Huckleberry Finn Children’s Fiction Outcast as Hero Pastoral Escape vs “sivilization” Huck and Jim

Children’s Literature Juvenile fiction often inculcates moral teaching American fiction as juvenile: still a young nation whose literature reflects adolescence of the country America as “innocent” Idealism not reflected in the actual

Outcast as Hero Huck’s outcast status Individualism vs. convention (Emerson) Outcast challenges rule of law (“All right then, I’ll go to hell!”)

Escape vs Civilization Country vs. City Pastoral vs. culture Civilization is corrupt Nature as the site of true freedom

Huck and Jim Two outcasts together Original “buddy” plot – no sex plot Portrait of equality?

Realism and Social Critique Linguistic Detail Social Realism Descriptive Realism

Regionalism No single United States Post-Civil War: South as victim West: Land of Promise Northeast: represents “America” as a whole Rural vs. City / Agrarian vs. Industrialization

Huck Finn: the End Reconstruction: th Amendment: No slavery in the U.S. 14 th Amendment: All persons born in the U.S. are citizens 15 th Amendment: Vote could not be denied American men on racial grounds

Reconstruction, continued 14 th amendment: naturalization would produce a new class of anti-southern voters New black vote would prevent white, pro- south politicians from winning office.

Rise of Jim Crow Local laws intended to deny federal amendments “Grandfather Laws”: you can vote only if you can prove your grandfather did “Literacy Laws”: you can vote only if you can prove your own literacy “Poll Tax”: you must pay to vote

The Legacy of Reconstruction Federal Amendments vs. Jim Crow: which actually affected lives of black people? Reconstruction a failure (recall duBois): blacks actually worse off after slavery than before “Emancipation” and “Enfranchisement”: a fiction, only a theory Huck Finn: written at the end of the Reconstruction period.