Name _______________________________________________
Period __________
Huckleberry Finn Reading Questions
You do not need to answer in complete sentences.
Chapter 1
1. What do we know about Huck from the way he talks?
2. What is a “stretcher”?
3. Why does Mark Twain begin Huck Finn with a reference to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer?
4. How does Huck feel about being “civilized”?
5. Why does Huck prefer the “bad” place to the “good” place?
6. What does Huck‟s reaction to the burning of the spider show us about him?
Score _____/6
Chapter 2
1. What trick does Tom play on Jim?
2. How does Huck feel about it?
3. What difference between the two boys does this suggest?
4. How does Jim react to the trick?
5. If you were going to join Tom Sawyer‟s gang, what would you have to agree to do?
6. What do we learn about Tom as the head of the gang?
Page
1
7. How does Ben Rogers react to the ransoming idea?
Score ______/7
Chapter 3
1. What does Huck think about praying?
Name _______________________________________________
Period __________
2. Why does Huck decide that there must be two Providences?
3. What does Huck think of Pap?
4. Why does Huck resign from the gang?
5. What does the difference in Huck and Tom‟s views on “A-rabs” and “rubbing lamps” show about
them?
Score ______/5
Chapter 4
1. Why does Huck “sell” his fortune to Judge Thatcher?
a. so he doesn‟t have to __________________ to Pap
b. so ___________________ doesn‟t get ahold of the money
2. What does the “hair-ball” tell Jim about Huck‟s future?
a. he will have ________ wives: one _________________ and one ____________
b. he will marry the ____________ one first but eventually the _____________ one
c. he should avoid ______________________
d. he will die by ___________
Score _______/6
Chapter 5
1. Describe Pap.
Physical:
Personality:
2. How does Pap feel about Huck going to school?
3. How does the new judge find out how Pap really is?
Chapter 6
1. Why is Huck going to school now?
2. Why does Huck at first enjoy living with Pap?
Page
2
3. How does Pap feel about the “govment” and “educated niggers”?
4. Why is he so enraged about the black professor he talks about?
Score _______/4
Name _______________________________________________
Period __________
5. Why does Pap act the way he does most of the time?
Chapter 7
1. Why does Huck kill the pig?
Score _______/5
2. How are Huck‟s preparations for his escape different from the ones he knows Tom would make?
3. Describe Huck‟s emotions when he first sets out on the river.
4. Where is Huck headed?
Chapter 8
1. Why are people firing a cannon over the water?
Score ______/4
2. What is the reason for floating bread down the river?
Define quicksilver (n):
What is the more common name for it? _____________________________
3. Why does Huck scare Jim?
Jim thinks Huck is a ________________.
4. Why has Jim run away?
a. He was going to be sold to ___________________ for $_________.
b. He was going to be _______________ from his family.
5. Why is the chapter entitled “I Spare Miss Watson‟s Jim”?
6. Is there any difference between the superstition of Huck and the superstition of Jim? Explain your
answer.
7. This chapter suggests that civilization is ______________________________________
Page
3
____________________________________________________________________.
8. How does Huck see Jim at this point in the novel?
Score ______/13
Name _______________________________________________
Period __________
Chapter 9
1. Why is there a house floating down the river?
2. What do Huck and Jim find in the house (besides supplies)?
3. What does Jim do to that thing so Huck doesn‟t see it?
Score ______/3
Chapter 10
1. How does the snake come to be in Jim‟s blanket?
2. Name at least three things Jim does after the snakebite.
a.
b.
c.
3. What does Huck‟s reaction show about him?
4. Why does Huck dress up like a girl?
Score ______/6
Chapter 11
1. What information does Huck get from Mrs. Judith Loftus regarding his “murder”?
2. What story does Huck tell Mrs. Loftus when she sees through his disguise?
3. What three things does Huck do that show he is a boy?
a.
b.
c.
Page
4
4. Why do Huck and Jim leave Jackson‟s Island?
The map to the left shows the path of the Mississippi River.
Score ______/6
Name _______________________________________________
Period __________
Chapter 12
1. Describe the raft. Use great detail here.
2. How do Huck and Jim get food?
What‟s another word for borrow according to Huck‟s definition? _____________
3. Why are Huck and Jim able to feel comfortable about borrowing things?
4. Why does Huck insist on boarding the Walter Scott?
5. Who are Bill, Jake and Turner? _________________ and ________________
6. What do Bill and Jake decide to do with Turner?
7. What terrible discovery does Jim make at the end of the chapter?
Score _______/7
Chapter 13
1. After Huck and Jim escape the sinking ship in its lifeboat, how does Huck feel about leaving them?
Why?
2. How does his concern differ from the widow‟s?
3. How does Huck try to help the murderers?
4. What happens to the murderers? Be specific.
Chapter 14
1. Why does Jim decide that he doesn‟t want any more adventures?
Score ______/4
Page
5
2. The biblical King Solomon was known for his wisdom, his wealth and his writings. He became ruler in
approximately 967 B.C.E. and his kingdom extended from the Euphrates River in the north to Egypt in the south.
His crowning achievement was the building of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Almost all knowledge of him is
derived from the biblical books of Kings I and Chronicles II. Although Solomon was young, he soon became
known for his wisdom. The first and most famous incident of his cleverness as a judge was when two women came
to his court with a baby whom both women claimed as their own. Solomon threatened to split the baby in half.
One woman was prepared to accept the decision, but the other begged the King to give the live baby to the other
woman. Solomon then knew the second woman was the mother. Kings I records that he had 700 wives.
Name _______________________________________________
Period __________
Why does Jim “take no stock in…Sollermun bein de wises‟ man dat ever live‟”?
3. Why does Huck decide that it is useless to argue with him?
4. Is Mark Twain expressing opinions through Jim or Huck? Pick one and explain why you think that.
Score ______/4
Chapter 15
1. What do Huck and Jim plan to do when they reach Cairo?
2. Describe how Huck felt when he was alone in the fog.
3. Huck tells Jim that the separation in the dog was a dream. Why is Jim so hurt by Huck‟s trick?
4. Why is Huck‟s response to Jim‟s rebuke significant?
Define rebuke (n):
Score ______/5
Chapter 16
The map to the left shows the path of the Ohio River.
1. Why is Huck so uneasy about approaching Cairo?
2. In what state is Cairo? ________________________
3. Why are they trying to reach Cairo?
4. Look up the definition of conscience in the dictionary. Explain what Huck calls “conscience.”
Compare and contrast those two definitions of the word.
Page
6
5. How does Huck keep the men in the skiff from checking out the raft?
6. What decision does Huck make about doing right and wrong?
Name _______________________________________________
Period __________
7. Why did Huck and Jim have to change their plans?
8. How did Huck and Jim get separated?
Score _______/9
Vocab for chapters 1-16. Define each word according to the part of speech listed.
1) commence (v)
2) tolerable (adj.)
3) shrivel (v)
4) providence (n)
5) ingots (n)
6) oracle (n)
7) specimen (n)
8) infernal (adj.)
9) speculate (v)
10) hogshead (n)
11) vial (n)
12) pivot (v)
13) careened (v)
14) gaudy (adj.)
15) thicket (n)
Score ________/15
Chapter 17
1. How does Huck solve the problem of forgetting his name?
Page
7
2. What does Huck think of the Grangerfords? Of their home?
3. Explain how Emmeline died.
Name _______________________________________________
Period __________
Score ________/4
Chapter 18
1. What is the cause of the feud between the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons? Explain.
2. Which side starting the shooting?
3. Why is Twain so vague about it?
4. What are the drawbacks to being as courageous as the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons?
5. Define satire.
Why is the topic of the Sunday sermon “satiric”?
6. What has happened to Jim since the last time Huck has seen him?
7. What does Miss Sophie do?
8. What happens to the Grangerfords?
9. What does Huck do?
Score ________/10
Chapter 19
1. What causes Huck‟s new appreciation for life on the raft?
2. Describe the duke.
3. Describe the dauphin. Dauphin is another word for ____________________.
4. When the duke and the dauphin first got on the raft, why did they talk to each other and ignore Huck
and Jim?
5. Why does Huck pretend to believe them even though he knows they‟re frauds?
Chapter 20
1. How does Huck explain Jim to the duke and the king?
2. How do the king and duke treat Huck and Jim?
Page
8
3. What does the king do at the camp meeting?
4. How does the duke arrange for them to travel in the daytime?
Score _________/6
Name _______________________________________________
Period __________
5. How does Mark Twain paint a picture of what the duke and dauphin are really like? Through the
way they _________________________ and the way they _________________
Chapter 21
1. What are the king and duke getting ready for?
Score _________/6
2. What kind of town is Bricksville?
3. Why had Boggs come to town?
4. What did the “loafers” think of Boggs‟s threats?
5. Describe the murder of Boggs.
6. How did the townspeople react to the murder?
Score ________/6
Chapter 22
1. Why did the “Lynching Bee” fail?
2. What does Sherburn think of the men in the mob?
3. Is he right?
4. Why does Huck enjoy the circus so much?
5. How successful is the Shakespearean Revival?
6. How does the duke plan to get an audience for the low-comedy presentation?
7. Compare the incident at the circus with the shooting of Boggs. In what ways are the situations
similar? How does Huck‟s response differ from the crowd‟s in both instances?
Page
9
Score _______/8
Chapter 23
1. Why doesn‟t the audience “take care of” the king and the duke after the first performance?
2. What happens on the third night?
Name _______________________________________________
Period __________
3. Discuss Huck and Jim‟s comments on royalty in this chapter. Is it believable for Huck to know so
much history? Explain.
4. Why is Huck amazed at Jim‟s mourning his home and family?
5. What does the story of „Lizabeth show about Jim?
Score _______/5
Chapter 24
1. Why is Jim dressed up like a sick Arab?
2. Huck‟s last statement in this chapter is, “It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race.”
What is Huck talking about?
3. How does Twain make it believable for the two rogues to impersonate the Wilks brothers?
Score _______/3
Chapter 25
1. Huck describes the tearful scene at the Wilkses as the most disgusting thing he has ever seen. Does
he mean only the king‟s performance? Explain.
2. Why does the king give the money to Mary Jane?
3. Have the “rapscallions” hood-winked everybody? Explain.
Chapter 26
1. What decision does Huck make?
Score _______/4
2. What are the plans of the king and the duke?
Chapter 27
1. Where did Huck hide the gold?
Score _______/2
2. Describe the undertaker.
Page
10
3. Where is the humor in Huck‟s observation, “There warn‟t no more popular man in town than what
that undertaker was”?
4. How are the king‟s plans progressing?
Name _______________________________________________
Chapter 28
1. What is special about Mary Jane?
Period __________
Score _______/4
2. Why is she the only person to whom Huck tells the truth?
Chapter 29
1. Why do the men decide to dig up the corpse?
Score _______/2
2. “So I wilted right down onto the planks then, and give up; and it was all I could do to keep from
crying.” What‟s bothering Huck?
Score _______/2
Vocab for chapters 17-29. Define each word according to the part of speech listed.
1) crockery (n)
2) reticule (n)
3) pensive (adj)
4) impair (v)
5) pommel (v)
6) capered (v)
7) cavorting (v)
8) scow (n)
9) lineal (adj)
10) histrionic (adj)
11) phrenology (n)
12) contrite (adj)
13) sublime (adj)
Page
11
14) soliloquy (n)
15) yawl (n)
16) pallet (n)
Name _______________________________________________
Period __________
17) mesmerism (n)
18) frock (n)
19) passel (n)
20) rapscallion (n)
21) flapdoodle (n)
Score ______/21
Chapter 30
1. Why are the king and duke fighting?
2. Why do they get back together?
Chapter 31
1. What do the king and duke do to Jim?
Score _______/2
2. Why does Huck write Miss Watson?
3. Why does he tear up the letter?
4. Huck has rebelled against civilization before. At Miss Watson‟s he smoked, played hookey, and left
his room nights to sleep in the woods. What is different about this decision?
5. Tearing up the letter to Miss Watson has been described as one of the great moments in American
history. A Southern boy breaks free of the social convention that surrounds him and risks his soul to
free a Negro slave. Why is Huck just the boy to tear up that letter?
6. Discuss the implications of Huck‟s conclusion, “All right, then, I‟ll go to hell.”
7. Huck again encounters the duke. What happens?
Chapter 32
1. What is Huck‟s new name?
Score _______/7
Page
12
2. Why is that convenient for Huck?
Score _______/2
Chapter 33
1. Why is Huck surprised at Tom‟s willingness to rescue Jim?
Name _______________________________________________
Period __________
2. Why is Tom willing to do it?
3. What new identity does Tom assume?
4. How does Huck feel when he sees the king and duke tarred and feathered?
5. Do they deserve his pity? Explain.
6. Why is Huck so annoyed with his conscience?
7. Does the fact that both Tom and Huck are on the plantation add to or detract from the plot? Explain
your response.
Score _______8
Chapter 34
1. How did Tom figure out where Jim was?
2. Compare Huck‟s plan for freeing Jim with Tom‟s.
3. What does Huck think of Tom‟s fancy touches?
4. What are the dangers of Tom‟s approach?
5. Some critics think that Jim‟s rescue is an inappropriate ending to the novel. They wonder how Huck,
with his new maturity, can consent to Tom‟s foolish scheme. Do you agree with these critics? Why or
why not?
Score ______/6
Chapter 35
1. What is the whole chapter, “Dark, Deep-Laid Plans” about?
Score ______/1
Chapter 36
1. Huck says, “When I start to steal a nigger, or a watermelon, or a Sunday-school book, I ain‟t no ways
particular how it‟s done so it‟s done.” How would Tom feel about this statement?
Page
13
2. Why does Jim agree to go along with everything?
3. What‟s Nat‟s problem?
Chapter 37
1. What is the topic of conversation at the breakfast table?
Score ______/3
Name _______________________________________________
Period __________
2. How does Tom manage to get the things he needs for the escape?
3. Describe the baking of the witch pie.
Chapter 38
1. What is the irony involved in the fetching of the grindstone?
Score _______/3
2. Why does Tom try to talk Jim into keeping a pet rattlesnake? Rats?
3. What purpose does this chapter serve?
4. Describe Jim‟s ordeal.
Chapter 39
1. Why does Tom write anonymous letters?
Score ________/4
2. What does he say in them?
Chapter 40
1. What does Huck find when he goes into the setting-room?
Score _______/2
2. When the butter melts down Huck‟s face, what does Aunt Sally think it is?
3. What one thing really goes wrong in the escape?
4. When Huck says, “I knowed he was white inside, I reckoned he‟d say what he did say,” what is he
talking about?
Chapter 41
1. Why doesn‟t Huck go with the doctor?
Score ______/4
2. How does he explain his absence to Uncle Silas?
Page
14
3. What is Old Mrs. Hotchkiss‟ theory?
4. Why doesn‟t Huck go check on Tom that night?
Chapter 42
1. Why don‟t they hang Jim?
Score ______/4
Name _______________________________________________
Period __________
2. What does the doctor think of Jim?
3. What does Tom tell Aunt Sally?
4. Why had Tom worked so hard to set Jim free when he was already free?
5. Who arrives on the scene to really straighten things out?
Score ______/5
Vocab for chapters 30-43. Define each word according to the part of speech listed.
1) dismal (adj)
2) temperance (n)
3) venture (v)
4) bogus (adj)
5) texas (n)
6) impudent (adj)
7) insurrection (n)
8) garret (n)
9) inscription (n)
10) tedious (adj)
11) brash (adj)
12) ascend (v)
13) singular (adj)
Page
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14) tapering off (adj)
Score ________/14
Theme: