Assignment: Eng 11 Huck Finn TEST over pages 1-95 Date:Mon, Mar 03, 2008
Homework 95-116
Huckleberry Finn reading and test schedule
Morally pivotal point: What is the irony of Huck’s struggle with his conscience, and his ultimate decision to do whichever comes handiest at the time? Is Huck being amoral, or is he listening to a deeper morality? Are his decisions based on what society tells him is right and wrong, or what he feels, and his relationships? Is his decision motivated by selfishness (does he simply want to avoid feeling bad/guilty) or by something more?
What is the irony of Huck’s struggle with his conscience, and his ultimate decision to do whichever comes handiest at the time? Is Huck being amoral, or is he listening to a deeper morality? Are his decisions based on what society tells him is right and wrong, or what he feels, and his relationships? Is his decision motivated by selfishness (does he simply want to avoid feeling bad/guilty) or by something more?
Minstrel shows: The character of Jim is influenced by Mark Twain’s love of minstrel shows, which were popular in his lifetime. Minstrel shows featured white men in blackface and outrageous costumes. The men played music, danced, and acted burlesque skits, but the central feature of the shows was the exaggerated imitation of black speech and mannerisms, which produced a stereotype of blacks as docile, happy, and ignorant. The shows also depicted slavery as a natural and benign institution and slaves as contented with their lot. These stereotypes of blacks helped to reinforce attitudes amongst whites that blacks were fundamentally different and inferior. The minstrel show died out as vaudeville, burlesques, and radio became the most popular forms of entertainment.
Discussion: The “Soloman” passage Handout