Understanding the text:
Discuss with a partner and write down the answers.
Why is Huckleberry Finn and Jim on the river?
Why are they looking for Cairo?
Why does Huck feel guilty about helping Jim?
What does Huck plan to do when he paddles away from the raft?
Why does he change his mind?
How does Huck trick the men who are looking for runaway slaves?
How is Huck able to stop feeling guilty about helping Jim?
Suggested answers
Huck is running away from an abusive father; Jim is running away from slavery.
Cairo is rumoured to be a town without slavery, where slaves can get help to travel to the North.
Since Jim is a slave, he is Miss Watson's property. Huck feels that it is like stealing to help him escape.
When Huck paddles away from the raft, he has decided to turn Jim in.
Jim says nice things about Huck and makes it clear that he trusts him. This makes Huck change his mind about turning him in.
Huck implies that there is something wrong on the raft by saying that other people had refused to help. This makes the men suspicious, and they assume Huck is hiding something serious. By begging the men to come to the raft Huck succeeds in turning them against the idea. The men jump to the conclusion that there is contagious smallpox on the raft, and Huck lets them think that it is true.
Huck stops feeling guilty about helping Jim when he realises that he would feel equally bad if Jim was caught. He asks himself "what’s the use you learning to do right when it’s troublesome to do right and ain’t no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same?" Huck then decides to stop worrying about the morality of his actions, and just decide what to do by what is handiest each time.
Discuss:
Huckleberry Finn breaks the law when he helps Jim escape from slavery. When is someone justified in breaking the law? Who can decide when it is OK to break the law?
What do you think of Huckleberry's decision to stop worrying about morality and just do what is most convenient at any given time?
Most people at the time accepted slavery as a fact of life, and did not question whether it was right or wrong. How is it possible for a whole society to accept something that we today see as fundamentally wrong?
Are there things we accept as normal today that you think people will think is strange and immoral in the future?
The story depicts a time when slavery was legal in the United States. Is it possible to write realistically about this time without using language that is considered racist and offensive today? Should we stop reading books depicting this period?
Analyse:
Study the examples of direct speech in the excerpt. Then answer the questions below.
Give examples of vernacular language in the excerpt.
Is there a difference between how Jim speaks and how the other characters speak?
What does the author achieve by using vernacular language in the text?
Mark Twain's most famous works are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Is there a difference in meaning between The Adventures and Adventures? What does the author accomplish by leaving out the definite article in the second title?
Suggested answers
Analysis allows for different interpretations, so these are merely suggested answers.
JIM: “Pooty soon I’ll be a-shout’n’ for joy, en I’ll say, it’s all on accounts o’ Huck; I’s a free man, en I couldn’t ever ben free ef it hadn’ ben for Huck; Huck done it. Jim won’t ever forgit you, Huck; you’s de bes’ fren’ Jim’s ever had; en you’s de only fren’ ole Jim’s got now.”
HUCK: “Pap’ll be mighty much obleeged to you, I can tell you. Everybody goes away when I want them to help me tow the raft ashore, and I can’t do it by myself.”
MAN: "I feel mighty mean to leave you; but my kingdom! it won’t do to fool with small-pox, don’t you see?"Jim's language is characterised by abbreviations and irregular spelling and grammar. you's' instead of you are, bes' fren' rather than best friend and so on. There is some irregularity in the way that the men and Huckleberry speak as well as seen in obleeged ,mighty mean, fool with smallpox and in exclamations such as my kingdom, but their utterances mostly follow standard grammar rules.
Using vernacular language makes the dialogue seem more realistic. It would be strange if these characters, ordinary people brought up along the Mississippi river, spoke the Queen's English.
Using the definite article in the first title suggests that these were all the adventures that Tom Sawyer had. Leaving it out in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn suggests that these are just some of Huck's adventures, he may have had others that are not recounted in the novel.
Research:
Choose one of the topics to research. Make a presentation to be held in a group or prepare to have a conversation about your topic with your teacher.
Find out more about Mark Twain and discuss why he is considered one of the greatest American authors of all time.
Find out more about slavery in the United States. When did it start, how long did it last, and how was it justified?
During slavery, the Underground Railroad helped slaves escape. Find out more about the Underground Railroad.
Write:
Choose one of the tasks and write a longer text.
Mark Twain drew inspiration from his childhood when he wrote Huckleberry Finn. Draw inspiration from your childhood and write a humorous short story.
Write a humorous text about a serious topic.
What can we learn from literature about what it was like to be a child in the past? Write a text where you discuss this question. Refer to the excerpt from Huckleberry Finn and at least two other texts or films.
'Books that make use of racial slurs should be banned from schools regardless of their historic context or significance.' Write a text where you discuss this statement. Reference Huckleberry Finn and at least one other literary work in your text.