THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN by MARK TWAIN
4 ESO
Synopsis
Huckleberry Finn, son of the town's drunk, lives with the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, the widow's
sister. He likes the widow, but doesn't enjoy her attempts to "civilize" him. When pap, Huck's father,
returns to town, he wants Huck to live with him, mostly because he wants to get his hands on money that
Huck is entitled to. (Huck shares $12,000 with Tom Sawyer. In Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,
which was written earlier, Huck and Tom found the money in a robber's cave. The money was then put in
trust for them.)
Since Huck doesn't want to go with pap, his father catches him and takes him to a cabin where nobody
can find him. Huck escapes, though, and hides out at Jackson's Island. A few days later Huck finds Jim,
Miss Watson's slave. Jim tells Huck that he ran away because he was afraid that Miss Watson was going
to sell him to a slave trader in New Orleans. Huck promises not to turn Jim in.
They begin travelling down the river on a raft, hoping to get Jim to the free states. Along the way they
have several adventures. They take up with two con men, one of whom betrays Jim by telling a man that
Jim is a runaway slave. When Huck learns that Jim has been captured, he and Tom Sawyer, who has
joined him, plan an elaborate scheme to save Jim, finally freeing him.
The story is episodic with many adventures, rich in the dialects of the times, and provides vivid details of
life along the Mississippi before the American Civil War (1861-65).
Ideas and Concepts
1. Note that the story is told in the first person, with Huck as the narrator. Twain used the dialects of
the times and that he wrote the story as if Huck were actually speaking. (Some students may have
trouble with the dialects.)
2. The story takes place in the South prior to the American Civil War. The country was still divided
into slave and free states.
3. The novel is episodic. The plot consists of numerous events, each of which is a very short story by
itself. (Critics often complain that Twain wandered with the plot and occasionally needed to rely
on coincidence to make things work out. Although this may be valid in some cases, it doesn't
diminish the story's appeal and many strengths.)
4. There are many powerful contrasts that are found throughout the book, the most striking being
the differences between Huck and Tom, and slavery and freedom.
5. Note Huck's basic goodness. Although he has faults, he is willing to go against his society to help
Jim.
6. Note Twain's use of irony, which he frequently employs to give his opinions on the behaviour of
people. A good example is Huck's belief in the values of his society. He has been taught that
slavery is right, and feels that it is wrong for him to help Jim. Yet he helps Jim anyway and accepts
Jim as an individual.
Discussion Questions
1. Describe Huck's feelings about living with the Widow Douglas and her sister, Miss Watson. Which
one of the ladies does he like more? Why? What does he feel about their attempts to "civilize"
him?
2. What kind of man was Huck's father? Use examples from the story to support your answer. How
did Huck feel when his father returned to the village?
1
3. Why does pap forbid Huck to go to school? How would you react to pap's demand if you were
Huck? Explain.
4. Why did Huck stage his own death?
5. When Huck finds Jim, he promises that he will not turn Jim in, even though Jim is a runaway slave.
What does this tell you about Huck's character?
6. What did the river mean to Huck? Explain.
7. Huck quickly realizes that the Duke and Dauphin are con men. What is a con man? What does his
ability to see these men for what they really are tell you about Huck? What does his decision not
to confront them about their fraud tell you?
8. How was Jim betrayed? How did Huck react when he learned that Jim had been captured as a
runaway slave? What did he decide to do?
9. The story contains several ironic episodes. Identify three and describe them. Explain why they are
ironic.
10. Throughout the story, Huck rebels against civilization. At the end of the novel, has he become
more "civilized"? Explain.
Tasks
1. Using an atlas or other reference material, locate the Mississippi River. How long is it? What
states does it border? Research the Mississippi of the 1830s (about the time the novel takes
place) and compare how the river was used then to the way it is used today. Make an oral
presentation of your findings to your group or class. (Social Studies)
2. What was Twain’s real name? Explain his pseudonym. What was the author’s relation to the
Mississippi?
3. Publish your Own Newspaper: Create a four-page newspaper with all the appropriate elements
common to a newspaper. (You can find examples of newspapers on the web by visiting the
Cyberguide* for Twain’s novel.) Your work will be assessed according to the quality of the
following:




the writing (exact and creative use of English)
the formatting and overall appearance and layout of the paper
the extent to which the paper shows understanding of and insight into the novel Huck Finn
demonstrated mastery of the computer to create the paper
*CyberGuides: This assignment asks you to go to the CyberGuide website for Huck Finn http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/huckcen/huckcentg.html). See also the “Resources” section below.
2
3
Resources:
Writing newspaper headlines: http://www.funenglishgames.com/writinggames/newspaper.html
Newspaper templates: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/Printing_Press/
Example of class newspaper with a historical background:
http://www.kidsonthenet.com/castle/times.cfm
Wikipedia – information about pre-Civil War United States:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_the_American_Civil_War
Timeline pre-American Civil War: http://www.civil-war.net/pages/timeline.asp
Read the suggestions below to help you write newspaper articles. Don’t forget that any such article
basically answers the questions: Who, What, Where, When, how and Why. Look at this page about how
to write news articles: http://www.explorewriting.co.uk/HowToWriteNewsArticles.html
Report writing for a newspaper article
(Taken from: Kids on the Net Teachers’ Portal Helpsheets)
If you want to write a newspaper article then there are a few ways to make your writing stand out as a
good report:
1. Think of your audience and write for them.
2. Use the 3rd person. Write, “When Mr. Smith was asked, he said” rather than “I asked my
teacher”.
3. Use pronouns where possible instead of repeating people’s names.
4. Choose powerful verbs that catch the reader’s attention “Susan raced into the lead” is much
better than “Susan ran fast”.
5. Keep the report to the point. Don’t get sidetracked by including something that is not
necessary.
6. Do not over-describe in a report - leave descriptive writing for stories and poetry.
7. Readers want the facts in a report, and nothing more.
8. Try to avoid using “said” too often. “Answered”, “replied” and “commented” are much better
and avoid repetition.
9. Use paragraphs to divide your report into sections.
10. Make subheadings between paragraphs that are appropriate to the text that follows.
11. Do not think about your headline until you have completed your report - you will find you are
able to think of eye-catching headlines much more.
4
HUCK FINN – Film Versions
There have been many movie versions of Twain’s novel, but we shall focus on just four:
The 1931 film Huckleberry Finn starred Jackie Coogan as
Tom Sawyer and Junior Durkin as Huck and was a sequel
to the film of the previous year, Tom Sawyer. The film
avoids the issue of whether Huck ought to turn in the
escaped black slave Jim.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a 1939 film adaptation
of Mark Twain's classic novel of the same name, starring Mickey
Rooney in the title role.
Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVVt9aBNa1U
5
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was directed
by Michael Curtiz in 1960.
Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loEGlr7K0Yc
This 1993 Disney version starring Elijah Wood as Huck
received generally good reviews.
Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS9-HeIUa-M
6