Chapters 1-11
Setting: The woods are play a crucial part in Finn's life. It's his way of getting away from everything; his home away from home. He went to the woods to get away from the abuse from his father. When he got annoyed with his "civilized" life, he could go to the woods to be himself, act the way he wants and dress the way he wants. The woods were a form of escaping the clutches of the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson.
Characterization: Twain indirectly Huck Finn as a mischievous rascal by having him sneak out with Tom Sawyer in the middle of the night. Twain characterizes Huck as a rascal by describing him as not dressing in an acceptable way. Huck is described as wearing tattered and dirty clothing. He is different from the other boys in the fact that the questions what Tom is doing. When they raid the "Arabs", he asks Tom why there are no Arabs. He later thinks it over and concludes it is one of Tom's lies. He thinks for himself and uses his brand of logic.
Syntax : The syntax characterizes Huck as an uneducated person. He says a lot of run on sentences. His grammar isn't correct. All of these stem from his low education.
Motivation: Huck gives his money to Judge Thatcher because he knows that if his father knows he has money, Pap will come and take it. Pap's main motive is Huck's money. I don't think he has any other motives. He isn't back in town for Huck seeing as how he's neglected him for so long. Huck wanted to escape because he was scared he would die in the cabin if his pa left him in there days on end.
Motif: Huck's initial reaction to the footprints is fear. He fears his father is back and is coming for the money. The reader could infer that the plot might revolve around Huck's superstitions and the way he acts when they are present. Huck believes that men don't float on their backs, but rather on their stomachs. Jim thought that he was bewitched by witches and put under a trance.
Foreshadowing: Jim's hairball oracle tells Huck that his father will struggle between doing good and going back to his old ways. This foreshadows Pap's short lived time as a good person until he turns back to being a drunk. When he turns back to his old self, he kidnaps Huck which segways into the beginning of chapter six.
Theme: Twain questions the morality of slavery when he puts Huck into the same situation. As we start to read about how Huck feels when he's locked up and lonely. It is ironic that Huck is in the situation that he is in because he's white. Blacks were almost always the only ones to be captive and enslaved so for a white person to be enslaved is ironic. Twain uses this situation to question slavery as well.
Suspense: The suspense begins when Huck discovers the empty canoe and it gives him an idea for escape. It builds when he begins to saw at the logs and prepare his supplies for his journey. As he is executing his plan to fake his death, the reader is anxious about whether or not Pap will show up or if he'll get away.
Imagery: The water is described as being "dead." This give the impression to the reader that the water was very still. Lumber is described as being monstrous which gives an inclination that the lumber was quite massive in size.
Situational Irony: It is ironic that no one rescued Huck but a crowd searched for his remains. It is ironic because they cared more about his well being when he was dead than when he was alive. It's ironic because even though Jim didn't kill anyone, his reward is much higher than the reward for a murderer. It's just because he's black. The weight given to Jim's crimes is heavier because he's black. Everything is blown out of proportion for him in comparison to a white person of an equal or lesser crime.
Figurative Language: "...it rained like all fury." "It was as bright as glory..." "...dark as sin."
"...like rolling empty barrels down stairs." These are all examples of similes.
Theme: He thought there would be some fun if he left the dead snake for Jim to discover. Jim gets bitten by the snake's mate. Huck feels bad about what he did. Huck has grown to like Jim and see him as somewhat of a father figure. Twain's theme is that Huck's line between society's views and his own personal morality is getting blurred.
Satire: There's a bit of satire when Huck is with Jim and they are talking about all the superstitious stuff. Huck is a little taken back by all the things that are bad. He's poking fun at how sometimes we let superstition drive us and our lives and not rational thinking.
Motif: Jim thought that if birds flew a certain way, if signaled rain and touching or killing that bird meant death. Those can be rooted in the fact that he was talking about migration of birds and the changing seasons. As far as not killing birds, he could be talking about how some birds are harmful to eat. Jim's response is logical because we tend to reference bad luck for signs rather than the good luck we get. That's why there are so few signs of good luck. The Mississippi Valley's caves and caverns in the story thus far act as havens from either people or the weather. The boys use a cave as a way to be secluded and secret.
Foil: Jim acts as foil to Pap. He cares for Huck. He gives him advice. In some ways, he is exhibiting characteristics that Pap doesn't show at all. Jim doesn't neglect Huck, but instead looks out for him and trusts him.
Chapters 12-23
Symbol: For a significant part of the beginning of the book, the river is their lifeline. They are fed by the river when they fish from it. There was a wreckage that they were able to salvage supplies from. The river is what carries them on their journey and to where they want to go. The fog might represent a bad thing or situation that they have to fight through together. It's something that they eventually get past and become better people because of it.
Conflict: The internal conflict that Huck faces is the struggle between helping Jim or turning him over. Due to the fact that he's been raised in a society that doesn't like black people and he's been taught that over and over, he feels that he's done wrong by helping Jim escape. On the contrary, he cares about Jim and notices how bad he wants to be free. He knows he'll feel as bad if he gives Jim up. So he decides when the time comes, he'll do whatever is easiest.
Figurative Language: The hyperbole at the beginning of the chapter 13 occurs when Huck says that the work "seemed a week" before he got to the stern of the boat. It is used to exemplify the urgency that Huck has concerning the boat and the skiff. The literary device used in the last line of 13 is a simile. Huck narrates that he and Jim "slept like dead people." He's describing how he and Jim slept. By sleeping like "dead people", they are quiet and motionless and don't want to be investigated by passer byes.
Characterization: The events show that he's able to think for himself and figure out what his values and morals are. Twain shows us that Huck's quick wits when he successfully gets rid of the men with guns. He is able to fool the two men into thinking that his "father" has small pox and they leave him alone. At the end of Chapter 15, Huck humbled himself to Jim. At the time, whites were considered superior to blacks. When he apologized to Jim and humbled himself, he brought himself to Jim's level. This is a turning point because Huck vowed to never do what he did to Jim again and that serves to solidify his relationship not only as a companion on this journey but as a friend of Jim's.
Satire: There's some irony in the fact that Buck misspells Huck's pseudonym and then Huck memorizes the misspelling to use later. Another instance of satire is when Huck is is given his own slave. He isn't comfortable with it while Buck uses his slave frivolously. Even though Huck displays some racist norms that he grew up with he still respects and thinks more highly of blacks than most people in that time.
Foil: Buck is quite similar to Huck. They are about the same age, have similar names and like each other from the get go. But he is different in his upbringing and family life. These parts of his life accentuate his foil characteristics. Huck was brought up by his alcoholic father. Buck is brought up in an aristocratic household that's supposed to be refined and educated yet is in a feud with a different for no apparent reason. The foil serves to show that status, upbringing, and social class aren't everything when it comes to life. It highlights that fact that Huck's moral compass still works and is better than others even if he isn't as rich or successful.
Frame story: The frame story is when Huck recalls a portion of a story of when there was a gunfight between some Shepherdsons and Grangerfords. He doesn't want to tell all of it but he does say something. He explains how he discovers everyone gone. A slave informs him that they chased after Miss Sophia, who ran away to be with a Shepherdson. He follows them up the rough road and watches from the top of a tree as a gunfight ensues.
Situational Irony: They both have their guns yet they don't shoot at each other. The sermon is ironic because it's about brotherly love and caring for one another. They even talk to each other about after the service. It's ironic because they hate each other.
Narrator and Point of view: The story is see through Huck's eyes. Because the story is told through Huck, the reader has to rely on Huck and his interpretations of characters and situations. This means that the reader should take everything with a grain of salt. But by knowing the content of Huck's character, we know he isn't elaborating the truth.
Imagery: There are a few images used to describe the scene at the beginning of the chapter. Huck describes the river as being "monstrous." He is referring to its enormous size. He describes the area as being calm and serene. "Not a sound anywheres-perfectly still-just like the whole world was asleep, only sometimes the bull frogs a-cluttering maybe. He also describes how the water looked in the dark when things interacted with it. "...you could see the mist curl up off the water, and the east reddens up..."
Characterization: When we first meet the two gentlemen, they seem to be filled with comic relief but as the chapters go on we see that they have no remorse when it comes to stealing or selling Jim. An example is right after Huck explains their reasons for not traveling in broad daylight. The duke suggests that he will figure out a plan to do things in the daytime. This is an obvious attempt at finding a way to get Jim caught and sent back home. The characterization of the duke and the kind is satiric because there's a reversal. The young man is presented as the duke, who is most likely an older person. The old man is presented as the dauphin of Louis XVI. The dauphin was a young adult at the time. Twain is suggesting that there is something extra filthy and disgusting about these two men that they would do terrible deeds in a sacred and religious place. Huck isn't fond of organized religion but knows significance of what they are doing. Loafers of the town are described as being really lazy. "...loafers roosting on them all day long, whittling them with their Barlow knives; and chawing tobacco, and gaping and yawning and stretching-a mighty ornery lot." They chew a lot of tobacco and borrow from one another because they can't afford any on their own. They don't do anything but lean on boxes and poles. Twain portrays them as he does because that's his way of voicing his opinions. He also does this with Huck's criticisms of slavery and other injustices of the time. Twain's final jab at the town comes in the form of the play. The duke and the king excite some of the townspeople and they attend. They realize that it was a waste of money and time but don't tell all the other villagers who end up spending their hard earned money.
Motif: The weather always seems to signal that bad luck or a bad situation is going to occur. The storm has the group scamming multiple people. This later backfires when word goes around about Jim and his reward.
Theme: The epiphany is that Huck realizes that black people care as much about their families as white people do. Huck feels sympathy for Jim and his family. He sees the contrast between the nasty deeds of the duke and the king and Jim's sense of love and duty. This strengthens his resolve to see this journey through and help Jim and his family. The theme being addressed is the growing compassion that Huck feels toward Jim and black people throughout the book.
Pathos: An example is when Jim is talking about his family. He feels bad about how he treated his daughter. He feels shame and remorse for hitting her when he was angry. Finally he reveals that she is deaf and dumb. This elicits an emotional response from the reader. We feel bad and sorry for him.
Chapters 24-the end
Suspense:
I felt anxious for Huck on a few occasions. I was a little anxious when Huck sneaked into the king's room and tried to steal the money. He ended up hiding right next to the money and was so close to being discovered by the king. Another instance was when Huck and the thieves were being brought to the grave to confirm the tattoo. Neither Huck or I knew if what the old man was saying was true which made the situation a little tense. If the old man was wrong, they would be hanged. In regards to the thieves, I don't think Huck was in any real danger. They would stoop low enough to swindle people out of money but never to kill anyone. Even the duke felt a bit of sympathy for the slaves who were separated. In regards to the people of the town, I think that Huck was in grave danger. If the old man was wrong, they ran the risk of being hanged. I didn't feel any anxiety for them because I was waiting for them to get caught. I was half hoping the lawyer would be able to unravel them as frauds.
Foreshadowing:
The conversation was foreshadowing trouble that would be caused by the king and the duke. When the king finds out that the family doesn't know who the brother's look like, when they are coming, and that there isn't a will, we know that the king and duke are going to impersonate the brothers and steal the money. All that is left is a letter saying where the money is hidden.
Dramatic Irony:
A situation of dramatic irony is when Huck successfully steals the money from the duke and the king. As the story pans out, the duke and the king still think they have their money, but the reader knows that Huck has it and is planning on returning it to the family.
Theme:
He continues to question the morality of slavery through situations such as the incident involving the separation of a slave family. The sadness that the family exhibits is Twain's way of pointing out the negatives of the slave trade. Blacks were seen as inferior, so if anything were to happen to them, it wouldn't have concerned white people.
Bildungsroman:
Huck is gradually learning right from wrong. Much of what his decisions rely on is how it affects him personally until the events in these chapters. Huck sees that the family is getting swindled. He knows this is wrong and decides to intervene. He tries to steal the money from the duke and give it back to the rightful owners. Huck has come to a point where his decisions aren't based on his self interest. In fact, this predicament had nothing to do with him. He recognized the atrocity that happened and acted accordingly. This shows the progress of his growth.
Motif:
There's a thunderstorm raging. The gravediggers are working without light and use the flashes of lightning to guide their work. It's pitch black outside in the rain. All of these details contribute to the already gloomy and dark atmosphere of the situation regarding the digging up of a body.
Character:
The king and duke are flat characters. They don't exhibit any change throughout the chapters. They never feel any remorse over the things they do. They don't think about the repercussions. Twain intended for them to be the opposite of Huck and Jim and make them specifically a duo. They are manipulative conmen while Huck and Jim are nice, compassionate, and their moral compass isn't broken.
Dramatic Irony:
An example of dramatic irony is when Huck decides to save Jim. It's ironic because Huck's been taught that black people are inferior yet he's trying to save his life. Huck thinks that he will go to hell if he saved Jim, but he's willing to accept it because their friendship means a lot to him. Twain intended the reader to disagree because most people would rather go to heaven than hell(assuming they believe in that). Huck's decision is definitely nobler because he is going against a societal view rather than a personal that would be easier to overcome.
Conflict:
The selling of Jim by the king and the duke signifies the plummet to rock bottom of the duo's already low moral and ethical level. Even though it is still bad to take money from people, they only rob to a certain extent. However, when JIm is sold, their greed and heightened self preservation are shown. They show no remorse for ruining a person's life. All for a sum of money. This advances Huck's moral conflict because he struggles between helping Jim, which is wrong, or be his friend and save him. He eventually realizes that his friendship is more important and accepts that it's "bad."
Theme:
Twain is subtly attacking slavery through the inner conflict that Huck struggles with in regards to Jim. Huck believes that it will be wrong and illegal to help a black man escape slavery, yet it is also hard to do that because Jim is a good person and is Huck's friend. The reader is meant to side with Jim. At the time, this thought process was unorthodox, but the reader might sway on the side of the black man subconsciously. The conversation with Aunt Sally is Twain's way of criticizing the attitude that black people are inferior to white people. This reinforces the theme that whites during that time period were ignorant and exhibited a lot of bigotry.
Irony:
The statement is ironic because it is saying that Tom is the gladdest one with a bullet in his leg when in fact he should be the one who is the saddest and in pain. Tom's plan is ironic because it is unnecessary. It must be done how "they did it in the books." The voyage down the river is ironic because Jim was already free. The minute he left he was free. They didn't need that whole "adventure." Both Huck and Jim's escapes are similarly ironic in that they were both very elaborate and dramatic. Huck's intricate plans to escape his father was necessarily dramatic while Jim's escape was only for the "adventure." The journey did lead to the development of Huck. If it hadn't happened, Huck would be the same ignorant person he was before and fail to realize the pitfalls of the attitudes of the time. He also would have missed out on the friendship with Jim.
Characterization:
In Chapter 34, Tom doesn't show any objection to freeing Jim. On the contrary, Huck is still questioning what they are doing. He feels that what they are doing is wrong, but realizes that his friendship means more. Upon that realization, he decides to free Jim. In the beginning of the novel, Huck was one of Tom's gang members. When Tom comes back into the novel, Huck becomes a kind of follower again. This takes away from all the development and maturing that he went through throughout the novel. Even though it should be the other way around, Huck seems to still look up to Tom. The characters of Nat and Jim are similar to an extent. They are both black and superstitious. That's where the similarities stop and the differences begin. Nat is more gullible than Jim. Jim seems have the mental faculties to question Tom's stories. Jim desire to escape is more profound than Nat's. Nat isn't shown as having an inherent goodness that the reader knows Jim has. Nat was used to accentuate Jim's good qualities. In a way, Jim acts as Huck's father. He cares for him and watches after him throughout their journey down the river. When it is revealed that Jim knew that Pap was dead from almost the beginning of his adventures with Huck, it is apparent why Jim stayed with Huck through the journey. He felt that it was necessary to protect Huck, an orphan. He keeps the information to himself so Huck doesn't have that burden to carry. Jim's care for Huck overshadows Pap's care for Huck. Jim is the closest thing to an actual father that Huck has ever had. These details point toward how Jim is the most honest, caring adult in the book.
Tone:
The tone shifts back to a playful, irresponsible, and carefree tone. The return of Tom lets Huck become his old self. Someone who played games all the time and did what they wanted. He plays the games even at the expense of Jim.
Theme:
Tom and Huck lose the focus of what they are doing. It is imperative that they free Jim. By forcing Jim to do ludicrous tasks in order to free himself, they treat him like a toy in their "game." After Tom is shot, Jim refuses to leave and stays with Tom. Huck realizes the compassion and sympathy that Jim possesses. This contributes to the theme that blacks aren't inferior to whites.
Symbolism:
The river represents peace, tranquility, and freedom. The towns represent ignorance, hate, racism, and chaos. Huck chooses the peace over the other choice. This is Twain's final and lasting jab at the social norms of the time. Places without people are most serene and peaceful while towns and cities are filled with racism and wrong ideas on morals and ethics.
Syntax : The syntax characterizes Huck as an uneducated person. He says a lot of run on sentences. His grammar isn't correct. All of these stem from his low education.
Motivation: Huck gives his money to Judge Thatcher because he knows that if his father knows he has money, Pap will come and take it. Pap's main motive is Huck's money. I don't think he has any other motives. He isn't back in town for Huck seeing as how he's neglected him for so long. Huck wanted to escape because he was scared he would die in the cabin if his pa left him in there days on end.
Motif: Huck's initial reaction to the footprints is fear. He fears his father is back and is coming for the money. The reader could infer that the plot might revolve around Huck's superstitions and the way he acts when they are present. Huck believes that men don't float on their backs, but rather on their stomachs. Jim thought that he was bewitched by witches and put under a trance.
Foreshadowing: Jim's hairball oracle tells Huck that his father will struggle between doing good and going back to his old ways. This foreshadows Pap's short lived time as a good person until he turns back to being a drunk. When he turns back to his old self, he kidnaps Huck which segways into the beginning of chapter six.
Theme: Twain questions the morality of slavery when he puts Huck into the same situation. As we start to read about how Huck feels when he's locked up and lonely. It is ironic that Huck is in the situation that he is in because he's white. Blacks were almost always the only ones to be captive and enslaved so for a white person to be enslaved is ironic. Twain uses this situation to question slavery as well.
Suspense: The suspense begins when Huck discovers the empty canoe and it gives him an idea for escape. It builds when he begins to saw at the logs and prepare his supplies for his journey. As he is executing his plan to fake his death, the reader is anxious about whether or not Pap will show up or if he'll get away.
Imagery: The water is described as being "dead." This give the impression to the reader that the water was very still. Lumber is described as being monstrous which gives an inclination that the lumber was quite massive in size.
Situational Irony: It is ironic that no one rescued Huck but a crowd searched for his remains. It is ironic because they cared more about his well being when he was dead than when he was alive. It's ironic because even though Jim didn't kill anyone, his reward is much higher than the reward for a murderer. It's just because he's black. The weight given to Jim's crimes is heavier because he's black. Everything is blown out of proportion for him in comparison to a white person of an equal or lesser crime.
Figurative Language: "...it rained like all fury." "It was as bright as glory..." "...dark as sin."
"...like rolling empty barrels down stairs." These are all examples of similes.
Theme: He thought there would be some fun if he left the dead snake for Jim to discover. Jim gets bitten by the snake's mate. Huck feels bad about what he did. Huck has grown to like Jim and see him as somewhat of a father figure. Twain's theme is that Huck's line between society's views and his own personal morality is getting blurred.
Satire: There's a bit of satire when Huck is with Jim and they are talking about all the superstitious stuff. Huck is a little taken back by all the things that are bad. He's poking fun at how sometimes we let superstition drive us and our lives and not rational thinking.
Motif: Jim thought that if birds flew a certain way, if signaled rain and touching or killing that bird meant death. Those can be rooted in the fact that he was talking about migration of birds and the changing seasons. As far as not killing birds, he could be talking about how some birds are harmful to eat. Jim's response is logical because we tend to reference bad luck for signs rather than the good luck we get. That's why there are so few signs of good luck. The Mississippi Valley's caves and caverns in the story thus far act as havens from either people or the weather. The boys use a cave as a way to be secluded and secret.
Foil: Jim acts as foil to Pap. He cares for Huck. He gives him advice. In some ways, he is exhibiting characteristics that Pap doesn't show at all. Jim doesn't neglect Huck, but instead looks out for him and trusts him.
Chapters 12-23
Symbol: For a significant part of the beginning of the book, the river is their lifeline. They are fed by the river when they fish from it. There was a wreckage that they were able to salvage supplies from. The river is what carries them on their journey and to where they want to go. The fog might represent a bad thing or situation that they have to fight through together. It's something that they eventually get past and become better people because of it.
Conflict: The internal conflict that Huck faces is the struggle between helping Jim or turning him over. Due to the fact that he's been raised in a society that doesn't like black people and he's been taught that over and over, he feels that he's done wrong by helping Jim escape. On the contrary, he cares about Jim and notices how bad he wants to be free. He knows he'll feel as bad if he gives Jim up. So he decides when the time comes, he'll do whatever is easiest.
Figurative Language: The hyperbole at the beginning of the chapter 13 occurs when Huck says that the work "seemed a week" before he got to the stern of the boat. It is used to exemplify the urgency that Huck has concerning the boat and the skiff. The literary device used in the last line of 13 is a simile. Huck narrates that he and Jim "slept like dead people." He's describing how he and Jim slept. By sleeping like "dead people", they are quiet and motionless and don't want to be investigated by passer byes.
Characterization: The events show that he's able to think for himself and figure out what his values and morals are. Twain shows us that Huck's quick wits when he successfully gets rid of the men with guns. He is able to fool the two men into thinking that his "father" has small pox and they leave him alone. At the end of Chapter 15, Huck humbled himself to Jim. At the time, whites were considered superior to blacks. When he apologized to Jim and humbled himself, he brought himself to Jim's level. This is a turning point because Huck vowed to never do what he did to Jim again and that serves to solidify his relationship not only as a companion on this journey but as a friend of Jim's.
Satire: There's some irony in the fact that Buck misspells Huck's pseudonym and then Huck memorizes the misspelling to use later. Another instance of satire is when Huck is is given his own slave. He isn't comfortable with it while Buck uses his slave frivolously. Even though Huck displays some racist norms that he grew up with he still respects and thinks more highly of blacks than most people in that time.
Foil: Buck is quite similar to Huck. They are about the same age, have similar names and like each other from the get go. But he is different in his upbringing and family life. These parts of his life accentuate his foil characteristics. Huck was brought up by his alcoholic father. Buck is brought up in an aristocratic household that's supposed to be refined and educated yet is in a feud with a different for no apparent reason. The foil serves to show that status, upbringing, and social class aren't everything when it comes to life. It highlights that fact that Huck's moral compass still works and is better than others even if he isn't as rich or successful.
Frame story: The frame story is when Huck recalls a portion of a story of when there was a gunfight between some Shepherdsons and Grangerfords. He doesn't want to tell all of it but he does say something. He explains how he discovers everyone gone. A slave informs him that they chased after Miss Sophia, who ran away to be with a Shepherdson. He follows them up the rough road and watches from the top of a tree as a gunfight ensues.
Situational Irony: They both have their guns yet they don't shoot at each other. The sermon is ironic because it's about brotherly love and caring for one another. They even talk to each other about after the service. It's ironic because they hate each other.
Narrator and Point of view: The story is see through Huck's eyes. Because the story is told through Huck, the reader has to rely on Huck and his interpretations of characters and situations. This means that the reader should take everything with a grain of salt. But by knowing the content of Huck's character, we know he isn't elaborating the truth.
Imagery: There are a few images used to describe the scene at the beginning of the chapter. Huck describes the river as being "monstrous." He is referring to its enormous size. He describes the area as being calm and serene. "Not a sound anywheres-perfectly still-just like the whole world was asleep, only sometimes the bull frogs a-cluttering maybe. He also describes how the water looked in the dark when things interacted with it. "...you could see the mist curl up off the water, and the east reddens up..."
Characterization: When we first meet the two gentlemen, they seem to be filled with comic relief but as the chapters go on we see that they have no remorse when it comes to stealing or selling Jim. An example is right after Huck explains their reasons for not traveling in broad daylight. The duke suggests that he will figure out a plan to do things in the daytime. This is an obvious attempt at finding a way to get Jim caught and sent back home. The characterization of the duke and the kind is satiric because there's a reversal. The young man is presented as the duke, who is most likely an older person. The old man is presented as the dauphin of Louis XVI. The dauphin was a young adult at the time. Twain is suggesting that there is something extra filthy and disgusting about these two men that they would do terrible deeds in a sacred and religious place. Huck isn't fond of organized religion but knows significance of what they are doing. Loafers of the town are described as being really lazy. "...loafers roosting on them all day long, whittling them with their Barlow knives; and chawing tobacco, and gaping and yawning and stretching-a mighty ornery lot." They chew a lot of tobacco and borrow from one another because they can't afford any on their own. They don't do anything but lean on boxes and poles. Twain portrays them as he does because that's his way of voicing his opinions. He also does this with Huck's criticisms of slavery and other injustices of the time. Twain's final jab at the town comes in the form of the play. The duke and the king excite some of the townspeople and they attend. They realize that it was a waste of money and time but don't tell all the other villagers who end up spending their hard earned money.
Motif: The weather always seems to signal that bad luck or a bad situation is going to occur. The storm has the group scamming multiple people. This later backfires when word goes around about Jim and his reward.
Theme: The epiphany is that Huck realizes that black people care as much about their families as white people do. Huck feels sympathy for Jim and his family. He sees the contrast between the nasty deeds of the duke and the king and Jim's sense of love and duty. This strengthens his resolve to see this journey through and help Jim and his family. The theme being addressed is the growing compassion that Huck feels toward Jim and black people throughout the book.
Pathos: An example is when Jim is talking about his family. He feels bad about how he treated his daughter. He feels shame and remorse for hitting her when he was angry. Finally he reveals that she is deaf and dumb. This elicits an emotional response from the reader. We feel bad and sorry for him.
Chapters 24-the end
Suspense:
I felt anxious for Huck on a few occasions. I was a little anxious when Huck sneaked into the king's room and tried to steal the money. He ended up hiding right next to the money and was so close to being discovered by the king. Another instance was when Huck and the thieves were being brought to the grave to confirm the tattoo. Neither Huck or I knew if what the old man was saying was true which made the situation a little tense. If the old man was wrong, they would be hanged. In regards to the thieves, I don't think Huck was in any real danger. They would stoop low enough to swindle people out of money but never to kill anyone. Even the duke felt a bit of sympathy for the slaves who were separated. In regards to the people of the town, I think that Huck was in grave danger. If the old man was wrong, they ran the risk of being hanged. I didn't feel any anxiety for them because I was waiting for them to get caught. I was half hoping the lawyer would be able to unravel them as frauds.
Foreshadowing:
The conversation was foreshadowing trouble that would be caused by the king and the duke. When the king finds out that the family doesn't know who the brother's look like, when they are coming, and that there isn't a will, we know that the king and duke are going to impersonate the brothers and steal the money. All that is left is a letter saying where the money is hidden.
Dramatic Irony:
A situation of dramatic irony is when Huck successfully steals the money from the duke and the king. As the story pans out, the duke and the king still think they have their money, but the reader knows that Huck has it and is planning on returning it to the family.
Theme:
He continues to question the morality of slavery through situations such as the incident involving the separation of a slave family. The sadness that the family exhibits is Twain's way of pointing out the negatives of the slave trade. Blacks were seen as inferior, so if anything were to happen to them, it wouldn't have concerned white people.
Bildungsroman:
Huck is gradually learning right from wrong. Much of what his decisions rely on is how it affects him personally until the events in these chapters. Huck sees that the family is getting swindled. He knows this is wrong and decides to intervene. He tries to steal the money from the duke and give it back to the rightful owners. Huck has come to a point where his decisions aren't based on his self interest. In fact, this predicament had nothing to do with him. He recognized the atrocity that happened and acted accordingly. This shows the progress of his growth.
Motif:
There's a thunderstorm raging. The gravediggers are working without light and use the flashes of lightning to guide their work. It's pitch black outside in the rain. All of these details contribute to the already gloomy and dark atmosphere of the situation regarding the digging up of a body.
Character:
The king and duke are flat characters. They don't exhibit any change throughout the chapters. They never feel any remorse over the things they do. They don't think about the repercussions. Twain intended for them to be the opposite of Huck and Jim and make them specifically a duo. They are manipulative conmen while Huck and Jim are nice, compassionate, and their moral compass isn't broken.
Dramatic Irony:
An example of dramatic irony is when Huck decides to save Jim. It's ironic because Huck's been taught that black people are inferior yet he's trying to save his life. Huck thinks that he will go to hell if he saved Jim, but he's willing to accept it because their friendship means a lot to him. Twain intended the reader to disagree because most people would rather go to heaven than hell(assuming they believe in that). Huck's decision is definitely nobler because he is going against a societal view rather than a personal that would be easier to overcome.
Conflict:
The selling of Jim by the king and the duke signifies the plummet to rock bottom of the duo's already low moral and ethical level. Even though it is still bad to take money from people, they only rob to a certain extent. However, when JIm is sold, their greed and heightened self preservation are shown. They show no remorse for ruining a person's life. All for a sum of money. This advances Huck's moral conflict because he struggles between helping Jim, which is wrong, or be his friend and save him. He eventually realizes that his friendship is more important and accepts that it's "bad."
Theme:
Twain is subtly attacking slavery through the inner conflict that Huck struggles with in regards to Jim. Huck believes that it will be wrong and illegal to help a black man escape slavery, yet it is also hard to do that because Jim is a good person and is Huck's friend. The reader is meant to side with Jim. At the time, this thought process was unorthodox, but the reader might sway on the side of the black man subconsciously. The conversation with Aunt Sally is Twain's way of criticizing the attitude that black people are inferior to white people. This reinforces the theme that whites during that time period were ignorant and exhibited a lot of bigotry.
Irony:
The statement is ironic because it is saying that Tom is the gladdest one with a bullet in his leg when in fact he should be the one who is the saddest and in pain. Tom's plan is ironic because it is unnecessary. It must be done how "they did it in the books." The voyage down the river is ironic because Jim was already free. The minute he left he was free. They didn't need that whole "adventure." Both Huck and Jim's escapes are similarly ironic in that they were both very elaborate and dramatic. Huck's intricate plans to escape his father was necessarily dramatic while Jim's escape was only for the "adventure." The journey did lead to the development of Huck. If it hadn't happened, Huck would be the same ignorant person he was before and fail to realize the pitfalls of the attitudes of the time. He also would have missed out on the friendship with Jim.
Characterization:
In Chapter 34, Tom doesn't show any objection to freeing Jim. On the contrary, Huck is still questioning what they are doing. He feels that what they are doing is wrong, but realizes that his friendship means more. Upon that realization, he decides to free Jim. In the beginning of the novel, Huck was one of Tom's gang members. When Tom comes back into the novel, Huck becomes a kind of follower again. This takes away from all the development and maturing that he went through throughout the novel. Even though it should be the other way around, Huck seems to still look up to Tom. The characters of Nat and Jim are similar to an extent. They are both black and superstitious. That's where the similarities stop and the differences begin. Nat is more gullible than Jim. Jim seems have the mental faculties to question Tom's stories. Jim desire to escape is more profound than Nat's. Nat isn't shown as having an inherent goodness that the reader knows Jim has. Nat was used to accentuate Jim's good qualities. In a way, Jim acts as Huck's father. He cares for him and watches after him throughout their journey down the river. When it is revealed that Jim knew that Pap was dead from almost the beginning of his adventures with Huck, it is apparent why Jim stayed with Huck through the journey. He felt that it was necessary to protect Huck, an orphan. He keeps the information to himself so Huck doesn't have that burden to carry. Jim's care for Huck overshadows Pap's care for Huck. Jim is the closest thing to an actual father that Huck has ever had. These details point toward how Jim is the most honest, caring adult in the book.
Tone:
The tone shifts back to a playful, irresponsible, and carefree tone. The return of Tom lets Huck become his old self. Someone who played games all the time and did what they wanted. He plays the games even at the expense of Jim.
Theme:
Tom and Huck lose the focus of what they are doing. It is imperative that they free Jim. By forcing Jim to do ludicrous tasks in order to free himself, they treat him like a toy in their "game." After Tom is shot, Jim refuses to leave and stays with Tom. Huck realizes the compassion and sympathy that Jim possesses. This contributes to the theme that blacks aren't inferior to whites.
Symbolism:
The river represents peace, tranquility, and freedom. The towns represent ignorance, hate, racism, and chaos. Huck chooses the peace over the other choice. This is Twain's final and lasting jab at the social norms of the time. Places without people are most serene and peaceful while towns and cities are filled with racism and wrong ideas on morals and ethics.
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