The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Chapters 19-30

Chapter 19 Huck & Jim are joined by 2 con-men who have been run out of a nearby town One claims to be a Duke to get special treatment The second one claims to be a long-lost King to get even better privileges The two are only known as the King & the Duke Jim is fooled by their story but Huck is not Chap. 14 foreshadowed this with the discussion of kings

Chapter 20 K&D pose a threat to H&J since they are white adults -shift of power Huck tells K&D that Jim belongs to him but that he lost his papers - so the K&D won’t try to turn Jim in as a runaway slave Jim takes on a father role: lets Huck sleep-takes his night watch K&D go ashore to pull a scam - King pretends to be a pirate and takes in $ from a poor community at a revival Duke prints a runaway slave flyer so they can claim they captured Jim for the reward $ - supposedly so no one questions Jim being w/them - flyer is worrisome

Chapter 21 K&D practice really bad Shakespeare scenes & plan to put on a show soon Further south K&D go ashore in Arkansas & make a handbill advertising their upcoming show They leave Jim alone, tied up on the raft so people will think he’s been captured – uncomfortable & cruel treatment for Jim Huck witnesses a man (Colonel Sherburn) shoot and kill a drunk and disorderly man (Boggs) in cold blood

Chapter 22 A mob attempts to lynch Col. Sherburn for killing Boggs but he shames them with a speech about the cowardice of mobs – Twain’s commentary on mob mentality Huck sees a circus K&D’s show flops so they make the handbill more enticing by adding the line “Women and children not admitted” knowing that the men would be curious to see what was forbidden -Twain’s commentary on human nature

Chapter 23 We’ll read this short chapter aloud – two major scenes: Nonesuch Play (scam) Jim’s fatherhood role

Chapter 24 On their next stop ashore, so they don’t have to leave Jim tied up, they dress him as a “sick Arab” so people will avoid him The King goes to scout ideas for his next scam The King gets to talking to a man on a steamboat who tells him of Peter Wilks, a rich man recently dead, whose brothers are coming from England to take care of his estate & their 3 nieces

Chapter 24 continued No one has ever seen these brothers One is “deef & dumb” and they have been delayed in their trip King decides he and the Duke will pretend to be the brothers and steal the girls’ inheritance King pretends to be Harvey Wilks; Duke pretends to be William, the deaf/mute brother Huck is forced to participate as their servant

Chapters 25-29 In these chapters, K&D carry out their scam Only one person in town suspects K&D are lying – the doctor who was good friends with Peter Wilks, the dead man The nieces are totally convinced that K&D are their uncles from England K&D could’ve gotten away early with $6000 but the King got greedy, wanted to sell all the property to get more money

Chapters 25-29 Huck feels guilty lying to the Wilks girls so he tells the oldest Mary Jane, takes the $6000 back from K&D, then hides the money in the dead man’s coffin Ultimately the real brothers show up and the town is ready to lynch the King, Duke & Huck-first time Huck shows real fear in the novel Huck is able to escape to the raft; he and Jim go onto the river thinking they have finally left the King & Duke behind At the last second, K&D come running to raft

Chapter 30 K&D are left with no money after their failed scam The King blames Huck for the missing $6000 But the Duke thinks the King took it & threatens and chokes him until he ultimately confesses to hiding the money even though Huck had done it K&D both get drunk & pass out Huck tells Jim the whole story