 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written by Mark Twain. It first published in the United States in  It was published during the Gilded Age which refers to the era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States during the post-Civil War and post- Reconstruction eras of the late 19th century.  The term "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today.  The name refers to the process of gilding an object with a superficial layer of gold and is meant to make fun of ostentatious display while playing on the term "golden age."

 He was the first major writer to:  use real American speech (and not only in dialogue)  deal with themes and topics that were important to Americans  assume that concerns of Americans were as worthy of serious treatment as British/ European concerns were.

 His Beliefs:  Detested the hypocrisy of the world which insisted on the importance of conventional manners while ignoring inner corruption.  The dictates of conscience should take precedence over the dictates of society.  Twain glorifies the individual who escapes contamination by society.  Believes the peak period of nobility in a person’s life happens during youth.  Why do you think these beliefs are important to know?

 It was 1st “real” American book: It departs from the Victorian, genteel English novel tradition.  Introduces American Regionalism – focuses on the characters, dialect, customs, and other features of a particular region.  Twain researched southwestern dialects for authenticity in his story.  Dialects develop when groups of people are separated from one another for long periods by geography or social barriers.  Is written in the vernacular.  Vernacular = the everyday spoken language of a particular locality/group, as distinguished from its formal, literary language.

 Published in 1885; takes place in 1830s or 1840s. Civil War is in between, therefore…  He is writing about slavery, but after it has been abolished.  American audiences after the Civil War wanted realism, not romanticism.  After writing approximately half of the book, Twain returned to the Mississippi River in the early 1880s, and traveled down the river.  Was appalled by the post-Civil War era treatment of former slaves.  Second half of book takes on darker tone.

 Huck Finn: child narrator, protagonist  Jim: runaway slave owned by Miss Watson  Miss Watson and Widow Douglas: the ladies who adopt Huck  Pap: Huck’s father  Mrs. Loftus: woman Huck “borrows” from

 Grangerfords and Sheperdsons: two feuding families (like the Hatfields and McCoys)  The Duke and the King: Two con artists Huck and Jim meet on their journey  The Wilkes Family:  Peter Wilkes: A wealthy man who has died  Mary Jane, Julia, and Susan: Peter Wilkes’s daughters  Harvey and William Wilkes: Peter’s brother who live in England. Harvey is a preacher and William is deaf and mute.

 The story is set in the Mississippi River Valley along the Mississippi River.  The Mississippi River is an important symbol in this novel/film.  The river is the ultimate symbol of freedom for both Huck and Jim  The story begins in Hannibal, Missouri.  Huck and Jim visit Jackson Island.  Cairo: where the Mississippi River and the Ohio river meet

 Coming of age story: maturing and growing up  Satire of the post-Civil War American South  Satire: the use of humor, irony, or exaggeration to expose and criticize a person’s or society’s flaws  Allegory about Religious hypocrisy  Allegory about good and evil in ordinary society  Allegory: an extended metaphor in which symbolic fictional figures and actions reveal certain truths or generalizations about human existence