[PDF] The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain - Free Download PDF (2024)

Name_____________________ The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain

Ernest Hemingway expressed his admiration for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by saying, "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn." H. L. Mencken calls the novel, …”one of the great masterpieces of the world.” Nevertheless, the book remains one of the most controversial novels ever written as well as one of the most censored books in America. The validity of arguments surrounding the book mostly involves the many uses of the term “nigg*r” in the text. In fact, recently the book has been rewritten and republished by a college professor who washed the offensive term from the text. The rationale behind this new edition as well as the title and author are discussed on the following site http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industrynews/publisher-news/article/45645-upcoming-newsouth-huck-finn-eliminates-the-n-word.html . Of course, we at Lutheran West do not advocate racism by choosing this novel. Instead we feel it is a significant part of America’s literary canon and must be read from the perspective of Twain’s point of view as a young white boy who must learn, from his experiences with runaway slave, Jim, on the Mississippi river that Jim is more human and more of a father figure to him than his own father ever was. Huck’s relationship with Jim teaches a greater lesson of the hypocrisy of societal values of his time that raised him to see Jim as property not as a person. As Huck grows, the intelligent reader recognizes those same lessons, and hopefully, sees the injustices of slavery and racism. Your student may read either text although we recommend the original text using the above understanding of the author’s purpose. Study Guide Because this book is the ”Adventures” of Huck Finn, it is episodic, which means it is written in several different episodes or stories and can be easily divided into stand-alone sections. Twain himself wrote the first section of the book and walked away from it for over a year. This guide will also be organized into four distinct sections of the book. Use specific examples from the reading to support your answer to each question. Part 1-Chapters 1-15 “Discover Moses and the Bulrushers” to “Fooling Poor Old Jim” 1. Disprove the statement “Huck is civilized.” Discuss what Huck views civilization to be. Do you feel he will ever become civilized? Why or Why not?

2. Prove the statement “Huck is civilized.” How does his behavior run contrary to that of “civilized” folk? What aspects of his character are more civilized than those around him? Why?

3. Contrast the views of religion taught to Huck by the Widow and Miss Watson. Why do or why don’t you feel Huck will accept Christianity? How do you feel about what Huck is being taught about God?

4. What kind of supernatural path does Huck seem to be following at the present time? Why do you feel he believes these things? How does the text prove this "religion" true or untrue?

5. What kind of supernatural path does Huck seem to be following at the present time? Why do you feel he believes these things? How does the text prove this "religion" true or untrue?

6. Characterize Tom Sawyer. Give two examples of why you feel that way about him.

7. How would you discuss Huck's attitudes toward Tom? Why? Give examples from the text to prove your feelings.

8. Describe Huck's father. Why can his attitudes toward Huck be considered ironic by today's standards? What social problems are demonstrated through his character? How might society treat Huck’s father today as compared with Twain’s time?

9. Discuss Huck's father's political beliefs. Why does Twain include these?

10. What are Huck's attitudes toward Jim? Are they changing and why?

11. Support or disprove the statement, "Huck is intelligent and resourceful."

12. What was one of the moral dilemmas Huck encountered in this excerpt? Do you agree with how he resolved it? Is his solution Christian, civilized, boyish?

13. What do you feel is Twain's attitude toward slavery? Why? Give evidence from the text to support your view.

Part II-Chapter 16 “The Rattlesnake Skin Does Its Work” through Chapter 23 “The Orneriness of Kings” One of Huck's major conflicts in his life is whether or not to become socially acceptable or "civilized." This often doesn't appeal to him because the people he meets who are "civilized" often are uncivilized in that they lack morals or behave in a hypocritical manner. Consider each of the following characters. Write a C in the column if you believe that person or group considers him/her to be civilized. Tell why or why not each would consider them civilized. In the third column, explain why you feel they are civilized or not. Give quotes to prove your point. Huck Widow

Miss Watson

Society

Your View

Emmeline Grangerford

Col. Grangerford

Sophia Grangerford

Harney Shepherdson

The Duke

The King

Boggs

Col. Sherburn

2. Discuss a specific possible lesson each of the following characters might have taught Huck in order for him to grow up. Use a quote to show this.

Widow

The Grangerfords

Col. Sherburn

Jim

King and the Duke

3. What are three ways in which you see Huck is growing or maturing? Give specific examples to show he is acting in a more adult, responsible manner.

Part III-Chapter 24 “The King Turns Parson” through Chapter 31 “You Can’t Pray a Lie” 1. List five quotes in which Huck refers to the river. Explain his feelings toward the raft and the river. What do these symbolize and why? 1.

p.

2.

p.

3.

p.

4.

p.

5.

p.

2. Characterize Mary Jane. Give several reasons why Huck decided to trust Mary Jane.

3. State three changes in Huck's character in this segment and give specific evidence to prove these changes exist.

4. What moral truths has Huck learned or accepted in this excerpt? Explain how he learned each lesson and how this might change him.

5. What was the psychological climax of part three? Why do you feel this is a turning point for Huck?

Part IV-Chapter 32 “I Have a New Name” through Chapter the Last “Nothing More to Write” A. The items listed below are all found in part IV of your reading. Think about each of the following. Give a brief description of how each is used in the book or what happened in reference to it. Then analyze why these are important to Huck. How do they help Huck grow or change? Event

The last time Huck saw the King and the Duke

The sheets and the candlesticks

What happened to Tom during the escape

Tom’s surprise announcement at the end of the book

Jim’s surprise announcement at the end of the book

Description of what happened or was said

Effects on Huck

2. Describe each of the characters below. Tell their part in the last section of the book and label them as a hero or a hypocrite, explaining your choice. Tell what lesson they taught Huck in section 4 of the book. Aunt Sally-

The townspeople-

The doctor-

Tom-

Jim-

3. At the end of the book, Huck says “Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can’t stand it. I been there before.” Give three reasons why Huck is so dead set against being civilized. Use examples from part four to support your answer.