Mark Twain and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain: Biography  Samuel Longhorne Clemens  Born November 30 th, 1835  Licensed River Pilot in 1858  “Mark Twain” is a river term which means the water is deep enough for safe passage  Passed April 21 st, 1910

Mark Twain: Well-Known Writing  "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calavaras County" appeared in the New York Saturday Press on November 18, 1865  First book – The Innocents Abroad – published in 1869  The Adventures of Tom Sawyer – 1876  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – 1885  Wrote 28 books and numerous short stories, letters and sketches

Mark Twain: Fast Facts  Haley's Comet was visible in the sky on the night that Mark Twain was both born and passed away.  Hannibal, Mo. served as the inspiration for the fictional town of St. Petersburg in "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."  As a teenager, Twain worked as an apprentice printer.

Mark Twain: Fast Facts  As a riverboat pilot, Twain earned from $150 to $250 a month.  During the Civil War, Twain formed a Confederate militia known as the "Marion Rangers." The militia disbanded after approximately two weeks.  Twain left Missouri after his militia disbanded and moved to Nevada. There he worked as a miner.

Mark Twain: Fast Facts  From 1901 until his death in 1910, Twain was vice president of the American Anti-Imperialist League.  Huck Finn was ranked as the fifth most frequently challenged book in the United States by the American Library Association.  Prior to adopting Mark Twain as his pen name, Clemens wrote under the pen name Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass.

Mark Twain: Wit and Wisdom "Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Mark Twain: Wit and Wisdom  "A sin takes on a new and real terror when there seems a chance that it is going to be found out."  "It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt."  "I have been an author for 20 years and an ass for 55."

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn  Sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer  Focus on slavery and the South  Novel banned in Southern states due to its critical take on slavery and southern institutions  Novel banned in other areas for being considered vulgar and racist  Moral and racial tensions

Background Information  Published in 1885 – Emancipation Proclamation signed in 1863  Setting Mississippi River St. Petersburg, Missouri  Wrote the book over a period of 10 years First twelve chapters are a “story” Rest of the novel is very episodic  At the time, slavery was permitted in Missouri but not held as “highly” as the more southern states.

Huck Finn: Context of the Novel  SATIRE: humorous with a serious message - mocking  Both a work of humor and serious social commentary  Amusement and enjoyment for the reader  Picaresque Novel  DIALECT and realism

Huck Finn: Key Facts  POINT OF VIEW: Huck’s point of view, although Twain occasionally indulges in digressions in which he shows off his own ironic wit  TONE: Ironic, mocking, contemplative  CONFLICT · At the beginning of the novel, Huck struggles against society and its attempts to civilize him, represented by the Widow Douglas, Miss Watson, and other adults. Later, this conflict gains greater focus in Huck’s dealings with Jim, as Huck must decide whether to turn Jim in, as society demands, or to protect and help his friend instead.

Huck Finn: Central Characters  Huckleberry Finn: PROTAGANIST and narrator of the novel – thirteen year-old- son of the town drunk, social outcast  Tom Sawyer: Huck’s stubborn and rebellious friend, serves as a FOIL to Huck

Huck Finn: Central Characters  Widow Douglas and Miss Watson: Two wealthy sisters who live together in a large house in St. Petersburg and who adopt Huck  Jim - One of Miss Watson’s household slaves. Jim is superstitious and occasionally sentimental, but he is also intelligent, practical, and ultimately more of an adult than anyone else in the novel.

Huck Finn: Central Characters  Pap - Huck’s father, the town drunk and ne’er-do-well.  The duke and the dauphin - A pair of con men whom Huck and Jim rescue as they are being run out of a river town.  The Grangerfords - A family that takes Huck in after a steamboat hits his raft, separating him from Jim.

Huck Finn: Central Characters  Judge Thatcher - The local judge who shares responsibility for Huck with the Widow Douglas.  Silas and Sally Phelps - Tom Sawyer’s aunt and uncle, whom Huck coincidentally encounters in his search for Jim after the con men have sold him.  Aunt Polly - Tom Sawyer’s aunt and guardian and Sally Phelps’s sister.

Themes  Racism and Slavery  Intellectual and Moral Education  Growth and Transformation  The Individual vs. Society  The Hypocrisy of “Civilized” Society Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.

Motifs  Childhood  Lies and Cons  Superstition and Folk Belief  Parodies of Popular Romance Novels  Mississippi River Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.

The Mississippi River  What does the river symbolize in the novel?

Resources  The Official Web Site of Mark Twain: