The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

1. Characters

   • Huckleberry Finn
     • Protagonist
     • 12 years-old
     • Clever
     • Kind-hearted
   • Jim
     • Runaway Slave
     • Owned by Miss Watson
     • Intelligent and practical
     • Selfless
   • Miss Watson & Widow Douglas
     • W.D.: Provider for Huck
     • Elderly
     • Sisters
     • Deeply religious
   • 'Pap' Finn
     • Alcoholic
     • Illiterate and uneducated
     • Racist
   • The King
     • Con man
     • 70 years-old
     • Not very bright
     • Exploits others for money
   • The Duke of Bridgewater
     • About 30 years-old
     • Con man
     • Accomplished printer and actor
   • Tom Sawyer
     • Huck's friend from Hannibal, MO
     • Poses as his younger brother, Sid, to help Huck
   • The Wilks Family
     • Peter Wilks
       • Dead patriarch
     • Mary Jane Wilks
       • Eldest Daughter
       • Beautiful
       • Kind
     • Joanna Wilks
       • Youngest daughter
       • Doubts Huck, the King, and the Duke
       • "hare-lip"
     • Uncles
       • Rev. Harvey Wilks
         • Preacher from England
         • The King pretends to be him
       • William Wilks
         • Deaf and 'dumb'
         • From England
         • Impersonated by the Duke
   • The Grangerfords
     • Buck
       • Sounds like "Huck"
       • Acts like Huck
       • Killed by the Sheperdsons
     • In a feud with the Sheperdsons
     • Wealthy landowners
     • Represent Southern chivalry
     • Sophia
       • In love with Harney Sheperdson
       • Older sister
   • The Phelps Family
     • Aunt Sally
       • Aunt Polly's sister
       • Tom Sawyer's aunt
     • Uncle Silas
     • Only real, functional family in the book
   • Aunt Polly
     • Tom Sawyer's Aunt
     • Sally Phelps' sister
     • Identifies Huck at the Phelps Farm

2. Setting

   • Mississippi River
     • Start: Hannibal, MO
       • Hannibal is given the fictional name of St. Petersburg
     • Destination: Cairo, IL
     • Grangerfords: Kentucky/Tennessee border
     • Phelps Farm: southeastern Arkansas
   • 1840's
     • Slavery is legal
       • Abolition is a growing 'concern'

3. Themes

   • Racism and Slavery
     • Evidenced by the treatment of Jim and other slaves
     • Examine how Huck interacts with Jim VS. how others interact with Jim
   • Intellectual Education and Moral Education
     • Formal education limits Huck's development
     • Being away from society, Huck uses experience to make decisions about the world
     • Tom Sawyer contrasts Huck in education.
       • Tom uses books to cause mischief
   • Hypocrisy of "Civilized" society
     • Miss Watson keeps slaves
       • However, she declares that she is a good Christian
     • Grangerfords are wealthy landowners
       • However, they try to kill their neighbors
     • The Law allows Pap to take his son and abuse him
     • Sherburn and Boggs