Was the dead man on page 57 Pap? Jim threw a cloth over the dead man, and said that “doan’ look at his face-it’s too gashly.” And then later, when Huck snuck into town and talked to the woman who knew that he was actually a boy, she told him that Pap had hung out with a couple of mighty hard-looking strangers and wasn’t seen ever since. I think that it’s possible that the dead man was Pap, because Huck never saw his face, and if it really was Pap, Jim probably wouldn’t have wanted Huck to see Pap’s face and know that he was dead- which could be the reason why he threw the cloth over the dead man’s face.
I think these 4 chapters really bring out some long-awaited suspense. The plotters that they meet on the wreck, the floating house with a dead man, and the danger of Jim getting caught were all very exciting. I can't tell if Huck is just sometimes very stupid or that he really wants to be like Tom. The fact that he stayed on the wreck to watch the scene play out and almost getting caught shows this. I also find it funny how they use the term "borrow" to replace stealing.
Why do you think Huck is still helping Jim at this point? Does he not know that he is committing a crime by helping a slave escape ?
Isn't it really unsanitary to chuck a piece of lead at a rat (granted that it hits the target) and then pick up that lead with your bare hands?
I agree with Matt. It was hard to stop reading after chapter 12! Such a grand adventure, going off with the person accused of murdering you, stumbling upon a corpse, finding out that there were men with guns chasing you, and then getting involved with a murderous gang!
Matt: Well, Huck probably doesn't want to go back. It's much too fun (fun which he craves?). Both are sort of fugitives ("Wanted", with a price tag) - one thought to be dead and the other accused of murder. Jim is like Huck's accomplice, a helping hand, although Huck's superior (Jim obeys what Huck says).
Chapters 9 and 12 were pretty interesting in fact. It marks the beginning of Huck's and Jim's adventures, and in those chapters, they came across problems. What I find really interesting is when Huck Finn does something he always says/thinks "Pap used to say that...". It shows that Huck still follows his father's words, or maybe Huck misses his father, although his father was a total drunk. I think another theme in this book so far is companionship. Without Jim, Huck would be lonely with nobody to talk to or without a helping hand when carrying things. On the other hand, without Huck, Jim cannot survive on his own, because he does not know how to catch his own food. Instead, he feeds on strawberries and that's it. With Huck around, Jim's life becomes easier and vice versa. Still, I don't see areal plot yet, except for people chasing after Huck and Jim. However, I don't think that is the actual plot in the story. I think reading Jim's dialogue is way easier compared to the first few chapters for some reason.
In chapter 12, Huck and Jim discovers a steamboat that has crashed against a huge rock. Huck who is full of curiosity, decides to explore the boat. At first Jim is objects at the idea, but is persuaded when Huck says they should go see if there was any money left on the boat. Huck wanders off and finds a room with three people in it. He stays and overhears two of the men arguing about whether they should kill the third. This part of he novel was very gripping and I think this enthralling novel is beginning to get more and more exciting to read. I seriously want to continue reading and see what would happen next.
To Doris On page 57 they saw a dead man in which Huck didn't see the face. But if it was his father won't he recognize him? He was smart in his own way. On pg 21 he identified that the person was a girl instead of pap, a girl in male clothes. But why didn’t Jim let him look at the body, or because that the body was Pap and the he was killed by Jim? Because Judge had given him money to hunt down Jim, and Pap had a shotgun within his cabin?
Matthew: Of course Huck Finn knows that its wrong to help a slave escape. He heard the lady in the abandoned house that there has been a money reward for $300 for finding the escaped slave Jim. But Huck Finn is also living the life that he has always wanted to live. He didn't want to live at Dougls's house and become "sivilized," he has always wanted to live an exciting life. He has finally acheived that, and he isn't going to let it go, even at the expense of helping an escaped slave.Huck doesn't think of Jim as a slave like the other people, because of this adventure, he treats Jim as a companion and a partner.
Through the journey, Huck doesn't really think Jim as a slave or as a lower human being, but as a friend. They both have good street smart and have high moral, like telling the ferry men about the robbers, even though they might not have survived. The story is getting more and more interesting as Huck gets closer to the North, and his adventure contains more obstacles.
The story is getting interesting and more exciting. Chapter 9 through 12 mark the beginning of Tom and Huck's adventures. They discovered a crashed boat with two men in a room arguing if they should kill the third. Although Jim doesn't want to explore the boat, but Huck insist to do so.
There seems to be a lot of random tangents in this story, so it's hard to tell if there's an actual plot. For example, will the men Huck overheard play a role later, or did they only serve as a distraction? There's quite a lot of confusion in general.
KK: I'm not sure if there is a plot, beyond Huck and Jim escaping. Right now, it seems more random than planned.
Two major events happen, which tell Huck and Jim that they are not alone and there is still a threat outside. First, a house floats by, and the twe kids goes and takes some stuff. In the house, there is a dead man who has been shot in the back, and Jim doens't allow Huck to look at it. The second thing that happens is that a snake bites Jim as a result of Huck trying to play a prank on Jim. These two events show us that they are not alone. Later, they are forced to leave their paradise island.
Question: Why do you think that Jim didn't allow Huck to look at the dead body?
I thought these chapters were very entertaining and suspenseful. You'd want to continue reading forward. I think most interesting part of these chapters is when Huck goes to the village as a girl. (Chapter 11)
It was full of suspense when the woman asked Huck for his real name, as if she would turn him in. But instead, she didn't (well, because she thinks that Huck is George Peters). :D What a relief.
I think Jim did not tell Huck about Pap’s death could simply be to protect Huck’s feelings, but it can be that he’s selfish. If Jim told Huck about Pap’s death, there would be no reasons for Huck to remain with Jim on the island. I think Jim fears that Huck might at some point go back to town and tell people where he is hiding. This also demonstrates that Jim still does not fully trust Jim and for Jim, it was a life and death decision whether or not to tell Huck about Pap’s death.
Question: Why do you think Jim hise about Pap’s death and will Huck hate Jim if he finds out?
Being incredibly street smart as we mentioned in class, Huck made an incredibly stupid mistake for someone so smart. He said his own fake identity wrong. I think this proves kind of contradictory to our "street smart" theory. Though i still think that Huck looks incredibly smart and mature for his age, he is in fact just a kid, a kid who also makes mistakes.
Richard: Why do you think that Jim didn't allow Huck to look at the dead body?
I think it's because he does not want Huck to know about Pap's death because he's scared that Huck will go back to town and tell people where he's hiding.
The start of Huck's adventure has come! :) ahem yeah :D hehe.
Matt: Yeah I agree with Diane and John. Growing up, no one told Huck that blacks were different/treated lower, except maybe his father - but what his father, drunk, said really didn't matter much, and he hasn't been with the widow Douglas long enough to get that hammered in his head, therefore he treats Jim almost equally. He knows that there's a price tag on Jim's head, but he doesn't really need the money now/he'd much rather have an adventure. Besides, if Jim's caught, he's most likely caught too, and for both of them, going back would be something they dont want - in one case, getting sold to someplace worse, in the other, almost like returning to prison.
Diane: Well, this probably was a long time ago when they didn't know/were ignorant about it... :D
Nick: I didn't read thoroughly but it seems to me, it's just another one of Jim's superstition gigs, to not look at a dead body.
Haley: I guess Huck, like the rest of us, get lonely and desperately need company. Plus, it's easier to survive that way...
KK: I think so far it's been the exposition/conflict - from these chapters onward are the rising points ;)
At this point, the story gets a lot more interesting. As Matt mentioned, these few chapters finally bring something interesting to the plot. Before reading these chapters, I thought the book wasn't very interesting. But now that there's a dead man in a floating house, a group of men who are hunting them down because of their bounties, and the overhearing of a gang of murderers' plans, the plot gets even more confusing. Or like KK asked - is there even a plot? I think that there is a plot even though things seem to be popping out of no where at this point. Maybe when the story unfolds a little more, it'll become more obvious.
Doris - I didn't think of that, but yea, now that you mention it, it seems plausible.
On the island, Huck and Jim are basically equal, and act like friends. I think this is because without each other, they are lonely. And also because they both ran away from the society that they didn't want to live in. I thought that Mrs. Loftus was really smart in figuring out that Sarah Mary Williams was actually a boy. She even tested him about farming to make sure he wasn't lying again. If what Doris guessed was true- that Jim covered up the dead man's fave and did not want Huck to see him because it was Pap, then I think that Jim is probably a pretty caring person.
The novel is getting even more fascinating and exciting it progresses. However, when I came across the part where Huck kept on saying stuff about his father, known as Pap in the story. He hated Pap since the beginning of the novel and he always mentioned about how he wastes money on wine and beer. His father even locked him up when he had to leave the house! Why did Huck mention about his Pap? It seems like he misses his Pap now. Will he start to like Pap in the future? We talked about many themes during class today, and I think friendship is another theme that is portrayed even more in chapters 9~12. Jim and Huck depend on each other on the island they’re living on now. Without each other, they would be lonesome and friendless. Without Jim, Huck wouldn’t have anyone to have fun with; without Huck, Jim wouldn’t be able to survive on the island. As most people have mentioned above, the plot still isn’t really clear because I don’t see a major problem in the story so far. To KK: great minds think alike :] To Matt: I don’t think Huck sees it as much of a problem and if he doesn’t help Jim, he wouldn’t have companion on the island.
I think chapter 11 suggests a little bit that Judge Thatcher may not be as indifferent and greedy as it seems. According to Mrs. Loftus (the lady new to town), Judge Thatcher was willing to fund "Pap" to find Huck's body even though he didn't have to. Perhaps this may show a more caring side of the judge despite his apparently greedy intentions in the first few chapters.
I find it also interesting how "Pap" is using Judge Thatcher's funds to buy alcohol and such. Apparently he has used the money to disappear. However, I can't help but wonder why he wanted Huck back from the widow during the first few chapters but then never wanted him. Furthermore, Huck wasn't really any help to "Pap" when they were tramping either. Perhaps this suggests that "Pap" is not in a clear state of mind.
Lastly, I think Mark Twain is very good at showing the atmosphere and setting in which Huckleberry Finn lives in. Not only is the dialect extremely realistic, but the fact that the ideas of the time was also well portrayed. For example, when they found out Huck was "murdered" and found out Jim was gone, the first thing they suspected was that Jim killed him because he was black. So I couldn't help but ask myself why Huck would live and work along with Jim without any of the prejudices people around him are showing.
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Question:
After Huck and Jim sees the contents of the "floating house", Huck asked about what might have happened there. Is Jim really unable to deduct the truth? Or is he trying to shield Huck? Why would he want to do this?
Finally the more interesting part has begun. When Huck and Jim arrived at the house, and saw a dead man, Jim told Huck not to look. And I thought Huck was really smart to dress as a girl except that he couldn’t remember “her” own name. That part was really interesting. I also thought that Mrs. Loftus was smart to test if Huck was really a girl or not. And at the end of chapter 12, when Jim said that the raft was gone, I wonder what will happen to them? Will the people on the steamboat see them? Another question: why didn’t Jim let Huck see the dead man? Is there another reason behind it?
Matthew: Why do you think Huck is still helping Jim at this point? Does he not know that he is committing a crime by helping a slave escape? I think Huck knows but he doesn’t care. He’s just happy to have a companion with him. And maybe because both are fugitives, like Diane said.
KK: Is there a plot in the story yet? I don’t think the plot has appeared yet. But maybe later it will be clearer.
The plot IS Huck and Jim going down the Mississippi and getting into all sorts of mischief and trouble. I'd say that the plot would be linear in that sense, but I recall that everything should go back in the end. Okay, no more spoilers.
In my opinion, Huck's acting of a girl definitely had its shortcomings. I would say, for a boy like him, being a little girl would be perhaps the hardest role of all, even though he is probably prepubescent and sounds like one.
However, I must daresay that his thinking was quick and fast. Even though he screwed up about many femine customs (spreading legs and sewing), his mind was fast enough to save himself in other aspects. Having Mary as a middle name certainly is an ingenious way of hiding one's own malfunctioning mouth.
I do find a point quite ironic: in an attempt to maintain his wild, carefree style of living, he must first make himself as civilized as possible, and convincingly at that, too.
I read this book once already, although I forgot the majority of it (this was the only book in which I got a zero for AR testing in America), I must ask: Is the story going to continue chronologically recording their adventures on the Mississippi River? In other words, are they going to keep living on the river, or are they going to go inland?
I really liked how Mrk twain described the scenery of the island. He uses a lot of imagery and description to give somewhat of a full picture if what the island is like. Also, the beginning of chapter 9 payed a l ot of attension to detail when Jim takes Huck to the cave on the mountains.
Jim and Huck are living together on the Jackson Island also trying to look for a place to hide. During this process, I’ve noticed Huck trying learning new things from Jim and also by his own knowledge of things around him. Jim is not stupid in a way, because in the last few chapters, he did give the reader an impression of “stupid”. But really Jim is not what I thought he is. He’s actually smart in some ways and stupid in the other. I’ve also noticed how Huck sometimes copies some ways of Tom Sawyer. The part when Jim feels like throwing up and had to leave before someone finds out about them, Huck heard people talking inside and thought of how Tom Sawyer would not back down since they’ve gone this far already. Though, Huck may be very intelligent but he also learns from others especially the way Tom Sawyer risk in some situation. There’s one thing that I’m curious is, will Huck succeed saving James from being killed? It is very risky to save someone in a short amount of time. This novel is getting more interesting and plots of events rushing up.
KK- I think Huck still says things that his father said was because he has stayed with his father for a large part of his life. So Huck has picked up some of Pap's way of saying. It's funny how Pap calls taking things from other people without permission as "borrowing" which in fact is stealing. I think Pap only calls it this because he wants to erase some guilt from stealing by calling it borrowing. Through out this chapters Huck mentions Tom constantly and says if Tom was here i bet he would do this and that. It shows that Huck somewhat idolizes Tom for his courageous acts.
TO Kathy's question: I think there's no reason behind it, except the dead body is too disgust to look at for Huck. No matter how you look at Huck, he's still a kid. I guess Jim is just trying to protect Huck in a way.
As the book continues, more and more interesting conflicts began to show. Chapter 9 through 12 showed the rise of action in the story. There were the newcomer in town in which Huck tried to get information from, and there were the robbers at the river that tried to kill each other.
Matthew - I think Huck is helping Jim because without Jim, living his life would be very hard, considering the fact that two man can work twice as fast as one man alone.
As many others have said before me, the novel is getting so interesting now and it's hard to out down the book! For example, when the woman seemed like she thought something was fishy, I was so scared she would discover his true identity, or that Jim would get caught. Also, the fact that Jim's superstitious predictions actually came true was very interesting for me.
Doris: That would be such a huge coincidence if it was Pap. I hope we find out if it was later.
in these chapters despite Jackson island seeming to be safe, there are really many dangers still around. One reminder of the dangers was the house with the murdered man. Another was Jims snakebite after Hucks jokes. Then even more danger comes as Huck learns that Pap and Jim were wanted (with Pap almost being lynched) and they even encounter robbers and their boat disappears. matt: the reason huck is still with jim is because over this time, they have become much better friends
Who was the dead man? Why didn't Jim want Huck to see him? Why does Huck treat Jim as a friend [even though it's a good thing]? I thought most people Huck has been around were racist to blacks...
I thought Huck and Jim were pretty smart to send Huck to the town as a girl. But I also thought it was stupid how Huck forgot his own fake name... But yeah... Thank goodness Huck went to town, or else both Huck and Jim might have been doomed!!
I think these few chapters was very interesting (compared to the beginning of the book). I thought it was so funny when Huck dressed up as a girl, but Mrs. Loftus was smart enough to realize that he was a guy not a girl. I think Jim and Huck are becoming really good friends. They have each other to depend on.
Matt: They need each other to depend on. If Huck helps Jim, Jim would help him. Anywayys, I don't think Huck cares about Jim being a black. And that both of them are in similar situations, they both ran away for the same reason (freedom).
In these chapters, the relationship of Huckleberry and Jim grew and develops. In chapter 11, Huckleberry Finn finally found out, who killed him, the people all thought it was Jim, because they says that Jim left the very moment when Huckleberry was being killed. So Huckleberry and Jim starts to run away as far as possible. In chapter 9, there was this part where Jim and Huckleberry Finn found a man being shot and naked. My question is, is that a black man? And why is the man being shot? Also in the end of chapter 10, why does it mean by “ I wouldn’t forget I was a girl”?
I thought that the parts of the novel before chapter 9 was pretty dull, nothing really happened, just explanations and descriptions. However, just like many classmates said, chapter 9 and then on becomes very exciting. Huck, Tom, and Jim set foot on their adventure and encounter many things. Things like finding the dead body, discovering and exploring a shipwreck, being chased by gunned men, helping cover for Jim because he was a runaway slave, all of this was so exciting! By the way, i dont think that Huck re-mentioning pap was because he missed him, i think its just that hes curious.
I haven’t think about the dead man was pap before, but since others had started this discussion, it is possible that pap was dead because that’s his karma. He was so cruel to Huck and he would rather want money than his own son. Also, I have noticed how Jim and Huck are becoming good partners. I’m not sure if Jim involved Huck in the story, but I’m sure that Huck is learning things from Jim and his adventures.
Question: In your opinion, do you think that Huck was encumbered by Jim?
Like everybody else, I thought that these few chapters are extremely exciting and entertaining to read.
Demi: I'm not sure who the dead man was, but it's possible for it to be Pap. Jim probably didn't want Huck to see him, because he thought it would bring bad luck. I think Huck doesn't really care if Jim's a slave, he's probably just happy that he has a companion with him.
"The n*gger [Jim] run off the very night Huck Finn was killed. So there's a reward out for him - three hundread dollars. And there's a reward for old Finn, too - two hundred dollars." (Page 63, original version) Is there any significance to why Jim is worth more than Huck Finn? Blacks were considered low-classed to the Whites. Why is it that to find Jim is much more worthy than finding Huck Finn?
Haley: Huck wants to stay with Jim, because they can work together as a team. For example, Huck can hunt for food while Jim builds a campfire. They both are runaways and can only trust each other. They can not really trust anyone else at the moment, because they escaped and don't want to be captured. Although they seem to have a large age difference and have different skin colors, they still are tolerant of each other.
Mrs. Judith Loftus on page 67 is someone who is very observant about the signs around her, as she figured out Huck Finn was disguised as a girl. It is interesting how she doesn’t turn Huck in. I wonder why Huck chose to disguise as a little girl instead of perhaps a different boy instead. The group of men on the wreck in the river is also interesting. I wonder why they are there. What will happen to Huck and Jim on the wreck?
I guess Mark Twain had to do a lot of research to write this book, too. I found the part when Huck went to town and met the woman was pretty interesting. It was pretty cool when the woman started to point out all the mistake Huck did that made the woman see through his disguise. It was all very detailed. Huck was extremely lucky that he went to town that day instead of the next, it would’ve been too late.
To Jasmine: Worthing more doesn't mean it is a good thing in this case. Whites are superior at that period time, so the whites discriminate the slaves by treating them as scapegoats. The whites would rather lynch or jail the blacks than punish their own people. Therefore, the whites are all hunting down Jim, because Jim is a black slave and they won't tolerate any blacks to commit crimes.
In chapter 9, Huck and Jim find the dead man’s body in the house. Jim hides the body’s face after seeing who it is. I think this is an important hint at something, because if Jim really thought that looking at the corpse’s face would bring bad luck, then he wouldn’t have taken a look himself. I think the dead man is someone important to Huck- maybe his father. I find Huck dressing up and pretending to be a girl extremely amusing. Not only does he fail to remember his aliases, he also gets found out easily. Huck lies a lot, however, and doesn’t hesitate to do it. Huck and Jim live pretty well buying, stealing, and hunting, but they feel somewhat remorseful about stealing, so they decide to give up a few items as a moral sacrifice.
I think this part of the story is very, very interesting. It just keeps getting better and better. One of my favorite parts of this part was the part where Huck dressed up as a girl and the lady he went to used various ways to find out. It was really ingenious the way she devised ways to figure out if he was really a girl, and I admire her sharpness and intellect. Also I think it is interesting the way Jim and Huck try to compromise between the correct way of doing things and the "wrong" way...like trying to compromise between what Widow Douglas would have done and what Pap would have done. It is good that they have this intuition, but what they end up doing is still stealing, just stealing less, as if taking less meant they left more as "pay." However, I guess it's the intent that counts more.
It was reallly lucky that Huck and Jim found the cavern with all the clothes and other extra necessities. Although Huck practiced and tried to be a girl, he couldn't fool Mrs. Loftus. When Huck was talking to her, and she mentioned how they were going to lynch Pap but when Jim was found gone, they decided it was probably Jim who murdered Huck, he almost got defensive. I think it means that Huck wasn't prejudiced like the other townfolks that were. Even though Jim had a 300 bounty, Huck didn't turn him in, and he even told Jim that people were coming after them so they had to escape.
After reading these chapters, I start to see the adventure in Huck’s life. Huck and Jim went collecting items from the house that was floating down the river and they start to travel to other places and they went on the steamboat and found two murderers. I think that Mark Twain does a good job on building suspense and using dialogue. Bill and Jake kept talking about making Turner tell, but we don’t know what they’re forcing Turner to do. Ending the chapter telling us that the raft broke loose makes the reader wants to read more. I think that Mrs. Judith Loftus was really smart. She tested Huck to see if he did normal things that girls do to see if he’s lying. I was really surprised when she asked what Huck’s real name was.
I liked the part when Huck dressed up as a girl and pretended that he was Sarah Mary Williams. Even though Huck practiced being a girl with Jim on the island, Ms. Loftus still found out. Through these chapters, we can tell that Huck and Jim are getting closer to each other. They did everthing together. What do you think will happen to Huck and Jim later on in the novel?
Huck is still helping Jim because even though he is knowingly breaking the law, traveling with Jim is letting him live the life that he has always dreamed of, but has never had the chance to live. When he lived with the widow, he had to live all prim and proper with schooling and no cussing, and when he lived with Pap, he could pretty much do whatever as long as he didn't get in Pap's way. Now, he can have an adventure, which is something he has always dreamed of.
Question Why do you think Huck is thinking about Tom Sawyer when they are at the wreck? Does this show anything about Huck's character?
This section was pretty amusing. I liked the part where Huck dresses up as a girl to get information about stuff that's going on. It was pretty funny, and I don't know why, but kind of cool too. The suspense of the murderers are keepin' me hanging here as well!
My question Do you think Mrs. Judith Loftus (the lady who Huck talked to) will play a more significant role in the future? Also, how do you think Mrs. Loftus was that smart enough to figure Huck out; as in, how did she notice THAT much?
Response to Jasper L. I think Huck is thinking about Tom at the wreck because this is a situation where Huck thinks Tom would be commonly involved in. I haven't read Tom Sawyer before, but I'm pretty sure that Tom would often be in a adventurous-ish risky situation like this.
Diane: Isn't it really unsanitary to chuck a piece of lead at a rat (granted that it hits the target) and then pick up that lead with your bare hands?
yes but i dont think they care about personal hygiene. Huck just doesnt seem like the type of person to care about whether if hes clean or not. He ran away from the Widow because he didnt want to be civilized
Was the dead man on page 57 Pap? Jim threw a cloth over the dead man, and said that “doan’ look at his face-it’s too gashly.” And then later, when Huck snuck into town and talked to the woman who knew that he was actually a boy, she told him that Pap had hung out with a couple of mighty hard-looking strangers and wasn’t seen ever since.
ReplyDeleteI think that it’s possible that the dead man was Pap, because Huck never saw his face, and if it really was Pap, Jim probably wouldn’t have wanted Huck to see Pap’s face and know that he was dead- which could be the reason why he threw the cloth over the dead man’s face.
I think these 4 chapters really bring out some long-awaited suspense. The plotters that they meet on the wreck, the floating house with a dead man, and the danger of Jim getting caught were all very exciting. I can't tell if Huck is just sometimes very stupid or that he really wants to be like Tom. The fact that he stayed on the wreck to watch the scene play out and almost getting caught shows this. I also find it funny how they use the term "borrow" to replace stealing.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think Huck is still helping Jim at this point? Does he not know that he is committing a crime by helping a slave escape
?
Doris - good point.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it really unsanitary to chuck a piece of lead at a rat (granted that it hits the target) and then pick up that lead with your bare hands?
I agree with Matt. It was hard to stop reading after chapter 12! Such a grand adventure, going off with the person accused of murdering you, stumbling upon a corpse, finding out that there were men with guns chasing you, and then getting involved with a murderous gang!
Matt: Well, Huck probably doesn't want to go back. It's much too fun (fun which he craves?). Both are sort of fugitives ("Wanted", with a price tag) - one thought to be dead and the other accused of murder. Jim is like Huck's accomplice, a helping hand, although Huck's superior (Jim obeys what Huck says).
Chapters 9 and 12 were pretty interesting in fact. It marks the beginning of Huck's and Jim's adventures, and in those chapters, they came across problems.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find really interesting is when Huck Finn does something he always says/thinks "Pap used to say that...". It shows that Huck still follows his father's words, or maybe Huck misses his father, although his father was a total drunk.
I think another theme in this book so far is companionship. Without Jim, Huck would be lonely with nobody to talk to or without a helping hand when carrying things. On the other hand, without Huck, Jim cannot survive on his own, because he does not know how to catch his own food. Instead, he feeds on strawberries and that's it. With Huck around, Jim's life becomes easier and vice versa.
Still, I don't see areal plot yet, except for people chasing after Huck and Jim. However, I don't think that is the actual plot in the story.
I think reading Jim's dialogue is way easier compared to the first few chapters for some reason.
QUESTION:
Is there a plot in the story yet?
In chapter 12, Huck and Jim discovers a steamboat that has crashed against a huge rock. Huck who is full of curiosity, decides to explore the boat. At first Jim is objects at the idea, but is persuaded when Huck says they should go see if there was any money left on the boat. Huck wanders off and finds a room with three people in it. He stays and overhears two of the men arguing about whether they should kill the third. This part of he novel was very gripping and I think this enthralling novel is beginning to get more and more exciting to read. I seriously want to continue reading and see what would happen next.
ReplyDeleteTo Doris
ReplyDeleteOn page 57 they saw a dead man in which Huck didn't see the face. But if it was his father won't he recognize him? He was smart in his own way. On pg 21 he identified that the person was a girl instead of pap, a girl in male clothes.
But why didn’t Jim let him look at the body, or because that the body was Pap and the he was killed by Jim? Because Judge had given him money to hunt down Jim, and Pap had a shotgun within his cabin?
Matthew:
ReplyDeleteOf course Huck Finn knows that its wrong to help a slave escape. He heard the lady in the abandoned house that there has been a money reward for $300 for finding the escaped slave Jim. But Huck Finn is also living the life that he has always wanted to live. He didn't want to live at Dougls's house and become "sivilized," he has always wanted to live an exciting life. He has finally acheived that, and he isn't going to let it go, even at the expense of helping an escaped slave.Huck doesn't think of Jim as a slave like the other people, because of this adventure, he treats Jim as a companion and a partner.
Through the journey, Huck doesn't really think Jim as a slave or as a lower human being, but as a friend. They both have good street smart and have high moral, like telling the ferry men about the robbers, even though they might not have survived. The story is getting more and more interesting as Huck gets closer to the North, and his adventure contains more obstacles.
ReplyDeleteThe story is getting interesting and more exciting. Chapter 9 through 12 mark the beginning of Tom and Huck's adventures. They discovered a crashed boat with two men in a room arguing if they should kill the third. Although Jim doesn't want to explore the boat, but Huck insist to do so.
ReplyDeleteBut why does Huck want to stay with Jim?
There seems to be a lot of random tangents in this story, so it's hard to tell if there's an actual plot. For example, will the men Huck overheard play a role later, or did they only serve as a distraction? There's quite a lot of confusion in general.
ReplyDeleteKK: I'm not sure if there is a plot, beyond Huck and Jim escaping. Right now, it seems more random than planned.
Two major events happen, which tell Huck and Jim that they are not alone and there is still a threat outside. First, a house floats by, and the twe kids goes and takes some stuff. In the house, there is a dead man who has been shot in the back, and Jim doens't allow Huck to look at it. The second thing that happens is that a snake bites Jim as a result of Huck trying to play a prank on Jim. These two events show us that they are not alone. Later, they are forced to leave their paradise island.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Why do you think that Jim didn't allow Huck to look at the dead body?
I thought these chapters were very entertaining and suspenseful. You'd want to continue reading forward. I think most interesting part of these chapters is when Huck goes to the village as a girl. (Chapter 11)
ReplyDeleteIt was full of suspense when the woman asked Huck for his real name, as if she would turn him in. But instead, she didn't (well, because she thinks that Huck is George Peters). :D What a relief.
I think Jim did not tell Huck about Pap’s death could simply be to protect Huck’s feelings, but it can be that he’s selfish. If Jim told Huck about Pap’s death, there would be no reasons for Huck to remain with Jim on the island. I think Jim fears that Huck might at some point go back to town and tell people where he is hiding. This also demonstrates that Jim still does not fully trust Jim and for Jim, it was a life and death decision whether or not to tell Huck about Pap’s death.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Why do you think Jim hise about Pap’s death and will Huck hate Jim if he finds out?
Being incredibly street smart as we mentioned in class, Huck made an incredibly stupid mistake for someone so smart. He said his own fake identity wrong. I think this proves kind of contradictory to our "street smart" theory. Though i still think that Huck looks incredibly smart and mature for his age, he is in fact just a kid, a kid who also makes mistakes.
ReplyDeleteRichard: Why do you think that Jim didn't allow Huck to look at the dead body?
ReplyDeleteI think it's because he does not want Huck to know about Pap's death because he's scared that Huck will go back to town and tell people where he's hiding.
The start of Huck's adventure has come! :)
ReplyDeleteahem yeah :D hehe.
Matt: Yeah I agree with Diane and John. Growing up, no one told Huck that blacks were different/treated lower, except maybe his father - but what his father, drunk, said really didn't matter much, and he hasn't been with the widow Douglas long enough to get that hammered in his head, therefore he treats Jim almost equally. He knows that there's a price tag on Jim's head, but he doesn't really need the money now/he'd much rather have an adventure. Besides, if Jim's caught, he's most likely caught too, and for both of them, going back would be something they dont want - in one case, getting sold to someplace worse, in the other, almost like returning to prison.
Diane: Well, this probably was a long time ago when they didn't know/were ignorant about it... :D
Nick: I didn't read thoroughly but it seems to me, it's just another one of Jim's superstition gigs, to not look at a dead body.
Haley: I guess Huck, like the rest of us, get lonely and desperately need company. Plus, it's easier to survive that way...
KK: I think so far it's been the exposition/conflict - from these chapters onward are the rising points ;)
At this point, the story gets a lot more interesting. As Matt mentioned, these few chapters finally bring something interesting to the plot. Before reading these chapters, I thought the book wasn't very interesting. But now that there's a dead man in a floating house, a group of men who are hunting them down because of their bounties, and the overhearing of a gang of murderers' plans, the plot gets even more confusing. Or like KK asked - is there even a plot? I think that there is a plot even though things seem to be popping out of no where at this point. Maybe when the story unfolds a little more, it'll become more obvious.
ReplyDeleteDoris - I didn't think of that, but yea, now that you mention it, it seems plausible.
On the island, Huck and Jim are basically equal, and act like friends. I think this is because without each other, they are lonely. And also because they both ran away from the society that they didn't want to live in. I thought that Mrs. Loftus was really smart in figuring out that Sarah Mary Williams was actually a boy. She even tested him about farming to make sure he wasn't lying again.
ReplyDeleteIf what Doris guessed was true- that Jim covered up the dead man's fave and did not want Huck to see him because it was Pap, then I think that Jim is probably a pretty caring person.
The novel is getting even more fascinating and exciting it progresses. However, when I came across the part where Huck kept on saying stuff about his father, known as Pap in the story. He hated Pap since the beginning of the novel and he always mentioned about how he wastes money on wine and beer. His father even locked him up when he had to leave the house! Why did Huck mention about his Pap? It seems like he misses his Pap now. Will he start to like Pap in the future? We talked about many themes during class today, and I think friendship is another theme that is portrayed even more in chapters 9~12. Jim and Huck depend on each other on the island they’re living on now. Without each other, they would be lonesome and friendless. Without Jim, Huck wouldn’t have anyone to have fun with; without Huck, Jim wouldn’t be able to survive on the island. As most people have mentioned above, the plot still isn’t really clear because I don’t see a major problem in the story so far.
ReplyDeleteTo KK: great minds think alike :]
To Matt: I don’t think Huck sees it as much of a problem and if he doesn’t help Jim, he wouldn’t have companion on the island.
I think chapter 11 suggests a little bit that Judge Thatcher may not be as indifferent and greedy as it seems. According to Mrs. Loftus (the lady new to town), Judge Thatcher was willing to fund "Pap" to find Huck's body even though he didn't have to. Perhaps this may show a more caring side of the judge despite his apparently greedy intentions in the first few chapters.
ReplyDeleteI find it also interesting how "Pap" is using Judge Thatcher's funds to buy alcohol and such. Apparently he has used the money to disappear. However, I can't help but wonder why he wanted Huck back from the widow during the first few chapters but then never wanted him. Furthermore, Huck wasn't really any help to "Pap" when they were tramping either. Perhaps this suggests that "Pap" is not in a clear state of mind.
Lastly, I think Mark Twain is very good at showing the atmosphere and setting in which Huckleberry Finn lives in. Not only is the dialect extremely realistic, but the fact that the ideas of the time was also well portrayed. For example, when they found out Huck was "murdered" and found out Jim was gone, the first thing they suspected was that Jim killed him because he was black. So I couldn't help but ask myself why Huck would live and work along with Jim without any of the prejudices people around him are showing.
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Question:
After Huck and Jim sees the contents of the "floating house", Huck asked about what might have happened there. Is Jim really unable to deduct the truth? Or is he trying to shield Huck? Why would he want to do this?
Finally the more interesting part has begun. When Huck and Jim arrived at the house, and saw a dead man, Jim told Huck not to look. And I thought Huck was really smart to dress as a girl except that he couldn’t remember “her” own name. That part was really interesting. I also thought that Mrs. Loftus was smart to test if Huck was really a girl or not.
ReplyDeleteAnd at the end of chapter 12, when Jim said that the raft was gone, I wonder what will happen to them? Will the people on the steamboat see them?
Another question: why didn’t Jim let Huck see the dead man? Is there another reason behind it?
Matthew: Why do you think Huck is still helping Jim at this point? Does he not know that he is committing a crime by helping a slave escape?
I think Huck knows but he doesn’t care. He’s just happy to have a companion with him. And maybe because both are fugitives, like Diane said.
KK: Is there a plot in the story yet?
I don’t think the plot has appeared yet. But maybe later it will be clearer.
Kristen,
ReplyDeleteThe plot IS Huck and Jim going down the Mississippi and getting into all sorts of mischief and trouble. I'd say that the plot would be linear in that sense, but I recall that everything should go back in the end. Okay, no more spoilers.
In my opinion, Huck's acting of a girl definitely had its shortcomings. I would say, for a boy like him, being a little girl would be perhaps the hardest role of all, even though he is probably prepubescent and sounds like one.
However, I must daresay that his thinking was quick and fast. Even though he screwed up about many femine customs (spreading legs and sewing), his mind was fast enough to save himself in other aspects. Having Mary as a middle name certainly is an ingenious way of hiding one's own malfunctioning mouth.
I do find a point quite ironic: in an attempt to maintain his wild, carefree style of living, he must first make himself as civilized as possible, and convincingly at that, too.
I read this book once already, although I forgot the majority of it (this was the only book in which I got a zero for AR testing in America), I must ask: Is the story going to continue chronologically recording their adventures on the Mississippi River? In other words, are they going to keep living on the river, or are they going to go inland?
I really liked how Mrk twain described the scenery of the island. He uses a lot of imagery and description to give somewhat of a full picture if what the island is like. Also, the beginning of chapter 9 payed a l ot of attension to detail when Jim takes Huck to the cave on the mountains.
ReplyDeleteJim and Huck are living together on the Jackson Island also trying to look for a place to hide. During this process, I’ve noticed Huck trying learning new things from Jim and also by his own knowledge of things around him. Jim is not stupid in a way, because in the last few chapters, he did give the reader an impression of “stupid”. But really Jim is not what I thought he is. He’s actually smart in some ways and stupid in the other. I’ve also noticed how Huck sometimes copies some ways of Tom Sawyer. The part when Jim feels like throwing up and had to leave before someone finds out about them, Huck heard people talking inside and thought of how Tom Sawyer would not back down since they’ve gone this far already. Though, Huck may be very intelligent but he also learns from others especially the way Tom Sawyer risk in some situation. There’s one thing that I’m curious is, will Huck succeed saving James from being killed? It is very risky to save someone in a short amount of time. This novel is getting more interesting and plots of events rushing up.
ReplyDeleteKK- I think Huck still says things that his father said was because he has stayed with his father for a large part of his life. So Huck has picked up some of Pap's way of saying.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how Pap calls taking things from other people without permission as "borrowing" which in fact is stealing. I think Pap only calls it this because he wants to erase some guilt from stealing by calling it borrowing.
Through out this chapters Huck mentions Tom constantly and says if Tom was here i bet he would do this and that. It shows that Huck somewhat idolizes Tom for his courageous acts.
TO Kathy's question:
ReplyDeleteI think there's no reason behind it, except the dead body is too disgust to look at for Huck. No matter how you look at Huck, he's still a kid. I guess Jim is just trying to protect Huck in a way.
As the book continues, more and more interesting conflicts began to show. Chapter 9 through 12 showed the rise of action in the story. There were the newcomer in town in which Huck tried to get information from, and there were the robbers at the river that tried to kill each other.
ReplyDeleteMatthew - I think Huck is helping Jim because without Jim, living his life would be very hard, considering the fact that two man can work twice as fast as one man alone.
As many others have said before me, the novel is getting so interesting now and it's hard to out down the book! For example, when the woman seemed like she thought something was fishy, I was so scared she would discover his true identity, or that Jim would get caught. Also, the fact that Jim's superstitious predictions actually came true was very interesting for me.
ReplyDeleteDoris: That would be such a huge coincidence if it was Pap. I hope we find out if it was later.
in these chapters despite Jackson island seeming to be safe, there are really many dangers still around. One reminder of the dangers was the house with the murdered man. Another was Jims snakebite after Hucks jokes. Then even more danger comes as Huck learns that Pap and Jim were wanted (with Pap almost being lynched) and they even encounter robbers and their boat disappears.
ReplyDeletematt: the reason huck is still with jim is because over this time, they have become much better friends
The book is getting pretty exciting! :D
ReplyDeleteWho was the dead man? Why didn't Jim want Huck to see him?
Why does Huck treat Jim as a friend [even though it's a good thing]? I thought most people Huck has been around were racist to blacks...
I thought Huck and Jim were pretty smart to send Huck to the town as a girl. But I also thought it was stupid how Huck forgot his own fake name...
But yeah... Thank goodness Huck went to town, or else both Huck and Jim might have been doomed!!
I think these few chapters was very interesting (compared to the beginning of the book). I thought it was so funny when Huck dressed up as a girl, but Mrs. Loftus was smart enough to realize that he was a guy not a girl. I think Jim and Huck are becoming really good friends. They have each other to depend on.
ReplyDeleteMatt:
ReplyDeleteThey need each other to depend on. If Huck helps Jim, Jim would help him. Anywayys, I don't think Huck cares about Jim being a black. And that both of them are in similar situations, they both ran away for the same reason (freedom).
In these chapters, the relationship of Huckleberry and Jim grew and develops. In chapter 11, Huckleberry Finn finally found out, who killed him, the people all thought it was Jim, because they says that Jim left the very moment when Huckleberry was being killed. So Huckleberry and Jim starts to run away as far as possible.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 9, there was this part where Jim and Huckleberry Finn found a man being shot and naked. My question is, is that a black man? And why is the man being shot? Also in the end of chapter 10, why does it mean by “ I wouldn’t forget I was a girl”?
I thought that the parts of the novel before chapter 9 was pretty dull, nothing really happened, just explanations and descriptions. However, just like many classmates said, chapter 9 and then on becomes very exciting. Huck, Tom, and Jim set foot on their adventure and encounter many things. Things like finding the dead body, discovering and exploring a shipwreck, being chased by gunned men, helping cover for Jim because he was a runaway slave, all of this was so exciting! By the way, i dont think that Huck re-mentioning pap was because he missed him, i think its just that hes curious.
ReplyDeleteI haven’t think about the dead man was pap before, but since others had started this discussion, it is possible that pap was dead because that’s his karma. He was so cruel to Huck and he would rather want money than his own son. Also, I have noticed how Jim and Huck are becoming good partners. I’m not sure if Jim involved Huck in the story, but I’m sure that Huck is learning things from Jim and his adventures.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: In your opinion, do you think that Huck was encumbered by Jim?
Like everybody else, I thought that these few chapters are extremely exciting and entertaining to read.
ReplyDeleteDemi: I'm not sure who the dead man was, but it's possible for it to be Pap. Jim probably didn't want Huck to see him, because he thought it would bring bad luck. I think Huck doesn't really care if Jim's a slave, he's probably just happy that he has a companion with him.
"The n*gger [Jim] run off the very night Huck Finn was killed. So there's a reward out for him - three hundread dollars. And there's a reward for old Finn, too - two hundred dollars." (Page 63, original version) Is there any significance to why Jim is worth more than Huck Finn? Blacks were considered low-classed to the Whites. Why is it that to find Jim is much more worthy than finding Huck Finn?
ReplyDeleteDoris: I don't think it's Pap. I think it is pointless that the author let him die at this moment.
ReplyDeleteHaley: Huck wants to stay with Jim, because they can work together as a team. For example, Huck can hunt for food while Jim builds a campfire. They both are runaways and can only trust each other. They can not really trust anyone else at the moment, because they escaped and don't want to be captured. Although they seem to have a large age difference and have different skin colors, they still are tolerant of each other.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Judith Loftus on page 67 is someone who is very observant about the signs around her, as she figured out Huck Finn was disguised as a girl. It is interesting how she doesn’t turn Huck in. I wonder why Huck chose to disguise as a little girl instead of perhaps a different boy instead. The group of men on the wreck in the river is also interesting. I wonder why they are there. What will happen to Huck and Jim on the wreck?
ReplyDeleteI guess Mark Twain had to do a lot of research to write this book, too. I found the part when Huck went to town and met the woman was pretty interesting. It was pretty cool when the woman started to point out all the mistake Huck did that made the woman see through his disguise. It was all very detailed. Huck was extremely lucky that he went to town that day instead of the next, it would’ve been too late.
ReplyDeleteTo Jasmine:
ReplyDeleteWorthing more doesn't mean it is a good thing in this case. Whites are superior at that period time, so the whites discriminate the slaves by treating them as scapegoats. The whites would rather lynch or jail the blacks than punish their own people. Therefore, the whites are all hunting down Jim, because Jim is a black slave and they won't tolerate any blacks to commit crimes.
In chapter 9, Huck and Jim find the dead man’s body in the house. Jim hides the body’s face after seeing who it is. I think this is an important hint at something, because if Jim really thought that looking at the corpse’s face would bring bad luck, then he wouldn’t have taken a look himself. I think the dead man is someone important to Huck- maybe his father.
ReplyDeleteI find Huck dressing up and pretending to be a girl extremely amusing. Not only does he fail to remember his aliases, he also gets found out easily. Huck lies a lot, however, and doesn’t hesitate to do it.
Huck and Jim live pretty well buying, stealing, and hunting, but they feel somewhat remorseful about stealing, so they decide to give up a few items as a moral sacrifice.
I think this part of the story is very, very interesting. It just keeps getting better and better. One of my favorite parts of this part was the part where Huck dressed up as a girl and the lady he went to used various ways to find out. It was really ingenious the way she devised ways to figure out if he was really a girl, and I admire her sharpness and intellect.
ReplyDeleteAlso I think it is interesting the way Jim and Huck try to compromise between the correct way of doing things and the "wrong" way...like trying to compromise between what Widow Douglas would have done and what Pap would have done. It is good that they have this intuition, but what they end up doing is still stealing, just stealing less, as if taking less meant they left more as "pay." However, I guess it's the intent that counts more.
It was reallly lucky that Huck and Jim found the cavern with all the clothes and other extra necessities. Although Huck practiced and tried to be a girl, he couldn't fool Mrs. Loftus. When Huck was talking to her, and she mentioned how they were going to lynch Pap but when Jim was found gone, they decided it was probably Jim who murdered Huck, he almost got defensive. I think it means that Huck wasn't prejudiced like the other townfolks that were. Even though Jim had a 300 bounty, Huck didn't turn him in, and he even told Jim that people were coming after them so they had to escape.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading these chapters, I start to see the adventure in Huck’s life. Huck and Jim went collecting items from the house that was floating down the river and they start to travel to other places and they went on the steamboat and found two murderers. I think that Mark Twain does a good job on building suspense and using dialogue. Bill and Jake kept talking about making Turner tell, but we don’t know what they’re forcing Turner to do. Ending the chapter telling us that the raft broke loose makes the reader wants to read more.
ReplyDeleteI think that Mrs. Judith Loftus was really smart. She tested Huck to see if he did normal things that girls do to see if he’s lying. I was really surprised when she asked what Huck’s real name was.
I liked the part when Huck dressed up as a girl and pretended that he was Sarah Mary Williams. Even though Huck practiced being a girl with Jim on the island, Ms. Loftus still found out. Through these chapters, we can tell that Huck and Jim are getting closer to each other. They did everthing together. What do you think will happen to Huck and Jim later on in the novel?
ReplyDeleteMatt
ReplyDeleteHuck is still helping Jim because even though he is knowingly breaking the law, traveling with Jim is letting him live the life that he has always dreamed of, but has never had the chance to live. When he lived with the widow, he had to live all prim and proper with schooling and no cussing, and when he lived with Pap, he could pretty much do whatever as long as he didn't get in Pap's way. Now, he can have an adventure, which is something he has always dreamed of.
Question
Why do you think Huck is thinking about Tom Sawyer when they are at the wreck? Does this show anything about Huck's character?
This section was pretty amusing. I liked the part where Huck dresses up as a girl to get information about stuff that's going on. It was pretty funny, and I don't know why, but kind of cool too. The suspense of the murderers are keepin' me hanging here as well!
ReplyDeleteMy question
Do you think Mrs. Judith Loftus (the lady who Huck talked to) will play a more significant role in the future? Also, how do you think Mrs. Loftus was that smart enough to figure Huck out; as in, how did she notice THAT much?
Response to Jasper L.
I think Huck is thinking about Tom at the wreck because this is a situation where Huck thinks Tom would be commonly involved in. I haven't read Tom Sawyer before, but I'm pretty sure that Tom would often be in a adventurous-ish risky situation like this.
Diane: Isn't it really unsanitary to chuck a piece of lead at a rat (granted that it hits the target) and then pick up that lead with your bare hands?
ReplyDeleteyes but i dont think they care about personal hygiene. Huck just doesnt seem like the type of person to care about whether if hes clean or not. He ran away from the Widow because he didnt want to be civilized