Huck fin

Timeline

Chapter one - Huckleberry Finn and his friend Tom Sawyer find a hidden stash of gold. Shortly after this Huck was adopted by the Widow Douglas. After staying with her for a while he got tired of what she tried to teach him. She taught him to pray before meals and about the “good place” (heaven). Mrs. Watson and the Widow both try to improve Huck’s behavior but nothing happens.

Chapter Two

Huck and Tom try to sneak out and run away but as they were leaving Hucks foot gets caught on a twig and it makes an extremely loud noise. After that they try to hide and while they are hiding Huck gets extremely itchy. Then Tom and Huck escape the Widows property and meet a few other boys at a nearby cave with a boat. The boys decide to create a gang but they don’t feel that Huck should be initiated in it. Huck decides to go home because he knows that it is almost morning and he will get in trouble if he is not home.

Chapter Three

When Huck got home he was punished for dirtying his clothes. Mrs. Watson and the Widow both keep trying to teach Huck about prayer but Huck still doesn’t care. The two ladies keep trying to instill religion into Huck's life but he doesn’t want it to happen. Later in the chapter Huck finds out that his father who was believed to be dad is still alive but no one knows where he is. After that about a month after being in the gang, all of the members quit.

Chapter Four

Over the next few months, Huck begins to adjust to his new life and even makes some progress in school. One winter morning, he notices boot tracks in the snow near the house. Within one heel print is the shape of two nails crossed to ward off the devil. Huck immediately recognizes this mark and runs to Judge Thatcher. Huck sells his fortune (the money he and Tom recovered in Tom Sawyer, which the Judge has been managing for him) to the befuddled Judge for a dollar.

Chapter Five

One day Pap shows up drunk and demands Huck’s money from Judge Thatcher. The Judge and Widow Douglas try to get custody of Huck but give up after the new judge in town refuses to separate a father and son. Pap eventually lands in jail after a drunken spree. The new judge takes Pap into his home and tries to reform him, but the judge and his wife prove to be very weepy and moralizing. Pap tearfully repents his ways but soon gets drunk again, and the new judge decides that the only way to reform Pap is with a shotgun.

Describe the time period of the novel

Huckleberry Finn takes place in a very unique time period where slavery is legal and people are really into drinking alcohol. The story takes place in the early 1800’s in the South. The president during this time period was president Martin Van Buren. President Van Buren supported slavery and was all for it. People during this time period were also very rude and didn’t really care about anybody or anything but themselves. Shortly after this time period there was a major change in history and that change was the Civil War. The Civil War was a huge part in history because our country was divided into two. The North was anti slavery while the South was pro slavery and wanted it to continue because without the slaves they wouldn’t have anybody to do the chores around the house. Another common thing during this time period was drinking alcohol. People loved to find new ways to create alcohol and they loved getting drunk.

Perspective/ Point of view of how the narrator influences the story.

When Huckleberry Finn is describing his point of view throughout the story, he adds his own opinions and a brief explanation of how he thinks the outcome of a situation should go. So far his perspective has been aimed towards his awareness of his surroundings in the world. For example, whenever he does something that is believed to cause bad luck, he is quick to react to try and save himself from misfortune. All of this makes the reader believe that most of what Huck is saying is true, mostly because of how is intake of things is portrayed into a detailed explanation. Huck Finn is also a very relatable character which is very important for a majority of the audience, an example of this is when Huck started school and he expressed that in the beginning he couldn’t stand school, but over time he began to realize school isn’t that big of a deal and he could tolerate school a little more.

Conor McCarthy

Ms Tunink Mr Johnston

Huck Finn questions

1.What is the story of king solomon and his child? How does Jim interpret that story?

In the chapter king solomon was a wise man who was powerful and smart. One day two women come up to him with a child claiming that they were both claiming they were the mother. The king then gives a suggestion that he could cut the child in half saying this knowingly that the mother would rather give up the child than watch the child be cut in half and his plan worked. Although Huck understands why the king kept insisting it, but Jim did not. He didn't understand why in the world the king would ever say anything like that about the child

2. When Kim wakes up after their separation in the fog, what does Jim reaction to Huck tell us about him? How do you feel about Jim at this point?

Huck told Jim the joke about the fog and how it was a dream. Jim then realizes that Huck was lying about the dream and it hurt his feeling because he actually thought Huck died. Huck had to gain confidence before he could apologize to Jim about the joke he pulled about the fog incident

3. Jim is very superstitious. From a historical standpoint, why do you think this is?

I believe that Jim is superstitious because Jim has always been a slave with zero freedom and he always thought his fate was him having to be a slave forever so he does not believe in miracles.

4. “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to nigger but I done it and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterward, neither.” What does this line tell us about Huck?

This line shows that Huck calls jim a nigger but that is not offensive in this book because in this time period that was a word that was used very commonly. It also talks about how it took Huck fifteen minutes to work himself up to go to a do it but he did it anyways because he does not care a he was not going to be sorry afterwards.

5. 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 men come up looking for the 5 escaped slaves

Huck struggles because he is still not sure about helping the slaves, but he does lie to the men about knowing where they were because of jim. He told the men that he had no idea where they were. After the men left Huck was left feeling guilty for not telling the truth, but then he thought about how guilty he would have felt if he had givven up all the slaves.

1. Describe the Grangerford family.
The Grangerford family is a nice family who lives in a country home, and have no problem taking in Huck when he gets of the raft, and their family feud is with the Shepherdsons and some of them end up getting killed. 

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          
I feel like the other is putting these two families into this story and with their feuds between the farmer and the rancher, and I think the author put this into the novel because he wanted to show what life was like in the 1800's and what the families argued about. 

3. Toward the end of chapter 18 Huck says, "I don't wanna talk to 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 narrators perspective play a role in what we think and feel reading this section?
The line tells us that Huck was upset about the fight and that he did not want to talk about it so he cuts the conversation short, and that makes us think that something happened really bad the night before.  

4. Explain who the King and the Duke are. Why does Huck go along with their story?
In the chapter the King and the Duke both talk about their life story. But later on in the story it reveals that they both are not what they say they are

1. 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 bottom of the handbook was, "Low-Brow Comedy Show! XXX!" This line works because it insures that the people going into the play that nothing bad will happen in the next show. The king and the duke then perform their "Shakespeare" to a group of uneducated poor people. They do not like the show very much. That is why they put up the line at the bottom of the handbook and that is why it works people the people know that nothing bad will happen.

2. Towards the end of chapter 23 we see this line: "What was the use to tell Jim there 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 does not think it is useful to tell Jim about the king and duke being fake because Jim misses his family and and loves him family as much as the whites so it would make Jim upset, but it also would't do no good even if he did tell Jim.

b- What does Huck mean by "you couldn't tell them from the real kind."?

When Huck says, "you couldn't tell them from the real kind." he means that the fake ones who are impersonating the real ones, are exactly the same... the real one and the fake ones are the same.

3. 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?

Huck feels this was way because the king and the duke are playing the parts of the dead mans brothers. They go around town and they make a big deal that the brother died before they arrived, the duke is playing one of the dead brothers and he is a deaf mute. Huck feels this way about it them making a body ashamed of the human race because the king and the duke are playing the parts of a dead mans brother but they do not know for sure if he is even dead or not.

4. In chapter 25 we meet the doctor. How does the doctor know that the king and the duke are a fraud?

The doctor knows that the king and duke are frauds because he notices how bad the kings British accent is so he calls them out for lying and faking who they were.

5. The king and the duke consider leaving in the middle of the night with the money.(chapter 26) Why don't they?

The king and the duke don't leave in the middle of the night with the money because Huck feels bad for the family because the child has a birth defect, so he wants to help them get their money back.

1.Why did people stay up with the dead during this time period? (Chapter 27)
During this time period people would guard the dead out of a sign of peace and resembling a respectful manner. They family member of the dead wouldn't want the body to be stolen, eaten or disrupted by rodents, insects or any other harmful animals. Overall, protecting the bodies was just to respect the people that have passed on before they were put into the ground forever.

2.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)
During this time period of the novel we are reaffirmed about Huck's good and carring heart. Huck saw that Mary Jane was upset to find out about the slaves families being separated and he could tell that she was extremely upset about the death because he saw her crying next to the casket. He was trying to make her feel better by telling her the slaves wouldn't be separated from their families for long. Once again, this shows the love and kindness that Huck has displayed throughout the book.

3.What were the two methods the townspeople used to try to identify who the brothers were and who the frauds were? (Chapter 29)
The first method that the town used to found out that the King and the Duke were frauds was by having the two real brothers and the King and the Duke take a written test. The test proved that the King and the Duke were both frauds but the King voiced that the written test was not fair or accurate because the Harvey (the real brother) had a broken hand and was unable to write so the other brother wrote for him. The second way they found out that the King and the Duke were frauds was by describing the tattoo on Harvey's brothers chest. The town had both the King and Harvey describe the tattoo but they then dug up the body to find out that there is no tattoo. Upon digging up the body they found a bag of $6000. That money was the money that the King and the Duke had planned to confiscate. 

Chapters 31- 35

1. Huck says “You can’t pray a lie.” What lie is he trying to pray about? What does he mean? 
        - Huck prays to God for forgiveness for helping Jim runaway after he was about to be sold. Huck then realized that he couldn't pray for that because he wants Jim to be free so he says "I guess I'll just go to hell," and decides to save Jim
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2. Why does Huck tear up the letter he writes?
        - Huck thought about if Miss Watson gets Jim back she is still going to sell him for money so he tore up the letter to Miss Watson. Huck wouldn't give up Jim, Jim is him best friend now.

3. 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?
        - I think Tom helping Huck steal Jim is a little suspicious because no one would just take the risk of getting caught but, since Jim means so much to Huck then it could be seen as a good thing.

4. Huck says two things at the end of chapter 33:
        -  “Human beings can be awful cruel to one another.”:  this could reference to when the King and the Duke were being hung from a rail with tar and feathers all over their bodies. 
        - “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.”: This was said by  Huck after seeing the King hung up. Huck felt guilty though he didn't do anything and saw the wrong in peoples consciences.

5. Why are Tom and Huck looking for a more difficult way to break Jim free?
       - Huck doesn't like Toms plan because it's too simple. Tom then fixed his plan to make it more intense which Huck even says the plan was 15 times  crazier and could even get them killed.

Huckleberry Finn 36-40:

1. In the process of breaking Jim free, what is Tom’s motivation? What is Huck’s motivation? (Why are they doing it?
Toms motivation was not directly for Jim's freedom it was for him because he likes the thrill and he is an adventurous boy and he wants the excitement so he did not take it seriously because hie likes to be adventurous, and Huck's motivation was to capture Jim back and set him free, he did not want Jim being held captive. 
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2. What do Huck and Tom mean when they say they “let on” about something? Why do they do this? (Begins on chapter 37)
To them the phrase "let on" meant pretending for them, like in one of the chapter when Huck and tom are making a pie they basically say it took them 9 months to make, and that is what they are doing with Jim, they are pretending that breaking Jim free was harder than it actually looked. 

3. 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)
They write the letters for a distraction for the family. Toms aunt and Uncle are panicking because Tom ran away and that is why Tom thinks it would be a good idea to write them letters/warnings. He tells them in the letter that Jim has been stolen so they would be focused on that so Huck and Tom would have more time to try and make an escape with Jim.  

4. 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?
There planning for the escape is satire because Tom is making it so much harder than it is and making it seem like it is a huge deal and thinks that there is more work than there has to be, s he is dragging the plan out. In present time, kids tend to do the same thing. When something happens they normally extend the truth and exaggerate on things that happened to make it harder and more of a big deal, even though in reality it is not. 

5. 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?
Huck said this after Tom and him escaped with Jim, but in the process Tom got shot in the calf by one of the neighbors. Huck said that he knew Jim was white inside, because even knowing that Jim is a black slave, he told Huck that they needed a doctor to treat Tom not them because they were not doctors, so in that moment Huck was seeing Jim's "white" education inside of him. 

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1. 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 this way because while he was being mothered by being tucked into a warm cozy bed by Aunt Sally. Huck felt a bunch of guilt because while he was not in pain but in comfort, Tom was in a ton of pain because he got shot in the calf in the process of saving Huck's friend Jim. He feels upset because he is lying to his friends, family, and loved ones. 

2. 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?
In this chapter when To finally gets help with his injury, the doctor says he cannot cut out the bullet without help and as soon as he states that, Jim crawls out from somewhere and steps in to help, the doctor had thought he was a run away slave, but Jim still helped. In this moment we all realize and learn that Jim is a sweet hearted person who cares for Huck and Tom, and he wants to do good in the world by helping people, because to Jim it does not matter what race you are. Everyone has a life that matters and everyone deserves help if they are in need. 

3. What do we learn about Tom from what he says when he wakes up after being treated for the gunshot wound (Chapter 42)?
We learn that Tom is more adventurous than we thought. When he awakens he says that Mrs. Watson has died and in her will she said that Jim is a free slave. Going back Tom knew this even when Huck and him were planning and escape for Jim. They tried freeing a freed slave and Tom knew that. He just wanted to not tell anyone and go on the adventure because that is the type of person he is. He would kill for the adventure as long as he can tell a story after it happens. So he went through all of the pain and losing blood, because he did not tell anyone Jim was already free, and he did all of it for the thrill of the adventure and to be able to tell a story. 

4. You’ve finished the novel: Tell me, in three to four sentences, what you think of Huck.
Huck is a type of person that wants to do things alone, he wants to be independent. Just like in the beginning he did everything he could to escape from the Widow and he sure was not going to let himself be left alone with his father. I like Huck, I think he portrays a very interesting, kind and good character in the book. He was brave and also vert smart. While trying to escape from the Widow and his father he faked his own death and ran away and stayed alive, by himself as a kid. He was smart in situations even if he looked for adventures in everything. But in every situation he did care for his friends like when he found the doctor for Tom and when he helped try and free Jim. He is a great person in the book and enjoyed reading about him in the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 

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