Monday, March 26, 2007

Mark Twain a Racist?

Many people say that Mark Twain is a racist simply because he uses the N-word too much. Personally I don't think that Mark Twain is a racist. He uses that term because it was normal to say it during that period of time. He didn't mean it in the same context people consider racist today. If Mark Twain was a racist, why would he make Jim and Huck friends? Jim was actually Huck's closest friend throughout the book. If you asked me Jim is the most honest person in the book and also a good person. He's somewhat of a father figure to Huck and stuck with him side by side. For example, when Jim and Huck found the dead guy, Jim didn't let Huck see the face because he was looking out for him. Mark Twain was trying to say that blacks were no different than whites and that they were people too. This book is overall a satire about racism. People who say that Mark Twain is a racist should consider reading deeper into the book.
posted by Arthur L.

An unexpected ending

Honestly, I thought The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, overall was tedious. There were a few parts of the book that caught my interest, however the entirety of the novel was not amusing to me. I was disappointed because when I first commenced to read the novel I thought that I would really enjoy reading the book. However, the book didn’t meet my expectations. After all the trouble that Huck and Jim go through, Jim a runaway slave and Huck escaping from his drunken father, in the end Huck’s father, who was what motivated Huck to run away, was dead, and Jim technically was free. It is written in Miss Watson's will that Jim should be set free. In my opinion the most interesting parts of the book were the chapters that involved Tom Sawyer and a few chapters involving the duke and the king.
posted by Valerye G.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Follower or Leader?

When we discussed the last chapter, everyone was angry at Huck for following Tom's plans while they were trying to free Jim. They believe that his long journey served no purpose because he was back to being Tom's follower. I completely disagree. I believe that the only reason Huck was following Tom was to help Jim escape. I do think that Huck's journey helped him know right from wrong and although in chapter "the Ending" he made a 360 degree turn, he was going back home with more experiences, knowledge, a better understanding of the world and maturity than when the book began. I thought the ending was suitable for this book.
posted by Grace O.

Letting Tom off Easy

Jim and Huck's reaction towards Tom when they found out that Tom had made up an adventure and created so much fuss over nothing was surprising. If I was in either Jim's or Huck's place, I wouldn’t let Tom get off so easy. Playing with people's lives is a serious thing and he made an adventure out of it. During the last chapter, it seems as if Tom is still proud of what he did and that shows that he didn’t learn anything. Huck usually comes up with brilliant plans and has no reason to believe that he is second to Tom. In the world of today there are book smarts and street smarts. Huck is street smart, while Tom is book smart. Tom lives in fiction, while Huck lies in reality. So Huck clearly has a better perspective on life and handling situations.
posted by Adnan J.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Critique

I personally did not like Huck Finn at all as a novel. I understand that Mark Twain had a certain way of writing in which he pointed out many faults in society by using satire. But I felt that it made it harder to comprehend than it had to be. Also, there was the fact that more than half the time I was trying to decipher my way through the troublesome dialect so I ended up missing main important elements of the story. I felt that the most disappointing thing about this novel was the ending, in which both Jim and Huck come to find out that they were free from all their troubles right from the beginning of their journey. I do realize that both characters grew in many different ways but it almost seemed worthless and for nothing when we come to learn that the journey itself was based on a fake truth. I will try reading another Mark Twain book because I don’t want to base a bad opinion of the author on just one book.
posted by Haramritjot S.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Sheer Disapointment in Huck Finn

So, in the end, it turned out that Jim and Huck had spent months running away from absolutely nothing. Great use of irony on Mark Twain's part, but I can't put into words how much it disappointed me. I'm actually angered that we had to read this book. I don't even know why it's part of the curriculum. Twain said that he wrote the story just to write it. It's not like there was anything to be learned from it. Maybe it's just me, but how am I supposed to relate to the characters when they're living on a raft on the Mississippi River in 1840?
That brings me to another question: why don't we ever read anything that was written less than 50 years ago? Were the writers back then or a hundred years back better than the ones of today? I understand that the books written recently aren’t classics yet but personally, I'd enjoy a book considerably more if I could relate to it.
Lots of little things that Huck did or said were very ignorant and extremely annoyed me, especially when he was making fun of Joanna's "harelip". I didn't find that amusing. A cleft palate is a serious birth defect that, thankfully, can today be fixed with a simple surgery. It also bothered me when he played the trick on Jim when they got separated on the river. I was so glad when he let Huck have it for that because it wasn't necessary, at all. It wasn't funny either.
Lastly, probably the biggest reason why reading this book was such a drag was because of the grammar. It was the worst when I had to read some extended piece of dialogue by Jim because it would take me like ten minutes to decipher what he was saying! But then again, maybe it's shallow of me to not appreciate Mark Twain's way of writing. If I'm not mistaken, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was the first book to be written with the actual dialect of the people.
I could go on forever about how much I dislike the story, but I’m stopping this rant now. These are just my opinions, so no one get offended please.
posted by Julia S.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Racist? Anti-Racist?

I don't believe that main idea of Huckleberry Finn is a racist one and it's not an anti-racist idea either. When Mark Twain wrote this novel he was an abolitionist, but I don't think his main idea was to talk about whether slavery was bad or not. I believe his main point of the book was to make it entertaining for the reader, and also I believe he wanted the reader to tell by the end of the book how "racism" played a part in the book. Mark Twain is great writer and for him to improve his book he would use words like "n*****" and use "slave talk" to improve the book. He wanted the reader to experience how it was during the 1800's.Using those words does not make the book racist at all; that language was used back then as it was part of their vocabulary. People tend to forget that this book is set in the 1840's, when slavery still existed. By forgeting, people begin to think Mark Twain was racist and the book is racist and it shouldn't be read. I didn't like this book, but I feel the book should still be read as part of the school curriculum. And for the people who think the main idea of the book is racist, I think you should think it over.
posted by Vadim S.

Friday, March 16, 2007

On the Road to Self-Discovery

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn actually reminded me of Of Mice and Men. Of Mice and Men is about a mentally challenged and overweight guy by the name of Lenny led by a muscular and intelligent man by the name of George who are together on a journey to find work. Huck just so happens to be this source of security and comfort for Jim. You can tell Jim began to grow attached to Huck on many levels considering that dream he had that one night and was astonished to find Huck right before him. I thought it was sweet however it must have been such a drag or burden on Huck to have dealt with Jim’s weird ways. Now that Jim is gone, I’m sure Huck misses his partner Jim. It’s as if he didn’t know what he had until it was gone. Jim was more than an African American slave, kidder, and free spirit. Huck now realizes it and comes to his senses about their relationship and what it really meant. I believe it is good that he’s reconsidering Jim’s absence because they’ve got so much in common after all. They’re both running away from something that has controlled their lives and has allowed them to act anything but themselves. This adventure is not only about finding safety but finding themselves in the process. I think what startles Huck the most is maybe Jim had helped Huck find himself and now that he’s not there, he’s lost.
posted by Gina Ortiz

Thursday, March 15, 2007

What Adventures?

I can't say I love the ending to every book. However, this was a disappointment. Sure, Huck grew as a person....yada yada yada.... but he and Jim were technically free the whole time. What kind of adventures were going in a circle? He ended up in the same place as he started. I was disappointed because I expected a progressive ending. There wasn't much done for anyone in the book but running away from nothing. In a way I can see how Mark Twain made his ending clever. On the other hand, I felt like I read that book for nothing. It wasn't a total drag but it was disappointing.
posted by Katie M.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

The Ending

I have to say I'm very disappointed with the ending. I hate happy endings and the ending was very cliched. With all the twists and turns and the weird mix of Jim and Huck you would expect something different then everything working out perfectly. Jim and Huck were free all along! They basically went on this long adventure and faced hardships for no cause. Almost makes the book seem worthless, like what was the point of reading the book in the first place? After reading this book I don't think I'll ever read a book written by Mark Twain. Overall the book was ok but the ending just killed it. Maybe I'm being harsh but the ending is a very important part of a book and Mark Twain FAILED miserably.
posted by Gentrit D.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Pap

I am really enjoying the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. As I have been reading the story I have really grown to hate Pap. Pap is Huck’s father and Pap is the embodiment of pure evil. He is a drunkard, illiterate, ignorant, violent, and a profoundly racist human being. Reading the book and learning more of Pap’s personality can persuade the reader into hating Pap with a passion. I began to hate Pap as soon as he came back into Huck’s life because he tried to change Huck. Pap demands that Huck quit school, avoid church, and stop reading. I like the way Huck became and I am not a big fan of Huckleberry going back to his old way of life and listening to his father because he isn’t quite the perfect role model. The second thing that turns me off to liking Pap is the fact that he is looking to take all of Huck’s money. If he really was the man he wouldn’t have to take his son's money, he could just make his own. I know that we shouldn’t hate anybody but Pap isn’t a person-- he’s just a walking drunken corpse.
posted by Malcolm H.

the ending

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn is a very interesting book, especially from the point of view of someone who has read all the way through it-- read all the way through all the adventures, the lies and the scandals that the famous Huck Finn pulls. After reading the whole book I had a completely new perspective of how things worked in the south during the 1800's. All the time Huck is wrestling with the idea of rescuing Jim. Because he was raised in such a racist society he has so much trouble with the idea of freeing a slave. But that wasn't the thing that perplexed me so much. The thing that got me was the ending; the thing I have such a hard time understanding is that the fact that I hate cliches. And the ending couldn't have been more cliched, in the sense that everything worked out with no problem or tragedy to understand in the end. But the fact that makes this book so great is even though the ending is cliched, the book has a great original feel to it in the sense that, in the end, Huck ends up exactly where he was in the beginning.
posted by Danny K.

The advantages of a first-person narrative

What a journey Mark Twain has put us through, as the readers. This book is quite different from many that I have read. It has such a different/ unique vibe to it and surprising parts that make you want to keep on reading. It's a little hard to understand the book thoroughly because it's a first person narrative and every other interesting character that pops in the journey breaks that comfortableness. You don’t get to see their perspectives during certain events.
As much as I knew about Huck in the beginning, throughout this adventure he has grown a lot with personality as well as maturity. He’s gained a lot of knowledge about people and understanding of life. He’s been pulled into many obstacles and tricks by people who took the worst out of him, but with those experiences he’s become smarter and wiser. For a kid his age, he’s pretty brave and “street-smart” to survive throughout his adventure with Jim and the visitors. During certain parts, Huck upsets me with his actions, but he manages to get things worked out, SOMETIMES. What upsets me most is the fact that he looks up to Tom so much and when he’s around him he’s not the same independent Huck.
Mark Twain keeps the mood right for every scene in the book, which makes it comfortable to read. I just think it would have been better to have more scenes with Huck and Jim because Jim tends to disappear a lot, and if he were to include more interesting parts with the two of them, it would have been more enjoyable.
posted by Kosovare X.

Objections to Fiction

The use of different dialects in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain detracts from the significance of the novel. Many argue the use of different dialects based on the location of a character adds color and depth to the story. I fully reject these sentiments. To fully comprehend the novel, a reader must be knowledgeable in the art of decryption, and spend an hour and a half to decrypt one page of the book. I am an intelligent person, however find it difficult to decrypt even a paragraph of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn without devoting substantial time to that process. It does not help that I am not familiar with unconventional speech, I do not use slang. I understand that an individual familiar with the dialect used in Huckleberry Finn would have no problem discerning the message of the book, though it would be difficult to believe that that person would be even able to read or write (excluding Mark Twain of course). Mark Twain brings up a few good points pertaining to human nature, racism and morality, though the dialect detracts from the meaning of the book so much, I feel having read this book makes me worse off than if I had not read the book. Mark Twain would be more effective writing a simple paragraph in conventional English, briefly explaining his underlying message about human nature, racism and morality. In general I do not like the genre of fiction in any way, shape or form. Fiction is not entertaining or intriguing. I believe a book should be straight forward and to the point, like in non fiction books. Even though The Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass is overrated, the book has a clear meaning and improves the mentality of the reader, contrary to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Posted by Derek J. W.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Behind the Covers

The story of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of the most dreadful books I have read so far. I do not understand it at all. I realize that Mark Twain wrote the way he did because he wanted to connect with his readers. He wanted his characters to speak the way his readers would speak every day at that time. However, I have a hard time understanding it. I have to read it aloud to myself in order to understand what Huck and Jim are saying. A chapter that I could read in only ten to fifteen minutes takes me at least half-an-hour to read. Although Huck brings up the controversial issue of racism, the awareness of being “sivilized”, morality, and true friendship, the story is very repetitive. From the time when Huck and Jim started their travel to the end of the book, Huck and Jim continue to meet new people, make interactions, and then continue their journey. Even though the people that Huck and Jim meet are different in many ways, and they make different impacts on Huck and Jim, they are nonetheless habitual. I am no longer surprised when Huck and Jim meet someone new. All in all, when I started reading Huckleberry Finn I expected an adventure. I expected to be plunged into the book until the last page, but I am really disappointed. Mark Twain is a great author, but unfortunately, this story of his is one of the most unlikable books that I have ever read.
posted by Ranu N.

Multiple Personalities

I don’t know if it is just me-- does anyone else feel like Huck has multiple personalities sometimes? I notice that throughout the book, Huck has lied to a lot of people, and to each person he tells a different story. For example, in the beginning of the book, Huck dresses up as a young girl and tells the old women that he is “Sarah Williams from Hookerville." We all know he is not Sarah Williams! As I started to read chapter 20, Huck is describing the story, or should I say lie, that he is going to tell the Duke and King. As I read that little section, I began to laugh. That is when I noticed that Huck tells a new and different story to everyone he meets. I found this funny; it felt as if Huck was living multiple personalities. Each time he made up a new story, he had to pretend he was someone that he was not. Another example is when Huck pretended he was from England, and had to answer all these questions about it. I found this scene between him and Mary to be very funny. When Huck wasn’t able to answer one of Mary’s questions quickly, he would cough and instantly say what first came to mind. That’s Huck living his multiple personalities! It is fun to hear what comes out of that mouth of his.
posted by Victor O.

Friday, March 9, 2007

Twain Uses a lot of Irony and Humor in chapter 23

In Chapter 23, The King and Duke were putting on a tragedy for the people of the town. The Duke and King bragged and insisted it was the best tragedy ever. They did catch a lot of the townspeople's attention. In this tragedy the King was playing the part of Edmond Kean the Elder. It really turned out to be a comedy, rather than a tragedy. The king came out running on the stage naked, and he was painted all over his body. He had ring streaked-and-stripped designs and all sorts of colors. The king looked like a rainbow. His outfit was wild and funny. The people almost died of laughter. With the great imagery used in this chapter you can imagine how hilarious the King must have looked. This scene is filled with a lot of humor and it really makes the reader laugh.
I also found it very ironic that they dressed Jim as a runaway slave. The King and Duke were trying to act as other individuals and to disguise Jim they dressed him as a runaway slave. This is both humorous and Ironic. Jim was already a runaway slave, so why would they dress him like one if they were trying to hide his identity? The King and Duke were basically mocking Jim. So far this is my favorite Chapter because every moment I read I was laughing at the King and The Duke’s wild actions. They are pretty good actors because they know how to act as other individuals very well.
posted by Shireen Bhatti

Humor and sarcasm

Humor and sarcasm are great tools Mark Twain used in his book to reveal various aspects of Southern American life and characteristics of human beings. By satirizing certain concepts about people, Twain leaves an even bigger impression on the readers about the various themes of the novel. One thing I found funny was the whole mob mentality idea that Twain describes throughout the course of Huck’s travels to different parts of the South on the river.

One such example of this can be seen in chapter 21- this is after Huck and Jim meet the duke and the king- when they encounter a small town on their way down the “State of Arkansaw.” The townspeople are poor and Huck refers to them as “loafers.” As you read on Twain describes how these people love violence, where people get excited and gather around to check out a dog fight just to see which one would die. As the day goes on and the townspeople get drunker, Boggs, a person from the town comes around and says that he’s going to kill Mr. Sherburn, the wealthiest man there, and in the end Mr. Sherburn, sick and tired of Bogg’s incessant cursing and insults, shoots him dead. The townsfolk, who were already so excited from fight, retelling it to everyone they meet, get even more excited when on of them suggests hanging Mr. Sherburn. The whole town gathers up to do the hanging, pulling clotheslines every which way to do the handiwork, and reach Mr. Sherburn’s house. I thought it was really funny and pretty unfortunate how ignorant people could be and how excited they get from things so morbid. Death and violence aren’t fun- on the contrary, they are sad and unpleasant. It was interesting how people give up their consciences and capabilities in deciding right from wrong, and instead choose to follow the ignorance of one person.

Another example of such a mob mentality can be seen during the coffin scene in chapter 29. The duke and the king make up their own tattoo on Peter Wilks’s body, while the two new guys have their own, and all the people in the town decide to dig the body up to decide who is right and shout out "hooray!" Everyone grabs their own shovel in the excitement to dig up one coffin, and forgets lanterns. Then they decide to lynch the ones that are wrong and their excitement grows even more. It is in all this chaos that Huck manages to escape to go back to Jim. Twain’s use of humor in both scenes really poked fun at Southern humanity and civilized nature, and Huck’s naiveté enhanced each telling.
posted by Prabjot K.

Heart vs. Society

I have really enjoyed reading Huckleberry Finn so far. This book makes me see things very differently because I feel the things that Huck has been exposed to, at so young an age, are incredible. I like the fact that I get to see how Huck grows and matures through his journey. Especially since he’s all alone (without his parents) and is forced to grow up fast. I like the fact that even though the book was written in a different time I can still relate to Huck and his decisions. At his age and even at mine there is always pressure to choose between society and what your heart tells you to do and I love the way Huck always listens to his heart in all his situations which is something I would have done as well. I think often times Huck comes off as a racist but I really think he just sees things from a loyal point of view and his upbringing has made him think black people are there to advance the white man. I say loyal point of view because the book always speaks of how a n–* should be grateful and never leave his master and I think Huck sees it as him helping a slave is being disloyal to a white person. However, I think through this journey Huck has matured and learned that black people are people as well and they deserve to be treated well. So, so far in the book I really like the things that Huck has done and I’ve enjoyed being of his journey at least to some degree.
posted be Nateil O.

Thursday, March 8, 2007

The Experiences of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer

Throughout the book, it has been interesting to see all the people that Huck has come into contact with. He has met many dangerous people, but has managed to evade dire consequences. On his adventure, he has come into contact with con artists, thieves, murderers, and many racists. Huck's experiences are a lot deeper than those of Tom Sawyer. Tom lived in a stable home and had people that cared for him. His family provided for him; he created adventures for fun and excitement. He had little concept of danger; the worst thing he did was scare children at a picnic. Huck has come face to face with danger as a result of his expeditions off the raft. I believe that Tom's reasons for wanting to help Jim were very different from Huck's, and was a result of his lack of real world knowledge. I found it very surprising that Huck decided to go along with Tom's plan. Perhaps it is because he is trusting of people. He trusted the Grangerfords and even the Duke and the King with his safety. It remains unclear whether Huck actually believes this is the best plan to free Jim. Tom is very manipulative and does things for his own enjoyment rather then the benefit of others. I would be very wary of his motives if I were Huck.
-posted by Jack N.

Huckleberry Finn: Pro-Racism book, or Anti-Racism book?

I don’t believe that Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a racist novel. While its over-excessive use of the N-word, and the way that Twain describes how slaves are thought of in the book, may make the novel seem pro-racist, I believe that Twain’s intention was to expose how southerners thought of and treated slaves in pre-civil war America. I find this book to be very anti-racist, mainly because of Jim. Though Jim’s dialect and his slave roots may make him seem as though he was a very ignorant, and stupid character, I think that Jim is the most mature, and caring character in the story. For example, Jim cares for Huck, and treats him like he was his own son, protecting Huck from things he can’t handle, such as the dead body in the submerged cabin, or desperately worrying about Huck when he is lost in the fog. He is also very loving to his family, and has one of the few working family relations in the story, as he loves his entire family, and was willing to risk his life in order to keep himself from being permanently separated from them.
Another reason why I believe that the novel is supposed to be anti-racist, is how Huck begins to mature during the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Huck was very ignorant, and believed that slaves were exactly the way that his society stereotyped them as, which is uneducated, stupid, and ignorant. However as the novel progresses Huck sees through the stereotype, and begins to see Jim as a person, and not a piece of property that wants freedom. Huck begins to see that while slavery is accepted in his society, he wants to go against this and eventually sets out to even re-free Jim from his slave status once again, after he is sold by the King.
posted by Eddie D.

Has Huck Matured or Learned Anything?

I have pondered this question while reading Huckleberry Finn. After this question was mentioned in class, I began inquiring whether this question can be validated. At the start of this book, we know that Huck wanted to go on adventures with Tom Sawyer. By reading about the juvenile jokes they played on Jim one could tell that they were acting immaturely. Now that he has gone on his first adventure with Jim, he has matured into a person who understands how the real world is; “Down to Earth” as the book says. Throughout the book, I think Huck has learned many things. He has changed his perspective about African Americans. After experiencing Jim’s emotional reactions, Huck now views him as more of a person than a slave or property. Also after hearing and looking at Jim cry about his family, Huck knows that he is not just someone’s property; he is a human just like himself. Another way you can tell that Huck is matured is that he no longer plays jokes on Jim. After losing Jim in the fog you can tell that he has learned his lesson and never will manipulate Jim’s head again.
posted by Bardia G.

Boring Old Huck

The story of Huckleberry Finn has become very boring and uninteresting. All Huck seems to be doing now is lying his way out of one situation in one town only to be forced to make up another back story for himself and Jim once they get into another situation in another town. The problem is that almost all of these situations seem to be the same. Huck and Jim are always going to encounter people who somehow almost figure out that Jim is a runaway slave and that Huck is helping him out. I hope the book gets more interesting towards the end.
posted by Noah A.

The Duke and the King

When the supposed "Duke" and "King" came into the picture I basically thought they were going to be random characters making a brief and un-important appearance. However, throughout the chapters these two characters (who pretended to be the brothers of the late Peter Wilks coming from England) have really grasped my attention. I feel that having these two characters a part of Huck's journey has slightly changed my view of the book. From what I've read I've felt that Huckleberry Finn was a bit boring, lacking a significant boost of action and humor. With the Duke and King's sneaky agenda, past chapters involving them were the most enjoyable and interesting. Although these chapters were brief I think having these characters added to the book making it more spontaneous and less predictable. I also bellieve the Duke and Dauphin have helped better Huck's inner characteristics. I think Huck has grown to become more sympathetic and genuine. Huck has benefited from these "frauds" greatly, primarily going out of his way to do what he felt was the right thing to do. Hopefully Huckleberry Finn will continue to hold my attention and have more interesting characters as the Duke and King.
posted by Francesca D.

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

To Hell!

“All right, then, I’ll- to hell”
“It was awful thoughts and awful words, but they was said. And I Let them stay said; and never thought no more about reforming."

I think that this quote in the book symbolizes much of the growth that Huck has made throughout the course of his adventure. He now realizes that above society, civilization, and what has been taught to him throughout his life is the love that he has for Jim, and the genuine friendship that has developed between the two of them. I say this because it has been a gradual process, and little by little, he is recognizing how ridiculous it all is, and no longer cares if he is considered uncivilized, or is committing some type of sin by helping Jim escape slavery. Earlier in the book, Huck had to make the decision whether or not to give Jim up to slave catchers. And he chose not to do it, but with somewhat of a heavy heart. After he did this, he still thought that it wasn’t right of him to not give Jim up, he thought he had done wrong, and still had the idea in his head that he was going to be punished for it. Now, in chapter 31, we see a different Huck make that decision. He remembers how Jim has protected him, listened to him and accompanied him, and is determined to save Jim, and to protect them from anybody who would harm them.
Before the King and the Duke started up trouble pretending to be the Wilks brothers, there is a scene in the book where Huck hears Jim mourning not having his wife and kids with him, and regretting hitting his daughter like he had. When he saw this, Huck said. “ I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their’n. it don’t seem natural., but I reckon it’s so.” It’s a very short scene, and Huck doesn’t go on and on about it as he does with others, but to me it seemed very important. Slowly but surely, Huck is looking past the race barrier, and seeing Jim as what he is: another normal person, his only friend.
So far, I’ll have to admit that I don’t care much for this particular section of the book, maybe because it got to a certain point where everything is so long, and Huck seems to go on and on. It could also be because the Duke and The King are so ridiculous, and their antics can get boring because they don’t know when to stop. What I do find interesting is how Huck is maturing. He doesn’t know it, but he is becoming more “civilized” and actually doing the right thing. I would like to see how Jim and Huck’s friendship develops throughout the rest of the book.
-Wendy C.

Less Ignorant, More Openminded and the Full Circle Involving Both

It's been a few weeks since my last blog post and I have to say that although the book has gotten more interesting, there is one thing that I do not like; I hate the excessive details the book has. It makes the book so boring that I have been stalling to read it. I hope that in the last chapters the book picks up speed and Twain stops with the details.

Second of all, I have noticed Huck's change tremendously in the last few chapters. I love the fact that Huck's character is becoming less ignorant and more openminded. It shows that not only is Huck maturing but he is also thinking ahead of his time. The biggest thing that sticks out to me as a reader is the fact that Huck stated that he was willing to risk his life to go and "steal Jim out of slavery." I think that that one statement made by Huck not only showed his intellect but it showed that Huck's character was coming full-circle. After this, I can't wait to see what else Huck is going to do.

posted by Julissa P.

Tom's Return

Finally! Tom is back in the story. I enjoy his character a lot. I like the spunky adventurous imagitive side to him because I feel it makes the book a lot more interesting. His character also adds a little twist to Huck and Jim's adventure because Tom is someone who was introduced to us early on in the novel. Before Tom's reappearance in the book, I had ponderedwhat his reaction would be to Huck's rebellious and adventurous life as it is so far. I also wondered how Tom would react to the fact that Huck has been helping a runaway slave, and not any runaway slave, but Jim! I, along with Huck, also found it a bit bizarre how Tom was totally accepting of the fact that Huck was helping Jim escape. Honestly, what are the chances of two white teenaged boys being okay with helping a runaway slave to freedom in the 1800's, even if they have different motives, that is, Huck wanting to help out a friend and Tom wanting to be part of an adventure? Even so, I'm starting to really enjoy the book nowthat Tom has returned. This book is very unpredictable, and now with Tom back in the picture, who's to say what will happen next . . .
posted by Amanda R.

What a farfetched chapter!

For me, Chapter 29 was a really "crazy" one. It caught me by surprise. When the "supposedly" real William and Harvey Wilks arrived, I got excited because I thought that there was going to be another random conflict that was soon to sprout. However, when they arrived and Harvey announced that William is both deaf and has a broken arm, I just started laughing to myself, not because of his incapabilities, but because it was another unexpected thing that Twain wrote about. I was hoping that the Duke and the King were going to fight with the "real" Wilks brothers, but that would be kind of messed up if they hurt a deaf man with a broken arm, hahaha. When the lawyer asked William to sign the paper in order to compare the writing samples, I was thinking to myself "finally, the Duke and the King are about to be out of here", but then I remembered William was the one with the broken arm, so there goes that. This is when I began to think that these brothers were also frauds. But then I got excited again when Harvey told the undertaker that Peter had a tattoo on his chest because I knew only the real brother would know that, but then the undertaker surprised me once again when he revealed that there was no tattoo. When they get to the coffin, what do you know? The bag of gold, of course! Next second, they jet. And once again, the adventure continues….
-Posted by David S.

Surviving, or Stealing?

During many discussions in class, many students question the motives of the Duke and the King, on whether they are con artists for survival, or commit these crimes in order to satisfy their kleptomaniatic fantasies. Which eventually leads to the question, what is the difference between Jim and Huck, versus the King and the Duke? Personally, I don’t think there is a difference between both of them.
It is claimed that Jim and Huck are stealing goods for survival; however, stealing isn’t justified regardless of the situation. Which brings me to the point that the Duke and the King shouldn’t be classified as robbers. The Duke and the King con people to obtain money for survival. However many believe that what they do is wrong, and isn’t considered survival. I ask myself WHY? Why isn’t it considered survival, if what they are doing is conning people and obtaining money to continue with their lives and survive? What makes Huck and Jim’s survival any different from the King and the Duke's? Although Huck and Jim do it with better intentions, and better methods, it doesn’t mean that what the King and the Duke do isn’t surviving. It doesn’t make a lot of sense; if Jim and Huck are also taking food and goods from other families in order to survive, isn’t that also considered stealing?
posted by Matt S.

Two-Dimensional Nincompoops

If I were to walk into a book store or library I can honestly say that a book entitled:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain would not intrigue me. Now, after reading thirty-three chapters of the book, I still do not care for this piece of literature. Despite the fact that I was amused by earlier parts of the book (such as when Huck and the other boys pretended to be robbers) I do not find the book interesting currently. Reasons for this would include my dislike for historical fiction but most of all, my discontent with two characters, The King and the Duke.

The main reasons why I do not care for Mark Twain’s story is because of the characters the King and the Duke. The King and the Duke are two con artists who cheat everyone and anyone out of their money or valuables and cause nothing but problems for Huck and Jim. Ever since they joined Huck and Jim, these swindlers have been getting themselves in and out of trouble while scamming townspeople. I do not see the purpose in having the Duke and Dauphin in this novel. I believe they are useless, two-dimensional characters, as the readers we do not know the King’s or the Duke’s background. It might help if their appearance in the book wasn’t so random and that their characters were further developed. By watching and being involved in the corrupt schemes of these deceiving nincompoops, Huck comes to appreciate his “unsivilized” life with Jim on the raft. All elements considered, I do not care for this novel because some of Mark Twain’s characters are two-dimensional nuisances!
posted by Kandace C.

Huck and Racism

It's not necessarily my favorite quote, but the part where Huck comments on Jim’s mourning gets me thinking about Southern racism during that time. While everyone is asleep, or so he thinks, Jim cries out about his worries and his grief about leaving his family. Huck comments on Jim’s heart wrenching confessions by saying, “He was thinking about his wife and his children, away up yonder, and he was low and homesick; because he hadn’t ever been away from home before in his life; and I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their’n. It didn’t seem natural, but I reckon its’ so.”
I found Huck to be the most conflicted child I have ever read about. He is trapped between the obvious love he has for Jim, and what Southern society expects from him. In previous chapters, Huck has teetered from being grateful for Jim’s company to contemplating whether or not to report him to the authorities. This quote intrigued me because it showed the subtle racism that Huck has within him. Although Jim has almost taken a fatherly role to him, Huck still stereotypes Jim with a slight air of superiority. I hope in later chapters that Huck will be able to look past skin color and follow his own conscience with no regrets.
posted by Kayla H.

Needing a Change

I really can’t get into The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Every timeI pick up the book, I feel like it’s because I have to read it. I wish this were a book I could enjoy and want to read. Every time I put idown I would want to pick it right back up again. I keep hoping for something exciting to happen, but each chapter is the same thing. Huck seems to have to make up a story after running into suspicious people. When is something new going to happen? This book is beginning to seem incredibly dragged out. There needs to be some change. I think the funniest change even though it wasn’t much of one was when the Duke and the King came into the story. Once again new characters and some new action, but no new “living life on the edge” excitement. I hope change is on the way.
Posted by Dylan P.

Friday, March 2, 2007

Huck's Character

The book at first was very confusing and boring for me. As I read on I learned more about Huck's character. I saw that he was very thoughtful, realistic, and skeptical towards established beliefs. For example, Huck's sense of logic and fairness makes him think that it is "right" to help Jim even though he is a runaway slave. I think that he is realistic because he is a young boy that learns from his past experiences and is also easily influenced by others. I think he reacts to situations with contemplation and his opinions are also very genuine. I am also very impressed with how intelligent Huck is. When he talks to strangers he is able to come up with very intelligent lies. His lies are very convincing and impressive. For example when Huck is pretending to be a girl the women finds out he is a boy; Huck is able to come up with another great lie. Huck is a very interesting character and I am very excited to see what kind of person he will become.
posted by Alberto A.