Widow Douglas and Aunt Polly decide to take in Huck back as their own, and try to teach him.
Huck tries to run away but Tom gets Huck back by proposing the idea of starting a band of robbers.
Chapter 2
Huck and Tom sneak out, and play a prank on a slave named Jim.
Tom and Huck run off to a cave to meet with other boys who are interested in being a part of the band of robbers.
The group of boys decide to form the band and call it "Tom Sawyer's Gang". All the boys agree on the rules and sign a blood oath.
Chapter 3
Widow Dougla tries to teach Huck about Heaven and Hell.
A body is found drowned in the river, it is suspected to be Huck's father. Upon further investigation, it is realized that the body is female, therefore, can't be Huck's Father.
Tom Sawyer's Gang ends up breaking up because they never actually robbed/murdered anyone.
Chapter 4
Huck starts showing a new side of himself that enjoys learning new things.
Huck is worried about seeing his father so he tries to give all of his money to the judge.
Huck goes out in the town to see if he can find information and advice on his father.
When Huck gets home, he finds his father sitting in a chair waiting to see him.
Chapter 5
Huck's father nags Huck about making better life decisions than he did.
Huck gives Pap his one dollar, and Pap uses it for drinking.
Pap tries to take Huck's money from the judge.
The judge returns half the money to Huck.
Pap wastes the money on drinking and is sent to jail for a week.
Time Period I think it is obvious that the book was written in the 1800's for a couple of reasons. One reason is the dialect. The first thing I noticed when I started reading chapter one was the way the characters and narrator (Huck) spoke. I find myself reading things multiple times so that I can make sure I am understanding everything properly. The narrator speaks a little uneducated and the majority of the characters use words that would be frowned upon today. Another reason you can tell this book was written in the 1800's is the use of slaves. Slaves are no longer used in modern day jobs, so when you are reading this book and see the use of slaves, you know that it was a long time ago.
Influence I think that the because Huck is a 12 year old boy we have to consider that he doesn't view the world the same way an adult would, and he is also more likely to exaggerate the story. 12 year old boys are fairly emotional and I think that the more we read the book, the more we will be able to feel Huck's emotions about his father and Tom. Also, 12 year old boys aren't going to remember every detail so, depending on how the author chose to write the book, we might come upon some missing information and have to make assumptions on what actually happened.
CHAPTERS 6-11
Why Did Pap Lock up Huck? Pap took Huck and locked him up because he was upset with the new lifestyle Huck was living. Pap was frustrated with Huck because he was going to school, dressing nice, content with life, and learning about religion. Huck was living a better life with the Widow than he would if he was living with Pap. Pap would lock Huck up so he could go out a party
What is an abolitionist and how does it relate to the story? An abolitionist is someone who wants to end slavery. Abolitionism is a historical movement to try and end the African slave trade and set slaves free. Huckleberry Finn is based in the 1800's, when slavery was still legal. In this time period, many people had slaves to help with housework and do the things that they didn't want to do themselves. After Mrs. Watson's slave escaped and found Huck, Huck was afraid that he was going to be called an abolitionist because he was with Jim. Huck is afraid that if people see him a Jim together, people will see him as an abolitionist.
What gave Huck away when he was pretending to be a girl? Things that gave Huck away from Pretending to be a girl:
Super fidgety
talked too much
Couldn't thread a needle
Caught the ball wrong
If the roles were reversed during modern times these are the things that would give Huck away:
-tone of voice,and dialect -The way they carry themselves (boys walk like they own the place, girls usually don't) -Personality, and the way they react
CHAPTERS 12-16
King Solomon The real story is that two women had given birth to children. One lady sent her baby away so that she wouldn't accidentally kill it, while the other lady decided to keep it. The lady who kept her baby ended up rolling over it and killing it in the middle of the night. The foolish lady who had killed her child said that the wise lady's child was her own. When the two women talked to King Solomon about it he suggested that they cut the child in half and give one half to the first lady and one to the second. The foolish lady was not against cutting the baby in half while the wise lady asked him to spare the life of the child and to just give it to the other lady. King Solomon came to the conclusion that the child was the wise lady's because no mother would ever let their child die. Jim thought that King Solomon was actually going to cut the boy in half because he had so many wives and children that he could afford it.
When Jim wakes up after their separation in the fog, what does Jim's reaction to Huck's joke tell us about him? How do you feel about Jim at this point? When Jim found out that Huck played a joke on him, he was very upset because he already thought he lost Huck once, and over the course of their journey together, Jim has come to care deeply about Huck. Jim was hurt even more because as a slave he was used to being made fun of a lot and treated like he didn't matter, so when Huck, someone he actually cares about, made fun of him it really hurt him. I feel bad for Jim because he is truly upset. Jim is very superstitious. From a historical standpoint, why do you think this is? During this time period many people were superstitious. The more educated people were less superstitious because they knew more and could explain things with logic and knowledge. I think Jim is so superstitious because he is uneducated and doesn't have an explanation for things. It is natural for people to make up explanations for things they don't understand so it is not shocking that an uneducated person like Jim would believe the made up things.
“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 going up to Jim and apologizing was something Huck would have never though of before this adventure. When Huck noticed that Jim was genuinely upset he knew that he had to fix and was not happy with the way he made Jim feel. After Huck went up to Jim and apologized he was glad that he did what he did.
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. Chapter 16 is mostly about Huck's inner struggle with himself. He has to decide whether to give Jim up or help him escape. Turning Jim in would mean that all the adventures and friendship would be lost. But, if Huck helps Jim escape to freedom, then Huck would be viewed as an abolitionist and there's no telling what would happen after that because everyone would hate Huck. No matter what choice he made, he would be giving up something that was important to him and the choice would forever affect him. When the men came looking for the missing slaves, Huck made the decision to help Jim. He convinced the men that smallpox was on the boat and they would be contaminated if they entered. In my opinion Huck chose to help him because he has had experience being left behind and alone, Huck clearly did not want to feel this way again but he was also looking out for Jim and knew that if he left Jim alone he wouldn't know what to do. Huck could either save the image of himself or do what was right, and ultimately he decided to do the right thing.
Chapters 17-21
1. Describe the Grangerford family. (Chapter 17&18) Colonel Grangerford is a gentle,kind man who owns lots of property. He's the head of the family. The children are Bob, Tom, Charlotte, Sophia, and Buck. Each child had their own slaves. They had a daughter named Emmeline but she passed away. They are currently in a feud with the Sheherdsons. No one can remember why or how the feud between the two families started. Sophia is in love with a Shepherdson boy named Harney.
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)? The Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons are rival pre-Civil War families who want to be the best in the county. Mark Twain wrote this into the novel to show what it was like to be a farmer and a rancher competing to be the best, and living with slaves before the civil war. Farmers and Ranchers had to co-exist in their own occupations but they were rivals and still clashed. The Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons had to tolerate each other at church but after that they were back to the feud. This shows the importance of religion to both families.
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)? Huck actually cared about the family that took him in and didn't want to go back to the place where he was when he found them. He didn't want to face the grief so soon. His friend died in front of him in the battle, and it really affected him and his mental state. 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. 4. 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 individual adventures. 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. 5. 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.
6. 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". In this time period, men/husbands were more likely to go somewhere that did not allow women and children because that gave them an excuse to take the night off and go with their friends.
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. In addition, it would probably make Jim sad if he found out he had been conned and his "friends" were lying to him. b.What does Huck mean by “you couldn’t tell them from the real kind.”? Because neither of the two had ever met a kind nor a duke, they wouldn't know what a real one is supposed to act like. Because Huck is more educated he was able to tell the difference between them,but Jim isn't educated and is very gullible. Also the con-men are pretty decent actors so it would be difficult to know they were faking.
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 con-men 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 definitely not related to who they said they were.
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. the men are so greedy and want as much money as they can get before they leave.
Chapters 27-30: Why did people stay up with the dead during this time period? (Chapter 27) One of the reasons that people stayed up with the dead was to protect the body from insects and rodents. They wanted to make sure the body was kept safe. During this time period, and in the region that we are talking about, they didn't have ways to preserve the body so the best thing to do was bury it as soon as possible. More often than not, the body was buried within the next 24 hours. Not only did the people stay up to keep away bugs, it was also to make sure the corpse wouldn't wake up. In addition, 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 inside of two weeks? (Chapter 28) Even though Huck comes off as brave and as if he doesn't care, he is actually a very caring and empathetic person. he is very good at connecting with other people and this is demonstrated with Miss Mary Jane. When Huck saw that she was clearly upset he wanted to help and felt like he could make her feel better.
What were the two methods the townspeople used to try to identify who the brothers were and who the frauds were? (Chapter 29) One method was, 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. The other method was 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.
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) Well, Tom Sawyer is a good boy. Although he does have a very adventurous imagination. Tom is just wanting to help Huck. He knows that he has been through a lot. But he wants to help one of his close friends. Tom Sawyer will do anything. But, Huck is being a little dramatic when he says in the book "Tom Sawyer fell, considerable, in my estimation. Only I couldn’t believe it. Tom Sawyer a nigger stealer!” 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 got no sense, and just goes for him anyway.” What does Huck mean by these two statements? Huck is talking about the fact that it was partially his fault that the King and the Duke got caught and tied to a rail by their feet. Even though they were not good people he still felt like he was their friend and shows his empathetic side once again. Huck is saying that no matter what actually happened your conscience will always rule over the truth. It is a mental thing. What ever you think you did wrong and keep telling yourself that then you will truly start to believe it. This is how I think of it at least. Why are Tom and Huck looking for a more difficult way to break Jim free? (Chapter 34) Tom and Huck chose to free Jim in a much more difficult way than was necessary. Or should I just say Tom decided this. Huck proposed his plan but Tom responded back saying it was too simple and, "wouldn't draw anymore attention than breaking into a soap factory." They decided to add more style and if Tom was going to help steal a slave he had to do it with his special flare.
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 is breaking Jim out ore for his own benefit, all the silly things he tells Jim to do while he's locked up are evidence that Tom want it for himself. He wants the best breakout in history and that's why he has Jim do a lot of these stupid things, it's all for style points and to make the breakout seem more intense and dramatic. Huck on the other hand just really wants his friend to be free and his main goal is to make that happen. What do Huck and Tom mean when they say they “let on” about something? Why do they do this? (Begins on chapter 37) Huck and Tom created a rope using part of Jim's bed sheet. At the end of the paragraph Huck says, "We let on it took nine months to make it." When they say this phrase, it basically means they pretended. It obviously didn't take them nine months but they like to pretend because it is funner for them. This also goes back to how Tom wants style points, so when he tells the story to people, he will "let on" it took them nine months. 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 these letters so Uncle Silas does not advertise he has captured Jim the runaway slave in the newspapers of St. Louis and New Orleans because Miss Watson would see them. He doesn't want Jim to be captured again so he makes it so that his Uncle won't post the ad. He gets most of the ideas to do all this from the books that he reads. 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 think the reason it is satire is because it is making fun of how much extra we do just to please people and be "cool". They could have freed Jim in a much faster and easier way but Tom wanted to make it have style so he could tell the story to people and become famous or more cool. We do this in life too. We go through much more trouble than needed just to impress people. It is satire because it is sad to think we go through way more than we need to just to impress our peers. This is my opinion on it. 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 to the boat Jim refused to let the boat take off even if it took 40 years for them to get a doctor for Tom. Jim knew that Tom would do the same thing for him. This was amazing because Jim is risking his life of being caught for the safety of Tom and says he wouldn't get off the boat until a doctor came. Huck says, "I knowed he was white inside" and this means that he knew he had the heart of not just a slave but of a white. Basically, no other slaves would risk their freedom for a whites well-being, unless you have a heart as big as Jim's. In this time period, slaves wanted nothing more than to be free. But it is demonstrated throughout the books that Jim is wired differently than the stereotypes make him out to be. He is very empathetic and caring, and I think that is one of the reasons him and Huck get along so well.
END
1. Huck's Feelings Huck feels of overwhelming guilt, because she genuinely thinks she lost Tom, however Huck knows for sure that he is alive. Huck refuses to look her in the face, because if he does, the truth might spill out. He doesn't want her to be mad or disappointed, after she spent so much time worrying for him. Thinking back on all the trouble he cause and how worried he made her, causes Huck to feel so guilty and in the wrong. Huck and Sally then stayed up talking about Sid (Tom) and if he was safe or injured and in danger. Sally showed and a lot of compassion and worry for Tom, and Huck once again felt guilty lying to someone who hasn't done anything except care for them. 2. “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.” Jim is an all around loyal man. This shone through when Tom was shot and injured badly. Jim did not leave his side, and refused to let him die. He was willing to lose everything for Tom; knowing that his newly found freedom could be taken away from him didn't even come close to crossing his mind. The doctor even mentioned that Jim wasn't half bad at nursing Tom, Jim was determined to save Tom and he wouldn't settle for less. 3. When Tom wakes up Tom seems to be extremely selfish. He knew that Jim was already to be set free and Miss Watson had passed, but he kept it to himself so he could have a quick thrill. It's obvious that Tom never cared about Jim's safety or freedom, he wanted the pump of adrenaline and his name around the town. Tom is very self absorbed and wants a "story like" adventure so bad that he didn't think about anyone else. 4. What I think of Huck I love Huck. Huck was raised in an environment where bad influences overwhelmed the good, and somehow he still has a big heart, and morals. Huck grew up with an abusive father as well as a very judgmental caretake, and he still managed to overcome it and make something of himself. Huck is a very selfless, young boy who was willing to befriend, help, and look deeper into a man who most would treat like dirt. Overall I loved watching Huck grow and I really liked his character as a whole.