zEnjoy reading your book for 10 minutes. yWe’ll hold a discussion worth five points afterwards: xWhat happened to Jim? xWho did it? xWhy and how did he do it? xWhat does Huck first decide to do about it and why? xWhat does Huck finally decide to do and why?

HUCK’S MORAL DEVELOPMENT (as shown through his relationship with Jim) 1.Huck goes to Jim for advice about Pap. 2.Huck promises not to turn Jim in as a runaway slave and agrees to help him. 3.Huck plays a practical joke on Jim (snake skin), sees the negative results (Jim being hurt), is sorry for what he did, and understands that actions have consequences and people can be hurt…and slaves suffer the same as everyone. 4.When Jim says he plans to steal his wife and children if he can’t buy them, Huck’s conscience tells him he needs to turn Jim in. However, when he goes to actually do it, Jim reminds Huck of their friendship, and Huck can’t do it. He even tells a lie to some men on a boat to keep them away from the raft, and Jim. 5.Huck sees how upset Mary Jane is when her “uncles” sell the slaves, breaking up their families. 6.When Jim is sold out by the King, Huck again struggles with what to do. He decides to write Miss Watson to tell her where Jim is being held. Then he thinks about their time together, and how Jim took care of and cared for him. Huck decides once and for all that he will help Jim to freedom, even if it means his own damnation, and he tears up the letter. z“…I’d got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it…I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then I says to myself: ‘All right then, I’ll go to hell—and tore it up’ ” (192).

HUCK’S MORAL DEVELOPMENT (as shown through his relationship with Jim) zOn the journey down the river, Huck seems to… xlearn that Jim has real feelings. xrecognize Jim’s humanity and his right to self-determination. xdecide that slavery is wrong. xresolve to free Jim once and for all from slavery.

A Problematic Ending? zCritics over the years have charged that the ending of the novel doesn’t gel with the previous happenings.

“The long and drawn out trick that Tom Sawyer plays on Jim makes the reader doubt if any real development has taken place…He lets Tom turn the escape into a game, and seems to feel little, if any, remorse for toying with Jim's fate. He seems to have forgotten what he learned…Which side of the joke is Huck on? ” (from Culture Shock 2000)

A Problematic Ending? zDo you think Twain has a reason for ending the book with Tom Sawyer’s elaborate fantasy scheme to free Jim? z“Has Huck actually changed and learned the lessons we are lead to believe he has learned, or do the ending chapters take us back into the childlike, irresponsible world of boyish adventure that Huck has supposedly left behind?” (from Culture Shock 2000)

Tomorrow’s journal: Regarding your controversial issue persuasive speech: zWhat issue have you decided to address? zWhy did you choose this issue? zSummarize what you already know about this topic (facts and information). zWhat are your opinions about this issue? zDo you have an idea yet what your proposed solution will be? If so, summarize it. zWhat opposing opinions or other solutions do you know about? zWhat questions do you need to have answered (write at least three)?