Huck Finn 1-4 “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn…All American writing comes from that.” E.H.

Twain’s “firsts” First American writer to write successfully in the vernacular. (What’s that?) - Huck, Jim, and others – crude and undignified First to successfully infuse comedy – Dinner at the Widow’s; Later, lecture on temperance but the lecturers “don’t make enough money to get drunk.”

Realism and the death of Romanticism Romanticism – Washington Irving, Poe, Hawthorne – nostalgia, idealism, beauty in nature, individualism Civil War Realism – adherence to truth; “slice of life,” accuracy and honesty, 1 st lines of Huck Finn (you’ll be trying to write like this) Some are offended – Louisa May Alcott demands that it be banned (1 st of many attempts) – No problem for Twain; he advertised its banning and sales went up 3000%

Chapters 1-4 Tell some stories! What do you think? (always my first question!) Suppertime Out at night and the cave Ambuscade and the A-rabs Judge Thatcher and the money The hairball Pap

Emerging themes How are these introduced? Sivilization Religion Race/ class