What does Jim use to do magic?
A hair ball.
If Pap is such a terrible father, why didn't the court take Huck away from him?
They believed Pap
... [Show More] could be "reformed".
Who decided to reform Pap? What happened?
Judge Thatcher. Pap traded his new coat for alcohol, got drunk, then ended up falling out of a window and breaking his arm.
Why does Pap try to kill Huck?
Because if Huck is dead then he can easily get his $6000.
What is Huck's destination when he first runs away (before he finds Jim)?
Jackson's Island.
Compare and Contrast the religious views of Widow Douglas and Miss Watson.
Miss Watson is stricter in her values and teaching methods, she is also hypocritical when it comes to religion. The Widow is less up-tight and is more patient with Huck.
Summarize the prophesy that Jim receives from the hairball regarding Huck and his father.
Jim prophesied that Pap has a good angel and a bad angel and he doesn't know which he'll listen to.
Why has Pap returned? What does he really want from Huck?
Pap has returned, apparently, to establish that he is still in control of Huck and that he is better than him. He really just wants Huck's money.
Summarize Pap's complaints about the mixed race man in town.
Pap complains about the wealthy and educated mixed race man in town. He blames the government and swears he'll never vote again if they let the man vote.
Why has Jim decided to run away?
Miss Watson was going to send him to New Orleans for $800, and Jim knew that if he went there he would probably never get to see his family again.
Explain the grisly discovery that Jim and Huck make inside the house. What does Jim prevent Huck from seeing?
Jim and Huck find a dead man who had been shot in the back. Jim tells Huck not to look at his face because it's "too gashly."
Jim warns Huck that handling the snake skin will bring bad luck. What bad luck befalls Jim that proves his prediction to be true?
The snake's mate bites Jim's leg.
Explain Jim and Huck's plan to keep Huck's identity secret on his trip into town.
Huck dresses up in the girl clothes they found in the house where the dead man was.
Explain some of the reasons that the woman is able to see through Huck's disguise.
1. Huck didn't thread a needle properly.
2. He threw like a boy.
3. He clapped his knees together when he was thrown the lump of lead.
What do Huck and Jim do when they feel guilty about stealing?
They chose a few things from their list to not borrow so that there wouldn't be any harm in borrowing the other items.
Why does Huck go and find the watchman and make up the elaborate story about his family?
Huck doesn't want to become a murderer one day so he didn't want to leave the robbers behind. So he tells the watchman the elaborate story to convince the man to take his ferry to help them.
"It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a n-----," explain how this quote describes Huck's complicated view of Jim and slaves in general.
Huck has a complicated view of slaves and slavery because society has taken away their humanity and identity. Yet, Huck sees Jim as his friend, as his equal. He is conflicted on whether to believe himself or the opinions of society.
Explain why Huck is feeling guilty regarding Jim.
Huck is feeling guilty about not returning Jim to Miss Watson.
What causes Huck to abruptly leave the Grangerford estate?
He leaves after the two families begin fighting over Sophia and Harney running away together and he finds Buck dead (feels guilty).
Huck knows that the Duke and King are lying. What do these two men really do to make money?
They are frauds, they just trick people out of their money. Huck knows they aren't who they say they are because of the clothes they are wearing and that they're running away.
Explain the Duke's reasoning for printing the handbill regarding Jim's capture.
The Duke reasons that they can use the handbill to travel during the daytime. If anybody is coming, they'll just tie Jim down on the raft and say we are returning him for a reward but are too poor to take a steamboat.
Describe the shooting that occurs in town that causes a lynch mob to form.
Sherburn shoots Boggs, a drunk man who rode through town saying things about him, in the street because he didn't stop talking after one o'clock.
Summarize Sherburn's speech to the lynch mob.
1. Sherburn makes fun of the lynch mob, calls them cowards.
2. He calls out the KKK, refers to them as masked cowards in the night.
Twain uses the speech to undermine the myth of southern bravery.
At the circus, Huck sees a performer, pretending to be drunk, attempting to ride a horse. Compare and contrast Huck's reaction to the performance with the reaction of the crowd.
The audience sees the "drunk" performer as funny, but Huck doesn't understand the concept (because he is so literal minded, and a child) and sees it as horrifying.
Explain why the Duke leaves town before the second performance begins.
The Duke leaves because he wants to avoid the anger of the townspeople who have been tricked out of their money.
After Huck explains Jim's mourning for his lost family, he makes a conclusion regarding white men and black men. Explain this conclusion. How does this demonstrate Huck's evolving perception of slaves?
Huck comes to the conclusion that Jim cares for his family just like a white person would. This shows Huck starting to see slaves as people, which is different that what society has taught him.
Why do the Duke and the Dauphin hand the money over the sisters?
They want to make sure they aren't suspected of anything and they want the girls to trust them.
Why does Huck decide to steal the money back from the Duke and the Dauphin?
Huck steals the money back because he likes the girls and can't let them be cheated. He felt so bad about the situation that he knew it was wrong and he needed to do something.
Why does Huck feel so uneasy when he talks to Mary Jane?
Huck has a crush on her. Also, he doesn't have a lot of experience telling the truth while in a predicament.
Huck asks Mary Jane to give him time to get away because another life hangs in the balance. What does Huck mean by this statement?
Jim is the other life that he is concerned about.
What causes Huck's heart to sink as he and Jim begin floating off down the river?
He sees the Duke and King running toward the raft.
Explain the argument that the Duke and Dauphin have aboard the boat.
They accuse each other of stealing the money and hiding it in the coffin.
What, exactly, happens to Jim after the Duke and Dauphin get in a fight at the tavern?
The Duke and King sell him.
Huck again faces a moral dilemma, and he decides that all of his problems are part of a punishment from God. What is Huck's moral dilemma?
Huck's moral dilemma is that he thinks that he has sinned for helping Jim run away. He feels like he has done wrong by not turning Jim in, yet he also feels like it wouldn't be right to.
Although Huck has no luggage, he pleads to go down to the docks. Why does he do this?
Huck tells Sally and Silas that he is going back to the docks to get his luggage, when he is really going up the road to find Tom and explain what is going on.
After talking with Tom, Huck says "Tom Sawyer fell considerable in my estimation." Explain Huck's reasons for saying this.
Tom was quick to offer his assistance in what society has told them is a sin.
Why is Huck so amazed that Tom Sawyer is willing to help in the plan to free Jim?
Because what they are doing (if anyone finds out) would shame himself and his family.
Tom chastises Huck for stealing from the slaves. What did Huck steal, and how do the boys provide compensation for this action?
Huck stole a watermelon and Tom forced him to back and give them 10 cents.
Sally is angry when she notices that some items are missing, but the boys eventually make her so confused that she's not sure of anything. Explain how the boys made Sally so confused.
They add and remove the spoons alternately to confuse the count.
What makes Silas so confused when he goes to patch up the ratholes?
He can't remember when he patched them up... probably because he never did. Huck and Tom did.
What does Huck notice about Tom Sawyer when it comes to work?
Tom doesn't explain things if it doesn't suit him to, also Huck thinks Tom knows everything (which he doesn't).
Huck says that this reaction confirms his suspicion that Jim is "white inside." Given the context of the novel, what do you think this means? What was Mark Twain trying to say?
Huck was brought up to believe that blacks don't deserve human rights. When he says he knew Jim was "white inside" he is referring to his humanity. The fact that Huck says Jim is 'white', instead of just saying that he deserves rights, shows Huck's perception (still) because of society.
Why won't Sally let Huck out of the house to go and find Tom (who she still believes is Sid)?
She doesn't want to lose both of them. Also, it kind of seems like Aunt Sally believes "Sid" is dead, so she wouldn't want to send Huck on a wild goose chase.
Explain why Aunt Polly eventually traveled to the Phelps' home.
She wasn't getting responses to the letters she had written and felt like something was up.
What does Tom reveal about Pap at the end of the novel?
That Pap hadn't returned since Huck was "killed". Jim also reveals that the dead man they found (that Huck wasn't allowed to look at) was Pap.
When Huck pranks Jim and Jim gets angry, Huck is surprised because no one's really ever cared for him. He didn't expect Jim to. Even though Huck was raised in a society where whites never apologized to blacks, he felt the need to apologize to Jim for lying.
Random Note
Twain wants the reader to remember how broken families were a huge part of slavery; whites didn't hesitate to separate children from their parents.
Random Note
Grangerford's Mansion:
Huck thinks their mansion is beautiful (because he lives on a raft), but Twain makes fun of the Southern plantation lifestyle by describing it in a tacky manner.
Twain also makes fun of Romantic writers with Emmeline's poems being so bad.
Random Note
Huck feels guilty about the huge fight that takes place because he didn't tell anyone about going to get the Testament for Sophia. Meaning that he kind of blames himself for Buck's death.
Random Note
Twain shows the corruption of society by the fact that Huck and Jim never have the raft to themselves (invaded by King and Duke).
Random Note
Maybe Huck doesn't think the Duke and King are as bad as they are because of all the horrible things he's seen. Also, Huck himself is a mini con-artist, that's why he is disgusted to see them tar and feathered. He doesn't think the punishment matches the crime.
Random Note
Clothes Motif - Clothes disguise natural reality. This is evident by the Duke and King.
Random Note [Show Less]