The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Study guide

Study Guide   
Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

 

Chapter 1:  Consider the following

Contradiction between Miss Watson’s intolerance of Huck and her belief that she was going to the “good place”:  “Well, I couldn’t see no advantage in going where she was going, so I made up my mind I wouldn’t try for it.”

Note Huck’s frankness; using that tone Twain comments on society through his young, innocent narrator.

Satire:  Twain satirizes religious sensibility of the day.  Huck finds widow’s teachings boring and unrelated to everyday life.  Twain also satirizes Christians who profess kindness and civility (bringing in slaves to pray at night), yet buy and sell slaves as property.

Theme:  Individual Freedom – Brought up in Huck’s aversion to Widow Douglas and her attempts to change him.  Later journey down the river will be an escape from the hypocrisy of society’s corrupt institutions as well as a search for freedom from that society.

Questions (Cite examples from the novel to support your answers):
How does Chapter 1 foreshadow superstition in the novel?
Discuss the ways in which a young, innocent narrator can make a profound statement about             the hypocrisy of his society.

Chapters 2-3:  Consider the following

Jim’s superstitious beliefs are a recurrent thematic element throughout the novel.

Twain’s satire of the institution of slavery will reach its greatest height through the character of Jim.

Tom Sawyer is introduced in these chapters as a foil to Huck.  Twain satirizes Tom’s romantic adventure stories and his need to do everything “by the book”  (i.e. kidnapping people for ransom when he doesn’t even know what the word means).

Mississippi River is introduced as a symbolic image.  Twain contrasts the freedom and peacefulness of live on the river with the corruption of life on the shore. We sense the river’s power:  “. . . the river, a whole mile broad, and awful still and grand.”  Watch for life on the river to ultimately become an idyllic escape for Huck and Jim.

Questions (Cite examples from the novel to support your answers):
Compare and contrast the characters of Huck and Tom.
Examine the idea that Huck, who has had more experience with breaking the law than any             of the others, comes close to being excluded from the gang.  Why?

 

Chapters 4-5:  Consider the following

Look for more evidence of the recurrent theme of superstition in these chapters.  Twain’s mockery of superstition is reflected in the tone of these chapters.
Questions (Cite examples from the novel to support your answers):
Analyze the relationship of Huck and his father.  In what ways was he different from the             ideal?
Why did the judge exchange one dollar for six thousand dollars?  Was he cheating Huck?              Explain.

Chapters 6-7:  Consider the following

Twain’s characterization of Pap in these chapters is a sad commentary on a society that would grant custody of a child to such a father.

Twain continues to satirize Tom’s false romantic notions.  Huck is practical and down-to-earth, and Twain endorses his actions by portraying him as a survivor.

Questions (Cite examples from the novel to support your answers):
Huck seems to adapt to almost any situation.  He has become accustomed to civilized life             with the Widow Douglas.  Later he finds life in the woods carefree and easy.  Analyze the             character of Huck; discuss possible reasons for his adaptability.

            In the novel Pap does not appear to be a civilized man.  Discuss ways in which he does,             however, fit into the larger society.  Does he compare to the Widow Douglas in any way?

Chapters 8-9:  Consider the following

The playful, relaxed tone at the beginning of Chapter 8 is set in juxtaposition to the preceding chapter where Huck frantically escapes from the clutches of his abusive father. 

Twain’s theme of individual freedom is apparent in the contrast of the natural life on the island where Huck is “comfortable and satisfied,” to the respectable, hypocritical life on the shore where he faces the tyranny of his father and the Widow Douglas.

Although the island offers peace and freedom, it is also the agent of loneliness and fear.

The island and the river, symbolic of freedom, are also subjected to dangerous river currents and treacherous storms (watch for Twain’s most artistic language at those times).

Huck quickly makes his decision to help Jim escape from slavery, even though people would call him a “low-down Abolitionist.”  Throughout the novel, Huck encounters this moral dilemma several times (watch for them!).

The choice between the hypocritical values of society and Huck’s friendship with Jim is the central conflict of the novel and is also where Twain employs his most biting satire.  For example, Jim comments that he is not poor now because he owns himself, and his is worth $800.

Also watch for the ultimate satiric treatment of the theme of superstition, particularly when educated townspeople are shooting cannons to bring a dead body (supposedly Huck’s) to the river’s surface.  Ironically, the floating bread on the water finds Huck as it was meant to do!

Questions (Cite examples from the novel to support your answers):
If Huck keeps Jim’s secret of his escape, people will call him a “low-down Abolitionist.”  In             what way are those words more effective when spoken by a young narrator?  What is             Twain’s message about the hypocritical values of his society?

            Miss Watson could sell Jim for $800.  He, therefore, feels rich because he owns himself.              Explain Twain’s use of satire in Jim’s statement.

Chapters 10-11 Consider the following

In these chapters we begin to see Huck’s growing concern for Jim’s welfare.

In reality they are after Jim but in Huck’s close identity with Jim, it never occurs to Huck that he and Jim are not in this together.

Questions (Cite examples from the novel to support your answers):
Huck’s growing concern for Jim’s welfare is evident in many ways.  Discuss the events             where this concern is reflected in Huck’s behavior.  In what ways does he protect Jim from             danger?

Chapters 12-13  Consider the following

Chapter 12 is the beginning of the adventurous odyssey down the Mississippi.  In contrast to life on the shore, the journey on the river is presented as a solemn experience where “we didn’t ever feel like talking loud, and it warn’t often that we laughed.”  It would almost seem disrespectful to the “big, still river” to disturb its peacefulness.  In the journey down the river we see Huck’s movement away from civilization, with its corrupt institutions , and toward the natural world of the river.

The natural beauty of the river gives the novel a mythological characteristic.

When Huck “lifts a chicken,” or “borrows a watermelon,” Twain is satirizing the human need to rationalize our wrongdoings.  It is another attach on Pap, who brought Huck up to believe it is all right to “borrow” things if one intends to bring them back someday.

As Huck and Jim escape from the steamboat leaving the robbers to die, Huck’s conscience begins to bother him, and he decides to find help for them.  As his relationship with Jim deepens, Huck shows a growing concern for other human beings as well.

Questions (Cite examples from the novel to support your answers):
Huck’s journey on the river is filled with adventures, but it is also a symbolic journey.  What             does his journey symbolize?  How does his relationship with Jim tie in to the symbolism?              Compare the symbolism of the shore to that of the river.

Chapters 14-15  Consider the following

In three more nights Huck and Jim intend to reach Cairo, Illinois, where they will pick up the Ohio River and travel north into the free states.

In Chapter 14, Huck and Jim’s new reading material stimulates discussion about kings and dukes.  Their easy bantering back and forth illustrates their human characteristics.  Twain’s satiric treatment of royalty is evident in this scene.

Talk of Louis XVI and his son, the “Dolphin” (Dauphin) is a foreshadowing of the conmen’s appearance as the king and the duke in Chapter 19.

There is imminent danger that Jim and Huck will be permanently separated when they lose sight of each other in the fog one night.  Huck is immediately “dismal and lonesome.”  The threat of possible separation has brought their relationship into painful focus.

Jim’s heart was broken when he thought Huck was lost, and Jim learns that Huck would not have played a trick on him “if I’d ‘a’ knowed it would make him feel that way.”

Questions (Cite examples from the novel to support your answers):
The relationship between Huck and Jim is brought into focus in these chapters.  How does             their frightening separation in the fog draw them closer together?  How do they feel about             each other at this point in the novel?

            In what ways does Twain satirize royalty in these chapters?

Chapters 16-17  Consider the following

Painfully aware that he is helping a slave escape to freedom, Huck’s conscience suddenly bothers him.  For the second time, Huck faces a moral decision forcing him to come to grips with the idea that he is helping a slave escape. This time he cannot seem to rationalize his actions as he has done before. 

Twain’s biting satire reaches its greatest height when Huck censures Jim for wanting to steal his own wife and children.  Huck, a product of the society of his day, believes that Jim’s rights to his own children are superseded by those of the slave-owner.

Huck eventually makes a choice not to turn Jim in, but in doing so he also believes he has done the wrong thing.  Ironically, he sees his choice as a weakness, when in reality it is his greatest strength.

Note the point at which the raft drifts south of Cairo, taking the journey deeper into slave territory.  It is at this point, critics believe, Twain’s difficulty with the plot caused him to set the book aside for two years.

The ease with which Huck pulls up a believable story to tell the Grangerfords characterizes him as a young boy with an amazing understanding of the foibles of human nature.

Huck’s lengthy description of the Grangerford house, decorated with gaudy furnishings and drawings, is a satire against morbid art and poor taste in decorating.

Questions (Cite examples from the novel to support your answers):
Huck makes a moral decision concerning Jim’s freedom in Chapter 16.  How does this             decision affect Huck as a character in the novel? Discuss the first time in the novel that he             made a decision to help Jim escape to freedom.  How did the decision affect him then?

            There is irony in the statement Jim makes about stealing his children.  In what way is it             ironic that Jim’s children belong to someone else?  Why did Huck feel it was morally wrong             for Jim to claim his children as his own?

Chapters 18-19:  Consider the following

Huck’s description of Colonel Grangerford paints a picture of a typical aristocratic landowner of the day.  Twain satirizes aristocratic gentlemen for being well-born, and that’s worth “as much in a man as it is in a horse.”

Feud:  Started 30 years ago, but no one knows why.  Further criticism of aristocratic pretensions of respectability.

Sunday:  Grangerfords and Shepherdsons sit in church together with guns held “between their knees” while they listen to minister’s sermon on brotherly love.

Ironically, there is a controlled sense of respectability in Colonel Grangerford’s gentle reprimand to Buck for “shooting from behind a bush,” rather than bravely stepping out into the road to defend the family honor.  The Colonel’s expectations for a 13-year-old boy make his values seem even more incongruous, especially when the 13-year-old does not even know why they are feuding.

The scene on the raft is appropriately set in juxtaposition to the bloody feud between the Shepherdsons and the Grangerfords.  It brings to light the corruption and hypocrisy on the shore in opposition to the idyllic life on the raft where peace and harmony prevail. 

Ironically, the raft is small, but Huck feels that “Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t.”

Questions (Cite examples from the novel to support your answers):
Harney Sheperdson and Miss Sophia are victims of the feud between the Grangerfords and             the Shepherdsons.  Compare and contrast their conflict with that of Shakespeare’s Romeo             and Juliet.  Was Huck sympathetic with the young couple?

            Twain employs satire throughout the novel to speak out against the hypocrisy and             corruption in his society. In what way is the church service, attended by the Grangerfords             and the Shepherdsons, an attack on the religion of Twain’s day? 

            Life on the raft is contrasted sharply with the violence and bloodshed Huck has recently             encountered on the shore.  How does this contrast bring out the theme of freedom in the             novel?  How does Huck feel about life on the raft?  How does Jim feel?

Chapter 20-21:  Consider the following

Huck must necessarily produce another story at this point.  It is understood that Huck stories are, ironically, a necessary ploy for the survival of an innately moral young man caught up in a pretentious, hypocritical society.

Note Twain’s description (again) of the thunderstorm in these chapters.  Huck’s appreciation for the natural world around him is again brought out in his artistic description of the storm. 

In the camp meeting scene Twain is satirizing the gullibility of the people who hang on the king’s every word, allowing the king to manipulate the crowd out of $87.25.

Chapters 22-23:  Consider the following

Colonel Sherburn’s speech to the would-be lynch mob is a harsh invective against mob action of any kind.  Twain speaks out against lynch mobs who do not fight with courage but come like cowards in the middle of the night wearing masks.  As Sherburn demonstrates, the mob crumbles with cowardice when they come face to face with one strong individual.

We see aggressive action in Twain’s use of extended metaphor presenting the mob as “the front wall of the crowd” rolling “in like a wave.”  But when Sherburn steps out “the wave sucks back.”  The metaphor is sustained until the end when the “crowd washed back sudded, and then broke all apart.”  We get the picture that the mob is as ephemeral as the ocean waves.

The Royal Nonesuch, an obscene play, caters to the lowest common denominator, which is Twain’s way of saying that it draws a crowd because people are morally corrupt.

Jim’s reference to the king and duke as “regular rapscallions” is Twain’s way of satirizing royalty.

The sensitive personality of Jim is held in juxtaposition to the lynching mobs and the swindling king and duke in these chapters.

Questions (Cite examples from the novel to support your answers):
Twain is satirizing the lynch mob in these chapters.  In what way can the individuals in a             mob be seen as cowards?

            Through the characters of the duke and the king, Twain is satirizing royalty.  What qualities             in a king would make him a “rapscallion”?

            How is Jim’s humanity expressed through the eyes of Huck?  How does Jim feel about             Huck?  How can Huck tell?

Chapters 24-25  Consider the following

In the Wilks episode, Twain attacks the gullibility of human beings with the most biting satire demonstrated in the novel thus far.

Swayed by the king’s sentimentality, the townspeople hold the word of the king, a person whom they have just met, above that of Dr. Robinson whom they have known all their lives.  Twain has artfully placed this scene in the atmosphere of a funeral setting when people are most vulnerable, and, therefore, most gullible.

“It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race.”  The depraved attitude of the frauds in the coffin scene is simply too much for Huck.  “I never see anything so disgusting.”  Huck’s moral position at this point in the novel is a foreshadowing of the ultimate moral decision he must make regarding Jim’s freedom later on in the novel.

Chapters 26-27:  Consider the following

Huck’s humanitarian effort to help the Wilks girls is significant in his human development.  He feels morally obligated to recover their money since they will need it later on for their livelihood.  Huck’s morality is based on his natural instincts and shows responsiveness to human need rather than an adherence to the rules of society.  It is when he feels “low and low down and mean” for allowing the king to defraud the Wilks girls that he makes his moral decision to help them.

Twain repeats the theme of the separation of families through the buying and selling of slaves, which is reminiscent of Miss Watson’s intention of selling Jim down the river and separating him from his family.

Huck’s human sympathy for the injustice in this incident foreshadows his ultimate commitment to Jim as Huck struggles with his conscience in subsequent chapters.

Questions (Cite examples from the novel to support your answers):
The separation of families through the selling of slaves is a recurrent theme in the novel.              What is Twain’s attitude about this controversial issue?  Cite at least two examples from the             novel that deal with the separation of families and point out the way in which Twain satirizes             the issue.

Chapters 28-29  Consider the following

In Chapter 28 we finally hear Huck telling Mary Jane the truth.  After thinking it over, he decides that “the truth is better and actualy safer than a lie” [sic].   In a sense he reached a point of no return and must tell her the whole story.  He feels a moral obligation to expose the king and the duke and keep them from exploiting her.

Ironically, when the men question Huck about being English, he cannot convince them.  Levi Bell, the lawyer, tells him to quit trying.  “I reckon you ain’t used to lying, it don’t seem to come handy … You do it pretty awkward.”

Questions (Cite examples from the novel to support your answers):
Mary Jane is one of Huck’s favorite people in the novel.  What qualities does she possess             that makes Huck fond of her?  How is she different from her sisters?

Chapters 30-31  Consider the following

In these climactic chapters, Huck faces his ultimate moral decision to help Jim escape from slavery.  It is the central crisis in Huck’s development.  In three different incidents, he struggles with this choice.

The first time, in Chapter 8, Huck makes an easy decision not to tell that Jim is a runaway slave.  It matters little to Huck that people would call him “a low-down Abolitionist” because “I ain’t going back there, anyways.” 

The second time is in Chapter 16 when Huck and Jim are nearing Cairo and Huck struggles with his conscience about allowing a slave, worth $800, to go free.  The irony is clear – it never occurs to him that society might be wrong, and that he could be right.  He simply realizes it is impossible for him to turn Jim in.

Huck’s ultimate moral choice focuses on religion.  Huck’s ultimate moral decision in the novel is, ironically, to “go to hell” for freeing Jim.  He does not justify his choice.  He simply makes the decision to take up wickedness again.  Twain’s bitter satire in this passage is a harsh invective against a society that would live by such false standards.

Questions (Cite examples from the novel to support your answers):
Huck makes his ultimate moral decision in Chapter 31 of the novel.  What is Twain satirizing             in this episode?  Explain Huck’s natural morality as opposed to society’s morality. 
Huck faces a moral decision to help Jim escape in three different episodes of the novel.              Explain each dilemma and describe how it affects Huck’s development as a character.

Chapters 32-33  Consider the following

Huck confides in Tom about his intent to “steal” Jim from the Phelps’s farm.  To his surprise, Tom agrees to help him.  Shocked that Tom would do such a thing, Huck’s high opinion of him falls considerably.

Twain’s depressing description of the Phelps Plantation is set in contrast to previous descriptions of the peace and tranquility of life on the river.

Huck’s depiction of the plantation, symbolic of loneliness and death, reflects his mood after the loss of Jim and their idyllic life on the raft.  The theme of freedom on the river stands in opposition to the constraints of life on the shore.  Jim has, after all, been sold back into slavery again, and in Huck’s view, life on the shore carries with it a dismal outlook.

Ironically, Huck still believes his natural morality is wrong and Tom’s morality, based on the mores of society, is right.  What he is not aware of is that Tom knows Jim has already been given his freedom by Miss Watson.

Questions (Cite examples from the novel to support your answers):
Twain paints a bleak, depressing picture of the Phelps Plantation.  Compare and contrast             Huck’s view of life to life on the raft.  In what ways is his view affected by his recent loss of             Jim?

            Huck is shocked when Tom Sawyer tells him he will help steal Jim out of slavery.  What             does Tom know about Jim and how does that affect his decision?

            Jim acts as an informant in the case of the king and duke’s Royal Nonesuch show.  In what             way is justice being done?

Chapters 34-35   Consider the following

Huck’s practical, down-to-earth solutions to problems are set in juxtaposition to Tom’s romantic, unrealistic solutions in the plan to free Jim.  Twain is satirizing the romantic notions inherent in the adventurous and courageous escapes that were made popular through the romance literature of his day.

In the meantime, he keeps Jim imprisoned with little regard for his suffering.

Ironically, Huck’s plan is superior to Tom’s, because it is quick and efficient, and safe for Jim.

Huck “borrows” bedsheets; Tom calls it stealing.  Huck tells him his father taught him to call it borrowing.  When Huck steals a watermelon, Tom forces him to pay the owners a dime.  Ironically, Tom makes the distinction between the real world and the world of romance, but Huck cannot see any advantage in representing a prisoner if he needs to “chaw over a lot of gold-leaf distinctions.”  Tom feels it is alright to steal as long as they are enacting the romance story, but Huck goes beyond the story to real life.  Tom’s respectable upbringing tells him that is morally wrong, but Huck in his natural morality cannot see the distinction.

Questions (Cite examples from the novel to support your answers):
The contrasting personalities of Huck and Tom provide the reader with the satiric humor in             these chapters.  In what way do their personalities contrast?  How are Tom’s romantic             notions brought out in the plan to free Jim?  How does Huck disagree?

Chapters 36-37   Consider the following

Twain is satirizing religious people like Uncle Silas and Aunt Sally who pray with Jim and make sure he has enough to eat but are waiting eagerly for the reward offered for his capture. 

It is doubly ironic that even Jim, being a product of society himself, does not see through this double standard.  He simply comments that “both of them was kind as they could be.”

Questions (Cite examples from the novel to support your answers):
Contrast Huck’s morality with Tom’s.

Chapters 38-39  Consider the following

It is ironic that Jim could, in fact, walk away anytime, but he obviously loves the boys and would not think of betraying their trust in him.  This ludicrous incident is one of the most humorous of the novel.

Tom, in wild abandonment, is willing to risk Jim’s life just for the sake of the glory.  Tom puts Jim through an ordeal that leaves him with adverse feelings about the entire prisoner experience.  “He said if he ever got out this time he wouldn’t ever be a prisoner again, not for a salary.”  Since a salary is totally foreign to Jim, the last phrase might be interpreted to mean not for a million dollars.

The suffering of others is secondary to Tom’s passion to dramatize the romantic notions he has only read about in books.  The incongruity of Tom’s treatment of Aunt Sally and Jim is especially apparent when we consider how kind and loving both of them have been toward Jim.

Questions (Cite examples from the novel to support your answers):
Why doesn’t Jim leave when he has the chance?  Why don’t the boys help him to escape?

Chapters 40-41  Consider the following

Tom’s plan of escape takes on an air of sensationalism as the three runaways battle the suspense of gunfire, tracking dogs, screaming voices, pounding footsteps, and a breathtaking slide through the tunnel with the gunmen breathing down their necks.  What tops off the whole romantic episode for Tom, however, is the bullet wound in his leg.

Ironically, if Huck had followed Tom’s instructions, it would probably have caused Tom’s death.

When Huck is on his own, he ignores Tom’s fanciful instructions and does what Huck does best – invents a story.

When Tom insists on continuing down the river with the bullet still lodged in his leg, Jim’s response is an expected one for it is consistent with his character throughout the novel.  Jim’s unselfishness in giving up his freedom for the sake of Tom is no surprise to Huck.  We realize his love for Huck and Tom, his friends, was worth more to him than his long-sought freedom.  He could not seek his own freedom at the expense of his friend’s life. 
Ironically, he feels Tom would do the same for him, but Tom is more concerned with completing his escape with style.

Questions (Cite examples from the novel to support your answers):
Jim unselfishly gives up his freedom so they can get a doctor for Tom.  Does this act seem             consistent with Jim’s character?  Why does he do it?

            Tom is happy when they reach the raft in spite of the fact that he has a bullet in his leg.              Why is he happy?

Chapters 42-43  Consider the following

Twain portrays Jim as a noble character when he bravely steps out of hiding to help the doctor save Tom’s life, knowing full well it will cost him his freedom and possibly his life.  The doctor attests to the fact that he never saw anyone who was more faithful “and yet he was risking his freedom to do it.” 

Jim is a profoundly sensitive human being whose feeling and sacrifice for Tom come as no surprise. 

When the doctor appears on the scene to tell them of Jim’s actions in nursing Tom back to health, they should, ironically, be saluting him  for his heroism, but they only “soften up a little.”

The novel has come full circle as we see Huck “light out for the territory,” afraid Aunt Sally will “sivilize” him again as the Widow Douglas tried to do in the first chapter.  Taught through his many difficult decisions to follow his instinctive, natural morality, Huck has grown into a more mature, sensitive human being. 

He belongs in the wilds of the “territory” where he can again be free from the hypocrisy inherent in society’s constraints.