Reading+Questions

1. Twain included the Notice in the beginning of the novel to show several things. First, the statement about anyone trying to find any moral or theme in the novel will be shot is a pretext to the later humor of the novel. Also, Twain’s statement that the novel is not serious is really meant to tell the reader that the novel will be serious. So, the Notice sets the stage for the lighthearted comedy and deep seriousness that exist in the novel.

2. The books 43 chapters can be grouped into sequences of action. One of the groupings of chapters includes the 4 or so chapters concerning the con men’s attempt to play the brothers of the deceased man.

3. The first decision that Huck makes that changes him is his decision to tell the white men looking for runaway slaves is that there is only a “white man” on his raft. It happens after Huck and Jim are hit by the steamship. Huck learns that doing the “right” thing does not always feel good, and he decides that he should make decisions based on his conscience from now on. The second moral development is after the duke and the dauphin perform their Royal Nonesuch, when Jim relates to Huck how he cannot forgive himself for hitting his daughter one time. Huck is surprised that blacks can have as much familial love as whites. Huck further develops his view of Jim of not as a slave but as a fellow human being. Another great moral development happens in Huck when the conmen are scamming the Wilks sisters. Huck feels bad and steals $6,000 of the fortune and hides it in the coffin. This action shows that Huck is having an increasing sense of morality, and this step to thwarting the conmen show he is ready to take action. The next change in Huck happens while the conmen are still at the dead man’s town. Huck sees Mary Jane crying on her bed, and he tells her the schemes of the conmen and where the money is. This step marks an increased sense of morality in Huck and doing what is right. The most important moral development for Huck happens when he finds out that Huck is missing and he decides will “go to hell” if that is what it takes to rescue him. This monumental decision by Huck is his ultimate rejection of Southern society’s beliefs over his own conscience. Also, in risking his life to save Jim, Huck has unknowingly decided that the life of a black man is equal to his. The last moral change in Huck happens at the end of the novel. Huck decides that he doesn’t want to become “sivilized”, but would rather be free in the West. This is Huck’s complete break with the social institutions and beliefs of the South, and his establishment of his own rules.

4. The consequence of this is that Jim and Huck can no longer flow into the free states, but will have to float deeper into the lion’s den (the South), and try to find a new route.

5. Jim and Huck’s journey into the Deep South starts with their goal of traveling down it until they reach the Ohio River, where they can then travel to the free states. After the two miss the mouth of the Ohio River, they continue going down South, for unknown reasons. The implications for this is that as Huck travels deeper and deeper into the land of ignorance and cruelty, he grows morally into a better and more humane person.

6. The North to South movement is important to the plot because it is part of Jim and Huck’s journey down the Mississippi. The linear movement also distinguishes the change in the people of America down the North-South gradient. Also, the North to South travel parallels Huck’s development of his morality, from believing in the social doctrines of the South to outright rejecting them.

7. The introduction of the king and duke affect the balance of power of races on the boat. Where before there was a balance of power between the white and black races, now the white race was supreme, and Jim’s safety was always at the hands of the men. Also, the novel shifts away from the positive things found in people previously, to the despicable traits found in the conmen and other humans.

8. The duke and dauphin and Tom Sawyer both treat Jim as some type of tool or toy, something to be used that isn’t really human.

9. Other instances where Huck is in danger include when he gets caught in the gunfight between the feuding families, when one of the conmen almost strangles him, and when he, Tom Sawyer, and Jim are shot at while escaping Jim’s prison. Another is when he and Jim are almost killed by and approaching ferry. In each case, it is people that threaten his well-being, not nature. Huck escapes each peril by his own resourcefulness or luck.

10. In context, the final chapters do not have too much coincidence. Looking in retrospect though, they admittedly do. However, the many escape attempt ideas of Tom and Huck make them seem more plausible.

11. Tom’s elaborate strategies do not make Jim and Huck’s schemes seem unobtainable, only lacking style and greatness worthy of literature.

12. There is justice in the fact that only Tom is wounded in the chase through the swamp. This is due to Tom’s treatment of Jim as a tool and making his escape to freedom a game. Also, it is justified because of Tom’s cruel withdrawal of the knowledge of the Widow’s death and Tom’s freedom.

13. I believe the reader can trust Huck Finn, for all his fabrications. This is because although he lies often, he do so only when needed, and he is a moral person one can trust.

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