Huckleberry Finn resources
Teaching Mark Twain
Study Guide: http://www.mshogue.com/English_11/Finn/finn.htm Other resources: http://www.mshogue.com/English_11/dialect.htm
Reading Schedule
Chapters 1-2-3 - Pages 1-14
Chapters 4-5-6-7 - Pages 15-36
Chapters 8-9-10 - Pages 36-55
Chapters 11-12-13 - Pages 55-75
Chapters 14-15-16 - Pages 76-95
Chapters 17-18 - Pages 95-116
Chapters 19-20-21 - Pages 117-145
Chapters 22-23-24-25 - Pages 145-170
Chapters 26-27-28-29 - Pages 171-205
Chapters 30-31-32 - Pages 205-224
Chapters 33-34-35-36 - Pages 224-250
Chapters 37-38-39-40 - Pages 251-276
Chapters 41-42-43 - Pages 277-294
Blog posts
http://normblog.typepad.com/normblog/2008/02/writers-choic-1.html (a deformed conscience vs a good heart)
http://principleddiscovery.com/?p=685 (controversy over “n word”
Glencoe Huckleberry Finn unity
Chapter analyses and summaries with glossarie
A summary of the novel, quotes, metaphor analysis
Reading schedule
Study Questions
Reading review questions: http://www.bell.k12.ca.us/fac_staf/p-z/weightmanron/free/huckfinnqs.html
Reading quiz 1
Reading Quiz 2
The “N” Word
Vocabulary:
VOCABULARY
These words from Huckleberry Finn have appeared on past SAT tests. They are listed in alphabetical order.
abolish
Lincoln abolished slavery.
to do away with, annul, eradicate, exterminate, obliterate
afoot
The eclipse of the sun caused him to think that something bizarre was afoot.
developing or in the process of happening
air
I intend to air my views to the school board.
to make public utterance
blithe
Her blithe spirit provided an air of gaiety at the meeting.
lighthearted, joyous, glad, cheerful, free of spirit
brazen
Pinching that woman was a brazen act.
shameless, insolent, disrespectful
calamity
The earthquake in Jamaica was a calamity.
a serious event causing distress or misfortune
confound
I am confounded by the tax forms from the government.
to cause one to become confused
dissipation
Even though he inherited a million dollars, I expect quick dissipation of his fortune.
wasteful spending, squandering
divination
The prophet was known for his accuracy in divination.
foretelling the future by means of magic
frivolous
A teacher should limit frivolous behavior in the classroom.
lacking in seriousness or importance
haughty
Being quarterback of the football team does not give him the right to be haughty.
arrogant, excessively proud and vain
histrionic
Your histrionics do not sway my opinion.
overly theatrical
hues
A rainbow has many hues.
colors
infernal
It is not nice to wish that someone go to the infernal regions.
relating to hell
languid
The old man’s walk was languid, each pace requiring great effort.
slow, sluggish, listless, weak
muse
I have often mused about life on a tropical island.
to ponder
ponderous
The ponderous furniture was hard to move, and thus became a burden.
very heavy, unwieldy from weight
resolute
The business was run by a resolute man who set his mind on a goal and followed through with it.
characterized by a decided purpose
soliloquy
Hamlet’s soliloquy in the graveyard is a popular piece to memorize.
a speech made to oneself to reveal thoughts
stealthy
The secret organization moves by stealth to gather information on its enemies.
acting in a secret and sneaky way
sublime
The romantic cinner, which included delicious food, soft music, and a beautiful setting, was simply sublime.
exalted, noble, uplifting
temperance
The woman exercise temperance in filling her plate with small portions of food.
moderation or self-restraint in action or statement
The order in which they appear in the novel:
1. temperance
2. infernal
3. abolitionist
4. afoot
5. confound
6. frivilousness
7. haughty
8. divining
9. dissipating
10. sublime
11. histrionic
12. muse
13. brazen
14. contrite
15. languish
16. soliloquy
17. calamity
18. hue
19. resolution
20. ponderous
21. air
22. stealthiest
23. blitheful
CHAPTERS 1-16: 1) commence, 2) tolerable, 3) shrivel, 4) providence, 5) ingots, 6) oracle, 7) specimen, 8) infernal, 9) speculate, 10) hogshead, 11) vial, 12) pivot, 13) careened, 14) gaudy, 15) thicket.
CHAPTERS 17-29: 1) crockery, 2) reticule, 3) pensive, 4) impair, 5) pommel, 6) capered, 7) cavorting, 8) scow, 9) lineal, 10) histrionic, 11) phrenology, 12) contrite, 13) sublime, 14) soliloquy, 15) yawl, 16) pallet, 17) pone, 18) mesmerism, 19) frock, 20) passel, 21) rapscallion, 22) flapdoodle.
CHAPTERS 30-43: 1) dismal, 2) temperance, 3) venture, 4) bogus, 5) texas, 6) impudent, 7) insurrection, 8) garret, 9) inscription, 10) tedious, 11) brash, 12) ascend, 13) singular, 14) tapering off.
STUDY QUESTIONS
1. Explain how Huck Finn changes in the novel.
2. Discuss Hucks relationship with Jim.
3. Compare and Contrast TomҒs and Hucks characters.
4. Analyze Huck Finn as a novel of initiation.
5. What picture of society is given in the novel? Give specific examples of how Twain criticizes society.
6. Huck Finn deals with the issue of slavery. What was TwainҒs opinion of it, as viewed through the novel.
7. Explain the purpose of the river in Huck Finn, mentioning Hucks preference for the ғraft over the ԑshore?
8. How does Twain hold the book together when it is a series of separate episodes?
Chapter Questions
Chapters 1 - 5
1. How is Huck’s father first introduced?
2. Does Huck fear going to hell? Why or why not?
3. Does Huck have more faith in superstition or religion? Why?
4. In what way is Tom different than Huck?
5. What do the “robbers” think ransoming is and what are some objections to it?
6. How does Miss Watson confuse Huck about prayers?
7. What difference do you notice between Miss Watson and the Widow Douglas?
8. What does Huck mean at the end of chapter 3, “It had all the marks of a Sunday school”?
9. What is a hairball? What does this tell us about slave culture?
10. What happens as Huck just gets used to being civilized?
11. Why does Huck go to see Judge Thatcher? How do Judge Thatcher and the Widow try to help Huck?
Chapters 6 - 9
1. Where does Pap take Huck and what is it like?
2. Explain Pap’s behavior.
3. How does Twain use irony to show Pap’s ignorance of government?
4. How does Huck escape the cabin? What does this tell the reader about Huck?
5. Who appears on Jackson Island?
6. What is Huck doing when he finds out that someone else is on the island?
7. Why did Jim run away?
8. Why does Jim say, “I’s rich now”? In what ways are people rich?
9. Where do Huck and Jim get so many supplies?
10. Who is the person in the cabin? Why is this significant?
Chapters 10 - 13
1. How does superstition seem as logical as religion in Huck’s mind?
2. Why does Huck ignore Jim’s warning? Why is this significant?
3. Why does Huck go ashore? What disguise is he wearing?
4. How does Judith Loftus figure out Huck’s disguise?
5. Why is there a reward for the return of Jim? For the return of Huck? (There may be different reasons for this.)
6. How does Huck help Jim escape the man-hunt?
7. Why doesn’t Huck turn Jim in?
8. What was life like on the raft?
9. For what purpose does Huck go to the ferry boat watchman?
10. What happens on the steamboat? Be specific.
11. Why are states mentioned in connection to the boat?
12. What do Jim and Huck do with the robbers’ boat? Why is this important?
Chapters 14 - 16
1. Specifically, what does Jim object to about King Solomon? How does this perpetuate stereotypes?
2. Who shows more logic and wisdom in this argument, Jim or Huck? Explain why.
3. What are Huck’s and Jim’s motivation for going to Cairo?
4. How does the river’s tranquility suddenly change?
5. How does the theme of loneliness and isolation come out here?
6. How does Huck’s practical joke on Jim humanize Huck? What was Twain’s purpose in this passage?
7. What is Huck’s moral dilemma in chapter 16?
8. How does Huck’s quick thinking save Jim?
9. How does Huck feel about misleading the bounty hunters?
10. What is Huck’s relationship with the river? Is this normal behavior for someone his age?
Chapters 17 - 19
1. Whose home does Huck come to?
2. Who is George Jackson?
3. Review p. 9
4. Was their house in fact, “mighty nice” or in bad taste?
5. How was Miss Emmeline different from the others?
6. At what point does Huck become horrified by the feud?
7. Why does Huck think the fight was his fault?
8. Where was Jim while Huck was at the Grangerfords? How does Huck discover him?
9. How does Huck feel about getting on the raft again? What are some of the attractions of raft life?
10. How does the description of the river and the raft life differ from that just before and after Cairo?
11. How does Huck meet the Duke and the Dauphin? How does he know the truth about them? 1
12. Why does Huck go along with the two frauds who come aboard the raft?
Chapters 20 - 24
1. How does Jim show concern for Huck?
2. How does Twain satirize religious gullibility in the town of Pokeville?
3. How do Huck and company travel without hiding Jim?
4. What comment about human nature does Twain make in the “loafers” account in chapter 21?
5. What ideas does Twain get across in the Boggs-Sherburn incident?
6. Why does Huck decide the circus isn’t funny?
7. How do the Kind and Duke increase attendance at their second performance?
8. What is Twain’s purpose for including Jim’s story of his ‘Lizbeth?
9. What new, potential scheme do the King and Duke learn about?
Chapters 25 - 28
1. Who do the King and Duke claim to be?
2. Why do they give all six thousand dollars to Wilks girl?
3. What was it about the King that made Dr. Robinson suspect he was a fraud?
4. Where does Huck hide the inheritance money?
5. What makes the Wilks girls saddest about having their property sold?
6. Why does Huck want Mary Jane to leave the house after he tells her the truth?
7. Why doesn’t Huck just blow the whistle on the frauds?
8. About whom does Huck say, “She had more sand in her than any girl I ever seen; in my opinion she was just full of sand”? What does Huck mean by this?
9. Where does Huck tell Joanna and Susan that Mary Jane has gone?
10. How is Huck’s increasing maturity shown in these chapters?
Chapters 29 - 31
1. How does Huck escape the Wilks investigation?
2. What do the Duke and King get in a fight about?
3. How does Huck feel about having them back on the raft?
4. Why does Huck think he ought to let Miss Watson know about Jim?
5. Why does he change his mind?
Chapters 32 - 35
1. What satire on values does Twain make in Huck’s first conversation with Aunt Sally?
2. Who do the Phelpses mistake Huck for?
3. Why does Tom drop in Huck’s estimation?
4. Why do Huck and Tom sneak out of the Phelps’ and go to town? What is Huck’s opinion of what he sees?
5. How does Huck feel about his conscience?
6. What is the value, according to Huck, of Tom’s plan for stealing Jim?
7. How do Tom and Huck fool the “nigger” who is watching Jim?
8. What are the major differences between Huck and Tom?
9. Why does Huck go along with Tom’s wild ideas?
Chapters 37 - 39
1. How do Huck and Tom keep Aunt Sally from knowing what’s missing?
2. How does Tom show a lack of sensitivity to peoples’ feelings?
3. What’s worse to Tom and Huck than the licking they get for letting loose the rats and snakes?
4. Why do Tom and Huck write the “nonamous” letters to Aunt Sally?
Chapters 40 - 43
1. What does Huck mean when he says of Jim, “I knowed he was white inside. . .”?
2. How does Twain help us feel sympathetic toward Aunt Sally?
3. In what way do the people show gratitude to Jim at first?
4. How does Jim get rich again?
5. What happened to Pap?
Huck Finn Questions and Answers:
Chapter 1
1. With whom was Huck living at the beginning of the book? The widow douglas
2. Who is the narrator of the book? Huckleberry Finn
3. What relation is Miss Watson to the Widow Douglas? Sister
4. Who takes care of Huck and Tom’s money? Judge Thatcher.
5. Who was waiting for Huck Finn after midnight? Tom Sawyer
Chapter 2
6. To whom did Jim belong? Miss Watson
7. Who did Jim say gave him the ‘five-center piece’ he wore around his
neck? The devil
8. Who was called a cry-baby? Little Tommy Barnes
9.What was the “line of business” of the gang? Nothing, only robbery and murder
10. Who was elected Second Captain over ‘Tom Sawyer’s Gang?’ Jo Harper
Chapter 3
11. Why did huck get a good ‘going-over?’ Because his new clothes were dirty
12. How did Huck know that his ‘Pap’ waasn’t drowned? Because drowned men
don’t float face down, only drowned women do
Chapter 4
13. Where did Jim get his hairball? from the fourth stomach of an ox
14. What made Huck suspect Pap was back? He found his tracks in the snow
15. Who is Pap? Huck’s father
16. Where is Pap at the end of the chapter? In Huck’s room
Chapter 5
17. How did huck’s unexpected visitor get in the room? By the shed
18. What did Pap trade his new coat for? A jug of forty-rod
19. What did the judge recon a body would need to reform Pap? A shotgun
Chapter 6
20. What did Pap get every time he got money? Drunk
21. What object did Huck use to escape the cabin? An old saw without a handle
22. Why does Pap not vote? Because there’s a state in this country where’d
they let “That nigger” vote.
Chapter 7
23. For what did Huck dive in the water? A canoe
24. What did Huck drop “so as to look like it had been done by accident?”
Pap’s whetstone
25. What was Huck’s destination once he was in the canoe? Jackson Island
Chapter 8
26. Why was the ferry-boat firing the cannon? To make the body rise to the
top.
27. How long is Jackson Island? 3 miles
28. What did Huck find that made his “heart jump up amongst his lungs?”
Ashes of a campfire that was still smoking
29. Why was Jim afraid of Huck? He thought he was dead(a ghost).
30. Why didn’t Huck believe that bees didn’t sting idiots? They’d never
stung him.
Chapter 9
31. How wide was the island? 1/4 mile
32. What did Jim say that the little birds said? It was going to rain
33. Were they right? Yes
34. How did the man in the house die? Shot in the back
Ch. 10
35. What did Huck and Jim find sewed up in the lining of an old blanket
overcoat? 8 silver dollars
36. After Jim got bit by the rattlesnake, what did he have Huck do with the
rattles? Tie them to his wrist
37. Why does Huck think that Jim got bit by the snake? Huck touched a
snake-skin/ Huck put a dead snake in Jim’s sleeping bag
38. What two objects did they find in the stomach of the catfish? Brass
button, round ball (spool)
Ch. 11
39. Who is Sarah Williams? Huck Finn
40. Where is Sarah from? Hookersville
What three ways did Mrs. Loftus ascertain Sarah’s true gender?
41. the way she threaded the needle
42. The way she caught the lead lump in his lap
43. The way she threw the lead lump
Ch. 12
44. What is a tow-head? A sand bar that has cottonwoods as thick as
harrow-teeth.
45. What two items did Huck and Jim decide to NOT “borrow?” Crabapples and
persimmons
46. According to Huck Finn, how much do steamboat captains make per month? $60
Ch. 13
47. What’s the name of the wreck? Walter Scott
48. According to Huck Finn, how many wives did Solomon have? 1 million
Ch. 14
49. How many boxes of cigars did Huck and Jim get from the ferry-boat? 3
50. How did Louis the XVI die? decapitation
Ch. 15
51. Where did Huck lose the raft? In the fog
Ch. 16
52. What town were Huck and Jim looking for? Cairo
53. Why was Huck miserable? He thought he should turn Jim in for being a
runaway slave
54. How did the raft get destroyed? Hit by a ferry-boat
Ch. 17
55. What was Huck’s pseudonym? George Jackson
56. How did Huck find out his pseudonym after he’d forgotten it? Buck
spelled it for him
57. How did Stephen Dowling Bots Die? Fell down a well and got drownded
Ch 18
58. Who was Col. Grangerfords oldest son? Bob
59. At what time was Miss Sophia supposed to have her rendezvous?
Half-past two
60. With whom did Sophia Grangerford run off with? Harney Shepherdson
Ch. 19
61. Who wouldn’t say, “dern the fog”? Spirits
The two men said that they were really
62. The duke of Bridgewater
63. Dauphin, the king of France
Ch. 20
64. How old was the imaginary boy named Ike? Four
65. How much did the King make at the camp meeting? 87.75
Chapter 21
66. What play are the duke and the king rehearsing? Romeo and Juliet
67. What is the “most celebrated thing in Shakespeare”? Hamlet’s Soliloquy
68. Who Killed Boggs? Colonel Sherburn
Ch. 22
69. Colonel Sherburn isays that the average man is a ____________. Coward
Ch. 23
70. How much did “them rapscallions” take in in three nights? $465.00
71. Who does Huck say is Henry the Eighth’s father? Duke of Wellington
72. Why did Jim feel bad about hitting his daughter? She was deef and dumb.
Ch. 24
73. What was Peter Wilkes occupation while he was living? Tanner
Who are Peter Wilkes’ three nieces?
74. Mary Jane
75. Susan
76. Joanna
Ch. 25
77. How much were the king and duke short of $6,000 in the basement? $415.00
78. Who told the girls the King was a fraud? The Doctor
Ch. 26
79. Where did Huck hide to eavesdrop on the king and duke? Behind the curtain
80. Where did the King put the money? in the bedding
Ch. 27
81. Where did Huck stick the money? in the coffin with Uncle Peter
82. Why was the dog howling in the basement during the funeral? He had a rat.
83. Whom did Huck say he had seen in the king’s room? the niggers.
Ch. 28
84. To where was Mary Jane going for 4 days? Mr. Lothrop’s
85. In what town did the duke and the king play the “Royal nonesuch”?
Bricksville
86. Who was the man with the broken arm? William Wilkes
Ch. 29
87. What did the king say was tatooed on Peter Wilkes breast? A thin blue
arrow
88. What did Harvey Wilkes say was tatooed on his brothers breast? P-B-W
Ch. 30
89. What does the duke say is the one smart thing the king did, the thing
that saved them? coming out cool and cheeky with that blue arrow mark
90. A freebie question. This is called grace.
Ch. 31
91. At whose house was Jim when Huck came back to the raft? Silas Phelps’s
92. How much did the king get for Jim? $40
93. How much was the reward for Jim? $200
94. Huck found out that you can’t pray a Lie
Ch. 32
95. What is Silas’ wife’s name? Sally
96. Who do Mr. and Mrs. Phelps think Huck is? Tom Sawyer
Ch. 33
97. Who was coming from town in a wagon? Tom Sawyer
98. What did the stranger do to Aunt sally that made her almost hit him?
He kissed her.
99. What happened to the king and the duke? They were tarred and feathered
and rode out of town on a rail.
Ch. 34
-What two clues assured Tom and Huck that Jim was in the shed?
100. the watermelon
101. the key
102. How did Tom nad Huck finally decide to free Jim? Dig him out
Ch. 35
103. What did Tom and Huck hear that made them stop talking about Jim’s
escape? The breakfast horn
104. How many knives did Tom want Huck to “smouch”? 3
Ch. 36
105. What kind of pie did Tom tell Nat to make? Witch pie
106. How many tallow candles did tom steal? 6
Ch. 37
107. Where do they keep the boots and rags, and pieces of bottles and
wore-out tin things, and all such truck? The rubbage Pile
-According to Tom, from where did William the Conqueror come, and on what ship?
108. England
109. The Mayflower
Ch. 38
110. What does “Maggoire fretta, minore atto” mean? The more haste, the
less speed
111. What was Jim to get instead of a rattlesnake? Garter snakes with
buttons tied on their tails.
112. What was Tom going to put in Jim’s coffee pot? an onion
Ch. 39
113. What did Tom and Huck see dripping from the rafters , landing on
plates and down the back of your neck? garter snakes
114. What did Tom and Huck do with the sawdust? Ate it
Ch. 40
115. What happened that alerted the farmers to Tom, Huck, and Jim’s
presence? Tom’s clothes got snagged and he snapped a splinter getting off.
116. What was Jim wearing during the “evasion”? A dress
Ch. 41
117. Who went to get the doctor? Huck
118. Why? Tom was shot in the leg
119. Why didn’t the dogs lead the farmest to Jim and the boys? The dogs
were theirs
Ch. 42
120. How much did the doctor say a nigger like Jim was worth? $1,000.00
Chapter the last-
121. How much money was waiting for Huck back home? $6,000 and then some
122. How did Huck’s Pap die? Shot in the back
DISCUSSION/WRITING
Find examples of one of the following:
Huck fibbing, fudging, or exaggerating the truth
Օ Huck obeying social conventions and authority
Huck disobeying social conventions and authority
Օ Huck doing the right thing
Huck doing the wrong thing
Is Huck at all times a rebel or does he sometimes go along to get along? Does his doing the right thing ever clash with what society tells him is right? Concur? How does Huck deal with these tensions?
Ask the class to come up with other examples of people following their conscience despite the law or the consequences, either historical or contemporary. Where would Huck stand on the Civil Rights Movement? Protest against the Vietnam War? The war in Iraq? Abortion Clinics? The inclusion of the phrase, “under God,” in the Pledge of Allegiance? If we believe one must follow the dictates of the law, how do we reconcile Huck as a hero? If we believe that it is moral to follow one’s conscience, how do we decide which laws or social conventions are wrong? Who gives us the authority?
For homework, ask students to write an essay about a time in their lives when they’ve been confronted with a choice between doing what their conscience told them to do and what societyfriends, parents, teacherstold them to do. Was it easy to decide? Was it easy to tell what the right thing was? Does the example of Huck shed any light on their decision?
Is this a book about race, as some have argued? Freedom, as others have argued? Moral choice and responsibility? Or is it just a boy’s adventure book that somehow got out of hand?
1. For homework, ask the students to find the most important sentence in the novel, the one the novel cannot דlive without.
2. Break up the class into small groups. Assign each group one sentenceԗregardless of students’ individual choicesand ask them to come up with a one-paragraph argument why that sentence is the most important one in the book. Allow 15-20 minutes for this exercise, circulating among groups as they work.
3. Ask each group to read its argument to the class.
4. Have the class vote on their preferred sentence. Did the discussion change their minds? Reinforce their opinions?
---------------
1. Why did Twain include the “Notice” on the opening page?
2. Discuss how the feud between the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons is symbolic of the Civil War. Do you agree that the novel is דa satirical treatment of the myth of romantic fiction, Southern chivalry, and witless honor?
3. Each stage of Huck’s moral growth culminates in a crisis of conscience and a decision to assist Jim (as when Huck tells the two slave hunters that there is “only one” man on the raft and that “He’s white"); and each decision is more consequential than the previous. What are these stages and decisions; when do they occur; and what are their consequences?
4. What are the consequences of Huck’s and Jim’s going past the mouth of the Ohio River in the fog? (Chapter XV)
5. Among the novel’s great ironies is that Huck’s and Jim’s quest for freedom takes them farther and farther into the deep South, the heart of slavery. How and why does this happen? What are the implications?
6. The primary movement of Huck’s and Jim’s journey and of the novel is linear, from north to south. A back-and-forth pattern of movement between river and shore also occurs. How is this pattern important in terms of plot? How is it related to the north-to-south movement? Does it reflect any other kind of movement experienced by Huck or Jim?
7. How do the king and the duke impact Huck’s and Jim’s life on the raft, their quest for freedom, and the novel’s movement?
8. What are the parallels between the king’s and duke’s treatment of Jim in Chapter XXIV and Tom Sawyer’s treatment of him in the final chapters?
9. The cemetery passage in Chapter XXIX is one of the few times when Huck is in immediate danger of actual harm or death. What are some similar incidents? What threatens his safety and well-being in each instance--other people or forces of nature? How does he escape in each instance?
10. Do the final chapters, beginning with Huck’s arrival at the Phelps farm, rely too much on coincidence? Do Tom Sawyer’s elaborate escape stratagems indicate that Jim’s and Huck’s goals are unobtainable?
11. Is there any justice in the fact that only Tom is wounded in the final chase through the swamp?
12. The story is told by a fourteen-year-old Huck, who admits to elaborate lies and fabrications. Can we trust him? Can we accept his version of things, or must we read between his lines?
https://secure.layingthefoundation.org/english/vocab/novels/Adventures%20of%20Huck%20Finn.pdf
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