A Look at the Literature of Mark Twain Excerpt from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn “Life on the Mississippi” “The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

From The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Background: Coming-of-age novel Story follows a young boy, Huck, and a runaway slave, Jim, on an adventure by raft down the Mississippi River Set in the years before the Civil War when slavery was still legal in Missouri. Through the voice of Huck, Twain depicts the conflict between what society expects and what conscience demands of individuals. Its critique of slavery and small-town prejudices makes the novel a scathing satire of 19th century social institutions.

Literary Analysis Twain narrates Huck’s tale in the first person point of view, taking the voice of Huck himself – an uneducated Missouri boy of the mid-nineteenth century Huck’s story is full of colloquial language (slang) and dialects  the result is a book that sounds not like Mark Twain writing but like Huck Finn speaking. Twain uses irony to comment on the values of Huck’s society: Dramatic Irony occurs when readers know more than a character knows. Verbal Irony occurs when the author says one thing but means its opposite. An example of dramatic irony occurs early in the story when Huck tells about his chance to join a gang led by his friend Tom Sawyer: “…he hunted me up and said he was going to start a band of robbers, and I might join if I would go back to the widow and be respectable.” Readers know that joining a group of thieves is the opposite of “respectable,” but Huck does not. The above example is also an example of verbal irony because Twain is clearly being ironic when he has Huck use the word “respectable” because he means the opposite.

Excerpt from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In the following excerpt, Huck has just done what his society has taught him is the right thing to do: he has written a note to Miss Watson, reporting the whereabouts of her runaway slave, Jim. However, Huck has deep misgivings about this action.

Let’s Read… Excerpt from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Read the excerpt once and make a list of colloquial phrases that make the writing sound as if Huck is speaking to you. Read the excerpt a second time and identify at least one instance of irony – a place in the writing where both readers and author know more than Huck knows. How does Twain use the technique to make social commentary? Other Ideas to Explore: Explain the internal conflict that Huck is experiencing. Why does he feel this conflict? In what ways are Huck and Jim alike?

from The Life on the Mississippi: The Boys’ Ambition Novel grew out of a series of articles about Mississippi River piloting that Twain wrote for the Atlantic Monthly. The steamboat and the job of the pilot are seen through the eyes of a boy who romanticizes and glamorizes whatever is foreign to his limited experience. The boy dreams of becoming a steamboatsman. At the same time, however, the narrator looks back on his boyhood and gently mocks his own innocence.

Let’s Read…pg. 521 in textbook Provide some examples of regional dialect from the piece. Where and how does Twain use humor in this piece? Complete the Critical Reading Multiple Choice in your packet.

“The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” The story that brought Twain national fame. According to Twain biographers, Twain first heard the story that would become his own while in a bar of a rundown tavern in Angel’s Camp, California. Like the storyteller in that bar, Twain’s narrator, Simon Wheeler, spins a funny, improbable tale about the exploits of a betting man. Wheeler tells the tale of dogfights and frog-jumping contests with no suspicion of humor, but with a heavy dose of colorful regional dialect.

Let’s Read…pg. 525 in textbook Listen to the dialects as you follow along in your textbook. Provide some examples of the regional dialect from the piece. Where and how does Twain use humor in this piece? Complete the Critical Reading Multiple Choice in your packet.

Mark Twain Quiz NEXT TIME!! Study: Mark Twain Biography Notes Twain’s Contribution to Language Notes A Look at the Literature of Mark Twain Notes