Jim
Jim was born in a very healthy functioning family in the black community. He is one of Miss Watson's household slaves.Jim has a very good personality that reflects the feelings of all the people in the black community. He is very superstitious, but intelligent, practical, and one of the most mature characters in the whole novel. The reason he is very superstitious is because he was born into a discriminated race, and probably went through a lot of family and racial problems since birth, such as the KKK attacks or just the average white man trying to make black people feel even more worse. All of those things are reasons that have caused him to become very superstitious.In this book, he is Huck Finns companion, as he travels down the river, and Huck's opinion of Jim at first was that Jim was a superstitious idiot, but as time goes on, Huck learns a lot of facts about life and other surprising things, which all change his opinion of Jim in a good way and answer his questions of why Jim was very superstitious. Jim was separated from his family, and he would really miss them, as he would often think of them, whenever he feels sad or is doing something bad like running away, the thoughts of his family would motivate him. Jim was very protective of Huck; who was not as protective of Jim and would do some really rude and hurtful pranks to Jim, but Jim would still cook for Huck, give him shelter,make him stay away from some really gruesome horrors they witnessed such as Huck's fathers corpse, and other sightings. Overall, Jim is a mature, intelligent,loyal, responsible, thoughtful, and superstitious person and is a very positive example for Huck.
Pap
Pap is Huck's father, and he is also the town drunk and is very disgraceful to his society but at the same time reflects on how the average low class white man was in those times. When Huck had started hearing news about Pap being seen around his area again, he was frightened and worried that his father would do something bad. Pap was a very irresponsible father, as he left his son alone, and so Huck had to go find Widow Douglas to live with. When Pap came back to visit Huck, he did not come because he missed his son, but because he heard Huck had alot of money and he wanted the money so he could buy booze, and probably planned on living with his son till all the money was all gone, then he would have left him alone again. His first impression to the reader was a very negative impression, as he scares Huck by sitting on his bed, and waiting for him, and Huck describes him as having "disgusting, ghostlike white skin and tattered clothes." When Pap sees Huck he automatically gives him a dirty look and doesn't like the fact that Huck seems to be more educated then him and beats Huck alot. When a son is afraid of his own father, you know that something is wrong, and the son needs help or a proper gaurdian, and thats wby Huck goes to Judge Thatcher, for help but Pap goes and somehow makes the Judge make Huck live with Pap. The way Pap takes Huck is almost like as if he was kidanpping his own son, as he puts him in a bag, and takes him and locks his own son up in a very "weird" place. Overall, Pap is one of the worst characters in Hucks life and a very bad example, but Hucks fathers behavior reflects on his society.
Widow Douglas
She is one of Hucks gaurdians, and is a sister to Miss Watson. She is very wealthy and she lives with her sister in a large house in St. Petersburg. Unlike her sister Miss Watson, Widow Douglas is a very gentle, and patient person. She actaully understands what Huck is going through and lets Huck have his won ways sometimes. Whenever Huck does some sort of mischevious behaviour, he always feels bad for Widow Douglas, and not Miss Watson, as Widow Douglas is alot more "kinder." Widow Douglas trys to teach Huck about catholicism and how it will lead you to a good life but Huck refuses and that is when she gtes angry as she is very divulged into her faith and doesn't like it when her own adopted son is acting in a manner of being against catholics and having no faith. Overall, Widow Douglas is a kind, patient gaurdian to Huck, but she doesn't posses the ability to change Huck other then just make him think more about life and become more of a rebel.
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT
The most memorable moment in this novel from chapters 1-14 was the whole scene with Pap kidnapping Huck, when Widow Douglas told Pap to stay away from her home. What actually happens is Judge Thatcher, and the Widow try to get legal custody of Huck, but suddenly a new judge comes to their town. He believes that Pap has full authority of taking Huck away to his home and so Huck takes Pap into his home with a thought that he actually might be able to change him to become a better person. Unfortunately, no matter how much Huck tries Pap doesn't give in and stays as his wasted self.. So, Pap stays and just hangs around the town doing almost nothing but just harassing his own son like a bully. As Pap harasses his son around and Widow Douglas finally gains some bravery and angrily warns Pap to stay away from her house. So, Pap gets angry and kidnaps Huck and holds him in a cabin across the river from St.Petersburg. After, that life was pretty hell for Huck as Pap didn't even let Huck out, and he would lock the doors whenever he left and would come back drunk then he would beat Huck. Huck grew tired and angry and he also got scared that one day he could even be killed by his drunk father.So, Huck escapes from Pap by faking his own death, by killing a pig and spreading its blood all over Paps cabin. After that he hides on Jackson’s Island in the middle of the Mississippi River in peace,and Huck watched all the people search for his missing body. This moment was the most memorable because the book was going through a happy and fun tone until suddenly his father steps in and changes the tone of the book from silly fun to serious and sad. Huck had described his father of being a bad person and disgraceful but he never mentioned that his father would do something as evil,crude and sorrowful as kidnapping his own son in a scary manner and beating him without regret. I was reading the book with a very shocked opinion and as I read on and on the things that happen to Huck get worse, and frighten the me. I kept wanting someone to come and save him but it never happened and I lost all hope in that Huck would be saved from his confinement. Luckily, Huck is not as dumb as his father and smartly escapes, which automatically soothed me, and I had faith again that he would be alright, but then now he has to live by himself in a cave which is still quite frightning. Huck isn't really responsible so it leaves you thinking how he is going to manage to live without any supplies or food, etc. None of this would have happened if the new Judge who had come to their town had not been so strict, and not thinking of Huck's feelings. Before the Judge had come Huck was actually going to be safe and able to be happy again with his previous guardians, Widow Douglas and Miss Watson.
SETTING
The book takes place in the 1800s. In chapters one to fourteenth, the story takes place at Hucks home which is in Tennessee and Mississippi, then goes to locations like Jacksons Island on a cave, and then finally they travel to the Mississipi river.Their home is in a fairly isolated area.
STYLE AND STRUCTURE
The book is written in the point of view of Huck Finn.
It is also written in the way that black people would talk in their accents. For example,
Jim: “De goodness gracious alive, Mars Tom! Why, if dey was a rattlesnake to come heah, I’d take en bust right out thoo dat log wall, I would, wid my head.”
Another slave: “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.”
The novel also has the words "nigger" written various times, and it is said by many characters and no one gets outraged by it, as the blacks have been forced to think it is normal but it is an offensive word and has caused alot of controversial problems of being banned in schools and other public places.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
The OLD TIMESThe novel also has the words "nigger" written various times, and it is said by many characters and no one gets outraged by it, as the blacks have been forced to think it is normal but it is an offensive word and has caused alot of controversial problems of being banned in schools and other public places.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
Body missing of boy presumed to be dead, charges laid on drunken father
Huckleberry Finn, a teenage boy living in St. Petersburg, Missouri, on the shores of the Mississippi River, was believed to have been either killed or committed suicide. When authorities heard about Huck being kidnapped by his drunken father, they had immediately searched for the location and found blood spilled along the cabin where he was taken. Automatically the police and other members of the town were informed and told to search the premise for any sort of evidence and body of Huck, which was missing. Police seem to suspect 2 people, Hucks father and a Negro slave that escaped on the same day named Jimmy. Either, the father had killed Huck and hid the body somewhere but was to drunk to hide the evidence or the Negro slave had kidnapped Huck and is planning to do many horrendous things to Huck. The day a Negro is on the run is the day we know that the city is going to the dumps. If you have seen any thing suspicious, such as sightings of the Negro, automatically inform your local police station, there is an amount of $50,000 for the capture of the slave and any other evidence will have a discussed amount.
Staff reporter,
Alexson Philipiah
QUESTIONS
1. Who is Hucks father, and what is Hucks relationship with his father like?
2. Who is one of the most mature characters in the novel, and explain how?
3. Why does Huck say he :"rather go to hell then heaven," in an arguement with the two sisters, Widow Douglas and Miss Watson?
4.Why do you think the offensive word "nigger" was used alot then, and how has that changed now?
-- Alexson Philpiah
Response By Shivad
1. Huck's father is not a very wealthy man. He uses all the money he gets to buy alcohol and so he is usually drunk. Since he is poor, he doesn't have slaves as most white people in that time period did. Huck's relationship to his father was fairly distant as his father was usually out of town. A widow took care of him most of the time since his father was usually not there. Huck didn't really like his father because he was always drunk and was never a good guardian. Huck's father was not a good parental figure in Huck's life.
3. Huck says that he would rater go to hell then heaven because he was sick and tired of trying to get civilized by the widow and wanted to live however he wanted to. He did not like a lot of the things that he was being taught. Huck also uses this quote later during the book when Jim was captured and he decides to help him rather then go by what he was taught. He was always taught that it was their right to have slaves and that it was sinful to help them. Huck felt otherwise, so he told himself that if helping him will lead him to hell then he would rater go to hell. So, overall this quote represents Huck's denial of the society and its beliefs.
---Shivad
---Shivad
Response by Chakilan
2. I think one of the most mature characters in the book was Huck Finn, because for his age he knew about a lot in the world. For example he questioned the world for being wrong because of slavery and how people were being treated differently. That shows a sign of maturity for someone so young to notice the flaws and imperfections of our world. And he is one of the only teens in the book for him to see all these devastating things like watching people die, and survive without any mental or emotional damage is a sign of maturity.
4. I think the offensive word "nigger" was used so loosely back in the days because people wanted to be offensive toward others that were different. Like now people understand that all humans male or female white, black or asian are all treated the same as humans. But people who still are racist and think badly of another race will still use these offensive terms, even though most people have matured and finally understood that what we did back then was wrong.
-Chakilan-
