Since we cannot possibly cover everything in class that we would like to, here is your opportunity to elaborate upon issues or instances that you wish. Bring up one topic, theme, motif, episode, whatever that you would like to discuss further. Provide your insight and why you want to continue or initiate discussion. Post your idea by 9 pm Monday night. Respond to all of your peers at least once by 9 pm Tuesday night.
20 Comments
Hannah
2/20/2017 10:29:41 am
I think that the theme of the coming of age in Huckleberry Finn is intriguing. It is interesting to watch Huck through his journey as he matures from a young boy into more of an adult who thinks more rationally. At the beginning, he is not very concerned with the feelings of others or the morals behind his actions, but as he encounters more scenarios, his behavior changes. Huck begins to think with more emotions about other people and tries to understand their situation. For example, he feels bad when the Wilks girls are scammed, but he would have never thought twice about it at the beginning of the book. Does this maturing and coming of age still occur today? For example, does it compare to the maturing of kids today during high school? I think that it does some, but some of the concepts involved are different today then in the past, and also that the coming of age is usually a slower process today.
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Connor
2/22/2017 08:19:12 am
I believe that the maturing of kids today still does occur, although it usually seems to come at a later age. In the book Huck is around the age of 13, which usually is when teens, especially boys, are most mischievous and careless at that age. Huck matures at around that age, which is uncommon nowadays, as most boys seem to mature later in life around the age of 17 and 18, when they begin to truly care about others. It is most definitely a slower process, as teenagers are faced with harder situations to go through in life which cause them to mature slower.
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Holmes
2/23/2017 04:17:45 pm
I was with you until you made your last statement. Can you clarify what you meant by it please?
Holmes
2/23/2017 04:16:25 pm
It is interesting as Twain provides us with Huck's thought process as he considers each scenario. Coming of age of course still occurs, otherwise we'd all live in Neverland! :) Each individual comes of age at various points in their formative years; generally speaking it is based upon life experiences. Some situations cause others to "grow up" more quickly than others.
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Edward
2/24/2017 09:44:41 am
I agree that Huck undergoes an extreme change throughout the book, slowly learning to care about others as he matured. The fact that Huck is exposed to many horrible events such as the murderers on the wrecked boat and the actions of the king and duke helped Huck mature at a much faster rate, learning that there are negative repercussions for such awful actions such as the robbing of the Wilks girls. Huck also learns to care for Jim more because the duo is exposed to a sequence of events that require lots of trust in one another, which also advanced the rate of Huck's maturing. Today, many things described in Huckleberry Finn do not occur, thus slowing down the rate of maturity in our society.
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Sierrrrrrrr
2/20/2017 05:37:59 pm
I want to explore a little about Emmeline Grangerford. I find her to be a very interesting character: she writes "tributes" for the deceased and has a very strange interest in the dead (the book "Dr. Gunn's Family Medicine," reads obituaries). Since Mrs. Holmes didn't mention her in the questions I had to assume she wasn't important enough to be included in any themes or symbolism. But Twain did put a lot of detail into her life and her art so she must be important somehow.
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Hannah
2/22/2017 06:47:59 am
I thought that Emmeline Grangerford was interesting in the novel. While we never actually got to learn about her through her actions since she was already deceased, Twain made sure that he would characterize her through the detailing in all of her artwork. It shows how the family had a very hard time overcoming her death and were still stuck on the tragedy of her passing. I think Twain used this some to portray what he finds as another flaw in human nature; suggesting that humans should be able to move on with life with more ease.
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Holmes
2/23/2017 04:39:55 pm
Indeed she is important. Twain used the section with Emile to satirize the 19th century's obsession with death. They had a preoccupation with it; "mourning pictures" were popular and sentimental verses were commissioned for obituaries. Information was gathered from New Riverside Editions/ ed. SusanK. Harris2000.
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Edward Byers
2/24/2017 09:49:34 am
It appears that Twain also uses Emmeline Grangerford to show decency of humans, as she creates poems for every person who dies as a "tribute" to whomever is deceased. This shows that good can be found in all people, it just takes the right person to realize it.
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Connor
2/20/2017 05:49:40 pm
Superstition played a major part in Huckleberry Finn from the start as the reader witnesses several instances where superstitious individuals create opinions about life events being supernatural, when in fact they were just practical jokes. With superstition being very prevalent in that day and age, Twain was very clever to include it into the book to add to the atmosphere. Jim, the slave, was one of the most superstitious characters we meet, and at the beginning of the story Huck and Tom perform a prank on JIm, making him believe he had been put under the spell of a witch. Jim later begins to tell all the other slaves the story and many come from all around to listen. Had Twain not made Jim so superstitious would the story's plot have changed completely? Would Huck and Tom's role in the story have changed as well?
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Hannah
2/22/2017 06:57:55 am
I think that superstition almost played the role of religion for Huck in the novel. Huck struggled to believe in religion when Widow Douglas and Miss Watson tried to teach him about God, Heaven vs Hell, praying, etc. Instead, Huck used superstition as his way of protecting himself. Superstition was easier for Huck to understand and easier for him to practice. I think that if Twain had not included the superstition, the plot would have remained similar, but there would be more unanswered questions. For example, Huck and Jim blamed some of the bad happenings on Huck messing with the snake skin at the beginning of their journey. They used superstition to account for unfortunate events. If they did not have the superstition, they would have not had something to credit their misfortunes for.
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Holmes
2/23/2017 05:51:24 pm
Nice commentary Hannah. Superstition is quite important to the novel as it helps us understand the characters and the society in which they lived. To remove it would alter the story and I believe take away the effectiveness and charm.
Holmes
2/23/2017 05:37:07 pm
I do not think the book would be the novel that it is. The superstitious beliefs in the slave community and its influence on the whites was far too palpable to be ignored. The story focuses on characterization and satirization of the persons Twain was all too familiar with. To not acknowledge beliefs would be to take away a part of the culture and history.
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Edward Byers
2/24/2017 09:55:54 am
Superstition was a vastly important theme of the book, as it shaped the lives of many. Such as in the case of Jim, much fame was gained due to this superstition, when in fact the story which Jim formed about why his possessions got moved were due to very mundane actions by Tom Sawyer. It also provided a set of beliefs for Huck which as Hannah mentioned, served as a form of religion for Huck. This superstition gave him a very basic system of morals that Huck could follow as a realist. Religion was based too much on the past to appeal to Huck, however superstition offered a sort of immediate reaction to any of his actions, such as the placement of the snake giving bad luck. Almost immediately Huck saw the implications of his actions as the snake bit Jim, and he felt bad. This system of action and reaction gave superstition the credibility it needed to be believed by Huck.
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Edward Byers
2/20/2017 06:06:17 pm
In the novel, Huckleberry Finn, Huck often finds himself contemplating how good of a friend Jim is to him, as Jim comforts Huck and helps keep him safe. However because Jim is a slave, sometimes Huck forgets how good of a person Jim is and almost turns him in. So it is evident that this shows the conflict of slavery in this time period and how Twain saw it as one of the poorer qualities of mankind. The mixed emotions of Huck perfectly illustrate this problem in that there are times when Huck cannot do without Jim, and at other times he shows almost no concern for his friend, such as when he almost turns Jim in. Throughout the novel Huck's feelings for Jim become more concrete and he is less likely to turn him in.
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Sierrrr
2/21/2017 07:02:37 pm
I think that Huck was raised to believe that slaves are not people and they were property that belonged to people. With this, he was raised to think that if someone lost their slave that it was his duty to turn them in if he found them. I wouldn't say that Huck forgets how Jim is a good friend, I think that he is conflicted with what society had raised him to think and what is right with what he thinks is right.
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Holmes
2/23/2017 05:48:32 pm
A solid response. I think Twain illustrates that if we separate men (or boys in Huck's case) from negative societal influences or "laws" created by a ruling majority and allow people to engage with each other as people, we come to a far greater understanding and appreciation of each other. Mind you, there would (and will) be some that see no problem with human bondage, but they are a different species altogether, I think.
Hannah
2/22/2017 06:51:08 am
I think that it is very impressive of Huck to go against everything society says and do what he believes is right instead. He knew throughout his journey that what he was doing to help Jim would be seen as wrong by the rest of society, but he believed in his own morals more and refrained from turning Jim in. This all pays off for Huck at the end of the novel when Jim returns the favor by sacrificing his freedom (temporarily) in order to protect the boys.
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Holmes
2/23/2017 05:43:25 pm
This is a fair point. What question(s) do you have regarding it??
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Edward Byers
2/24/2017 09:46:17 am
How does Huck's relationship with Jim change throughout the novel? Leave a Reply. |
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