The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn-The last Chapters

I would like to write my post not focusing on the literal ending of the book, but rather identify some of the lasting impression left after reading this book. First, let's look at reasons why this book may be considered controversal.


"Many people see Adventures of Huckleberry Finn not as an attack on racism, but as inherently racist itself. African Americans and others, led by the NAACP, begin to challenge the book in the 1950s, appalled by the novel's portrayal of the slave Jim and its repeated use of the word "nigger.""


I grabbed this quote off of PBS, a pretty recognizable organization. Understandably, this books use of language has impact on the reader. Simply speaking, we know that it would not be ethical to call people the "n" word. As far as the portrayal of racism in the treatment of the slave Jim, I believe we need to all remember that this books "voice" is that of a fourteen year old. How did you see the world at that age? I would argue that Huck does in fact wrestle with complicated feelings about the right and wrongness of what to do about Jim. To suggest that Huck should have a complete metaporphasis of character would go against the history of the book.


Others, including me, I think are more likely to see this book in a different light. Living in South Dakota, where I can pretty resonably say I have not been exposed to much racisim, I do not recognize racism in Twain's novel. I recognize a the transition between boy and man, as well as the begining of self-accualization. As a reader, we may hope that this book concludes in a specific way, but ultimately we are mearly along for the reader. We may be ready to add up all the injustice we notice throughout the book and make a decision to change, but Huck may not.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Chapters 23-33

  One of the major themes of the novel is the separation of races. Over the course of the novel, Huck's opinion of Jim changes. In the beginning of their voyage, Huck feels he shouldn't be helping Jim to freedom and almost turns him in to slave catchers.  Huck says on page 160, "I was paddling off, all in a sweat to tell on him; but when he says this (that Huck is his one and only friend) it seemed to take the tuck all out of me." Huck soon realizes that he enjoys Jim's company and when the duke and the king sell Jim, Huck breaks down and cries. When asking the duke where Jim was, Huck says on page 236, “‘Sold him’ I says, and begun to cry; ‘why he was my nigger, and that was my money. Where is he? -- I want my nigger.’" Jim was important to Huck because he knew all kinds of signs about the future, people's personalities, and weather forecasting. Even more important, Huck feels a comfort with Jim that he has not felt with the other major characters in the novel. With Jim, Huck can enjoy the best aspects of his earlier influences. Jim allows Huck freedom, but he does it in a loving, rather than an uncaring, fashion. 

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Chapters 15-22

This section has some downright confusing things happening throughout. First, we follow Huck and Jim further down the river. A great fog causes them to separate and spend hours whooping trying to track one another's movements. Huck is confronted with the fact that Jim genuinely cares about his whereabouts after he tries to trick Jim into thinking that their separation was just a dream. Then they are separated once again, when a boat rams them causing Huck to wind up on shore with the Grangerfords, a family with a vendetta against the Shepherdson family for reasons unknown. After a shootout, Huck leaves the Granderfords and reconnects with Jim. Not long after, Jim and Huck meet two deceitful characters, the Duke and the Dauphin. But the part that most confused me was the murder of the town drunk and Sherburn's speech that follows.

Sherburn's speech is one of the most profound statements on human nature in the entire book. He attacks the cowardice of the crowd and behavior of his fellow citizens. Like Huck, we are moved by his speech but confused. After all, he just killed a man in cold-blood!

Even though this section is confusing, it leads me to believe a very important fact about human kind. We are all incredibly imperfect. A murderer can cannot society's flaws just as easy as a paster can preach about brotherly love. 

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Chapters 6-14

My absolute favorite chapter in this book is by far the chapter in which Huck dresses up like a girl. I like to imagine that if had seen him I also would have been able to see through his clever costume.  

One thing I have observed throughout this entire book is that Huck is an incredibly last liar. When confronted with sticky situations, he is always capable of creating a semi-plausible scenario that either absolves him instantly from trouble or covers a mistake from his initial lie. I do not have this ability. Once, when I was caught decorating a basement for a friends surprise party, my only explanation for my presence in that basement was "it was raining." Huck seems to have developed this initial talent through interactions with his father. I recall his quick explanation to why his clothes were wet after finding the canoe. What does this say about him as a character? It leads me to assume  he does not often feel comfortable with the truth. It will be interesting to see if he continues to smudge the truth throughout the rest of the book, or if he confronts reality.

The Adventure of Huck Finn, Chapter 1-5

The first time I read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn I was nine years old. It has occured to me, since that first read, that I in no way understood what I was reading. I have read the book twice since then, and each time I have aquired a bit more knowledge.

My goal as I read this book for the fourth time for class is that I will begin to understand Mark Twain more as an author. I look forward to hearing my classmates reactions to the characters and events in the book as well.

The first five chapters of this book are mostly an introduction into the world that is Huck. We learn that he lives with the Widow Douglas and her sister Miss Watson. We also learn that Huck and his friend Tom Sawyer have recently found a large some of money as well as caught a group of robbers. For Huck, his whole world has just changed. His new guardians have high hopes to educate and civilize him. He has reservations, but overall seems to enjoy some of the luxuries of his new life. His father, who has been in and out of the picture, makes a re-appearance mostly because he wants the money Huck has been promised.

I don't necessarily want to try to "find meaning" from these first few chapters. (I don't want to be shot.) However, I do want to make some observations. My first observation is Huck's character seems to be almost opposite from the Huckleberry Finn character from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In the first book, he is portrayed as a bad boy, rebellious, instigator. In this book, he seems more cautious as well as he has become more of a follower of Tom. My second observation is Huck is very superstitious. He does not believe easy, and speculates a lot about the workings of the world. Lastly, the people in Huck's life seem to lack great connection with him. He does not relate to any of the other characters on a personal level. It would seem he thinks of himself as separate from others.

Whitman/Dickinson Day One

I will be responding/commenting specifically on Emily Dickinson's 

1263 [1129]

Tell all the truth but tell it slant

Success in Circuit lies

Too bright for our infirm Delight

The Truth's superb surprise

As lighting to the Children eased

With explanation kind

The Truth must dazzle gradually

Or every man be blind

This poem caught my attention the most out of everything we were asked to read for class. I found the subject in general, truth, to be very interesting. Some things I noticed or struck me as "different" were the words throughout the poem that are capitalized, the rhyming lines, and Dickinson's use of imagery. 

The words that are capitalized (Success, Circuit, Delight, Truth, and Children) almost seem like subjects within the poem, because of the emphasis put on them. Which makes me wonder if Dickinson wants us to relate these subjects to truth, or if they are just used as examples of moments that involve truth. (?)

 Mostly, I find I can relate to this poem within the context of education. There are so many instances when students are confronted with truth. One example I could think of was plagiarism. While proof-reading a paper for a friend once, I discovered her paper was almost entirely copied from a book in which we had both read. I was then faced with the decision of whether or not to confront her or even possibly the teacher. I identify with the line "tell all the truth but tell it slant." How do we decide what is our truth to tell?