Huckleberry Finn

Huck Discussion Questions: XXI - XXIII

#1
Huck describes the town in Arkansaw as an area pretty dirty and muddy. The inhabitants are cruel persons, just like Twain described humans in "The Damned Human Race." They are able to lynch people of their town.

#2
Huck watches the Duke and the King in the role of an outsider. He observes them without reacting. Their ideas seem a little dubios and queer to Huck. He doesn't want to have anything to do with their role plays because he senses trouble arising from them, and he rather stays away from trouble.

#3
He says honor has to be protected with one's life, it's more important than any other value. With the scene in the drugstore he satirizes that people tend to be voyeuristic/curious. They have to be the first watching something, ALWAYS! Even in very personal situations (deaths, e.g.)

#4
When the Duke and the King performed Shakespeare, hardly anyone came to watch it because the town was not educated enough for such a "high educated" performance. Changing their acting to easier entertainment (Royal Nonesuch), it became a great success. Like a circus, this was nothing to think about, the audience didn't have to use their brains for understanding it. This is why the town liked the second performances and the circus so much. 

#5
Huck still is a naive boy; Twain doesn't want the readers to forget about his character and his age. He lives through so many things that you almost forget he still is a child. With this incident, Twain recalls his naivity and gullibility.

#6
It made people curious because they wanted to know why women and children were not allowed. Again, this is a hint that people need to know everything. Every secret needs to be discovered.

#7
He compares these two men to real royalties. They are unreliable and not honest too. Both are selfish and addicted to money.

#8
It shows Jim's humanity. He misses his own children and wife and feels really bad for wronging 'Lizabeth. He can't forgive himself because he didn't have any right to slap her.

#9
-Widow adopts Huck, gives him education and food everyday, a bed to sleep in, makes him a "good boy"; Huck possesses 6000 Dollars; this life makes him feel uncomfortable, wants to get away
-He runs away from her -> Tom's gang (are pretty much only wanna-be's)
-Pap appears
-Huck gives the money to the Judge, doesn't want Pap to have it
-Pap takes him with him to a cabin, makes him live an easy life, Huck likes it although he gets slapped every now and then; but in the end he decides to run away
-he fakes his death, succedes to run away to Jackson Island
-Huck finds Jim (Ms. Watson's (the widow's sister) slave)
-he plays a prank on Jim (the snake's skin) -> bad luck; they travel with their boat over the river north
-Huck goes to town, dresses like a girl, the woman he tries to fool gets his "real" identity (his plan fails); he finds out the woman's husband is going to look for Jim on the island because of bounty set on him
-the "Walter Scott" incident (gang on a boat tries to kill one of the members, the baot sinks, Huck tries to help them)
-they get lost in the fog, Huck playing a joke on Jim
-their raft hits a steam boat, they get seperated
-Huck meets the Grangerfords; meets Jim again
-they run away together eventually
-they are meeting 2 guys pretending to be a Duke/ a King (two run-aways)
-Town of Arkansaw: they are acting Shakespeare; can't convince anyone to watch it
-switch their play to "Royal Nonesuch", a great success!
-Buck gets killed in town, shows a society without rules