Blog Post #1 - Allison (pg. 1-150)
Symbol
“Jim got out his hair-ball, and said something over it, and then he held it up and dropped it on the floor...he said it would tell my whole fortune if I wanted it to.” (20-21)
- The symbol, Jim’s hairball symbolizes an oracle that supposedly tells the future. This helps the start of the growth of Jim’s and Huck’s friendship. The hair-ball symbolizes hope and disaster which foreshadows Huck’s future as troublesome stating contradicting points; Huck is predicted to be getting in trouble, get sick, lonesome, safety, danger, etc.
Alliteration
“...you fellows; ‘taint right and ‘taint fair, for you to stay thar all the time, and never give nobody a chance; other folks has their rights as well as you.” (161)
- The alliteration is demonstrated through the repeating sound and starting letters from the words taint, thar, time, and their. This shows the pattern and style of writing from the author presenting an informal and conversational tone to make the audience better understand his text.
Repetition-
“(amen!) come, sick and sore! (amen!) come, lame, and halt, and blind! (amen!) come, pore and needy, sunk in shame! (a-amen!)” (147)
- The overused word in parentheses, ‘amen’ shows the dedication and determination toward the following statements. The people are giving praise to invite the unfortunate to join them as a community. Through the repeating word, the people are paying respect toward those who deserve it.
Imagery
“Well, last I pulled out some of my hair, and bloodied the axe good, and stuck it on the back side, and slung the axe in the corner.” (38)
- Imagery in this quote visualizes the scheme of Huck trying to trick people into believing he is dead. To prove his death scene and make it believable he pulls out his own hair, gets a bloodied axe and used the blood from the pig to make it seem that a robber had struck him.
Blog Post #2 - Christine (pg. 1-150)
Anaphora:
"The idea of you lynching anybody! It's amusing. The idea of you thinking you had pluck enough, to lynch a man! Because you're brave enough tar and feather poor friendless cast-out women that come along here, did that make you think you had grit enough to lay your hands on a man? Why, a man's safe in the hands of ten thousand of your kind - as long as it' day-time and you're not behind him" (163)
- Anaphora is used to emphasize the importance of somethings, which in this case, Colonel Sherburn, uses "man" to emphasize he is more powerful and important than the crowd, in which he says "[their] kind" is lowly to him (163).
Blog Post #3 - Kelly (pg. 200-250)
Blog Post #4 - Laura (pg. 250-300)
When Huck notices a crowd of people carrying a tar-and-feathered duke and kind, he describes the masses using alliteration as a “raging rush” (257), characterizing the group mistreating Huck’s former friends. Huck feels guilt as a result of being unable to help the two men, and overwhelmed by the amount of people against them. Later, when Tom Sawyer presents his plan for assisting Huck in Jim’s freedom, Twain uses parallelism in Huck’s narration, stating that if he had Tom’s head he wouldn’t trade it for anything, “nor mate of a steamboat, nor mate of a steamboat, nor clown in a circus” (259), indicating Huck’s admiration for Tom’s intellect and admiration and jealousy for his best friend. In planning Jim’s escape Tom also alludes to “Baron Trenck… Casanova… Henry VI” (266) to emphasize his desire to make Jim’s escape into an adventure and the differences between his level of education and sophistication and Huck’s.
Blog Post #5 - Shei (pg. 300-350)
Pathos:
This part of the novel is a crucial part for Huck’s character; Huck matures and begins to act on his conscience, feeling sympathetic for others. Before this time, it is clear that Huck scouted the best opportunity for himself and only himself. As the king and duke scam their way into the Wilks inheritance, the first signs of Huck’s maturity surface as he says, ““it was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race” (181). After all the burglary and sinful actions he has committed, he gets a slap in the face from the duke and king. He witnesses something extremely similar to what he would have done not long ago; this was a look in the mirror for Huck as he realizes the true immorality of humans. He feels for the Wilkes family as they get cheated out of their inheritance. His companionship with Jim, too, brought out a sympathetic side to Huck. Blog Post #4 - Laura (pg. 250-300)
When Huck notices a crowd of people carrying a tar-and-feathered duke and kind, he describes the masses using alliteration as a “raging rush” (257), characterizing the group mistreating Huck’s former friends. Huck feels guilt as a result of being unable to help the two men, and overwhelmed by the amount of people against them. Later, when Tom Sawyer presents his plan for assisting Huck in Jim’s freedom, Twain uses parallelism in Huck’s narration, stating that if he had Tom’s head he wouldn’t trade it for anything, “nor mate of a steamboat, nor mate of a steamboat, nor clown in a circus” (259), indicating Huck’s admiration for Tom’s intellect and admiration and jealousy for his best friend. In planning Jim’s escape Tom also alludes to “Baron Trenck… Casanova… Henry VI” (266) to emphasize his desire to make Jim’s escape into an adventure and the differences between his level of education and sophistication and Huck’s.
Blog Post #5 - Shei (pg. 300-350)
Diction:
“We laid out to do it, and we done it”.
At the end of the novel, Tom and Huck ultimately accomplished setting Jim free. By using the word “done”, Huck gives it dual definition. Obviously, they set Jim free so Huck is saying that they did that, which is a big accomplishment after all of the hardships and strains put on their journey to freedom. The diction of the word “done” also means that after the entire journey, Huck is done with feeling contained and conformed to societal standards. Huck finally learned that race does not define a person; Huck is done listening to narrow-minded people, like his own father.
Blog Post #2: Totally agree with your anaphora Christine! But it also demonstrates repetition of the overly used word, "man" which empowers and demonstrates their bravery. Through this word, it shows that men are the dominant figure over woman stating that they are brave enough to be tarred and feathered. It tells the audience and the men to be more 'manly' and live up to these expectations.
ReplyDeleteNice observation Allison... this reminds me of the Declaration of Independence and how it states that all "men" are created equal. In response, Elizabeth Cady Stanton at Seneca Falls created an alternative version, which included women. Repetition of the word "man" also made me question what was a "Man" to them.... due to societal standards, would Jim, a black slave, be considered a man, or property like most slaves were treated as? Just something to think about.
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ReplyDeleteBlog Post #5: Lovely diction, Shei. I love the duel perception of the word 'done.' The word can be interpreted into completion of Huck's mission/goal, but also him being 'done' with his past life and experience and how he has moved on and developed a new identity.
ReplyDeleteBlog Post #5 Reply:
DeleteTwain's diction choice in "done" implies a depth of thought unique to Huck's character in Huckleberry Finn. Throughout the novel, Huck is influenced subtly by others' perceptions of him, from his father's disappointment in his literacy to Tom's superiority. Huck's relationship with Jim defined the aspect of his character which determined his relationship with himself. By working towards his goal of freeing Jim and ending the novel with Jim a free man, Huck is freeing himself from the judgments and pain of his past.
Blog Post #3:
ReplyDeleteHuck begins to understand others better through pathos throughout the novel. For most of Huckleberry Finn, though, Huck uses pathos to manipulate others and get what he wants by gaining their sympathy. The development of Huck's relationship with and use of pathos as a character exhibits one of the primary changes he undergoes on the journey that is Huckleberry Finn.