Huck Finn: 30

Chapter 30 is a transition chapter. It moves transitions the text from Episode 8 (Peter Wilkes and Relations) to Episode 9 (The Phelps).

In this chapter, the King and the Duke reach the raft, having escaped when gold was discovered upon dead Peter's chest, and are reunited with Huck and Jim. The King and Duke then take to blaming each other for the disappearance of the gold. Each claiming that the other stole the gold with hopes of coming back to dig it up. They are so taken to blaming each other and their own greed that they completely overlook Huck. Their own naivety, ignorance and gullibility sucks them into Huck's con. Remember the question, chapter 20, about who was the shrewdest: Duke, the King, or Huck? Has your answer changed?

Chapter themes: Gullibility, Naivety, and Ignorance; Role of the Outsider; Coming of Age and the Hero's Journey; Death and Rebirth.

Symbols: The river, the raft, whiskey.

Hatfields and the McCoys

Click here for the story.

Huck Finn: 17-18

Episode 5: The Feud (chapters 17-18)

Themes: Romanticism vs. Realism, Death and Rebirth

Motifs: persona (#5 - George Jackson or Jaxon)
Snakes - connection w/ Jim
Shakespeare
George Washington


Families involved: Gangerfords and Shepherdson
Allusions: Romeo and Juliet, George Washington
Humor/Satire: Church scene with all the guns; Dr. Gunn's book of Family Medicine

Chapter 17 - GROUP QUESTIONS (started and to be finished in class on Monday)

1. What are two motifs that appear in this chapter?
2. What name does Huck take? What lie or story does he make up?
3. Make a list of items that appear in the house (at least four).
4. Make a list of books that appear in the house (at least four). Are any of the titles humorous – which ones? Why?
5. Describe the four paintings that Emmeline Grangerford created. What is in each picture? What do you think each picture is about?

a.


b.


c.


d.


6. What is Emmeline’s poem about? What is humorous about it?
7. Twain is using the descriptions of this house and Emmeline as a forshadow for the next chapter. What do you think he is hinting

Huck Finn: 14-16

Chapter 14: King Solomon/Kings in general

Reinforce Romanticism - and the romantic idea of kings. Jim argues that King Solomon wasn't so wise because he had a million wives which means he had about 5 million babies - and who could live with that kind of noise. He also argues that cutting a child in two isn't really smart. It's because he has so many children that he can afford to cut one or two in half.

There's a foreshadow here - kings and royalty are coming.

Chapter 15: Huck's third trick on Jim. Think about the towheads and the fog. What do they represent?
Huck learns more about Jim and begin to see him as a human.

Chapter 16: persona # 4 and Huck's deformed conscious.

Lit Terms Notes for Huck Finn

Romanticism:
Work of literature that deal with imagination, that represent ideals of life, these works often include fantastic adventure stories, spiritual connections with nature, gothic stories of the fantastic. Authors include: Sir Walter Scott, Fenimore Cooper, Poe.

Realism:
Works of literature that depict life and people as they really appear. Hence Realistic.
Themes include corruption of society as a whole, racism.

Anithero:
A protagonist who doesn't fit the traditional description of a hero.

Satire:
A work of literature that uses irony and hyperbole to attack and mock some aspect of society as a way to promote social change.

Huck Finn Vocabulary

Vocabulary Words Chapters 1-15

1) Affix

2) Commence

3) Tolerable

4) Shrivel

5) Providence

6) Ingot

7) Oracle

8) Infernal

9) Speculate

10) Hogshead

11) Vial

12) Pivot

13) Careened

14) Gaudy

15) Raspy

16) Notion

17) Dismal

18) Victuals

19) Thrash

Huck Finn NOTES:

Picarsque Novel: Usually a satirical novel which depicts in realistic detail the adventures of a roguish hero of low social class who survives by his or her wits in a corrupt society.

Bildungsroman: A novel whose principal subject is the moral, psychological and intellectual development of a youthful main character.

Episodic Plot: A structure that features distinct episodes or a series of stories linked together by the same character. Huck Finn can be broken up into 8 or 9 episodes.