1. Huckleberry Finn: Structure and Outline
Jonathan Peel 2017

2. A picaresque tale picaresque ˌpɪkəˈrɛsk/ adjective
relating to an episodic style of fiction dealing with the adventures of a rough and dishonest but appealing hero.
"a picaresque adventure novel"
Jonathan Peel 2017

3. Fundamental structure of the novel
The structure creates a metaphorical journey alongside the journey down the Mississippi. Huck explores his conscience and his sense of morality and he develops as the raft moves South.
Chapters 1-7: The ‘sivilised’ life with Widow Douglas and his kidnap by his drunken father
Chapters 8-31: the journey. Can be further broken down.
Chapters 8-18: adventures and escapes and exploration of Huck’s ‘sound heart’ as he ponders on slavery. Echoes of Twain’s time as a steamboat pilot and his love for the river abound.
Chapters 19-31: After a break in composition Twain picks up in a darker and more satirical vein – the feud, the king and the duke, the depiction of Southern Society provide a much sharper and darker mood.
Chapter 32-43: The problematic closing section – either a return to the mood of Sawyer or an ill-judged reducing of Huck’s development. Many adventures and pastiche of Romantic writing in the freeing of Jim. The novel ends on a sad note as Huck decides to leave his companions and set out on his own, avoiding the ‘sivilising’ influence of Aunt Sally, in a neat framing of the whole story.
Jonathan Peel 2017

4. Key elements in structure: Chapter 1-7
Summary of position to begin. Huck is a wealthy young man with $6000 to his name.
Lives with Widow Douglas and is part of a group of boys led by Tom Sawyer. Huck seems not to fully engage with the games and scrapes.
Realising his father has returned Huck forces the Judge to take his mon ey as a gift, to keep it safe from his father.
Huck is kidnapped by his father
Huck fakes his own death as murder, and escapes to Jackson’s Island.
Escape both from ‘sivilisation’ and from threat of punishment and death.
Jonathan Peel 2017

5. 8-18
Meets Jim on the island – a slave running from Miss Watson because she is considering selling him.
They plan to float south to Cairo so that Jim can then reach non-slave states.
Huck begins to question the morality of slavery
Witness theft, fraud, violence and death in several small adventures. Grow close. Jim as both the stock child-like portrayal of blacks common in the South and also as a surrogate father figure.
Huck considers giving Jim up as a runaway but is stopped by his conscience.
The raft is caught in fog and they miss the town of Cairo. The decide to sail on into the South and the raft is hit by a steamer. The pair are separated
Huck sees the hypocrisy of Southern honour in the feud sequence and is appalled at the outcome
Reunited with Jim, they sail on.
Jonathan Peel 2017

6. 19-31 Exploitation of Huck and Jim by the ‘Duke’ and ‘King’
2 conmen come aboard and take some form of control of the raft, displacing the pastoral idyll
Huck eventually takes an active part in the action, stopping the pair’s attempt to defraud the grieving sisters of a dead man.
The pair, possibly a satirical comment on the nature of the ruling classes, are able to defraud and deceive the locals in all the town s they reach as Twain explores the lack of ability of the Southern people to look after their affairs. All seem gullible, lazy and greedy in turns.
Thwarted by Huck, the pair sell Jim to Mr Phelps. Huck resolves to free him.
Jonathan Peel 2017

7. 32-43
Huck recognises the Phelps as Tom Sawyer’s Aunt Sally and her husband
He pretends to be Tom
Tom arrives and pretends to be Sam, his brother. He leads Huck in a long- winded and unnecessarily complex rescue of Jim.
Huck is somewhat reluctant to go along with Tom’s plans
Tom is wounded in the escape and while Huck seeks a doctor, Jim tends him, thus giving up his chance of freedom…
Until Tom reveals that Jim has already been freed.
Jim breaks the news to Huck that his father is dead and was the body seen in the floating house in chapter 9
Huck resolves to ‘light for the territories on his own to avoid the ‘sivilising’ influence of Aunt Sally, who wishes to adopt him.
Jonathan Peel 2017