The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn



The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Study Guide

Chapters 1-15

1. What is your first impression of Huck? Explain.

2. Briefly summarize Huck’s review of the end of Tom Sawyer’s story.

3. Contrast Huck’s character with Tom’s.

4. What are the major conflicts in the first six chapters?

5. List a few examples of dramatic irony from the first 6 chapters.

6. At the beginning of the novel, with whom is Huck living? In what ways do they try to change Huck? Do you think they succeed? Explain.

7. Briefly describe Pap. What is his ultimate goal in harassing Huck?

8. How does Huck escape from the cabin in Illinois? What does his ability to escape suggest about him?

9. Where is Huck reunited with Jim? In what significant ways are Jim and Huck alike? In what significant ways are they different?

10. What does Huck do that is “one of the carlessest and foolishest things a body can do”?

11. Why does Huck put a dead snake on Jim’s blanket? What harm comes to Jim as a result of the incident? In your opinion, is Huck sorry for the harm he caused? Explain.

12. Explain Jim’s last speech in Chapter 15.

Chapters 16-31

13. What does Jim plan to do when he becomes a free man? What is Huck’s reaction to the plan?

14. What does Buck say when Huck asks him how the feud between the Shepherdsons and the Grangerfords got started? What is ironic about Buck’s response?

15. What might Twain be satirizing with the Shepherdsons and the Grangerfords? Why?

16. Briefly describe the duke and the king. What might Twain be satirizing through the use of these characters?

17. Who is Colonel Sherburn? Briefly sum up the speech he makes to the mob. What aspect of human nature does Sherburn criticize?

18. What is Jim’s frequent kindness to Huck?

19. What is the cause of Jim’s mourning?

20. Who are the Wilks sisters and what connection to the king and the duke do they have?

21. What saves Huck from being accused by the king and the duke of stealing money?

22. How does Jim get captured?

23. What is the moral dilemma confronting Huck in this chapter?

Chapters 32-End

24. How are the duke and the king punished? What is Huck’s reaction to their punishment?

25. How does Huck expect Tom to react when he explains the plan to free Jim? Why does Tom’s response surprise Huck?

26. What does Tom’s elaborate plan to free Jim tell you about Tom? What does it tell you about his attitude toward Jim?

27. What is “letting on” and why is it important in Chap 36?

28. What makes Huck feel bad about his part in deceiving Aunt Sally?

29. Why had it been possible for Tom to break the law by helping a runaway slave to escape?

30. What does Huck learn from Tom about his money and from Jim about his father?

32. What does Huck decide to do at the end of the novel? Why doesn’t he stay with Aunt Sally?

Critical Questions:

1. Many critics of Huckleberry Finn have pointed out that the Phelps’ farm episode differs in tone and seriousness from the first two-thirds of the novel. Do you agree? Explain your answer, supporting it with evidence from the text.

2. Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn “a book of mine where a sound heart and a deformed conscience come into collision and conscience suffers defeat.” What influences have “deformed” Huck’s conscience? Are such influences still at work in the world today? What forces are available to try to change “deformed consciences”?

3. The novel ends with Huck feeling unsure about what his future holds. What do you predict will happen to Huck? What sort of life do you think he will have? Why?

4. Why was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn considered to be “not a proper boy’s book”? Do you think it could still be considered not a proper young person’s book? Explain.

5. What is your overall impression of this book? Do you see why people want it banned? Why is this an important book to include in an American Literature Curriculum?

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