Nicky's Roundup Post 3/20/14

One thing we've not examined too closely in class is Huck's relationship to and view of authority figures. Twain's deconstruction of such authority figures often serves as satire because he deconstructs those who enforce the societal norms he means to critique (slavery, religion, you name it).

On page 168, Jim offers insight that helps illustrate his view of authority, and perhaps Twain's as well, when he's talking to Huck about the king and duke: "'Well, that's what I'm a-saying; all kings is mostly rapscallions, as fur as I can make out'" (Twain 168).

Even though the "king" and the "duke" are clearly nothing but con artists, their falsity does not in any way diminish Twain's overall statement about authority figures - as we discussed in class, Twain seems to argue that much can be learned by misrepresenting the truth.

I think Jim's realization about authority figures that he shares with Huck is vitally important to the text. I think this realization will begin to inform a lot of the assertions of independence that Huck and Jim will have to make as the plot of the novel moves forward. Yes, both Huck and Jim have disobeyed authority in the past (Jim ran away from his master, Huck from his dad and his "foster parent" of sorts), but Jim's statement about the king and duke is the first time in the novel that we glimpse Jim or Huck going so far as to deconstruct the role of authority figures. And indeed, Jim does just this, by asserting that "all kings is [are] mostly rapscallions."

Jimmy's Friday Roundup Post

In tonight’s reading, we further follow the text in the adventures of Huck with the duke and the king. So far, it has seem that the text has praised deception and mystery, for the duke and the king appear to be getting away with all their scams on innocent people. The king lied about being a reformed pirate to take up a collection. Together, they tricked people into paying for their terrible performances, and now, they are pretending to be the relatives of the deceased Mr. Wilks in order to scam the family. There are so many acts of deception, but there is no punishment. In fact, the response of the victims highlights even more deception, for when the audience of the first night of the performance realizes that they’ve been scammed, they drag in more people the second night in order to salvage their own pride so that they were not the only ones being deceived. Obscuring the truth also seems to be integral to preventing conflict. When initially Huck and Jim meet the king and the duke, they play along with their stories in order to prevent disagreement, as we discussed in class. It seems that all these instances of deception have been condoned, if not praised.

Throughout these episodes, Huck is usually a bystander or an accomplice, watching as the scams unfold and not warning anyone about them. However, in tonight’s reading, he finally does take action through taking the gold at the end of Chapter 26. What he does with it is yet to be seen, but the fact that he has made a choice in opposition with the deception of the duke and the king does seem to demonstrate a change. Why does he do it? It isn't absolutely clear. Maybe it’s because he’s attracted to Mary Jane and wants to help her? Maybe it’s because he just finally felt his conscience telling him to do the right thing? I think this is a key question in understanding Huck’s development at this crucial juncture.

However, I do see a trend in these episodes. It seems that there is a progression in the level of deception. First, it started with the simple white lies of playing along with the false stories of the king and the duke. Then, it started escalating to alienating and deceiving people, albeit the people may not have been the most honorable (trying to drag others down with them). It finally reached a tipping point perhaps with the Wilks family. It seems that this scam may be the most intimate, affecting specific individuals who don’t deserve it, and I believe that this may be what causes Huck to act. Having seen a very real face to the individuals that his inaction was harming instead of the many blank faces of the mobs that were previously scammed leads Huck on this path of trying to rectify the wrongs of the duke and the king. It is here that Huck is able to clarify his own thoughts and decisions regarding morality.  

Victoria's Friday Round-Up

Today in class we talked about the partnership between Huck and Jim, and I wanted to continue exploring the progression of their relationship. At the end of the raft incident, Huck wakes Jim up, and Jim questions Huck about the incidents that occurred during their separation. In response, Huck denies that he was ever separated from Jim, prompting Jim to write off the series of events as a bizarre dream. Huck then prods Jim to share the dream with him, and after Jim finishes interpreting the tow-heads and current and whoops, Huck reveals that he has tricked Jim by asking Jim to interpret the leaves and broken oar, physical evidence of the turbulent night. Jim realizes that Huck has deceived him and tells him "'Dat truck dah is trash; en trash is what people is dat puts dirt on de head er dey fren's en makes 'em ashamed.'" Jim walks away and shuts himself up in the wigwam, and Huck divulges, "It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger -- but I done it, and I warn't ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didn't do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn't done that one if I'd a knowed it would make him feel that way."

This scene is especially crucial in our understanding of Huck and Jim's relationship because it highlights the tension present in their companionship. By encouraging Jim to relay his dream and thus fall for Huck's trick, Huck sets Jim up to be made a fool, essentially asserting himself as the superior in their relationship (in this scenario, Huck has a more comprehensive knowledge of what has occurred, and because knowledge is power...). Jim counters this shift in power by explicitly telling Huck how he felt upon realizing that the raft had floated away and what Huck's little joke meant to him. In his censure, Jim compares the debris on the raft to Huck - someone who "puts dirt on de head er dey fren's en makes 'em ashamed." This rebuke seems like more than just a reaction to a hurtful act; it reminds me of something that Miss Watson or the widow might say -- an admonishment of sorts to underline to Huck what he has done wrong. And Huck learns from this lecture; he apologizes to Jim, despite Jim's racial "inferiority," and tells us that 1) he never played any more mean tricks on Jim 2) he wouldn't have done this if he had known that Jim would have been hurt by his actions.

I think that this incident illustrates Jim's affection for Huck and more importantly, it highlights Huck's respect for Jim. As a result of the actions that pass in this scene, we see Jim emerge as another mentor figure to Huck, and I think this will have a significant impact on their rapport.

Henry's Post

Throughout "Huckleberry Finn," we have experienced many re-occurrences with "Tom Sawyer" (spoiler alert: Tom is the main character of the eponymous novel "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.").  Twain's repetition of Tom marks how significant of an impact he has on Huck.  However, it is interesting (and somewhat contradictory) how Twain sets up a duality to Tom's appearances in Huck's experience.

Our first experience containing Tom and Huck is during a discussion where the two argue over "Don Qixote" (Twain 25).  Tom seems to immerse himself in fantasy, as evident through his descriptions of soldiers and elephants and magicians.  Huck, however, seems indifferent to Tom's rapture.  Most notable (and funny) is when Huck begins punching holes in Tom's arguments.  He notes how ironic it is that a seemingly-omnipotent djinn needs to obey a human.  He concludes by realizing that this is yet another of "Tom Sawyer's lies."  Clearly, Huck is able to create his own opinions from his perceptions of the world around him.  Unlike Tom, he does not cast blind faith in what he reads or hears.  From this initial interaction, one would picture Tom as Huck's foil.  However, Twain suddenly flips our preconceptions (or one might say prejudice.  ha.  ha.) later in the novel.

When Jim and Huck search the capsizing barge, Huck asks, "do you reckon Tom Sawyer would ever go by this thing?  Not for pie, he wouldn't...  I wish Tom Sawyer was here" (Twain 77).  This seems to be contradictory to Huck's previous relationship with Tom.  Previously, Huck seemed to reject Tom's beliefs in the fantastical and rely only on his own self-perceptions.  However, in this new situation, Huck seems to portray Tom as a role model.  This is a very curious flip of power, since it now seems that Huck is acting based on what Tom would do.  This contradicts everything we've said about Huck!  We believed him to be a character independent from the influences of others (or, at the very least, resisting their attempts to influence him).  However, it's clear now that Tom has a huge influence on Huck.

Ultimately, I question what Tom's role is in Huck's life and how that affects Huck as the satirist he is meant to be.  We found Huck to be empowered because he was able to resist the widow and his father when they attempted to change him.  Now that we realize how big of an influence Tom has on him, how does that change our perceptions of Huck?

Emma's Post

Due to extraordinary circumstances, I attach Emma's post as a jpg. Please respond as you can.

Anisha's Friday Round-Up

As we studied The Importance of Being Earnest,we explored the way Oscar Wilde bastardizes common cliches by turning them around and changing their meanings. By exploiting how we snap to attention when we expect one thing and instead are delivered another, Wilde is able to force us (as the audience) to think for ourselves.

This seems to be an important idea when we look at the character of Huck Finn, someone who is forced to create his own world philosophy, and morals, for himself. Having been raised by both an uptight and upper-crust widow and a poor, abusive, alcoholic father, Huck’s personality and values seem not to have developed from the dogma of a particular upbringing, but rather as a result of him analyzing the world as he sees it.

In fact, one of the major parts of his life is Tom Sawyer’s gang:  a group of kids with no authority. I think a lot of Huck’s savvy comes having to do everything himself. Because he has no source of income, Huck learned to wait for driftwood that he could sell. Being accustomed to having to think quickly and strategically, he concocts an ingenious plan to run away from his father and prevent people from looking out for him.

Of course, Mark Twain was explicit (and maybe a little bit self-important) when he said that we cannot read his book like any other book, where we look for meaning and morals. When reading the book through those lenses, it seems like Twain is trying to pull an Oscar Wilde by breaking the fourth wall and trying to influence the readers by playing on how we read what he has written. When we look at Huck as a character designed to manipulate us as readers, it almost seems wrong to praise about the virtues of having to do for yourself when it is all being spelled out to us by Mark Twain.

(Sorry, I'm a little late!)