Dialectical Journal For Huckleberry Finn

Kelly Meusborn

AP Lit & Comp 12

31 August 2015

19th Century Novel: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

NOTE-TAKING TASKS:

a) Huckleberry Finn runs away from his home and abusive father. He meets up with Jim, a runaway slave and together they set out on a journey on the Mississippi River. The encounter all sorts of people that lead Huck and Jim into trouble. Ultimately these characters and events help Huck form his own understanding on life and himself.

b) HUCKLEBERRY FINN- Huck is in the low white society class. In this class, he can look at the contrasts of high and low class. As a white boy he can see white society and see the hardships of being outcasts, like black society, due to his low rank in his own. He is a smart outdoors boy but he

This would separate him from his family, which really upsets him. Meeting Huck on Jackson Island, the two venture on many adventures down the Mississippi River whilst trying to not get caught and taken back into slavery. He is highly superstitious. He is caring for Huck and his family. He believes Huck to be his only and best friend, and he ends up helping Huck more than Huck realizes.

TOM SAWYER- Antics. Foolish. High white society. Romantic novels influence. Robber(murderer) lifestyle. Huck and Tom have been friends for a while as hinted at in the beginning by Mark Twain with the preceding novel, the Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Tom idolizes the life of a robber and convinces his friends to play along in his games of stealing and murdering. As the novel plays on Tom reappears towards the end as the nephew of the Phelps family. Here we learn that Tom is still the same and doesn’t really care about the well-being of Jim nor Huck with his stupid

That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth mainly” (5). From the beginning we know that Huck is the narrator and Mr. Mark Twain is the author and that it is all right if you didn’t read the other novel. In doing so we feel as though a little boy is giving us his story, as it should be. This story will be the true story narrated by Huck Finn unfiltered. Huck for instance learns that “Moses had been dead” He therefore decides that he “ didn’t care no more about him…[because he] don’t take no stock in dead people” (6). Mark Twain introduces the novel but smoothly descends to Huck’s voice. We can see Twain’s views all throughout. He is able to voice his opinion on society and the changes he wants to happen through setting and characters, especially Huck. In the restrictions to solely the perceptions, thoughts, and feelings of Huck we feel as he does towards things. We feel what he feels is stupid. He is an unreliable character. As a reader, we need to comprehend the situation ]. Twain achieves the affect of innocence and youth to convey the unreliability and confusion that Huck is