Name_____________________
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain
Ernest Hemingway expressed his admiration for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by saying, "All
modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn." H. L.
Mencken calls the novel, …”one of the great masterpieces of the world.” Nevertheless, the book
remains one of the most controversial novels ever written as well as one of the most censored books in
America. The validity of arguments surrounding the book mostly involves the many uses of the term
“nigger” in the text. In fact, recently the book has been rewritten and republished by a college professor
who washed the offensive term from the text. The rationale behind this new edition as well as the title
and author are discussed on the following site http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industrynews/publisher-news/article/45645-upcoming-newsouth-huck-finn-eliminates-the-n-word.html .
Of course, we at Lutheran West do not advocate racism by choosing this novel. Instead we feel it is a
significant part of America’s literary canon and must be read from the perspective of Twain’s point of
view as a young white boy who must learn, from his experiences with runaway slave, Jim, on the
Mississippi river that Jim is more human and more of a father figure to him than his own father ever
was. Huck’s relationship with Jim teaches a greater lesson of the hypocrisy of societal values of his time
that raised him to see Jim as property not as a person. As Huck grows, the intelligent reader recognizes
those same lessons, and hopefully, sees the injustices of slavery and racism.
Your student may read either text although we recommend the original text using the above
understanding of the author’s purpose.
Study Guide
Because this book is the ”Adventures” of Huck Finn, it is episodic, which means it is written in several
different episodes or stories and can be easily divided into stand-alone sections. Twain himself wrote
the first section of the book and walked away from it for over a year. This guide will also be organized
into four distinct sections of the book. Use specific examples from the reading to support your answer
to each question.
Part 1-Chapters 1-15 “Discover Moses and the Bulrushers” to “Fooling Poor Old Jim”
1. Disprove the statement “Huck is civilized.” Discuss what Huck views civilization to be. Do you feel he
will ever become civilized? Why or Why not?
2. Prove the statement “Huck is civilized.” How does his behavior run contrary to that of “civilized”
folk? What aspects of his character are more civilized than those around him? Why?
3. Contrast the views of religion taught to Huck by the Widow and Miss Watson. Why do or why don’t
you feel Huck will accept Christianity? How do you feel about what Huck is being taught about God?
4. What kind of supernatural path does Huck seem to be following at the present time? Why do you
feel he believes these things? How does the text prove this "religion" true or untrue?
5. What kind of supernatural path does Huck seem to be following at the present time? Why do you
feel he believes these things? How does the text prove this "religion" true or untrue?
6. Characterize Tom Sawyer. Give two examples of why you feel that way about him.
7. How would you discuss Huck's attitudes toward Tom? Why? Give examples from the text to prove
your feelings.
8. Describe Huck's father. Why can his attitudes toward Huck be considered ironic by today's
standards? What social problems are demonstrated through his character? How might society treat
Huck’s father today as compared with Twain’s time?
9. Discuss Huck's father's political beliefs. Why does Twain include these?
10. What are Huck's attitudes toward Jim? Are they changing and why?
11. Support or disprove the statement, "Huck is intelligent and resourceful."
12. What was one of the moral dilemmas Huck encountered in this excerpt? Do you agree with how he
resolved it? Is his solution Christian, civilized, boyish?
13. What do you feel is Twain's attitude toward slavery? Why? Give evidence from the text to support
your view.
Part II-Chapter 16 “The Rattlesnake Skin Does Its Work” through Chapter 23 “The Orneriness of Kings”
One of Huck's major conflicts in his life is whether or not to become socially acceptable or "civilized."
This often doesn't appeal to him because the people he meets who are "civilized" often are uncivilized in
that they lack morals or behave in a hypocritical manner. Consider each of the following characters.
Write a C in the column if you believe that person or group considers him/her to be civilized. Tell why or
why not each would consider them civilized. In the third column, explain why you feel they are civilized
or not. Give quotes to prove your point.
Huck
Widow
Miss Watson
Society
Your View
Emmeline Grangerford
Col. Grangerford
Sophia Grangerford
Harney Shepherdson
The Duke
The King
Boggs
Col. Sherburn
2. Discuss a specific possible lesson each of the following characters might have taught Huck in order for
him to grow up. Use a quote to show this.
Widow
The Grangerfords
Col. Sherburn
Jim
King and the Duke
3. What are three ways in which you see Huck is growing or maturing? Give specific examples to show
he is acting in a more adult, responsible manner.
Part III-Chapter 24 “The King Turns Parson” through Chapter 31 “You Can’t Pray a Lie”
1. List five quotes in which Huck refers to the river. Explain his feelings toward the raft and the river.
What do these symbolize and why?
1.
p.
2.
p.
3.
p.
4.
p.
5.
p.
2. Characterize Mary Jane. Give several reasons why Huck decided to trust Mary Jane.
3. State three changes in Huck's character in this segment and give specific evidence to prove these
changes exist.
4. What moral truths has Huck learned or accepted in this excerpt? Explain how he learned each lesson
and how this might change him.
5. What was the psychological climax of part three? Why do you feel this is a turning point for Huck?
Part IV-Chapter 32 “I Have a New Name” through Chapter the Last “Nothing More to Write”
A. The items listed below are all found in part IV of your reading. Think about each of the following.
Give a brief description of how each is used in the book or what happened in reference to it. Then
analyze why these are important to Huck. How do they help Huck grow or change?
Event
The last time Huck saw
the King and the Duke
The sheets and the
candlesticks
What happened to Tom
during the escape
Tom’s surprise announcement
at the end of the book
Jim’s surprise announcement
at the end of the book
Description of what
happened or was said
Effects on Huck
2. Describe each of the characters below. Tell their part in the last section of the book and label them
as a hero or a hypocrite, explaining your choice. Tell what lesson they taught Huck in section 4 of the
book.
Aunt Sally-
The townspeople-
The doctor-
Tom-
Jim-
3. At the end of the book, Huck says “Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can’t
stand it. I been there before.” Give three reasons why Huck is so dead set against being civilized. Use
examples from part four to support your answer.