The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain “All American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn… it’s the best book we’ve had.” - Ernest Hemingway

Bell Work 1) Take out your notebook, so you’re prepared to take notes 2) Do your best to translate the meaning of these famous Mark Twain into your own words… “Travel is fatal to prejudice.” “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect).”

Introduction to Mark Twain and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn mark twain video

Life and Times of Mark Twain Born Samuel Clemens in 1835, he worked as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River. When he started his writing career, Samuel Clemens adopted the name “Mark Twain,” which meant “two fathoms,” a safe depth for a riverboat. I thought these pictures of the river boats and Twain as a young man helped to depict that period of his life when he worked on the Mississippi River. He loved his time on the river and even used “Mark Twain” as his pen name.

Life and Times of Mark Twain cont. In 1861, Samuel Clemens avoided the brewing Civil War by going west. He took his first writing job as a young reporter. Serious news was often mixed with “reports” that had to be taken with a grain of salt. Soon, he began using the name Mark Twain and affixing it to sketches, reportage, and an occasional hoax. It was a time when he first discovered his talent, his calling, and his voice. He learned to write with “vernacular” (slang, the common man’s voice). Literary movement was therefore Realism. These pictures of western towns help to illustrate the next phase of Twain’s career as a reporter. The pictures helps us visualize Twain during this period of his life.

Life and Times of Mark Twain cont. Although his most famous novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is criticized for being racist, Mark Twain never expected nor intended the extreme controversy that arose with the publication of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain was not racist, but depicted life in his times. When HF was published Mark Twain was astonished at the controversy about the book as a racist novel. His response to the criticism was that he wrote as he saw life on the Mississippi when he was growing up there. “I vividly remember seeing a dozen black men and women chained to one another, once, and lying in a group on the pavement, awaiting shipment to the Southern slave market. Those were the saddest faces I have ever seen.”– Mark Twain

Mark Twain’s quote about the controversy over HF. "I have no color prejudices nor caste prejudices nor creed prejudices. All I care to know is that a man is a human being, and that is enough for me; he can't be any worse." Pictures from www.pbs.org

Life and Times of Mark Twain cont. By 1900 Twain had become America’s foremost celebrity. He was invited to attend ship launchings, anniversary gatherings, political conventions, and countless dinners. Reporters met him at every port of call, anxious to print a new quip from the famous humorist. To enhance his image, he took to wearing white suits and loved to stroll down the street and see people staring at him. Mark Twain love his notoriety. When he became well known for his humor, he started wearing his trademark white suite. We have many pictures of Twain from this era of his life.

Life and Times of Mark Twain cont. People loved his lectures that he gave as he traveled. He became a performer as a humorist. Hal Holbrook, today with his imitation of Mark Twain, captures what Twain must have been like as a speaker. He developed as a speaker and traveled on lecture circuits, much in demand. His early performances combined humor, information and eloquence in measures that delighted most people.

Life and Times of Mark Twain cont. When he died on April 21, 1910, newspapers around the country declared, “The whole world is mourning.” When Twain died in 1910, he had become an American icon. He is one of the few writers who became very popular while he lived. I was interested in learning this about Twain because it is interesting that Americans can treasure literary figures and not just popular sports figures.

Mark Twain died in 1910, the year Halley’s Comet appeared. “I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year (1910), and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don't go out with Halley's Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: "Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together." This tidbit of information is eerie, but true. Do you think he willed himself to die in this year? Mark Twain died in 1910, the year Halley’s Comet appeared. Pictures from www.pbs.org

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Twain’s most famous novel is about the relationship between a young white boy, Huck, and a black slave, Jim as they travel along the Mississippi River The novel is set in the mid 1800’s in the South in a fictional town called St. Petersburg During this time, about half of the country was considered “free” and half still supported slavery

Key Facts Genre Narrator & Protagonist Setting Satiric Novel (Fiction) A work that uses humor, irony, and extreme exaggeration to ridicule society in order to bring about change Narrator & Protagonist Huck Finn: literal, realistic, practical Setting Time Before the Civil War; roughly 1835–1845 Place The Mississippi River town of St. Petersburg, Missouri The adventure continues down the Mississippi into Arkansas

Free vs. Slave States in America in the mid 1800’s

“Something new happened in Huck Finn that had never happened in American literature before. It was a book…that served as a Declaration of Independence from the genteel English novel… …[It] allowed a different kind of writing to happen: a clean, crisp, no-nonsense, earthly vernacular…it was a book that talked. Huck’s voice, combined with Twain’s satiric genius, changed the shape of fiction in America, and African-American voices had a great deal to do with making it what it was.” - Dr. Shelley Fishkin, 1995

Literary and Artistic Movements: REALISM and REGIONALISM 1. Attack upon Romantics and Transcendentalists pragmatic, democratic, and experimental Responsibly moral – goal was to report the world with HONESTY A reflection of “our experience.” Elevation of the common man as hero. Character and Setting more important than Plot (Local Color Movement) Focused on the norm of daily experience Dialect, geography, regional attitudes

Themes in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Racism and Slavery In Huck Finn, Twain exposes the hypocrisy of slavery. It does not support slavery. Intellectual vs. Moral Education Huck is forced to make a decision between education and moral correctness Mocks or pokes fun at “Civilized” Society Twain shows the ways in which society of his time did not act in a civilized manner

Other Motifs of Twain’s Novel Christian religion vs. superstition Individual vs. Society (Just like Transcendentalism!)

Themes Mark Twain described the major theme of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as “A sound heart and a deformed conscience come into collision, and conscience suffers defeat.” “A sound heart” = a good, honest heart. “A deformed conscience” = a conscience influenced by the laws of society and a sense of duty toward those laws.

Symbolism in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn The Mississippi River For Huck and Jim, the river symbolizes freedom. The two follow the river from the South to the North to escape the oppression they both face at home. Huck wants to get away from his abusive father and family while Jim, a black slave, wants to live in a free state.

Path of the Mississippi River States that touch the Mississippi River- Minnesota Wisconsin Iowa Illinois Missouri Tennessee Arkansas Mississippi Louisiana

Controversy Surrounding The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Huck Finn has been a controversial novel for many years for its use of the “n” word.  In 1885, it was considered to have "low morals" and later it was considered a racist text. Even today, many school districts choose not to teach this novel because it can be uncomfortable for many students. censoring huck finn

So, what’s the big deal? The problem was that readers took Twain literally and believed he was serious! The key to understanding Twain’s novel is by realizing that it’s a satire.

What is Satire? So what is Twain trying to denounce? Racism. Satire - using sarcasm to denounce or expose something foolish So what is Twain trying to denounce? Racism. Irony - Opposite of literal meaning: I have a ton of homework - how nice! (this is also sarcasm) Or the opposite of what is expected to happen: Twain creates a racist protagonist to prove his point that racism is wrong. So basically, we need to take everything that Twain says, flip it around, and that’s what he really means!

Before The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written after The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. At the end of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, a poor boy with a drunken father, and his friend Tom Sawyer, a middle-class boy with an imagination too active for his own good, found a robber's stash of gold. As a result of his adventure, Huck gained quite a bit of money, which the bank held for him in trust. Huck was taken in by the Widow Douglas, a kind but stifling woman who lives with her sister, the self-righteous Miss Watson.