huckleberry finn, questions november 18

Chapter 1-5

1. The Widow Douglas is a religious and has a good heart. She took Huck into her life, gave him nice, clean clothes and food. Since Moses is dead, Huck doesn't care. This shows us that Huck is a realist and lives in the present.

2. Superstitions are "not real things" if you are superstitious you believe that if you break a mirror, you see a black cat walk over the way or you walk under a ladder you will have bad luck. In Mark Twain's view, people who believe in superstitions are religious. The spider and the owl are examples from the book, and they are both connected to death.

3. Huck believed that death and afterlife would be an adventure. It was something different from life, which he would find exiting. Death is mentioned a lot in chapter 1 becuase it is a motif. It helps us to understand Huck's personality and the way he thinks of life. He is very realistic, and death is as normal as birth. 


4. The trick Tom and Huck play on Jim is not really mean, they just have fun. They are children, and its no bad thoughts behind it. 


5. "Jim was most ruined for a servant..." means that now that Jim has followers who believe in him and look up to him. Since he has people looking up to him and he gets attention (which makes him feel good) he feels too good to be a slave. That is what has ruined him as a servant (slave).


6. Tom leaves 5 cents for the candle because he is trying to be honest. He has a little education and moral. Tom didn't really need this candle, but he "took" it just to have it. Unlike, Huck would only have taken the candle if he really needed it, but he wouldn't have left the money there.


7. Tom is way more grown up and smart than Huck, he knows what is going on. Huck is more straight forward, honest, naive and "stupid". 


8. Tom thinks it's important that the gang is called "higwayman" in stead of burglars because it sounds more adventuring. 


9. Huck sees praying as unnecessary because you don't get "what you wish for". He thinks it doesn't make any sense then. Why would you do it only for the spiritual, when thats not even real? Again, this shows that he is a realist. 


10. Tom calls Huck a "numskull" because he doesn't understand what is going on. Numskull is the same as stupid.


11. This is true. It just shows how realistic Huck is. It also shows a difference between Huck and Tom.


12. Huck wants to give all his money to Judge Thatcher so that his dad won't get any of it. His dad will only use it on alcohol anyway.


Chapter 5-11


1. The irony is that his dad doesn't like that Huck goes to school, learn religion and get an education. 


2. The society don't want to seperate Huck and his father, even though Huck would have a better life. This because of the traditional family, where parents and their children live together. 


3. Even though Huck is beaten up by his father he prefers to stay at his house. There he doesn't have to go to school, dress up, learn religion and be trapped in a society where he has to follow rules. With his father he has freedom, and can do pretty much whatever he wants, because his father doesn't care. 


4. ("Pap" - Hucks dad) Pap's thoughts are the opposite of Mark Twain's thoughts. Pap is extremely racist ! He won't vote anymore because he heard that somewhere in Ohio the black people had rights to vote.