Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Ignorance

Huckleberry Finn could only be described as annoying because of the author's choice of language dialect. The "Old English" made one question whether people at that time were illiterate, versus truly being able to understand the language. On the other hand, it makes one question how the English language changed over the course of time. The book portrayed how racism and segragation played a part in society. Sadly, little has changed in the current world order. However, this action has become more complex for today's society. Today's society now intergrates not just a person's skin tone but also their religion, beliefs, social class, and the way they live. Ignorance plagues the generations of both eras.
posted by Alexis N.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Huck's Metamorphesis

Some may say that in Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn Huck does not change. However I actually think that through all of Huck and Jim's misadventures he has learned a lot and has also changed very drastically. The reason I say this is because at the beginning of the novel Huck is a lot more brash, racist and immature. One example of how Huck's change is noticeable is when Huck tries to dissuade Tom from making Jim's "breakout" more difficult than it already is. Earlier in the novel Huck might have gone along blindly with Tom's plan, however on this occasion Huck disagrees with him proving that he's gained some knowledge through his travels (in my opinion). Another reason why Huck's change is quite noticeable is due to the way Twain ends the novel. At the end Huck actually ends up traveling west on his own. This type of decision called for a lot of maturity and the fact that he wasn't coerced into going by Tom furtherly validates my opinion about Huck's transformation into a more mature and independent person.
posted by Justin P.

Why a thirteen year old?

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain uses a thirteen year old boy as the main character. The reason that Mark Twain uses a thirteen year old boy is because he wanted a character that could develop morally and a character that did not have a lot of education or experience in the world. Huck Finn turns out to be the most unbiased and open-minded character in the book. He is a character that does not have a sense of what is right and wrong and acts out of moral conviction. His famous quote "All right, then, I'll GO to hell" shows that he makes his own decisions and that he is doing what he feels is morally right. He does not care about religion and is willing to make his own judgments. I think that the use of a thirteen year old boy as the main character was a good idea because it allows a deep development in the character and allows progressiveness in the character.
posted by Alberto A.