Topics

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

Family Tension:

• Huck’s father, called Pap, is an alcoholic who is abusive towards his son. Pap also sought to exploit his own son’s money. In chapter 7, Pap “locked” Huck in a cabin, and Huck assumed that Pap “wouldn’t come back that night” (37). A traditional father displays love towards his child rather than jealousy and exhibits of harsh behavior. Pap fails to provide a Huck with a strong family foundation and eventually Huck fakes his own death.

Lying:

• Huck pertains to an act, which results in his family and friends believing that he is dead. Huck stages his own murder by using pig blood and after almost being caught, Huck is sure enough to conclude that “Nobody else would come a-hunting after” (45), in search of his dead body. Lying correlates with a question of morality. Huck firmly believed that faking his own death was the only way to escape from the misfortunes of his life.

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

Money and Generosity  

“I say to myself, this is another one that I’m letting him rob of her money...I felt so ornery and low down and mean, that I says to myself, My mind’s made up; I’ll hive that money for them or bust” (195-196)

• Lets imagine a situation, if a poor person who has shown mercy and has nothing, gives a better off individual a meal, what would the better off person do? Generosity could be unexpected and it makes one try to return the favor, right? Well in Huck Finn, Joanna’s sisters have been courteous to Huck by giving him a spare room and food---what is Huck supposed to do---take advantage of them, heck no! He tries to return their money back by stealing it from Duke. He is doing the favor of robbing money aka, 6,000 dollars in gold for the ladies because they deserve it, no matter the cost or danger.

Blog Post #3 - Christine (pg. 200-250)

Grief and Separation

“Then the people began to flock in, and the beats and the girls took seats in the front row at the head of the coffin, and for a half an hour the people filed around slow, in single rank, and looked down at the dead man's face a minute, and some dropped in a tear, and it was all very still and solemn, only the girls and the beats holding handkerchiefs to their eyes and keeping their heads bent, and sobbing a little.” (201)

• Peter Wilks has just past away and his daughters cannot help grieving. Chapter 27 primarily focuses on the event of the funeral. Everyone who ever knew and loved him were grieving, not just his daughters. The use of pathos brings the audience back to death being a real struggle. Most, if not all, of us can empathize with a family who has just lost a loved one. The Wilks daughters have never felt a separation like this from someone as close to them as their father, but now they are faced with the new challenge of how to overcome this grief they’re feeling.

Blog Post #4 - Gaby (pg. 250-300)

Superstitions

"HANNEL 'm, Mars Sid? What IS you a-talkin' 'bout? I wouldn' lay de weight er my finger on um, not f'r ten hund'd thous'n billion dollars, I wouldn't."

• Various characters such as Jim and Huck rely off superstitions to predict their fate. Although most people would look to the Lord for guidance, Huck finds the idea of religion absurd. One of Huck main reasons for having opposition to Christianity is because Miss Watson is religious, who Huck finds to be a hypocrite. First and foremost, she owns slaves even though the Bible states to “love thy neighbor”. Furthermore, Miss Watson refuses to let Huck smoke even though she allows herself to do so. Consequently, Jim and Huck follow random superstitions such as not touching snakes, since snakes can cause bad fortune.

• Chapter 36, page 162

Upbringing

"Gimme a CASE-KNIFE." I didn’t know what to do – but then I thought. I scratched around amongst the old tools, and got a pickaxe and gave it to him, and he took it and went to work, and never said a word."

• In some cases, Huck inspects situations unrealistically, focusing on superstition rather than doing what is truly best for himself. However, this does not take away from the fact that Huck thinks with an immense amount of logic when analyzing situations. In comparison to Tom, Huck sounds as if he is an adult in this passage. From dealing with hardships such as an abusive alcoholic father and having many disagreements with Miss Watson, Huck matures faster than most children because he had to learn how to face his problems alone. While Tom is a bona fide daredevil and creates unattainable fantasies, one could presume his childhood was much more pleasant than Huck’s.  
• Chapter 36, page 164

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

Freedom:

In the final 50 pages of Huckleberry Finn, a primary topic is freedom, specifically Jim’s, as Huck and Tom work towards making him a free man. Tom assures Aunt Sally Jim “ain’t no slave; he’s as free as any cretur that walks this earth” (320). Tom continues to reveal Jim has been free for much of the novel and was freed by his previous owner in her will, and that Tom had embarked upon the quest to free Jim as an adventure. This topic coveys the ideology that freedom exists for all slaves -- and all people -- separately from what they are told and the futures they are dictated by white people.

Changing Perspectives:

Huck begins the novel as a typical ignorant southerner, believing all black people to be equal in their inferiority to whites. However, after acquainting himself and becoming familiar with Jim, he comes to the realization that black people are people too. When Jim speaks out on behalf of seeking medical care for Tom, Huck “knowed he was white inside” (306). Though Huck’s mindset has been altered in regards to Jim, he remains steadfast in his belief in the superiority of whites, a theme which emphasizes the close-mindedness and ultimately racist nature of his society and of his character.