Sunday, September 25, 2011

Huckleberry Fin

This was the first time i got the chance to read this book, and after finishing it i wish i had read it along time ago! I like to think this is a coming of ago story, a young boy sets out to find adventurer and boy does he! In the beginning of the book two women try it "Civilize" Huckleberry they were Window Douglas and Miss Watson. Huckleberry doesn't like it very much neither does his dad, she he takes him away from them. Huck stages his own death and decides to ride the Mississippi looking for adventurer. He runs across Jim who is running away from miss Watson and they both ride the raft. They run across a cast of different types of people along his way, the duke and the king, the Grangerford family, the Wilks family, and Sally and Silas Phelps.

The duke and the king our two people that swindle people out of their money and they do this with Huck and Jim along, but Huck and Jim both know that it is wrong. They continue to do this until they reach the Wilks family were they act like a death person's brother and try to steal his money away from this girls. They end up being caught and get run out of town, the float down river with Huck and Jim to the next town were they get feathered and tared. The Grangerford family is in an on going feud with the Shepherson family, this feud really gets bad when one of the Grangerford girls runs off with the Shepherson boys. Huck played a part in this, the girl got Huck to run back to the church to bring a piece of paper that had a time on it. Huck didn't know at the time what it meant, but turns out it was the Shepherson boy letting the girl know when they were going to run off together.

Now Sally and Silas Phelps are the people the king sold Jim to when they were in need of some money. Huck gets wind of this and wants to help Jim, so go goes to the farm and gets mistaken for Tom Sawyer. When Tom does show up they both play along to try to get Jim away from the Phelps, but Huck doesn't know why Tom is helping him, he thought Tom was raised better then that. Well turns out Miss Watson i died and released Jim from slavery, that's why Tom helped Huck he was freeing a free man!

I think that through out this whole journey Huck really did become civilized like the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson wanted the whole time. Through out the journey Huckleberry had many chances to turn in Jim and get a reward and go on with his day. Huck fought with this problem for awhile, he even lied to a few men that were looking for runaway slaves. I believe that Huck saw Jim not as a black man but i true friend and that he was an equal. While on the boat Jim would often do double watch so Huck could get some sleep along with being good company with Huck these are the reasons why i believe that Huck had changed through out his journey. maybe Mark Twain was showing us that Huck was not going with the "mob" the mob being white people that thought slavery was okay. Which we can tie back to the Sherburn chapter were he called everyone out saying they weren't men that they were cowards, for being part of a mob when they came to attack Sherburn for killing boggs.

2 comments:

  1. I hadn't read Huck Finn before either, and I am also really glad I have now. It was a very good book. I agree with your idea about it being a coming of age story. Huck really seems to grow and develop as his story goes on. It was very sweet how Jim really came to care for Huck. He truly did see him as his best friend. I hadn't thought about Jim's friendship playing a part in Huck's transformation as a character, but you are very right. The friendship really did play a major role in changing Huck's attitude about helping Jim run away.

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  2. thank you for agreeing with me, yeah when i was reading the book i just could see how huck was having a change of heart about jim. And how he was developing into a young man with this own set or ideals and thoughts. that might differ how everyone else. which we can connect back to the sherburn chapter were he was calling everyone a coward for following the mob! the mob being in this case white people thinking slavery is okay and just going with it, because they dont want to be the one to call it what it was. wrong

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