Huck Finn Geography
HUCKLEBERRY FINN
Huckleberry
Finn, published in 1885, is considered not only a great book, but according to
Ernest Hemingway (and many critics), it is the foundation of American
literature. It is the first novel to
address uniquely American problems such as slavery and the hypocrisy of
American Society (particularly of the Southern Gentile Tradition). It is the first novel to have as its narrator
a true American: an uneducated homeless boy of the lower class who has been
raised for most of his life by no one and who owns nothing but his own
ingenuity. In fact it is the naivety of
the narrator that allows Mark Twain to condemn society. Huck Finn, while a liar, a thief, a minor
conman (or con-boy), a rapscallion, a dirty waif, and a prankster, is
ironically the most honest and good person in the book. Fortunately Huck’s lack of sophistication
limits his ability to be anything but true to heart. It is his redemption. The novel, a biting satire, employs all three
types of irony we’ve discuss to create humor, plus it employs devices such as
the use of allusion as a way to mock past literature for Huckleberry Finn is a
novel in the school of realism. Twain believed that literature had to have
characters and situations that could be found in the real world and to address
real world problems (and Twain does entertain scenes with events that mimic and
mock real events that happened in his day).
This idea of realism is one of the reasons the novel contains four types
of dialect and discusses ideas such as slavery and freedom. Twain opposed and absolutely hated romantic
literature: literature where unlikely things happened such a fantastic escapes,
magic, and Robin Hood-like heroes. He
pokes fun at these types of novels, perhaps too much fun. Twain also uses his mockery of Romanticism to
address the absurd nature of American idealism.
Huck Finn has been called vulgar and has been banned in high schools and
in libraries since its publication.
Beware you will encounter the “N” word regularly. Twain used it for a reason. It should shock you and it should make you
think.
Unit Learning Goal: Students
will demonstrate knowledge of nineteenth century foundation works of American
Literature by analyzing satire in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and relating one of its main
themes to another text and issue of the time.
TEXTS:
“Historical and Context of the transition from Romanticism
to Realism”; selected poetry by Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson; excerpts from
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick
Douglas; “The Gettysburg Address”, “The Emancipation Proclamation”,
“Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address”; The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Standards:
RL1 – Cite Strong and thorough textual evidence to support
analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the
text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain
RL2 – Determine two of more themes or central ideas of a
text and analyze their development over the course of a text, including how
they interact and build upon one another to produce a complex account; provide
an objective summary of the text
RL3 – Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding
how to develop and relate elements of a story (e.g. where a story is set, how
the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed)
RL 4 – Determine the meaning of words and phrase as they are
used in text, including figurative and connotative meaning; analyze specific
word choices on tone
RL 5 – Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to
structure specific parts of a text contribute to its overall meaning
RL 6 – Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view
requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really
mean (i.e. satire, sarcasm, irony)
RL 9 – Demonstrate knowledge of nineteenth century
foundational works of American Literature
RI 1 – Cite strong textual evidence to support of analysis
of what a text says
RI 8 – Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S.
texts (e.g. Presidential Addresses)
RI9 – Analyze nineteenth century foundation U.S. documents
of history and literary significance for themes, purposes and rhetorical
features (e.g. Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, The Gettysburg
Address).
Learning OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the novel students will be able to
1)
Define realism, satire, dialect, antihero,
unreliable narrator, irony (situational, dramatic, and verbal), episodic plot,
romanticism, dramatic foils, hyperbole, motif, picaresque novel, parable,
sarcasm, simile, metaphor, oxymoron, allegory, euphemism, bildungroman
2)
Pick out examples of symbols, irony and dialect
3)
Example the meaning of at least one major symbol
4)
Discuss how Huck is both an unreliable narrator
and an antihero
5)
Discuss how Huckleberry Finn, the novel, fits
both a bildungsroman and picaresque novel
6)
Give examples of and discuss the following
motifs in the book: superstition, parodies of previous literature (romantic
novels and Shakespeare), the adopting of personas (or reinventing self),
childhood games, religion, lies and cons, death, and perhaps one or two others
that I will bring up in class
7)
Be out to pick out and example five – ten
allusions
8)
Outline the plot according to the six elements
9)
Break up the book into three sections or three
movements (and briefly explain each movement)
10)
Break up the book into 9 episodes
11)
Give a list of characters in the book with a
brief description of each and their general purpose in the novel
12)
Compare and Contrast Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer
13)
Discuss the idea of and the historical reference
of Family Feuds
14)
Discuss the different types of conflict found in
Huckleberry Finn
15)
Discuss how Mark Twain uses allusions to back up
his major themes and develop his characters
16)
Keep a
list of Huckleberry Finns stories and pranks
17)
Discuss how Huckleberry Finn is honest in
dishonest world
18)
Briefly explain the following themes: Racism and
Slavery, Intellectual and Moral Education, The hypocrisy of society (appearance
vs. reality), conflict between the individual and society, the quest for freedom
(both freedom away from society and freedom within society), superstition vs
religion, death and rebirth, coming of age and the hero’s journey, the concept
of family, the role of the outsider, the nature and the significance of the
following traits: gullibility, ignorance, and naivety, tolerance vs.
prejudice.
19)
Define and use various vocabulary words that
appear in the book
20)
Develop a project based on some aspect of the
novel.
21)
Answer study questions as you read.
DATES:
12/2 Overview of
Realism and issues of the day
12/3 – 12/4 Walt
Whitman
12/5 -12/6 Emily
Dickinson
12/9- 12/11 Lincoln:
“The Emancipation Proclamation”; “The Gettysburg Address”; “Lincoln’s Second
Inaugural Address”
12/12 – 12/13
from The Narrative of the Life of Frederick
Douglas
12/16 – Huckleberry
Finn: Structures, background, literary devices
12/17-12/20 Huck Finn
chapters 1-11
We will finish the
book in January!
