The document contains discussion questions about Mark Twain's novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It addresses various themes and events in the story, including mob mentality, high and low culture, satire of entertainment, Huck's moral development, individual responsibility, contrasting characters of Huck and Tom, and Huck as a rebel against society. The questions analyze Twain's social commentary and critique through the story elements.

1. Huckleberry Finn
Off the raft

2. Mob mentality
• What happens between Colonel Sherburn and
Boggs?
• Here Twain satirizes mob mentality. How?
• The villagers fail to speak up for what’s right.
How is this scene also a commentary on the
South’s attitude toward African Americans?

3. High and low
• The Shakespearean performance is a mixture
of high and low culture. How?
• In the end the Shakespearean revival doesn’t
draw a lot of theatergoers. The King and Duke
come up with a solution that appeals to the
baser interests of the men. What do they do?
Why is this ironic?

4. Royal Nonesuch
• What is the Royal Nonesuch performance?
• This is section of the novel is Twain’s satire on
entertainment.
– The entertainers and the villagers are satirized.
How?
– What, then, is Twain’s critique of entertainment?

5. The Wilks orphans
• This scam represents a significant moment in
Huck’s maturity. Why?

6. Eternal damnation
• When Huck decides not to tell Miss Watson
about Jim he acts against the laws of society
and religion. Through his decision, Twain
articulates an important theme of individual
responsibility. What is his point?

7. Huck Finn, hero?
• Hero status • Not yet
– Character growth – Final section of the novel
– Individual conscience – Huck plays second fiddle
– Moral clarity to Tom
– “No’m. Killed a [black
man].” Huck’s response
to Aunt Sally’s question
about the blown
cylinder-head on the
steamboat.

8. Civilized, again
The Phelps’ farm

9. Hemingway
• American novelist Ernest Hemingway was
influenced by Mark Twain, but nonetheless
calls the ending of Huck Finn “cheating.”
• What does he mean by this?
• Do you agree?

10. A study in contrasts
• Tom • Huck
– Romantic hero – Realist
– Complex plan to free Jim – Simple plan to free Jim
– Make-believe – Real adventures
adventures – Friendship based upon
– Friendship around honesty
adventure – Defies established rules
– Entertainment at the
expense of others

11. In captivity
• Conflicting interpretations:
– Jim’s silence is a sign of his intelligence. He’s deep
in slave territory and cannot risk alienating Huck.
• OR
– Jim loses his voice during this section of the story.
What’s your take?
– Tom represents society. Off the raft, Jim and Huck
must follow the rules. What does this tell us
about the Mississippi River as a symbol?

12. The Territory ahead
• Huck is among the first of many protagonists
in American literature to stand against society.
• What do you think of Huck’s solution?
• How does Huck compare to these other
American rebels?
– John Proctor
– Holden Caulfield

13. Bibliography
• Twain, Mark, and Alfred Kazin. The Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Bantam, 1981.
Print.
• Wasowski, Richard. Twain's Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn. New York, NY: Hungry
Minds, 2001. Print.