Huck Finn Chapters 25-28 AP Language and Composition

Answer the following questions, providing specific details and page numbers.

Continue to trace Huck's moral development through the novel. In a few more chapters you will reach the climatic scene of Huck's moral decisions and the theme of passages and transformations.

  1. What story do the travelers on the raft hear from the innocent young man they encounter? How does this information change their plans?
  2. How have the duke and king taken over the river trip? Why do you think Huck and Jim lose control of the situation?
  3. What do the duke and king intend to do about the inheritance left by Peter Wilks?
  4. Does anyone question the tow men when they turn up to claim the inheritance? Is anything about them suspicious? What does Huck think of their plans?
  5. Why does Huck decide to take the money the duke and king have stolen? What does he plan to do with it? What happens to prevent him?
  6. What inspires Huck to risk telling the truth to Mary Jane? What qualities about her impress him?
  7. At what point do the townspeople begin to doubt the king and duke’s claims? What increases their suspicions? How do they decide to resolve the question of the identity of the genuine relatives? When do the duke and king finally give up?
  8. In what ways does the greed of the duke and king get them into trouble even before the arrival of the other claimants? What could they have done differently that might have allowed them to pull off their scam? Why do you think it take so long for them to give up and run?
  9. In what ways are the duke and king using Huck and Jim? At what point does Huck realize how dangerous they are to him and to Jim? Had the townspeople caught the duke and king and Huck with them, do you think they would have spared Huck or considered him just as guilty? What might have saved Huck?
  10. “I wilted right down on to the planks then, and give up; and it was all I could do to keep from crying.” This is what Huck says when the king and duke reappear just as Jim and Huck are about to get away without them. Why has Huck stayed with the king and the duke for so long?

Questions to think about:

  1. Suspenseis a feeling of expectation, anxiousness, or curiosity created by questions raised in the mind of a reader.Find some examples of suspense in chapters 24-30.What events cause you to feel anxious for Huck?Do you think he is ever in genuine danger?What do you think the duke and king would have done to him had they learned that he was the one to hide the gold?Do you ever feel anxiety for the duke and king?Why, or why not?