The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Born 1835- Died 1910 “All American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn… it’s the best book we’ve had.” - Ernest Hemingway

Background Information on Huck Finn Published in 1885 – Emancipation Proclamation signed in 1863 Setting 1830-1840 Mississippi River St. Petersburg, Missouri Wrote the book over a period of 10 years First twelve chapters are a “story” Rest of the novel is very episodic At the time, slavery was permitted in Missouri but not held as “highly” as the more southern states. (The beginnings of an anti-slavery sentiment)

More Background Information on Huck Finn Sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Focus on slavery and the South Novel banned in Southern states due to its critical take on slavery and southern institutions Novel banned in other areas for being considered vulgar and racist Moral and racial tensions

Huck Finn : Context of the Novel SATIRE: humorous with a serious message - mocking Both a work of humor and serious social commentary Amusement and enjoyment for the reader Picaresque Novel DIALECT and realism

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Central Characters: Huckleberry Finn PROTAGANIST – Main Character Narrator of the story – First person point of view “I” An adolescent who is resourceful, clever, and wary of “sivilization” Thoughtful, intelligent and willing to go against the norms of society Fourteen year-old Son of the town drunk Social outcast Believes in superstitions Runs away Travels down the Mississippi River on a raft with a runaway slave, Jim, as his companion Uses his skills as a mimic, actor, and teller of tales to escape from danger

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Central Characters: Widow Douglas- She is an older distinguished woman. Widow of the Justice of the Peace of St. Petersburg (the village story takes place in) Huck likes her, she’s kind to him, feeds him Wants to ‘sivilize’ him – tries to adopt him Miss Watson -  The Widow Douglas’s sister. who lives with her sister, the widow Her favorite subject is the Bible Owns Jim

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Central Characters: Tom Sawyer - Huck’s stubborn and rebellious friend Younger than Huck Serves as a FOIL to Huck. (Mirror Opposite) Imaginative, dominating and full of wild, adventurous plans, Often acts stupidly and cruelly

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Central Characters: Jim  A Slave Owned by Miss Watson Superstitious & Sentimental Intelligent & Practical Selfless Huck’s best friend Father figure to Huck Ultimately more of an adult than anyone else in the novel Has a wife and children

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Central Characters: Pap Huck’s father The town drunk and ne’er-do-well Abusive to Huck – neglects and beats Huck Ragged, dirty, foul Racist, ignorant bigot

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Central Characters: Judge Thatcher- In charge of Huck’s money and partly responsible for Huck Kind, intelligent man A judge – duh.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Central Characters: The Grangerford Family- Family who takes Huck in after the steamboat accident Meant to be examples of the old Southern families Wealthy - but ridiculous and empty Engaged in a longstanding feud with the Shepherdsons The youngest Grangerford is Buck…becomes a good friend to Huck Sophia Grangerford runs off with Harney Shepardson – ala Romeo and Juliet

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Central Characters: The King and the Duke    Two con men Take over Jim and Huck’s raft Pretend to be royalty Duke younger of the two invents the Royal Nonesuch later tarred and feathered in Pikesville. King (Dauphin) The elder of the two sells Jim as a runaway slave. later tarred and feathered along with the Duke. The duke and the king pretend to be the Wilk’s girls’ uncles from London in an attempt to get the dead father’s money

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Central Characters: The Wilks Girls Three daughters Joanna Wilks: The youngest, has a harelip. Susan Wilks: The middle sister Mary Jane Wilks: The eldest sister, whom Huck starts to fall in love with. Uncle Peter has died The duke and the king pretend to be the girls’ uncles from London in an attempt to get the dead uncle’s money

Point of View First person, told by Huck Huck is a semi-literate Missouri boy that serves as a wry and observant narrator Twain uses a number of devices to make the reader feel that Huck is actually telling the story in his own words 1. The frequent use of incorrect grammar and grammatical constructions 2. the use of dialect 3. the use of unorthodox spellings both to suggest Huck’s brief exposure to formal education and to represent Huck’s nonstandard pronunciation of certain words.

Summary Written in 1885 but takes place in the 1840s - Huckleberry Finn, 14, grows up in St. Petersburg, Missouri with no mother and an alcoholic father who has skipped town. Huck is being cared for by two women: Widow Douglas and her sister Miss Watson. Huck likes to skip school and hang out with his best friend, Tom Sawyer.

Summary – Part Two Huck’s dad, Pap, returns and imprisons Huck in a cabin outside of town. Huck escapes and runs into Jim, a black slave, who is also trying to escape. The bulk of the story chronicles Huck and Jim’s travels down the Mississippi River and the continued trouble they seem to get themselves into.

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