Time period of the novel
The time period seems pretty obvious because of many reason like slavery and the way they talk. The slavery makes it seem like it is sometime in the 1800s. The way they talk also makes it seem a lot like this time period to me.
Why does Huck get locked up?
Huck Finn was kidnapped by Pap because the widow told pap to get off of her property and he decided because he was being kicked off her property he would kidnap one of the slaves. Pap kidnapped Huck specifically because he couldn't get any money and Huck had money. Pap takes him into a log cabin in the woods and locks him in there when he goes into town. Huck tries to find a way out so he starts cutting a log that was in the corner and pap comes back so he has to put it away and wait for pap to fall asleep to sneak out. Pap comes home drunk and falls asleep. He has two different dreams. One of them he thinks snakes are all over him and jumps up. The next thing he does is start sleep walking and thinking the angle of death is chasing him and he is chasing Huck with a knife, Huck runs for his life until it is over. Then he finds Pap's gun and sneaks out and takes the gun as protection. He got out by cutting a hole in the bottom of the cabin so he could float at on a canoe.
Chapters 17-21
1.The Grangerford family is a family that offers to let Huck stay with them for as long as he likes. Huck admires the house that the grangerfords live. They are very strange people and are in a fight with the neighboring families.
2.In the novel he points out that they have been in a feud for the past year or so. They do not know why it started or how it started, nobody knows. At one point two of the Grangerfords get caught in a gunfight with the Shepherds. Both of the Grangerfords are killed.
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4. They are two con artists that were caught in a bad situation and saw Huck and Jim riding the canoe down the river and asked for a ride one mile downstream. He goes along with there stories because he didn't want to get in a argument or fight over the issue. The older man says that he is Dauphin the long lost son of the king of France. The younger man claimed he was a poor English duke.
5. His problem with the plan is that it may not work out to his exact plan, if there is a money reward other people will want to take Huck and steal him from them. This may make it so the chances of him getting caught are greater.
Chapters 22-26
1. The line at the bottom of the handbill says *LADIES AND CHILDREN NOT ADMITTED*, this means that it is a night away from all the stress with their wives and children who they are with all the time.
2. a.) There would be no use in telling Jim because they had previously talked about it. If Jim didn't believe him before he probably wouldn't have believed him now. He also didn't want to get in to an unneccesary fight with him.
b.) There would be nothing to compare the Duke and King to because they have never met them before. It would be like watching one person shoot baskets and judging whether they are good or bad without watching anyone else shoot.
3. The reason that Huck expresses himself this way is because he felt really bad. He felt bad because he deceived a family that was already struggling from the loss of a family member. So him referring to the entire human race is him referring to that humans do things like this everyday and it should be something to be ashamed about.
4. The doctor probably has a lot of experience with people and is probably at the point where he is very attention to detail. He mentions that while the king is giving his speech the doctor can easily see that the accent is terrible.
5.The reason that they decided to not leave in the night was the same reason that they were there in the first place. They wanted more money than they had already gotten with the 6000 that they have. They're plan to get even more money was to be patient so that the land and slaves would sell.
Chapters 31-35
Huck says “You can’t pray a lie.” What lie is he trying to pray about? What does he mean?
Huck was wanting to pray for forgiveness about helping Jim escape. In that time it was illegal and not a good thing to do to help a black person escape it's owner. Although, it wasn't just any slave it was Jim. Huck became very close with Jim and couldn't help himself to do anything but help Jim. He knew it was wrong and tried to pray for forgiveness but decided he didn't really want forgiveness because he didn't believe that he did anything wrong. It was just wrong by society.
Why does Huck tear up the letter he writes?
Huck decided to write a letter to Tom telling him to let Miss Watson know where Jim is at. He wrote the letter but then in the midst of praying he reminisced on how kind-hearted and good of a friend Jim had been to him. He then decided he would rather take the chance and go to hell in order to stand by Jim. He tore up the letter so that Miss Watson would never know where Jim is and he wasn't going to send it anyway. This is extremely important and significant because Huck is showing how he does not side with the rest of society and racist actions.
Huck is disappointed that Tom would help him steal Jim. He says “Tom Sawyer fell, considerable, in my estimation. Only I couldn’t believe it. Tom Sawyer a nigger stealer!” What do you think of this?
Honestly, I don't think I would word it as Huck was disappointed in Tom but more that he was surprised and caught of guard by the new actions Tom is displaying. Tom Sawyer went from being a guy who wanted to create a gang to steal and kill people to helping a slave escape. It may not seem like a big deal but then it was crazy. Also, Tom always did what he thought was cool and seeked approval from others. This new behavior of him going against societies normalities was surprising to Huck. I think it is sad that it was such a big deal to help someone just because their skin color was different.
Huck says two things at the end of chapter 33:
1.“Human beings can be awful cruel to one another.”
2.“But that’s always the way: it don’t make no difference whether you do right or wrong, a person’s conscience ain’t go no sense, and just goes for him anyway.”
What does Huck mean by these two statements?
Huck is talking about the fact that it was partially his fault that the King and the Duke got caught and tied to a rail by their feet. Even though they were not good people he still felt like he was their friend and shows his empathetic side once again. Huck is saying that no matter what actually happened your conscience will always rule over the truth. It is a mental thing. What ever you think you did wrong and keep telling yourself that then you will truly start to believe it. This is how I think of it at least.
Why are Tom and Huck looking for a more difficult way to break Jim free? ​
Tom and Huck chose to free Jim in a much more difficult way than was necessary. Or should I just say Tom decided this. Huck proposed his plan but Tom responded back saying it was too simple and, "wouldn't draw anymore attention than breaking into a soap factory." They decided to add more style and if Tom was going to help steal a slave he had to do it with his special flare.
Chapters 1-5
Chapter 1- Huck finn introduces himself and tells us about his friends such as Tom Sawyer.
Chapter 2- In this chapter Huck Finn joins Tom Sawyers gang of robbers.
Chapter 4- Huck quit Tom's gang and saw footprints near his house which he believed where his fathers.
Chapter 5- Huck wakes up to his father in his room the next morning demanding money.
Perspective
The perspective from the author is a 12 year old kid. This makes it more interesting to see this story from a younger kid who was in slavery. This makes me look at the book differently because it is from this perspective. This perspective means you get every thing that actually happens to him in slavery but it also could mean that the stuff that he says happens is stretched and didn't happen to that extent.
Chapters 5-11
Chapters 12-16
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Why did Pap have Huck locked up?
​Pap hated to see his son living a life better than he could ever have. He hated to see Huck doing well in his religion and school work. Instead of being encouraging of Huck's new life with a caring family, his dad was angry because he wanted to see him fail and end up like he did. Pap took Huck in an attempt to keep him from discovering his full potential.
2. Visual Representation of Huck's Escape
3. Abolitionist
An Abolitionist is someone who is not supportive of slavery. At the time, slavery was popular and most everyone had them. If people were to ever find out that Huck was on the island with Jim, they might feel that he was helping Jim escape to freedom. It would look bad on Huck as a person during this time period.
4. What gave Huck up while pretending to be a girl?​
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​The way that he threw the iron.
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The way he closed his legs when the woman threw something towards him.
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The fact that he didn't know how to thread a needle.
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The fact that he kept changing his name.
Roles Reversed
Boys
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Their Posture, (walk or sit).
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The way they talk.
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The way they perform girly tasks.
Girls
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The way they talk.
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Athleticism.
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How bold they are when it comes to speaking out.
1) What is the story of King Solomon and his child? How does Jim interpret that story?
King solomon was very wise and had very many wives, day two of his wife come too him calming that they were the mother of his child. King Solomon suggested that they cut the child in half but only to see who is the real mother. The non-mother of this baby would be accepting of this side as to the actual mother who would cry and beg for them not to cut the child in half, even giving up the child. Jim took this story as solomon being a fool and also it being more about a whole child not a half child. Jim thought that solomons solution was pointless and that if he wouldn't of had as many children he would have more respect for them.
2) When Jim wakes up after their separation in the fog, what does Jim’s reaction to Huck tell us about him? How do you feel about Jim at this point?
Huck played a joke on jim that what happened the other night was a dream, for a while jim believed it but he started to catch on and sees what is going on and gets very upset with heck because he thought huck had died. I feel that jim cares a lot for jim and does not like to feel embarrassed especially by Huck who jim considers a friend. I feel badly for jim because he really thinks of Huck as a friend and didn't think that he would do that to him, also jim doesn't take a joke the way Huck would.
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3) Jim is very superstitious. From a historical standpoint, why do you think this is?
I think that jim is superstitious because he is very uneducated and he makes himself feel safer and make life seem a little less scary. When jim was little he made things up in his mind so they would make more since too him.
4) It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger – but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards, neither.” What does this line tell us about Huck?
The Norm for "slaves" at the time was to be treated with no respect and like dirt. Huck eventually humbled himself to apologize to jim for what he had done, knowing that no one else would have done it. Huck does care for jim and he my not show it but he does.
5) At the end of chapter 16 Huck is struggling with giving Jim up. Outline the battle that he has with himself, and explain his actions when the men come up looking for the 5 escaped slaves
Huck is struggling with wether to give jim up or keep him safe, with jim being one of the 5 missing slaves huck feels bad with giving jim up to the people and with keeping him safe. Turning in jim would break the bond that him and huck have started to have, it would also make Huck feel terrible on the inside. With either design that huck makes he will loose something, not turning jim in would lead to loads to trouble on Hucks part. When the men did come to search for the 5 escaped slaves huck helped jim risking getting caught. Huck told the men that on the boat his family had chicken pocks and anyone that entered would get them, so the men let huck go on his way without checking the boat.
Chapters 27-30
1.Why did people stay up with the dead during this time period? (Chapter 27)
During this time period people would guard the dead out of a sign of peace and resembling a respectful manner. They family member of the dead wouldn't want the body to be stolen, eaten or disrupted by rodents, insects or any other harmful animals. Overall, protecting the bodies was just to respect the people that have passed on before they were put into the ground forever.
2.What do we learn (or reaffirm) about Huck when he tells Miss Mary Jane the slaves will see their family again in inside of two weeks? (Chapter 28)
During this time period of the novel we are reaffirmed about Huck's good and carring heart. Huck saw that Mary Jane was upset to find out about the slaves families being separated and he could tell that she was extremely upset about the death because he saw her crying next to the casket. He was trying to make her feel better by telling her the slaves wouldn't be separated from their families for long. Once again, this shows the love and kindness that Huck has displayed throughout the book.
3.What were the two methods the townspeople used to try to identify who the brothers were and who the frauds were? (Chapter 29)
The first method that the town used to found out that the King and the Duke were frauds was by having the two real brothers and the King and the Duke take a written test. The test proved that the King and the Duke were both frauds but the King voiced that the written test was not fair or accurate because the Harvey (the real brother) had a broken hand and was unable to write so the other brother wrote for him. The second way they found out that the King and the Duke were frauds was by describing the tattoo on Harvey's brothers chest. The town had both the King and Harvey describe the tattoo but they then dug up the body to find out that there is no tattoo. Upon digging up the body they found a bag of $6000. That money was the money that the King and the Duke had planned to confiscate.
Chapters 36-40
1.In the process of breaking Jim free, what is Tom’s motivation? What is Huck’s motivation? (Why are they doing it?)
Tom is breaking Jim out ore for his own benefit, all the silly things he tells Jim to do while he's locked up are evidence that Tom want it for himself. He wants the best breakout in history and that's why he has Jim do a lot of these stupid things, it's all for style points and to make the breakout seem more intense and dramatic. Huck on the other hand just really wants his friend to be free and his main goal is to make that happen.
What do Huck and Tom mean when they say they “let on” about something? Why do they do this? (Begins on chapter 37)
Huck and Tom created a rope using part of Jim's bed sheet. At the end of the paragraph Huck says, "We let on it took nine months to make it." When they say this phrase, it basically means they pretended. It obviously didn't take them nine months but they like to pretend because it is funner for them. This also goes back to how Tom wants style points, so when he tells the story to people, he will "let on" it took them nine months.
Why is Tom writing the letters and posting warnings? Why did he give instructions to his aunt and uncle’s slave?
What are his motivations for this? (Chapter 39)
Tom is writing these letters so Uncle Silas does not advertise he has captured Jim the runaway slave in the newspapers of St. Louis and New Orleans because Miss Watson would see them. He doesn't want Jim to be captured again so he makes it so that his Uncle won't post the ad. He gets most of the ideas to do all this from the books that he reads.
We’ve worked a great deal on this novel’s satirical elements. How is the planning and plotting of Jim’s escape by Tom and Huck satire?
I think the reason it is satire is because it is making fun of how much extra we do just to please people and be "cool". They could have freed Jim in a much faster and easier way but Tom wanted to make it have style so he could tell the story to people and become famous or more cool. We do this in life too. We go through much more trouble than needed just to impress people. It is satire because it is sad to think we go through way more than we need to just to impress our peers. This is my opinion on it.
Towards the end of the chapter Huck says “I knowed he was white inside” about Jim. Why does he say this and what does he mean?
When they got to the boat Jim refused to let the boat take off even if it took 40 years for them to get a doctor for Tom. Jim knew that Tom would do the same thing for him. This was amazing because Jim is risking his life of being caught for the safety of Tom and says he wouldn't get off the boat until a doctor came. Huck says, "I knowed he was white inside" and this means that he knew he had the heart of not just a slave but of a white. Basically, no other slaves would risk their freedom for a whites well-being, unless you have a heart as big as Jim's. In this time period, slaves wanted nothing more than to be free. But it is demonstrated throughout the books that Jim is wired differently than the stereotypes make him out to be. He is very empathetic and caring, and I think that is one of the reasons him and Huck get along so well.
Chapters 41-End
Towards the end of chapter 41: “And then when I went up to bed, she come up with me, and fetched her candle, and tucked me in, and mothered me so good I felt mean and like I couldn’t look her in the face”. Why does Huck feel this way?
At this point of the chapter a sit starts to wrap up, Huck runs into Uncle Silas while town as he is finding the doctor for Tom after he was shot in the calf. Uncle Silas takes him back to the house and Huck makes up a story as to why Tom and Huck had been gone. When Huck told Aunt Sally he was going to bed she ends up following him and tucks him in as if she was his mother. Huck grows guilty and couldn't look her in her eyes because he knew that Tom was stuck in pain and in danger while he was sleeping in a bed. I also think comes to feel this way because he knows how much he lied about Jim and everything that had happened and could tell that at the end of the day he was causing more pain towards the family rather than good doings.
In chapter 42 we hear the doctor’s account of his experience treating Tom: “so I says, I got have help, somehow; and the minute I says it, out crawls this nigger from somewheres, and says he’ll help; and he done it too, and done it very well.” Can we come to an understanding about Jim from this? What do we learn about him?
Looking back and reflecting on Jim as the story has gone on, it easy to see Jim has grown close to not only Huck but Tom as well. After Tom was shot in the calf, Jim immediately suggested they'd find a doctor to help heal Tom. Later as the doctor asks for while healing Tom and instantly jumps in to help, if it wasn't for Jim, Tom's recovery could've ended badly. After seeing what Jim was willing to do for Huck throughout the story and Tom after he was shot, we find out Jim is a very kind and caring person. No matter someone race, there are good people out there and Jim is definitely one of them.
What do we learn about Tom from what he says when he wakes up after being treated for the gunshot wound (Chapter 42)?
​Tom is an adventurous person, he loves the rush and thrives for a good story, that was always clear. When Tom wakes up we learn that he wants to be known. When he broke the news of Miss Watson's death and that she set Jim free in her will. They were freeing an already free slave, it now easy to see that Tom always wanted the thrill of adventure more than the reward. All along he knew that Jim was free but took advantage of it. Tom kept it all a secret, the death of Miss Watson and Jim being free, all just shows that Tom will do anything to have an adventure, he thrives for it. Even if its freeing someone who is already free.
You’ve finished the novel: Tell me, in three to four sentences, what you think of Huck.
Huck is very independent, but will take in whoever wants in. At the beginning of the book, Huck knows he doesn't want to be with his father so he does what he has to do to escape.