SUMMER READING PACKET: ENGLISH 9 HONORS
THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN by MARK TWAIN
ABSTRACT: In a story set in Missouri prior to the American Civil War, Huck Finn, a runaway young man and Jim, an escaped slave, experience numerous adventures along the Mississippi River. At the beginning of the book, Huck reminds the readers that his story begins in Twain’s previous novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, when he found $6000 and went to live with the kind Widow Douglas and her nagging sister who are now trying to “sivilize” him.
Note: The novel makes use of the word “nigger,” which is, of course, racist and offensive today. However, in the time of the novel it was commonly used and not offensive. Also, as Twain explains at the beginning, there are several dialects used. Dialect is the accent and the words of a particular place or region. An author uses dialect to make the work more realistic; but sometimes it is hard to understand at first, especially when it is written as it sounds.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mark Twain (1835 – 1910) is the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He was born in Missouri along the Mississippi River. Young Sam left school at age 12 and worked at various jobs, including a river boat pilot, a prospector, and a reporter. Twain became a noted humorist. Other novels he wrote include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Life on the Mississippi (1883); his historical novels include The Prince and the Pauper (1882) and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889). An interesting note about Mark Twain is that Halley’s Comet appeared the year he was born and again in the year that he died!
GUIDE QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER WHILE READING: These are to guide you to possible themes; they do NOT have to be answered in writing.
1. Both Huck and Jim escape from a form of prison or confinement. How do they both experience “freedom” while drifting down the river on a raft? How is each “imprisoned” again?
2.How does Twain show that conformist behavior, seen through superstition, prejudice, and tradition, can lead to the destruction of individuality?
3.What moral conflicts and problems with his conscience does Huck experience?
4.Where is the ability of people to read signs or clues necessary for survival, love, and freedom seen in the book?
5.How do the river and shore represent independence vs. the negative aspects of “sivilization”?