Assumptions

Blog Post #1 - Christine (pg. 1-150)

“She got out her book and learned me about Moses and the ‘Bulrushers”

• I can assume widow Douglas is religious so therefore Huck is as well. There is no guarantee that Huck practices any religion, but he is always exposed to the widow teaching him about people like Moses and praying all the time.
• Chapter 1, Page 4

“‘I don’t want to spend it. I don’t want it at all - nor the six thousand, nuther. I want you to take it; I want to give it to you - the six thousand and all.’”

• After finding somebody’s familiar tracks in the snow, Huck runs to Judge Thatcher who is withholding Huck’s interest; Huck has slightly over $6000 saved up. There is no explicit statement that says why Huck decides to give all his money to the judge, but we soon realize Huck was trying to keep money away from his returned alcoholic father. He assumes that since his father knows he has money saved up, his father will deprive him of all his savings to buy more alcohol. To prevent this assumption from coming true, he just gives all his money away.
• Chapter 4, Page 20

“‘I’ve told everybody before, and then they just went away and left us.’..‘we don’t want the small-pox...here -- I’ll put a twenty dollar gold piece on this board”

• Jim is hiding on their raft when men in another raft come looking for escaped slaves. Jim hides on the raft while the other men insist on searching the men. With Huck’s quick thinking, he says his “father,” Jim, is sick on the raft. The other men automatically assume his “father” has smallpox, so out of pity, they leave them forty dollars in gold to help the duo out. Without getting caught, Huck was able to gain money for free, along with protecting Jim, whether he intended to or not.
• Chapter 16, Page 102

Blog Post #2 - Bethany (pg. 150-200)

"Here comes old Boggs! – in from the country for his little old monthly drunk; here he comes, boys!" (pg.158)

• In this excerpt, country folk sing out this phrase due to the drunken brawlers on the beach front, where everyone meets to eat at night. Through this quote, one can safely assume that their townspeople perhaps drink a little too much, a little too often. Though readers today did not experiences this first hand, we all know someone, or of someone, who gets a little out of hand, and one can assume they are drunk when they act this way.

“We both knowed well enough it was some more work of the rattlesnake-skin; so what was the use to talk about it?” (pg. 105)

• As both Jim and Huck are mischievous young boys, they are extremely suspicious and belief in superstitions. Whenever their adventure shifts into a negative situation, they blame the occurrences of the various superstitions they believe in. Both assume that because they skinned a rattlesnake, and cooked part of its meat to eat, they are cured with bad luck. The canoeing going missing, though, could have easily happened due to the river or another person.

“There was the Sunday-school, you could a gone to it; and if you'd a done it they'd a learnt you there that people that acts as I'd been acting about that nigger goes to everlasting fire." (pg.237 )

• In this quote, Ms. Watson assumes that Huck Finn is religious and regrets his actions. Huck, though, is not religious and does not regret running away with Jim and having an adventure, he would otherwise not have had. Huck learns more about human nature, himself, and Jim by running away, which he would’ve never learned in Sunday School.

Blog Post #3 - Gaby (pg. 200-250)
Let’s face it: the vast majority of white southerners during the 1800s in America were super ignorant and racist. Even though whites referred to each other as “gentlemen,” slaves were lucky if a white man remembered his or her first name. During this era, there was a widespread assumption that all blacks are biologically weaker and inferior to Caucasians. Moreover, there was a false assumption that slaves were “full of trouble” and needed to be tamed through abuse. In addition to having preset judgements on the entire black race, individuals such as Miss Watson justified slavery as a “positive good” for society. Although the bulk of slave owners physically abused their slaves, these masters claimed they were “assisting” their servants by providing them with basic needs such as food and shelter. These common assumptions play a grand role in Huck Finn, as racist individuals such as the duke and king are brainwashed by the ignorant community reside in. Nevertheless, Huck takes note of the fact that Jim “ain’t so dumb” like many whites portrayed black people. In fact, Jim is quite self sufficient, due to all the skills he has acquired as a slave.

Blog Post #4 - Laura (pg. 250-300)
While planning Jim’s escape into life as a free man with Huck, Tom suggests he and Huck saw off Jim’s leg to free him from the chain that binds him to his bed, but then decides, “There ain’t necessity enough in this case; and besides Jim’s a nigger and wouldn’t understand the reasons for it” (267). Twain makes the assumption that his audience will understand his allusion to the works of Romantic literature and the poetic nature of such a sacrifice, as well as the literary significance.  

Blog Post #5 - Shei (pg. 300-350)

“Jim was to hide in the woods when he see the doctor coming, til he was gone again” (306).

After Tom is shot in the leg, Huck and Jim must decide what action needs to be taken in order for Tom to get better. Jim realizes that Tom needs a doctor and gives Huck a plan. When Huck goes to kidnap the doctor, the plan was for Jim to “hide in the woods when he see the doctor coming” (306). This assumption indicates that Jim is afraid of the doctor because Jim is the “crazy runaway slave”. An assumption like this is natural for someone in Jim’s position. Jim is a slave and now a rebel as well; he has a lot to risk. Therefore, by making this inference, Jim is taking precaution.