HUCK FINN Chapters 11 14 What shocking thing

HUCK FINN Chapters 11 - 14

What shocking thing does Huck learn about Jim from Mrs. Judith Loftus? • That people think Jim killed Huckleberry and then ran away.

Late at night, Jim and Huck drift by this major city on the Mississippi River and Huck says it was “like the whole world lit up. ” Name the city: • St. Louis

Huck and Jim decide to land on a wrecked steamboat in the middle of the river and have a look around. Once aboard, they realize there’s some low-life thugs also on board. How many men are on the boat and what are they trying to decide? • Three. Bill and Jake have tied up Jim Turner and are deciding whether to kill him.

Why does the ferryboat captain agree to help Huck and go back to fetch Huck’s fictional family and Miss Hooker off the wrecked steamboat? • For money. The ferryboat captain thinks that Miss Hooker is the niece of the richest man in town, Mr. Hornback

Both Huck and Jim have misunderstood the story of King Solomon. What particularly bothers Jim about the story? • That Solomon was going to chop a child in half. • Neither of them remembers the part of the story that showed wise old King Solomon used this threat as a test to determine which woman was the real mother of an infant.

BONUS: Jim and Huck argue about a Frenchman and Jim can’t understand how a man from France would speak an entirely different language. What two animals does Huck use in his analogy that fails to win Jim’s agreement? • A cat and a cow

The Adults in Huck’s Life • Judge Thatcher • Widow Douglass • Miss Watson • Jim • Pap • Mrs. Loftus

Map of Huck’s Journey • Huck’s Cabin • Jackson Island • St. Louis • Half-sunken Steamboat

CHAPTER 15

Explain in detail the trick Huck plays on Jim. • A dense fog arrives and blankets everything in a murky white, so Huck and Jim decide to land on the shore. • Huck, in the canoe, paddles toward the land, towing the raft where Jim remains with all of their belongings. • Before Huck is able to securely tie the raft to a tree on a sandbar, the raft pulls loose and starts floating downstream with Jim aboard. • Huck tries to follow the raft in the canoe, but soon loses sight of it in the fog. • He and Jim spend several hours tracking each other by calling out, but a large island finally separates them and Huck is left all alone. • The next morning, Huck awakens and luckily manages to catch up with the raft. • He finds Jim asleep and wakes him up, deciding in the moment to play a trick on Jim by telling him that the events of the night before were just a dream. • After some convincing, Jim starts to interpret the “dream. ” • Huck finally points out the leaves and debris left from the night before on the raft, and laughs because he made Jim look foolish.

How does Huck convince Jim that this was a dream? Why does Jim believe him? • Huck is emphatic that Jim must have been dreaming and sticks to his story, even when he’s questioned and doubted by Jim. • The book doesn’t directly say why Jim believes Huck, but there could be two things going on here. • First, Jim considers Huck to be a friend wouldn’t lie to you and try to make you look foolish. Therefore, Jim can’t think of any reason Huck would have to lie to him. • Second, there’s an element of race/social class here, as the black man defers to the white boy. • Even on their raft, they haven’t yet completely shed the old social rules wherein a slave doesn’t contradict a white person. • It’s a subtle element in this exchange that is upturned at the end of the chapter.

How does Jim interpret the dream? • Jim says that the vivid dream must be a warning. • He says that the towhead, or sandbar, symbolizes a man who will try to help them, while the rushing river symbolizes a man who will pull them away from the good man. • The whoops were warnings that they should heed. • All of the other towheads were more trouble, but if Jim and Huck stay clearheaded they should be able to avoid all of those folks/sandbars and make their way to the clear big river, which symbolizes the free states. • Clearly, Jim realizes that there will be trouble to come along their journey.

Translate Jim’s “trash” speech into your own words, sentence by sentence. • Once Jim realizes that he and Huck really were separated in the night, he is angry. • He says he called out for Huck for hours and finally had to sleep, but his heart was broken because Huck was gone. • He didn’t even care if he was caught or killed because he was so worried about Huck being lost. • When he woke up and saw Huck on the raft, he felt like he was going to cry and he wanted to get on his knees and kiss Huck’s feet because he was so grateful that Huck was back and unharmed. • But all Huck was thinking about was how to make Jim look foolish. • Then, Jim says that the debris on the side of the raft is trash and people who mock their friends are also trash. • Basically, he’s angry with Huck and calls him trash, like white trash. For a black man to call a white person such a name in this time period is stunning.

What specific word does Jim use that really touches Huck’s heart? What does Jim want Huck to feel? • It’s important to note that Jim uses the word “friend” in the passage when he’s describing their relationship. • This is an important distinction, as the lines marking social status are blurring. • Jim wants Huck to feel ashamed of himself.

What does Huck begin to realize in this passage? What point is Twain making through this passage? • Huck is starting to see that Jim deeply cares about him and is the best kind of self-sacrificing friend. • Huck’s growing loyalty toward Jim is strengthened in this episode. • Since Huck is a kid, he’s still more interested in the adventure of their journey, but he’s beginning to recognize Jim as a real friend in need. • By apologizing to Jim, Huck is learning to do the right thing. • Twain is certainly showing that Jim is the better person. Huck’s values have been clouded by the white fog of racism that has surrounded him all of his life. • Now that he’s on the water with Jim, the fog is lifting and Huck is beginning to see Jim for who he really is – not a slave, but a caring, compassionate man and a true friend.