The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain Chapters 21-25

Chapter 21 – Question 1 The Duke and King prepare to perform three Shakespearean plays. Name them. They comically perform three Shakespearean plays. They “perform” sections of Romeo and Juliet, Richard III, and Hamlet.

Question 2 In what state (in the U.S.) do the King and the Duke plan to perform these plays? They are in the state of Arkansaw (Arkansas). They are in an unidentified town along the Ohio River.

Question 3 Describe the town in which they stop to perform. “The stores and houses was most all old shackly dried-up frame concerns that had never been painted; they was set up three or four foot above ground on stilts, so as to be out of reach of the water when the river was overflowed. The houses had little gardens around them, but they didn’t seem to raise hardly anything in them but jimpson weeds, and sunflowers, and ash-piles, an old curled up boots and shoes, and pieces of bottles, rags, and played out tinware. The fences was made out of different kinds of boards, nailed on at different times; and they leaned every which-way, and had gates that didn’t generly have but one hinge – a leather one.”

Question 4 What humorous incident occurs between the loafers leaning against the awning post? There were loafers leaning against the awning posts. The loafers always had his hands in his pocket, except when they were lending or begging “tobacker.” The loafers never had their own tobacco because they never had “a cent in the world.” Even when someone let them borrow, they separated the tobacco plug unevenly by biting the tobacco.

Question 5 Discuss, in detail, the Boggs/Colonel Sherburn event. Boggs is in town for his monthly drunk. He says he is there to kill Sherburn. Sherburn, a 55-year-old, proud man, is the best-dressed man in town. He gives Boggs until 1:00 to be quiet. After 1:00, Boggs would be dead. Boggs does not quit. Some of the men in town sent for Boggs’s daughter (16 years old) to calm him. Sherburn shoots Boggs twice and kills him. Somebody screams that Sherburn should be lynched.

Chapter 22 – Question 1 Discuss the end of the Boggs/ Colonel Sherburn incident. A mob, led by Buck Harkness, go to lynch Sherburn and tear down a fence. Sherburn talks/ stares them down and the crowd breaks up and go home.

Question 2 What is significant about the statement: “the average man’s a coward”? What do you think Twain is saying about the individual man as compared to a mob? Sherburn says the average man is a coward and will only act at night and in secret. Twain indicates that mobs gain their courage from the mass. If alone, a man will back down.

Question 3 After the resolution of the Sherburn incident, where does Huck go for entertainment? Huck sneaks into a circus. Many of the people in town are there to see the traveling circus.

Question 4 What happens at the first night of the show? The first night of the Royal Nonesuch only twelve people attend. They laugh at the performances the whole time. The King and the Duke are offended because they are not trying to be comedic.

Question 5 What is added to the handbills to guarantee a crowd the next night? The handbills added: “Ladies and children not admitted.” This would imply an unsavory show that the men in town would like to see.

Chapter 23 – Question 1 Describe the “show.” Why do the gentlemen in the audience not tell the townspeople what truly happened? The Royal Nonesuch has a packed house. The King prances on all fours. He is naked, painted and ring-streaked, striped like a rainbow. At first, the men laugh. Then the men became angry, shouting “sold.” However, they told everyone else to go so they wouldn’t be the laughingstock of town.

Question 2 Who attend the show the third night? Why? Are these people successful in their plan? Why? The third night of the show includes all the men from the first and second night. They intend to throw rotten food at the King. The King, the Duke, and Huck leave before the performance so the men do not get their revenge.

Question 3 How much money do the King and the Duke make from the three-night performance? They got $465.00 from the Royal Nonesuch. The King and the Duke do not share the money with Huck or Jim.

Question 4 Jim does not wake Huck for his watch. About what does Huck say Jim is thinking? Huck wakes up and sees Jim with his head between his knees and moaning. He is thinking about his wife and children.

Question 5 What are the names of Jim’s children, and what is wrong with Jim’s daughter? Jim’s children are Elizabeth and Johnny. Elizabeth is deaf and mute from scarlet fever. Jim is upset that he had hit her when she could not hear him telling her to shut the door.

Chapter 24 – Question 1 What is Jim dressed up as so that he will not have to stay tied up on the raft when no one else is on it? Jim is dressed up as a sick Arab. He is dressed in King Lear’s outfit and blue theater paint. He can now be left alone on the raft.

Question 2 Who is Adolphus? Adolphus is Huck. He is a “servant” to the King and the Duke.

Question 3 What story does the young man that boards the raft tell the King? Be specific. The young man boards the raft. He thinks the King is Harvey Wilks. Peter has died. He was a tanner and well-off (money and property). His brothers William (deaf/mute, 30/35 years old) and Harvey (preacher) live in Sheffield, England. George and his wife died leaving three daughters to Peter who was a carpenter. Mary Jane is 19, Susan is 15, and Joanna (kind/ harelip) is 14.

Question 4 Why can the King now pose as Harvey Wilks and be sure that the young man (#3) will not reveal that the King is a fraud? Why has the real Harvey probably not arrived? The young man is off to New Orleans and then to “Ryo Janeero” to see his uncle. The real Harvey Wilks has not arrived because he lives in England. He and his brother William had never been there before, and the townspeople are not even sure that the brothers had received the letter they sent.

Question 5 What brother does the Duke plan to pose as? The Duke plans to pose as the deaf and mute brother. He says that he has acted this part before.

Chapter 25 – Question 1 Mary Jane reads the letter that her father left behind. What property/money is left to the girls and to Harvey and William? Mary Jane reads the letter from Peter (the uncle who had become her “father”). The girls are given the dwelling house and $3,000 in gold. Harvey and William are given the tanyard business, other houses and land (worth $7,000), and $3,000 in gold.

Question 2 How much money is in the cellar? Why does this pose a problem? Only $5585.00 is found in the cellar. The count is off by $415.00. The family expected there to be $6,000 in the cellar.

Question 3 Where do the King and the Duke get the money to replace what is missing? The King and the Duke make up the difference with money from the Royal Nonesuch. They do not want anyone to think it odd that money is missing.

Question 4 What gift do the King and the Duke give the girls? Why? The King and the Duke give all $6,000 to the girls. They do this to avoid any suspicion or appearance of fraud.

Question 5 Who recognizes the King and the Duke as frauds, and how does Mary Jane prove that she thinks the King and the Duke are her “real” uncles? Dr. Robinson says the King and the Duke are frauds. Mary Jane gives the King and the Duke back the $6,000 and tells them to invest it for the girls. She does not require receipt.