Violations In The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain wrote “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offences” as an attack on Cooper’s novels. Twain lists eighteen violations of literature Cooper had made in Deerslayer. Of the eighteen violations Twain listed, he is also guilty of the same offenses; in chapter twenty two and twenty three of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: number eleven clearly define character; number nine on the list no miracles; and number eight crass stupidities. In Twain’s essay “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offences” he made the rules too specific; like number eleven state, “They require that the characters in a tale shall be so clearly defined that the reader can tell beforehand what each will do in a given emergency. But in the Deerslayer tale, this rule is vacated (1433).”

Number nine on the list state, “They require that the personages of a tale shall confine themselves to possibilities and let miracles alone; or, if they venture a miracle, the author must so plausibly set it forth as to make it look possible and reasonable. But these rules are not respected in the Deerslayer tale (1433).” The dictionary definition of miracle are, “ 1. an unusual or wonderful event that is believed to be caused by the power of God 2. a very amazing or unusual event, thing, or achievement.” Twain had the definition of miracle too broad. He might have meant doing the impossible or something similar. In Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the part when the duke and the king set a show and trick peoples’ money, things just went too well. The duke said, “Greenhorns, flatheads! I knew the first house would keep mum and let the rest of the town get roped in; and I knew they'd lay for us the third night, and consider it was their turn now. Well, it is their turn, and I'd give something to know how much they'd take for it. I would just like to know how they're putting in their opportunity. They can turn it into a picnic if they want to -- they brought plenty provisions (151)." Everything went according to the duke’s plan it is “amazing” because other things could happen such as: the people who got trick didn’t wait until the third night or the first group of people who got trick just goes after them. Twain

“They require that crass stupidities shall not be played upon the reader as ‘the craft of the woodsman, the delicate art of the forest,’ by either the author or the people in the tale. But this rule is persistently violated in the Deerslayer tale (1433).” Twain also had made this rule too broad. In Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the part after the duke and the king trick the crowd, with the king running around naked with paint all over on the stage. The response of the crowd is, “‘Hold on! Just a word, gentlemen.’ They stopped to listen. ‘We are sold -- mighty badly sold. But we don't want to be the laughing stock of this whole town, I reckon, and never hear the last of this thing as long as we live. No. What we want is to go out of here quiet, and talk this show up, and sell the rest of the town! Then we'll all be in the same boat. Ain't that sensible?’ (‘You bet it is! -- the jedge is right!’ everybody sings out.) ‘All right, then -- not a word about any sell. Go along home, and advise everybody to come and see the tragedy.’” It is pretty stupid to do something like that and still thinks you are smart. It may not be as stupid as “the craft of the woodsman, the delicate art of the forest,” but it is stupid; people just made fool out of themselves and want to be tricked and lose their money. This is played upon the reader because he tells it as human nature; one person said something that sound