Adventures of Huckleberry

Finn
Mark Twain
Introduction
Background
Discussion Starters

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Introduction

What do you do when youre torn between what

people want for youor from youand what you
want for yourself?

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Introduction

Huckleberry Finn lives in Missouri before the Civil
War, near the Mississippi River.
Huck is young and
uneducated.

With an alcoholic
and unreliable
father, he has
grown up mostly on
his own.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Introduction

Not long before the

novel begins, however,
Huck has been taken to
live with the Widow
Douglas and her sister.

But Huck thinks life

with the two sisters is
too civilized.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Introduction

He prefers living in the

open and having
adventures with his
friend Tom Sawyer.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Introduction

Huck and Tom like to plan great adventures and
play pranks on people.
On one of their
adventures, the two
boys found a lot of
money in a cave
(described in the novel
The Adventures of
Tom Sawyer).

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Introduction

One day, Hucks father, Pap, returns to town.

Pap wants Hucks money

and kidnaps him to get it.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Introduction

After a miserable time with his father, Huck
escapes.
While he is running away, he
meets Jima slave of Widow
Douglass sisterwho has
escaped too.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Introduction

The two set off together on a raft on the Mississippi
Riverand on one of the most famous journeys in
American literature.
What adventures will they
find on the river?

Will Huck be able to find

freedomor will civilization catch
up to him?
Should Huck help Jim or send him
back to slavery?

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Background

Mark Twain, the pen
name of Samuel
Clemens, is one of the
United States bestknown authors.
In novels such as Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn, Twain vividly
depicts the lives and dialects of
southern people from long ago.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Background

Twain also uses humor and satire both to

entertain and to comment on society.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Background

Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn takes place in the years
before the Civil War.
In the South at that
time, a slave was
considered property.
Stealing a hunted slave was
seen as a great crimeand
morally wrong.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Background

When Twain wrote the novel,
in the 1880s, the Civil War
had been fought and the
slaves had been freed.

However, conditions for

African Americans were still
very difficult in many parts
of the United States.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Background

When Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was
published, critics hated the novel, accusing
it of coarse fun and gutter realism.
Louisa May Alcott, author
of Little Women, wrote If
Mr. Clemens cannot think of
something better to tell our
pure-minded lads and
lasses, he had best stop
writing for them.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Background

Twain welcomed the controversy, however,
hoping that it would bring more sales.

The book sold fifty thousand copies in the

first few months.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Background

Today, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
remains controversial.

Although its accepted

as a classic of
American literature,
some critics still
accuse it of being
racist, and its use in
schools has been
challenged.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Background

Twain does use terms now considered
racist.
However, he creates a
powerful argument against
slavery as well.
Also, in a way perhaps surprising for the
time, he allows Jim to speak for himself,
revealing truths that even Twain may have
found uncomfortable.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Discussion

Starters
Discuss (1)
What other stories are based on a great journey
or adventure across a great ocean or land?
How do characters react to events on such a
journey? How does the natural world play a part
in these stories?

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Discussion

Starters
Discuss (2)
Many books that were written in the past contain
ideas about race, gender, or class that we now
view as outdated or offensive.
How can we approach these books?
What can we learn from them?
Do you think there are some audiences for which
they would be inappropriate? Why?