Title: Huckleberry Finn. Author: Mark Twain. Published: 1994

Theme: Slavery is the result of society’s deeply ingrown and corrupt belief in white superiority.  
 

Words to describe main characters:

Huck: Innocent, radical, humane
Jim: Docile, compassionate, helpless
Miss Watson: Institutionalized, indoctrinated, pro-slavery
King & Duke: Corrupt, scam-Artist, greedy
 

Author's attitude (tone) towards Huck:
-The author presents Huck as an innocent, uncorrupted boy with humane views towards blacks. He boldly opposes society’s long-founded and deep-rooted ideas on white superiority. Yet, these radical humane views come from a fresh young mind free from the unconditionally adopted ideas of society. Huck’s beliefs are correct because his philosophy is neither crook nor tainted by the heavy weight of society’s immoral values. Therefore, Huck’s naïve characteristics are important in conveying society’s corrupt and ingrown institution of slavery.

Diction Analysis:
-The author uses colloquial language, complementing the simplicity of Huck and Jim’s minds. Proper language is an element of society, so the author purposefully keeps elevated language to a minimum. This symbolizes their separation from society. Words appear truncated and misspelled, showing that grammatical formalities are not important to Huck and Jim. Notably, Jim struggles to pronounce higher titles like “Masr’”, “Duke Bilgewater”, and “yer majesee” to imply that rich people fool simple folks with fancy rubbish to confuse them and then control them.  The author associates Col. Grangerford’s proper English with his violence and corruption. Huck and Jim use language just sophisticated enough to communicate, avoiding the elegant usage that resembles the ‘proper’ institutions of society.
 

Thought provoking questions:

1) Does Twain’s use of racist terminology portray him as a racist? Why or why not?
2) What does Huck’s young, inexperienced character reveal about society?
3) Twain writes this book because of the issues he sees in his society. Describe a society that if Twain were to live in, he would not have to write this book.
 

Satire/Irony Analysis:

-Twain satirizes the leadership class in society by portraying a scandalous king and duke. It is ironic that the men who call themselves honorable leaders are in fact just ragtag criminals. The duke and king take people’s money by scamming them with fake performances and ceremonies. They give themselves constantly changing titles, from an Uncle, to an actor, to a preacher. This compares to the real king’s multiple titles that he gives himself to take people’s money through taxes, like “god-ordained ruler”, or “the common people’s Protector”. If only the masses just strip him of his titles, they will find nothing special in their “divine” ruler. Their king is just like them, only he is also a clever scam artist. The irony of the scandalous kings suggests that real kings are also just frauds constantly begging people for their money.

Useful Quotes For Writing Timed Essays:
-“’Get up and hump yourself, Jim! There ain’t a minute to lose. They’re after us!’” (Huckleberry Finn 84).
“…and I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks do for ther’n” (206).
“… I said I would take up wickedness again, … And for a starter, I would go to work and steal Jim out of slavery again.” (284).
 

Progression of the Novel:
-Huck Finn goes in a circular journey. He starts his journey on a river, and ends it on a river. The difference is that he begins with the grasps of society on him, and in the end, he physically rejects it by heading up the river. Because the river is the one thing that doesn’t change, all other events revolve around it. Thus, the novel’s structure is circular with the river in the center, symbolically functioning to change Huck’s view on society and physically giving him his experience with racist whites. The circular structure shows Huck’s maturity. He starts on the river innocent and with hesitant views on society and its institutions of slavery and aristocracy. At the end of his journey, he returns to the river informed and disgusted with society’s cruelty against blacks and aristocracy’s brutality.
 
 

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