Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Huck Finn Begins! Chapters 1-7
After reading chapters 1-7, what are your impressions of the characters and style so far? Twain loves satire- what are the objects of his satirical gibes? Any ideas for possible themes? Have you noticed examples of irony, symbols, or possible foreshadowing? What do you think of Tom Sawyer? Huck's father? Judge Thatcher? What else could Twain be mocking through these characters? Is Huck himself a symbol for something else? Do you have any questions, predictions, or other comments about the novel so far? Inquiring minds want to know!
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Huck is a naive, easily led character, probably due to the absence of a strong, reliable family figure in his life and the presence of diverse influences. The widow teaches Huck religion and manners, but Jim counteracts this with his boldness and unruliness, while Huck's father is demanding yet maniacal. The genies Tom explains symbolize Huck's submission. Huck represents a genie because he yields to Tom's wishes. Tom's prodding is the reason Huck returns to the widow, and Huck allows Tom to harass Jim. Huck says the genies are fools, which is ironic because he doesn't realize he resembles their compliance.
Huck also seems confused about making decisions in life because when he is in the cabin, he yearns to leave, yet dreads returning to the widow. Huck's internal conflict is arising, as is the theme involving his search for an identity. I hope Huck overcomes his passiveness and grows in confidence by the end of the story.
Yea... I agree with Michelle. But also I realized that Tom is the exact opposit of Huck. Toms everything Huck is not. While Huck has not had a stable family life, grew up in poverty, and questions authority, Tom has had faimily figures in his life (his Aunt Polly), grew up in a comfortable enviornment, and believes in sticking strictly to the rules. I think its good that Huck questions authority. This shows that he can think for himself, and that he is also a very intelligent boy. This is shown when he ponders the idea of prayer. He says that there is no advantage to it, except for the people he was praying about, so he decided it as not woth it. This shows that Huck has a strong mind is able to think logically, which is great considering hes had an abusive family life. On the other hand Tom uses his imagination alot which shows he does not open and stretch his mind as much as Huck does. Huck shows his clever side when he comes up with the plan to make it look like he was killed by robbers.
I agree with Michelle and Julia. I believe Huck is a lost soul, looking for somewhere to go. He is easily led by hwat people say and do. He is the exact opposite of Tom because is more stable and is his own dependant person and Huck relies on the widow's. Huck believes many of the stories he is told by Tom nad the others and he has to try them out before he disbelieves them. An example is when Tom tell Huck about the genies. Huck didn't believe it at first and Tom said that he was being ridiculous. So Huck went into the forest and tried rubbing on a lamp and a ring to see if genies would come. Huck is a very gulable person. I also believe that Huck is a very supersticious person. He believes that many things will bring him bad luck and he is always waiting for the bad luck to pounce on him. I believe that Huck is just an unstable character at the beginning but my prediction is that he will grow.
Tom Sawyer is a bad influence on Huck, and is an extremely troublesome kid. Huck has taken on a lifestyle of self sufficience. I think that he will do very well by himself on the island. Judge Thatcher truly wants to care for Huck, and i think he will go searching for Huck. I also think that Huck's dad only wants him for the money.
Huck is a strong willed character. Tom, also being strong willed, is probably one of the only traits the characters share. Tom is very imaginative and causes mischieve. Where Huck is more laid back. Huck is one brave boy to put up with his father, whom I absolutely do not like. He is scary and mean and definetly so far one of the antagonist of the novel. I was glad to see Huck make an escape from him. I think Judge Thatcher is a good person, however I can't believe he excepted Huck's money offer. I like this book so far and am interested in what the up coming chapters will contain.
I also dislike Huck's father very much. He seems terrible and is so mean to Huck. He is always drunk and cares about no one except himself. Although he says he wants to raise Huck, I think he really just wants Huck's money so he can buy more beer. I was really happy when Huck finally left the cabin to escape his father. I think that Huck will be ok by himself but I hope he finds someone to be with so he's not so lonely. I think that while he's off by himself he will discover who he is and he will grow. Huck seems a little naive, he believes everything that people tell him. He believes in the superstitions and believes what Tom tells him about the genies until he finds out for himself. I'm glad that he questions what people tell him and tries to discover things himself. He is definitly a logocal thinker, while Tom has a more imaginitive mind.
I agree with the idea that Huck is on a journey to find his true identity. At this time, Huck appears confused about who he is, probably due to his unstable family life. Huck is constantly being shifted between different homes and he can never seem to fit in with any normal lifestyle. When Huck stays with thw widow, he is confused about the concept of prayer and doesn't quite understand the point of it. This shows Huck's skeptical ways of thinking, and how he isn't a believer of things he can't see. Tom is the exact opposite of Huck because he is more outgoing and less cautious of trying new things. Tom is open-minded and believes in genies and magic without proof, while Huck is not as convinced by Tom's elaborate tales of genies and magic lamps. Overall, I think Tom and Huck's opposite personalities will help each other on thier journeys of self-discovery.
Huck's dad is a terrible father figure. He's always drunk and abuses Huck. He also doesn't want Huck to get an education just because he never got one. I don't think it's fair that he doesn't want his son to suceed in life just because he didn't. I think Huck's dad is supposed to satirize many things, like when the judge tried to get him to become sober. The judge gave him some nice clothes and Huck's dad agreed to the idea but that night he snuck out and got drunk.
I agree with Michelle that Huck is more of a follower than a leader. He is easily persuaded by Tom's ideas and this is because he has never had any family support in his life. I think a possible theme may be education's effect on an individual's moral beliefs and his/her way of "growing up." Huck is very uneducated and doesn't realize going against society will do him no good. Huck decides he would rather go to hell than follow the few morals that he has been taught. Throughout the novel I hope Huck become more educated and beins to accept society.
I think that Hucks father Pap is a terrible influence on him. All he ever does is drink beer and get drunk. I can't believe that Pap chased Huck around with a knife. I was glad that Huck escaped from his father because if he didn't he would probably end up getting killed by Pap when he is drunk. I also think that Pap just wanted Huck around to get his money anyway.
I love how Huck knows exactly what he wants without knowing exactly what he is going to do. Huck wants to be free and not be stuck with his dad or the widow making him do what they say. However im not quite sure Huck knows what he is going to do now that he has escaped. I think if Tom was with Huck, Huck would do anything Tom did because Huck is pretty much incapable of leading himself. I hope Huck ends up being able to lead himself and finds what he wants in life.
Tom Sayer is a bad influence on Huck. Tom was the gang leader with Huck and friends who only wanted to rob and murder people. Huck complies to everything Tom says. Huck believed Tom about the genies, he returned to the widow only to join Tom's gang, and Huck runs around with Tom making trouble. Huck is unsure of the life he wants to live. When he is with the widow and Ms. Watson, he gets used to the lifestyle of cleanilness and manners. But when his dad forces him to live in the cabin in the woods, Huck wonders to himself how he ever survived in the widow's home. Huck also compies with his father, even though there is really is no choice. I was excited for Huck when he finally got away from his father. I wonder what life on Jackson's island is going to bring.
I think in these beginning chapters that Twain is mocking many things, including America itself. He saw the hypocrisy of in founding a free nation in which African Americans were kept as slaves. He grew up with slavery, and saw it as a way of life, excepting it, but he saw some of the problems in it, especially the hypocrisy. Twain also begins mocking the romanticized, chivalrous antebellum south through Tom. Tom serves as a foil for Huck, being completely opposite of him. Tom is historically a combination of Twain himself and Twain's childhood friends.
Mark Twain satirizes Romanticism with the character Tom Sawyer when he creates the robbers gang and with his mention of Don Quioxte, a romantic novel. He also uses irony, such as when Tom gives a bloody oath about killing the families of the boys who break the oath and the boys all think that it is a beautiful oath. I think that Tom is a foil for Huck as while Tom believes everything he hears and reads in books, Huck seems much more skeptical.
Unlike many of the people who wrote so far, I think Tom is a hilarious character. he is really imaginative and makes up that Tom Sawyer's gang who supposedly kill and rob people, but really they just run around pretending to fight and rob. Huck is pretty sensible I think, whenever Tom tells him crazy stories about genies or the pirate books Tom reads, Huck is skeptical and uses common sense to contradict what Tom is saying. Huck is also pretty dumb though, and believes whatever people say, like Tom and the genie, even though Huck asks why the genie wouldn't just build the house for himself. Tom must always stick exactly to what the pirate and robbers books say when he is making his oath and gang, which is probably not what Huck would do if he were the leader of the gang, as Huck doesn't typically follow rules. Huck definitely has trouble deciding whether he wants to be "sivilised" or live in the wilderness. When he lived with the widow, he enjoyed school, learned how to read, write, and spell, didn't cuss, prayed, etc. Once he goes to the cabin he turns wild again, cussing, using saws to escape, catching fish for breakfast. It's funny that Twain writes about a drunk, abusive, father since that is a main issue in families today. I really dislike Pap's character, he forces Huck to give him money he doesn't have, so Huck must borrow from Judge Thatcher, and then always gets drunk, makes a fool of himself in town, and then is thrown in jail. It also disgusts me that he treats Huck so badly, beating him, but yet locks him up so no one else can take care of him.
I wish Huck's dad wouldn't have come back. I think that Huck maybe could've become a better person by going to school. He even seemed like he was starting to enjoy having a bed, clothes, etc. I was mad when his father came back because all he is is a stupid drunk that beats on Huck. I'm glad that Huck escaped. He was pretty smart to think of that whole plan so it'll look like he was murdered. Hopefully his dad won't look for him or find him. I'm really interested in finding out what happens to Huck in the upcoming chapters.
Huck Finn seems intelligent for being a runaway. He is very clever, especially knowing to cover up his escape hole in the cabin. His father is stupid for leaving home alone all that time. He wants to keep custody of his son, then leaves for days at a time. I hope that Huck finds somewhere to stay on his journey so he can settle down and start a better life.
I think that Tom is a very manipulative character. He convinces the other boys to join a group and be bandits. He uses his knowledge of stories to make the other boys think that he is always right. He has a very large imagination and uses it to its fullest. Tom is a very bad infleunce on Huck. He convinces Huck to do very bad things and play pranks on people. Overall, Tom doesnt seem like the type of friend Huck should have.
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