I felt like Chapter 16 could have been called “Huckleberry Finn, gaslighter” with the prank he pulled on Jim. It was making me angry as he did it and I realized I don’t remember any of this from when I read it in high school. I must have thought it funny then.
Also didn’t remember Huck “struggling with his conscience” deciding whether to turn Jim in or not. It is a fascinating window into the rationalization of slaveholding society that a young boy’s conscience was telling him to turn the runaway slave in rather than help him. At one point, Huck even says “what did the Widow Douglas ever do to me?” such that he walls hurt her by depriving her of her property Jim. He doesn’t have the same thought for Jim though (at least until later).
The feuds are interesting as well because they remind me of modern senseless gun violence between inner city gangs who engage in tit for tat retaliation. There’s a false honor code that serves nothing but perpetuating the feud.
John I thought your comment about the similarity between the feuding families in the book and inner city gangs, with their false honor code, was really interesting! That’s what I love about reading books with others, it gives you other perspectives and insights.
Does anyone else find that Twain's commitment to getting Jim's dialect right becomes a distraction? I find myself skipping over Jim's long speeches rather than taking the time to figure out exactly what he's saying.
I too think it is somewhat distracting but I slow down and take my time in reading them. Sometimes I have to say a few sentences out loud to figure out what Jim is saying. Like I said, I read them slowly and deliberately.
I’ll agree here that it’s somewhat distracting. Usually I end up reading it a couple of times, and I’ve found that reading it faster almost helps me with getting the “sound” of the words right. So it seems like there are multiple ways to try to tackle it :)
I agree with Tyler that reading it sort of quickly actually helped me make more sense of it, as well as reading out loud. Just kinda go with your gut on sounding it out rather than trying to slow down too much. That's been my experience, at least.
I don't remember reading Huck Finn when I was young, but had the perception that it was a boyhood adventure. Reading it now, it's hard to imagine young people reading it. So many adults in this book are awful in so many ways. Hypocritical, prideful, violent, criminal. The story is very dark. I wonder if Twain was hoping that some of the lessons in humanity might seep into young people's minds to help them prepare for life.
"Hypocritical, prideful, violent, criminal. The story is very dark." --> Yes! It's often the case that any book featuring children as main characters is deemed YA, but it just doesn't always neatly fit that way.
Reading this has inspired me to get the relatively new book "James" by Percival Everett. I decided to listen to the audio version, since if "James" was doing most of the talking, his way of speaking would make it tough (as some here were saying about Jim's language). I haven't listened yet, but I present this idea for your consideration. This worked for me in the book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Hurston.
Jeremy, I think your comment about "seeing Twain’s cynical view of the gilded and hypocritical realm of adulthood" was spot-on. I couldn't help but feel like the adults behaved worse than the children in almost every chapter. I give Huck a little leeway for his "gaslighting" of Jim because he's a teenager still learning how his actions impact others. He also clearly wrestles with his conscience and is learning how to listen to it.
The adults, on the other hand, are all hypocrites - a bit hyperbolized, for sure ("Child of Calamity" and all that), but the point is made. Jim seems to be the only one without guile.
The May 5 New Yorker has a long review ("Up the River" by Lauren Michelle Jackson) of a new Twain biography by Ron Chernow. Like a lot of these reviews, the author summarizes the entire life story, so you get a good overview of his celebrity status as well as his personal failings. On the other hand, the reviewer, a professor of African American studies and the author of "White Negroes," has a political and racial axe to grind, fairly or not, about cultural appropriation and such.
I felt like Chapter 16 could have been called “Huckleberry Finn, gaslighter” with the prank he pulled on Jim. It was making me angry as he did it and I realized I don’t remember any of this from when I read it in high school. I must have thought it funny then.
Also didn’t remember Huck “struggling with his conscience” deciding whether to turn Jim in or not. It is a fascinating window into the rationalization of slaveholding society that a young boy’s conscience was telling him to turn the runaway slave in rather than help him. At one point, Huck even says “what did the Widow Douglas ever do to me?” such that he walls hurt her by depriving her of her property Jim. He doesn’t have the same thought for Jim though (at least until later).
The feuds are interesting as well because they remind me of modern senseless gun violence between inner city gangs who engage in tit for tat retaliation. There’s a false honor code that serves nothing but perpetuating the feud.
John I thought your comment about the similarity between the feuding families in the book and inner city gangs, with their false honor code, was really interesting! That’s what I love about reading books with others, it gives you other perspectives and insights.
Does anyone else find that Twain's commitment to getting Jim's dialect right becomes a distraction? I find myself skipping over Jim's long speeches rather than taking the time to figure out exactly what he's saying.
I too think it is somewhat distracting but I slow down and take my time in reading them. Sometimes I have to say a few sentences out loud to figure out what Jim is saying. Like I said, I read them slowly and deliberately.
YMMV
I’ll agree here that it’s somewhat distracting. Usually I end up reading it a couple of times, and I’ve found that reading it faster almost helps me with getting the “sound” of the words right. So it seems like there are multiple ways to try to tackle it :)
I agree with Tyler that reading it sort of quickly actually helped me make more sense of it, as well as reading out loud. Just kinda go with your gut on sounding it out rather than trying to slow down too much. That's been my experience, at least.
I don't remember reading Huck Finn when I was young, but had the perception that it was a boyhood adventure. Reading it now, it's hard to imagine young people reading it. So many adults in this book are awful in so many ways. Hypocritical, prideful, violent, criminal. The story is very dark. I wonder if Twain was hoping that some of the lessons in humanity might seep into young people's minds to help them prepare for life.
"Hypocritical, prideful, violent, criminal. The story is very dark." --> Yes! It's often the case that any book featuring children as main characters is deemed YA, but it just doesn't always neatly fit that way.
Reading this has inspired me to get the relatively new book "James" by Percival Everett. I decided to listen to the audio version, since if "James" was doing most of the talking, his way of speaking would make it tough (as some here were saying about Jim's language). I haven't listened yet, but I present this idea for your consideration. This worked for me in the book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Hurston.
James is a great one! It was an easy pick for my year-end favorites list last year.
Jeremy, I think your comment about "seeing Twain’s cynical view of the gilded and hypocritical realm of adulthood" was spot-on. I couldn't help but feel like the adults behaved worse than the children in almost every chapter. I give Huck a little leeway for his "gaslighting" of Jim because he's a teenager still learning how his actions impact others. He also clearly wrestles with his conscience and is learning how to listen to it.
The adults, on the other hand, are all hypocrites - a bit hyperbolized, for sure ("Child of Calamity" and all that), but the point is made. Jim seems to be the only one without guile.
Yes, great points! Jim being the exception is definitely why Huck latches on to him as a friend.
The May 5 New Yorker has a long review ("Up the River" by Lauren Michelle Jackson) of a new Twain biography by Ron Chernow. Like a lot of these reviews, the author summarizes the entire life story, so you get a good overview of his celebrity status as well as his personal failings. On the other hand, the reviewer, a professor of African American studies and the author of "White Negroes," has a political and racial axe to grind, fairly or not, about cultural appropriation and such.
Oh interesting, I'll have to check that out. Thanks!