The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Learning Goal & Agenda Goal: To understand how Mark Twain’s upbringing and surroundings influence his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. To explore the many themes including race and class in the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through a video and activity. Agenda:  ESPN video on offensive language  “Cross the Line” activity exploring essential themes expressed in the novel  Background info in Mark Twain and how is life influenced Huck Finn  Satire in the novel- “Notice” and “Explanatory”  Listen to audio Do Now: Think about the impact of language and how it can be used as a weapon and controlling device. Rate each statement below, using the following guide: 4 Beside a statement with which you strongly agree 3 If you agree somewhat 2 If you disagree somewhat 1 If you disagree strongly __ Some words are so offensive that they should never be used to tell a story. __ The names we use for others are not important. __ The saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is true. __ Members of an ethnic group can refer to themselves in language that would be inappropriate for others to use.

Learning Goal & Agenda Goal: To understand how Mark Twain’s upbringing and surroundings influence his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. To explore the many themes including race and class in the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through a video and activity. Agenda:  ESPN video on offensive language  “Cross the Line” activity exploring essential themes expressed in the novel  Background info in Mark Twain and how is life influenced Huck Finn  Satire in the novel- “Notice” and “Explanatory”  Listen to audio Mark Twain

Learning Goal & Agenda Goal: To understand how Mark Twain’s upbringing and surroundings influence his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. To explore the many themes including race and class in the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through a video and activity. Agenda:  ESPN video on offensive language  “Cross the Line” activity exploring essential themes expressed in the novel  Background info in Mark Twain and how is life influenced Huck Finn  Satire in the novel- “Notice” and “Explanatory”  Listen to audio Mark Twain Clemens changed his name to Mark Twain around the time he gained literary success with his shot story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.” The name comes from a term used on the Mississippi River to call out the safe navigation depth for a steamboat. Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30, 1835, in the small town of Florida, Missouri. His father was a hard worker but a poor provider. The family moved near the Mississippi River when Clemens was four years old. It was in this river town that he grew up, and from it he gathered the material for his most famous stories.

Learning Goal & Agenda Goal: To understand how Mark Twain’s upbringing and surroundings influence his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. To explore the many themes including race and class in the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through a video and activity. Agenda:  ESPN video on offensive language  “Cross the Line” activity exploring essential themes expressed in the novel  Background info in Mark Twain and how is life influenced Huck Finn  Satire in the novel- “Notice” and “Explanatory”  Listen to audio Setting Along the Mississippi River; pre-Civil War Widow Douglas’s - represents the civilized world that Huck is exposed to at the beginning of the book The Mississippi River - the river, as travelled on by Huck and Jim, is nature’s setting that puts man against nature Small town frontier America - represented by several locations as the novel progresses and usually depicted as simple yet hardly stupid people –they can only be fooled for so long. The Grangerford’s - Huck stays with this family for a while. They take him in as one of their own. The Phelps’s- the last setting of the novel, it is a small “one-horse” plantation owned by Silas Phelps, who is married to Sally, Aunt Polly’s sister

Learning Goal & Agenda Goal: To understand how Mark Twain’s upbringing and surroundings influence his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. To explore the many themes including race and class in the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through a video and activity. Agenda:  ESPN video on offensive language  “Cross the Line” activity exploring essential themes expressed in the novel  Background info in Mark Twain and how is life influenced Huck Finn  Satire in the novel- “Notice” and “Explanatory”  Listen to audio Characters Huckleberry Finn - narrator, 13 year-old boy, has had very little parenting and very little education. His mother is dead and his father neglects him. Tom Sawyer - Huck’s adventurous friend Widow Douglas & Miss Watson- two aging women who take Huck in. They try their best to reform Huck and “sivilize” him. Jim - Miss Watson’s slave and Huck’s friend Pap- Huck’s abusive, alcoholic father The Duke and the Dauphin - two con-men who set up a number of schemes involving Huck and Jim The Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons - two feuding families The Wilks family- targets of the duke and dauphin Silas and Sally Phelps - Tom’s aunt and uncle who own a very small plantation