Huckleberry+Finn+Assessment+Questions

Comprehension and Discussion Questions
from //The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn// by Trey the Cuck

Twain includes the “Notice” on the opening page because it sets the tone for Huckleberry Finn through Twain’s mixing of both humor and serious tones. It also sets the stage for the themes of the novel and notes a sense of irony and charm. It also links the novel to its deeper moral concerns using fun and light heartedness.
 * 1. Why did Twain include the "Notice" on the opening page**


 * 2. Can the book's 43 chapters be grouped according to distinct action sequences? Are there correspondences among chapters or groups of chapters?**

The chapters can be linked to action sequences because in many of the chapters Huck sets up the reader for his next move. He describes his thoughts, his reasoning, and then infers about what he will do next.


 * 3. Each stage of Huck's moral growth culminates in a crisis of conscience and a decision to assist Jim (as when Huck tells the two #|slave hunters that there is "only one" man on the raft and that "He's white"); and each decision is more consequential than the previous. What are these stages and decisions; when do they occur; and what are their consequences?**

The first stage of Huck’s moral growth begins in Chapter VIII with his agreement to travel with Jim to freedom. Huck has chosen a very dangerous path, for traveling with a runaway can get one lynched. This decision comes tied to many consequences because it makes travel extremely difficult and dangerous. The second stage is in Chapter XVI when Huck ponders turning in Jim, but realizes that Jim is a real man, just like a “white man,” with feelings and a family. This produces a hard road ahead, full of lying, stealing, and #|close calls. Jim’s last and final stage is in Chapter XXXI, when the duke and the dauphin “capture” Jim and give him to the Phelpses. Huck’s decision to free Jim is him most difficult and consequential decision. To free a black man, is in other words ‘stealing’ and a dangerous action. Huck finally decides, “All right then, I’ll go to hell!” thus showing that he accepts the life of a black man as equal to his own.


 * 4. What are the consequences of Huck's and Jim's going past the mouth of the** **Ohio River** **in the fog? (Chapter XV)**

The consequences of Huck and Jim going past the mouth of the Ohio River in the fog is that they ultimately pass Cairo. Cairo was Jim’s destination because it was his key to the Free states. Huck was just tagging along for the ride. The consequences from this point on, amount to the rest of the novels tragedies, mishaps, difficult decisions, and morally challenging events as they travel deeper South into the heart of slavery.


 * 5. Among the novel's great ironies is that Huck's and Jim's quest for freedom takes them farther and farther into the deep South, the heart of slavery. How and why does this happen? What are the implications?**

Huck and Jim’s reasons for traveling further south are because the night that they should have reached their destination, the fog was so thick that neither could see. Twain wanted this to happen because this is what #|lead to climax and ultimate moral of his novel. This was the ultimate deciding factor of the novel. Twain would have had no novel if he chose the Free states, and he wanted to give the reader a story and express the morality of his novel as Huck and Jim came face to face with the evils of the human race.


 * 6. The primary movement of Huck's and Jim's journey and of the novel is linear, from north to south. A back-and-forth pattern of movement between river and shore also occurs. How is this pattern important in terms of plot? How is it related to the north-to-south movement? Does it reflect any other kind of movement experienced by Huck or Jim?**

Huck and Jim’s linear movement is important to the novel because it provides the reader with a direction to the novel. The movement from North to South as well as the movement between river and shore also symbolizes Huck and Jim’s journey to go from ignorant and enchained by societies customs and critiques to learned, wiser, and more fulfilled as human beings. Huck and Jim’s journey from North to South shows that running away from one’s problems will not solve them, and that meeting them face to face is the only way to conquer them and grow as a human beings.


 * 7. How do the king and the duke impact Huck's and Jim's life on the raft, their quest for freedom, and the novel's movement?**

The king and the duke impact Huck and Jim’s life on the raft because they are their ultimate threat to being revealed and returned back to their former life. Without their intervention, Huck would not learn the strong morality lessons and learn to make conscience decisions. Twain uses this duo to steer the novel and its characters into the directions of a more complex and ruthless adventure of wit and appreciation for others.


 * 8. What are the parallels between the king's and duke's treatment of Jim in Chapter XXIV and Tom Sawyer's treatment of him in the final chapters?**

The king and the duke use Jim as a toy or prop, something to do their bidding and use at their will. They use him to do wrong and only for their own gain. Tom is not any better as he also uses Jim as a mere prop in his “adventure” game just like in one of his novels. Tom knew Jim had been left his freedom in Miss Watson’s will, but instead created a game, for his own amusement, that toyed with Jim’s very existence. It is in these final chapters that Tom expresses his cruelty and unappreciative for human life.


 * 9. The cemetery passage in Chapter XXIX is one of the few times when Huck is in immediate danger of actual harm or death. What are some similar incidents? What threatens his safety and well-being in each instance--other people or forces of nature? How does he escape in each instance?**

There are a variety of incidents in the novel in which Huck finds himself in danger. The first of which is Huck’s father, Pap, because Pap abuses him and recklessly attempts to lock him up only to abuse him some more. Huck narrowly escapes this fate by running away. Huck comes across another harmful situation when he befriends a couple of con men. These two men are the primary sources of Huck’s moral growth but only because of the trailing and disturbing events and actions that Huck witnesses take place. Huck avoids a fate by these two individuals by running away.


 * 10. Do the final chapters, beginning with Huck's arrival at the Phelps farm, rely too much on coincidence?**

The final chapters, beginning with Huck’s arrival at the Phelpses farm, do rely a bit much on coincidence. The coincidental occurrences are that the Phelpses are Tom’s aunt and uncle and that they were expecting Tom the day that Huck arrived. Another coincidence is that Tom’s brother, Sid, is just mentioned in this part of the novel and that Jim was already set free by Miss Watson. The coincidence of the end of the novel does tie back in to a strong lesson learned and a stronger ending to a brilliant novel.


 * 11. Do Tom Sawyer's elaborate escape stratagems indicate that Jim's and Huck's goals are unobtainable?**

Tom’s elaborate escape stratagems emphasize that he is a romantic and wants things “done by the book.” He is sturdy to his beliefs and even more loyal to his books. He is passionate about the way in which Jim will be freed, but not actually in his freedom. Never the less, his freedom is not unobtainable, just secured by Tom’s masterful plans.


 * 12. Is there any justice in the fact that only Tom is wounded in the final chase through the swamp?**

I believe that there is justice served in only Tom being wounded in the final chase, because it is because of his selfishness and lack of sympathy for Jim’s position that Jim must go through the ordeal in the first place. Tom was right to receive the bullet, even though he wore it as a trophy in the end.


 * 13. The story is told by a fourteen-year-old Huck, who admits to elaborate lies and fabrications. Can we trust him? Can we accept his version of things, or must we read between his lines?**

Huck is correct in admitting his faults in the beginning of the novel, thus the reader must learn to accept Huck as an accurate and accountable reader. He is confident in his tone, and relays both good and bad events; therefore his version of the story must be seen as authentic.

P5 CO'Toole