Huck Finn - Theme

There are many themes that run through Huck Finn, but my favorite is one that we learned about earlier in the year while reading Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thereou. The theme that runs throughout both works of literature is that the majority is not always right. In Civil Disobedience, the majority was the government, in Huck Finn, its the white man in the American Society. We see this majority rule as Huck struggles to free Jim, a slave that would otherwise be sold.

Huck learns at a very young age that black men are not to be treated equal, and because the majority believes this, so does Huck. He also is brainwashed into believing that if he doesn't follow the rules of the majority he will go to Hell. We know this because towards the end he makes a famous statement that he is "willing to go to Hell" if it means freedom for Jim.

We see the majority rule in other ways besides just blacks vs. whites in this book. When the King and the Duke are posing as the brothers of the deceased man and he has convinced everyone to believe them. Finally, when only one man stands up against him and tries to show that they are frauds, nobody will believe him.

Another instance is the Sherburn/Boggs episode. It starts out with Sherburn killing Boggs, a man that has threatened Sherburn many times. After he does so, one man rallies up enough people to go after Sherburn that soon everyone joins because they think if this large group thinks Sherburn should be hung, then they must be right. I like this instance the best, because Sherburn points out that without Buck Harkness the group would have never even pressed charges. Once again, the power of numbers attracts people into believing that if so many people believe in this idea, it must be correct.

All in all, I think this theme can teach us a couple of life lessons. Obviously, not to always follow the crowd, and also to not be afraid to have your own thoughts, ideas, and feelings. It's easy to follow the crowd because there is so much power in numbers. But as Huck learned in the end, when he goes against his beliefs of slavery, the crowd isn't always right.

Huck Finn - Summary 39-40

At the beginning of chapter 39 Huck and Tom are writing a fake letter to Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas to make them think there are indians coming to take Jim. They sign the letter anonymous and slip it under the front door. They also paint pictures of skulls and crossbones and other horrific objects on the doors. These scare Aunt Sally greatly, but the boys still continue on with their plan. They say the reason for writing the letter is so that there is some level of difficulty in getting Jim out.

Next, they go and collect the gardener snakes they are going to give Jim as a pet. They gather a bunch and tie them up in a sack and place them under one of the beds until they can get them to Jim. In the mean time, all the snakes escape because they didn't tie the bag well enough. This was kind of a humorous part, because Aunt Sally absolutely hated the snakes and didn't act normal until a week after they were collected again. They also gathered an assortment of spiders and other insects and even quite a few rats. The next night they took them to Jim and let them all go free inside his room. Jim did not really like them at all, he said he could never sleep because there was so much activity in his bed now with all these things, and they never all slept at once. He also said that the spiders didn't like him, they would always stay far away.

Finally, the night of Jim's breakout was here. Huck had to go down to the cellar to get some butter he had forgot(I'm not exactly sure what the butter was for) and Aunt Sally came down and caught him. Just before she saw him though, he slipped the butter up under his hat. As he walked upstairs with her he saw the entire upstairs was filled with men holding shotguns. He knew they were there waiting for the indians to come. He tried to lie out of why he was in the cellar but he started to get so nervous and hot that the butter started melting and running down his neck and his face. Aunt Sally thought that he had some sort of illness and his brains were leaking out. Finally, Huck told her, and he wasn't mad.

When Aunt Sally released Huck back to bed, after the butter incident, Huck went to find Tom and tell him that their plan had made a serious turn for the worse, but the men had already decided to come and wait in Jim's cabin for the indians. Huck and Tom got into the dark cabin just before the men, and because it was so dark they were able to sneak out under the bed and through the hole they had dug with Jim in tail. When they were safely out of the cabin, Tom's shirt caught on a post and made a large breaking sound as he kept running. This tipped off all of the men that were waiting outside, but because they were so dark they didn't exactly know where they were. Jim, Huck, and Tom all started running along the river towards their raft as shots were being fired at them. The men then let the dogs loose, but when the dogs caught up to them, it was their dogs, so they didn't bother them and kept on going. Jim, Huck, and Tom got onto their raft and floated quietly down the river. Before long, the rest of the men were so far up the river, they could barely hear them.

At the end of the chapter, we find out that Tom had actually been shot in the leg. Tom doesn't want a doctor, but Jim and Huck insist. So they make a plan to get the doctor at the next town, and Jim will once again hide while the doctor tends to Tom.

Huck Finn - Summary

In chapters thirty seven and thirty eight Huck and Tom continue their quest to make a "good" prisinor out of Huck. In order to do so, according to Tom, they needed many items such as: tin pans, a ladder made out of a sheet, candles to write with, and a spoon to scratch messages on the tin pans with, and even a few shingles. Once again, Huck jumps aboard with Tom's plan and helps him "borrow" these things from Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas. They both think they won't notice these few things gone, but as they sit down to supper one night, they realize they've made a bad mistake. Aunt Sally starts aggrivating Uncle Silas for not keeping track of his shirts. He says that he knows it was on the clothes-line, because he has never lost a shirt while he was wearing it. They come to the conclusion that the cow must have took it. Aunt Sally then brings up that quite a few of her candles are gone. Uncle Silas comes to the conclusion that the rats must have taken them, and he agrees to fill the rat holes the next day. Then, she notices one of her spoons is gone, but Huck and Tom play a sort of trick on her where they take the spoon and count them so it comes out to nine, and then put it back when she's not looking so when she counts it again it comes out to ten. Finally, she becomes so confused that she doesn't know if there is one missing or not. They do the same thing with the sheet that went missing off the line. The last thing they took, a shingle, falls out of the brim of Silas's hat, but he doesn't notice, so they were off the hook on that one.

Huck and Tom feel bad for the trouble they have caused between Tom's Aunt and Uncle, and to sort of make it up to them, they decide to fill the rat holes for Silas. It was a good deed, but it only confused Silas even more because he never remembers filling them.

The following night they take the sheet they stole off the line and make a ladder out of it for Jim. In order to get it to Jim they need to bake it into a pie. They tried several times and finally the pie turned out so it actually looked like a real edible pie. They took the pie, the candles, and the rest of the objects and placed them in the bottom of the basket of food that would be taken to Jim. All in all their plan worked out quite well.

At the end of the two chapters, Huck and Tom visit Jim at night. They try to explain how to use all these things and why it is necessary. It is ironic because Jim is the uneducated one, yet he is the only one who knows how rediculous all these things are. They also ask him to try to grow a flower in his room and water it with his tears. Tom then asks if he wouldn't mind having a rattle snake as a pet. Jim bawks at the idea, for he does not like rattle snakes. Instead, they both agree upon gardner snakes. Tom also asks if he would like a spider, but Jim says he hates spiders and would rather have the gardner snakes. Tom also suggests rats, but Jim says they are too much of a bother, like when they nibble on your toes when you're trying to sleep. Tom says he needs a pet like this because, once again, all the great prisinors had a weird pet that they trained to love them, keep them company, and even do tricks.

At the very end, Jim admits that his behavior was not good, and that he will try to listen to Tom and Huck more.

Huck Finn - Deformed Conscience

I agree with Twain's statement that this is a book where a "sound hear and a deformed conscience come into collision and conscience suffers defeat." There have been a couple different factors that have caused Huck to obtain this "deformed conscience". First, living with the widow has caused Huck to think things like if he saves Jim he will "go to Hell". In other words, he thinks more on the religious consequenses of going against his conscience. Society has installed in him that blacks are not equal to white man, and therefore shouldn't be treated equal. Also, the time he spent with the Grangerfords deformed Huck into thinking that it's O.K. to kill people as long as there is a "good" reason. Finally, I think Tom Sawyer has influenced Huck to believe that it's O.K. to steal or "borrow" whatever one needs. The important thing to remember, is that Huck is not the only kid that sufferes from a "deformed conscience". Almost every white boy and girl in this time suffered from the same sort of influences. I think Huck is actually one of the lucky ones who decides to go against his conscience and do what is right by rescueing Jim.

Influences like those that influenced Huck are definitely still at work today. I think they are more at work than we realize here in South Dakota, but if one travels to a bigger city, we can still see racial discrimination. We, as a country, though, are making major strides in becoming a discriminant free society. For instance, in this year's presidential race we are seeing the first African American president who is the front runner in the Democratic race.

I believe there are many forces that are working for peace between all blacks and whites. Whether it be individual people, or our government, I do believe America is trying to change. There are many groups and organization that spread the word about black and white integration, and we even dedicate a month to black history. I believe most all of American wants to see a change, but change takes time.

Huck Finn - Round or Flat?

When asked whether Huck and Jim were flat or round, I found the answer to be quite clear. Throughout the story I think Huck has changed tremendously, therefore his is a round character. Jim, on the other hand, has remained relativelythe same as a flat character.

Huck being a round character has been a central theme in the book. He's grown up to realize right from wrong and has learned that some ideas that are instilled in him are not always correct. We have seen these changes recently when he makes the decision to steal the gold back from the King and Duke and give it to the girls. In the begining of the book, Huck wouldn't of thought twice about doing the right thing. We see it again when he decides to go against the belief that has been thrust upon him since an early age and help Jim, a slave, become free. He even says he will "got to hell" if it means Jim gaining freedom. These are just two examples of how Huck has evolved since the beginning of the book. He has begun to make decisions on his own, and not let the influence of others persuade his decisions as greatly as in the beginning. As the book finishes, I expect to see even more positive changes in Huck.

I believe Jim is a flat character because throughout the entire book he has kept to his same opinions and beliefs. He has always believed Huck was his only true friend, not matter what Huck has done to him. He has been determined to find freedom and any cost, and has trusted Huck and even the King and Duke to keep him safe while they were on shore. The only change we did see was Jim become a bit more open with his feelings, but that is mainly because him and Huck have become much better friends since the beginning.

Chapters 24-26 Huck Finn

In chapters 24-26 we really see how much Huck has changed through the course of the book. The King and the Duke pretend to be a deceased man's brothers, and therefore receive almost all of his possessions and six thousand dollars. Huck finally realizes how what they are doing is wrong, and the money should really go to the three girls, so he decides to steal it back from the King and Duke and somehow get it to the girls. This is different from the Huck in the beginning because in the beginning we saw him many times steal and lie for his own self gain. For instance, on the Walter Scott, sneaking into the circus, stealing those men's raft, and taking everything from the house his dad was killed in. This is a change that I didn't expect to see in Huck, but I think it is another good example of a life lesson Twain is trying to show.

I think Huck has definitely learned that money isn't everything. After so long, taking money from people feels worse than the happiness that is gained by it. I think he also learns that he cannot trust everyone he meets. In the beginning he had faith in almost everyone, and now he is realizing how deceitful people can be, this is perhaps showing that Huck is not only learning from his experiences, but also growing up and becoming a little less naive about the world in general.

I don't see as big of change in Huck and Jim's relationship as in just Huck himself. I do believe now, though, that Huck does really want to see Jim free. In the beginning, Huck had actually thought about telling on Jim. Perhaps they have also become better friends then, and since the arrival of the King and Duke, they have had to look out for each other more. My prediction is that in the end Huck will see Jim as an equal with himself, and every other white man. He will understand how important freedom was to Jim, and why he went to such great lengths to try to get it. He will understand that Jim has just as many feelings and thoughts and beliefs as white men, and should be treated just as equal.

Chapter 23 Huck Finn

The line that stand out most in my mind in Chapter twenty three is when Huck states that Jim is moaning and crying over his children, and Huck says that he can't beleive a black man can have the same feelings for his children as a white man can, but that it must be true. This is yet another example of how society brainwashed people, especially children, into thinking white men were superior to the rest. Also, the "play" that the King and Duke put on went very well for them. They "stole" people for over four hundred dollars, and on the last night skipped out on the performance because they knew what the people were going to do. I was actually a bit surprised at how smart they were. I knew they were crooks, but I was waiting for them to mess up and end up turning themselves in. All in all, I thinkt this was one of the better chapters, we see a side of Jim we haven't seen before, and they once again escape a near tragic event.