000 in gold that was found in the cellar, but the King thinks it would be a good idea to stay until the land and slaves are sold so that they can gain more money than they had already.
Chapters 27-30: Why did people stay up with the dead during this time period? (Chapter 27) One of the reasons that people stay up with the dead is to protect the body from insects and rodents. They wanted to make sure the body was kept safe. After a person died in this time, they had to be buried the next day because there was apparently no way to preserve the body, so they would watch over it. According to some traditions, they would make sure that the corpse didn't wake up. They would also perform blessings on the spirit of the dead to make their journey easier. 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) He is a truly empathetic person. Even though he plays off that he is this brave and uncaring person, he cares about people and wants to make sure that they fell like they have someone to talk to. When he tells Mary Jane that the family will be together again, he told her because she was truly distraught over the family being separated. He wanted to comfort her and he did the only thing he could think of and that was to tell her the truth. What were the two methods the townspeople used to try to identify who the brothers were and who the frauds were? (Chapter 29) A lawyer has all four men meet at the Tavern so they can discern who they truly are, and to do that, he has two things done. First, he has all four men sign a paper and compares the signature to ones he received on the letters, which showed that the King and the Duke were fakes. The King got out of it by saying that the real William serves as a scribe to Harvey and that since William has a broken arm they can't prove who is who. Secondly, the real Harvey recalls that their brother had a tattoo on his chest and then the King says that he did see a tattoo. Then the lawyer asks them what the tattoo was and has the undertaker who dressed the body tell them which one is right, he says that he didn't see a tattoo. They go and dig up the body and find the bag of money inside the coffin with the Late Mr.Wilks.
Chapter 31-35 Huck says “You can’t pray a lie.” What lie is he trying to pray about? What does he mean? (Chapter 31) Huck is praying about the lie he was telling to himself to make him feel better about stealing away Jim from Ms.Watson. He was in distress because Jim had been found while the Reward flyer was still out and he was captured. The man who found him took 40 dollars instead of the 200 promised and then went up the river. He was thinking about what to do to get Jim out of slavery and he was going to write to Ms.Watson to tell her where Jim was, but then he decided not to because it would tell the people that Huck had been helping a slave escape. He was also praying to tell him that he wasn't gonna do anymore bad things but he knew that was a lie also, so he couldn't pray about it. Why does Huck tear up the letter he writes? (Chapter 31) Huck was going to write to Tom Sawyer to tell him Miss Watson about Jim, but he realizes that she would sell Jim anyway. He was then going to write to Miss Watson, but then he also realizes that if the story got out that he helped a slave escape, he would be ashamed. He tried praying for forgiveness, but his heart wasn't in the prayer. When he was writing the letter, he though about Jim, the time they spent together, Jim's kind heart, and how their friendship has developed. In the end, he tore up the letter and decided he was going to steal Jim out of slavery. 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) Huck was hoping that Tom would say he wouldn't help so that Huck could finally make up his mind. I think when Tom said that he would help, Huck was hoping he would say no that way he would have an excuse to not help. He was so distraught at the moment on whether or not he should help Jim that he was hoping for an outside opinion that would make him see reason. I think it also played into the fact that Tom always tries to fit into society, with the trying to have a gang because he read it in a book, that he would drop to immediately help him. Huck says two things at the end of chapter 33: 1.“Human beings can be awful cruel to one another.” We treat each other horribly because of things we do to try and earn money, but then when we do it, we get mad when they treat us the same way. ( What goes around comes around.) Humans tend to be greedy and selfish, and the way we treat one another is cruel, diminishing, and belittling. 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 got no sense, and just goes for him anyway.” What does Huck mean by these two statements? No matter what you do a conscience will make you feel bad. When he saw the Duke and the Dauphin being tarred and feathered, his previous feelings towards them started to fade away. They were just trying to make a living and they had decided to do it through the wrong way and conned people, but when you see that happening to someone, I think no matter what that person has done you would feel guilty for not helping them. Why are Tom and Huck looking for a more difficult way to break Jim free? (Chapter 34) When Huck came up with a simple plan to get Jim out of the shed that he was being held in, Tom said that it wasn't stylish enough and came up with an elaborate plan to get Jim out. "Tom told me what his plan was, and I see in a minute it was worth fifteen of mine for style, and would make Jim just as free a man as mine would, and maybe get us all killed besides."
Chapters 36-40: In the process of breaking Jim free, what is Tom’s motivation? What is Huck’s motivation? (Why are they doing it?) Tom wants the escape to be as dramatic and as a much of a game as possible. It's like a fantasy for him. He wants to have an adventure like the people in books do. He's trying to make Jim a real prisoner, and he's using impractical ideas. Huck's motivation is that he genuinely cares about Jim and what happens to him. He doesn't want him to be a slave again. He wants Jim to have his freedom. Huck is willing to commit a "sinful" act for Jim because they have a true friendship. What do Huck and Tom mean when they say they “let on” about something? Why do they do this? (Begins on chapter 37) When Huck and Tom say "let on", they are talking about telling everyone. They say this because Tom suggests that they should dig the hole with picks, but tell everyone (let on) that they used case knives instead. They were talking about how immoral this situation was, and the only way to get Jim out is to dig him out with one thing, but make people think they used another. 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 is writing the letters so that people will know that something is up so that they can see his escape plan. After all the hard work they've put into the plan, Tom doesn't want it to go without a hitch. He wants something to go wrong so that people will see their amazing escape plan they had for Jim. He gave the slaves instructions so that they would tell the family what was going on and that their plan would go perfectly. Tom's motivations are purely for the glory of the escape. He wants people to see his glorious plan and he wanted that extra sense of adventure. He wanted what he read out of the books. If he got people to come after them then he would have the story that he always wanted. 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? This is satire because it pokes fun at all the great escapes of the day. The failed escape of Louis XVI being one of the escapes they use for reference. Tom having read many of the stories about the planned escape of King Louis decided to use some of the elements that he read in the book. When they finish the getting Jim out of the cabin and they are on the raft, he says " Boys, we done it elegant!--- 'deed we did. I wish we'd 'a' had the handling of Louis XVI, there wouldn't 'a' been no ' Son of Saint Louis, ascend to heaven' wrote down in his biography" Tom was saying that they should have been in charge of getting the King out of the castle because then he wouldn't have died. 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? Jim wanted to save Tom from the bullet that was lodged in his leg, and he wouldn't let the raft drift until tom had been seen by a doctor. I think Huck said this because the had just gotten Jim free and he was a runaway slave, and he wanted a doctor that would surely turn him in to save Tom. Jim said if the roles were reversed, Tom would do the same. It was almost like Jim thinking like a white man.
Chapter 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? Huck feels guilty because she thinks she lost Sid (Tom), and he feels bad knowing that he is still alive and that he helped the slave get away. He doesn't want to look her in the face because he's afraid that if he does, he will tell her everything they did and she will be mad. She expressed so much concern for him even, and the feeling of guilt is overpowering because he made her worry and caused some trouble to help Jim escape. Right after this, Huck and Sally stay up a little longer talking about "Sid" and if Huck thought he was lost of hurt. This shows that she truly has compassion for Huck and Tom, and when he is lying to this woman that has done so much to help and keep him safe. 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 so worried and guilty that Tom had gotten shot while getting him free that he was willing to sacrifice his newly earned freedom to save Tom. Jim is a thoughtful and kind man. He would do anything to save his friend who got him out, and that included giving everything up for Tom. The doctor found Tom too injured to be left alone while he gets help, so he says that he needs help, and out comes Jim. When Jim heard that, he was willing to lose everything to make sure that Tom would be alright. Jim is faithful and the doctor could tell he was exhausted from being worked too hard lately. Jim was a great 'nurse' to Tom, caring for him and sticking with him through thick and thin. Jim was a great gentleman, and he wasn't a bad slave. What do we learn about Tom from what he says when he wakes up after being treated for the gunshot wound (Chapter 42)? Tom wants to live a life of adventure and he wants people to know that it was him. When he dropped the bomb shell of Miss Watson's passing and that she set Jim free in her will and they were freeing an already free slave, you could see that he wanted the thrill of the adventure more than the reward. He knew that Jim was free but saw it as a way to have a safe adventure. Tom has been keeping the secrets about the death of Miss Watson and the fact that Jim is free tells me that he will do anything to have an adventure. His character can be very selfish and adventure crazed, and he will do anything to get what he reads from his books. You’ve finished the novel: Tell me, in three to four sentences, what you think of Huck. I really like Huck's character because he's just a little boy traveling down the Mississippi River. Huck had an abusive father and a hypocritical care taker, and I didn't like how he cared a lot about what people thought of him (at the beginning to middle of the book). He's very kind and generous, and he's willing to go the extra mile. When he and Jim developed a strong friendship, he was very mature and decided to be punished (by 'going to hell') to save Jim. He's grown a lot throughout the story, and I felt like I had grown with him. His character is very young and "innocent" and I really liked his character.