adventures of Huckleberry Finn ---- Themes, motifs, Issues, and Miscellany Feraco American literature 17 january 2008

As You Finish Huck Keep an eye on the topics we discuss today I strongly, strongly suggest re- reading the text before the final –You’ll be amazed by what you can discover on a second pass –It’s a good skill to develop You’ll need it for college!

Realism A Response to Romanticism –Think Trans. And Anti-Trans. Post-Civil War Tried very hard to capture life exactly as it was, rather than romanticizing it –Rather than focus on emotion or prize it, realists tried to prevent their works from being filtered through their emotional lenses Characters came from poorer, super- rural or super-urban backgrounds –Included workers at factories, people living in slums, etc. – the types of people who never showed up as romantic heroes

R & R How is Twain’s Novel Romantic? –In what ways does it defy romanticism? How is it Realist? –Shows the country/society as it exists, versus the idealized portrayals in other books (such as the ones Tom reads) –It’s very pratical, but it can come off as harsh

Twain as a Realist Twain is one of the greatest realists – possibly The greatest – of all time. One of the reasons he’s so great is that he dares to examine the “whys” – why does society have problems? Why do characters experience conflicting emotions? Why do we act the way we do?

Satire ”a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn” – Merriam-Webster Satirical Authors usually use humor or Sarcasm to study an issue, or to attack something they feel needs to be fixed the point of satire is often to help point out a way for us to improve. Think Stephen Colbert, “South Park,” “The Simpsons,” etc.

Satire In Huck “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.” – twain’s notice on the first page Think of all of the things Twain takes on and portrays as silly or exaggerated – realism, honor, society itself! Do you really believe there aren’t any messages, meanings, or storylines in the book?

Racism This hovers over the text at all times, most obviously when Jim is featured. How does the text deal with racism? is huck Racist? Check out the hypocrisy of the slaveholders, many of whom are supposed to be upstanding citizens Twain published this after slavery was abolished, but set the action before the war

Innocence Huck is innocent in a sense; if nothing else, he is deeply naïve However, his naïveté is very different from tom’s, which is usually destructive and smacks of ignorance Contrast living in nature with living in society

Development Because Huck is Young, He has the opportunity to grow and change –Contrast this with Pap, who is old, ornery, and ignorant How are we reminded that huck is young? What does huck’s youth contribute to the book?

Honor/Pride Honor has its place in the novel; Huck often behaves honorably (although you’ll see by the end of the book that Tom Sawyer doesn’t follow his example) Jim is also honorable, in a lot of different ways – he’s the only decent male figures Huck “Sets aside his pride” when Jim rebukes him, which shows a lot about him However, the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons kill each other off over a misplaced sense of wounded pride & honor

Disappointment – and the failure of society People often lie to huck His hopes are dashed, but he bounces back His prayers go unanswered No one protects him from pap He doesn’t belong in school