Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Study Guide Chapters 6 – 16

Chapter Six - VI

  1. In chapter 4, Huck found that “the longer [he] went to school the easier it got to be” and he was even “getting sort of used to the widow’s ways too” (Twain 15). Why is Huck going to school in Chapter 6?
  1. Why does Huck enjoy about living with Pap?
  1. What aspects of living with Pap convince Huck he needs to leave?
  1. What is ironic about Pap’s criticisms of the “govment” and “educated niggers”?
  1. What causes Pap’s bizarre behavior at the end of this chapter?

Chapter Seven - VII

  1. Why does Huck break in the door with an axe, kill the pig, and drag a bag of rocks to water behind the cabin?
  1. As Huck prepares to escape, he wishes Tom Sawyer were there. “I knowed he would take an interest in this kind of business, and throw in the fancy touches.” How are Huck’s preparations different from those Tom would make?
  1. Describe Huck’s emotions when he first sets out on the river. Write a quote that describes his feeling about floating on the river.
  1. Where is Huck headed?

Chapter Eight - VIII

  1. Why are people firing a cannon over the water? What is the reason for floating bread down the river?
  1. Why does seeing Huck scare Jim?
  1. Why has Jim run away?
  1. Why does Huck agree not to turn Jim in? Huck says people would call him “a low down Abolitionist” for keeping quiet. What does this indicate about his own feelings about slavery?
  1. What is humorous about Jim’s superstitions?
  1. How did Jim lose all his money? What is the point of Twain’s satire?
  1. At this point, how would you describe Huck’s attitude towards Jim?

Chapter Nine - IX

  1. Write a quote that reflects Twain’s naturalism through his use of imagery.
  1. Write a quote indicates Huck’s feelings about being out in nature with Jim.
  1. Why is there a house floating down the river?
  1. What do Huck and Jim find in the house and why does Jim keep Huck from looking at it?

Chapter Ten - X

  1. Jim blames the snake’s presence in his blanket on his superstitious belief in bad luck. How does the snake actually come to be in Jim’s blanket? When Jim drinks whisky to relieve the pain, why might Huck say he would rather have been bitten by a snake than by the whiskey?
  1. What does Huck do with the dead snake? What does his refusal to apologize indicate about him?
  1. Why does Huck believe looking at the new moon over his shoulder is “one of the carelessest and foolishest things a body can do” (Twain 54)? How does Twain make fun of superstitions with this story?
  1. Why does Huck dress up like a girl?

Chapter Eleven - XI

  1. What news does Huck get from Mrs. Judith Loftus about his own disappearance?
  1. What story does Huck tell Mrs. Loftus when she sees through his disguise?
  1. What three things does Huck do that show he is a boy?
  1. Why do Huck and Jim leave Jackson’s Island?

Chapter Twelve - XII

  1. Describe the raft and the life Huck and Jim lead when alone on it. How do Huck and Jim get food?
  1. Write a quote that reflects the pleasure of the river for Huck and Jim.
  1. How do Huck and Jim justify their practice of“borrowing” things? Why do they elect not to borrow crabapples and persimmons?
  1. Why does Huck insist on boarding the Walter Scott?
  1. Who are: Bill? Jake? Turner?
  1. What do Bill and Jake decide to do with Turner? How are they being hypocritical?
  1. What terrible discovery does Jim make at the end of the chapter?

Chapter Thirteen - XIII

  1. Huck and Jim escape from the Walter Scott in the lifeboat, leaving the murderers trapped on the wreck. How does Huck feel about leaving them? What does this indicate about how he views himself?
  1. When Huck attempts to send a ferry-boat watchman to rescue the murderers, why does he wish the widow knew of his good deed?What is the object of Twain’s satire? Where have we seen this satire previously?

Chapter Fourteen - XIV

  1. Why does Jim decide that he doesn’t want any more adventures?
  1. Why does Jim “take no stock in…Sollermun bein de wises man dat ever live”?
  1. Why might Jim be especially sensitive about Solomon’s apparent disregard for a child’s life?
  1. When Jim bests Huck in an argument at the end of the chapter, how does Huck demonstrate his prejudice?

Chapter Fifteen - XV

  1. What do Huck and Jim plan to do when they reach Cairo?
  1. Describe how Huck felt when he was alone in the fog.
  1. Huck tells Jim that the separation in the fog was a dream. Why is Jim so hurt by Huck’s trick?
  1. Why is Huck’s response to Jim’s rebuke significant?

Chapter Sixteen - XVI

  1. Why is Huck so uneasy about approaching Cairo? What does he realize about the consequences of his actions?
  1. Explain what Huck calls “conscience.” In what way has Huck’s conscience been deformed?
  1. What decision does Huck make to quiet his conscience?
  1. Why does Huck act against his conscience?
  1. What decision does Huck make about doing right and wrong?
  1. Why did Huck and Jim have to change their plan?
  1. After attributing their bad luck to the snake-skin, what more bad luck befalls them at the end of the chapter? What happens to the two of them?