The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Chapters 14 -18

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Chapters 14 -18 Presented By: Sravya, Brite, Evan, and Sean English 10 Honors – A Block

Basic Events! Chapter 14 Huck and Jim go through the things that they stole form the gang when they stole the boat. There are boots, blankets, clothes, books, and “seegars” Jim and Huck talk and read all afternoon ◦ Argue about the moral of the biblical story “Solomon’s judgment” and whether or not Solomon was wise ◦ Argue over whether it is naturally right for humans to speak different languages

Chapter 15 Huck realizes he’s separated from Jim When Huck finally finds Jim, he plays a trick on him Jim is happy that Huck is alive and he tells Huck about the fog and his “dream” Jim realizes that Huck was actually lost Huck feels mean and awful

Chapter 16 Huck and Jim think they have not yet made it to Cairo and resolve to stop at the next passing town to find out how close they are Thinking that Jim is about to be free, Huck feels overwhelming regret and guilt for helping Jim Huck decides to tell two men on a skiff about Jim's escape, but falters and gets out of this situation by pretending his father is on the raft and has smallpox Huck asks a man on a skiff if the lights ahead of them are from Cairo, and the man says that the are not Jim and Huck realize that they passed Cairo during the foggy night Jim and Huck decide to ride further down the river to buy a new canoe to paddle upstream because their old one is lost A steamboat destroys the raft and Huck is separated from Jim Huck climbs ashore and is caught by dogs in front of a house

Chapter 17 The Grangerfords take in Huck, let him stay for as long as he likes Huck admires the house and the works of Emmeline He thinks that nothing could be better than the house

Chapter 18 (this is the last one I promise) Huck introduces the Grangerford family and finds out about the feud between the Grangerfords and Sheperdsons when Buck Grangerford shoots Harney Sheperdson Huck helps Sophia retrieve a piece of paper Jack helps Huck reunite with Jim and the raft is being repaired There is a quarrel between the Grangerford and Sheperdson families when Sophia runs away to marry Harney Huck is sickened by the fight and the killed people Huck relies on the fact that he seems to be dead so that he can escape on the raft with Jim

Characters Jim: We see that Jim is not as smart as we thought and he is very stubborn and hard-headed Huck: We see a little of his racist side John and Parker: Two men on a skiff to whom Huck almost reveals Jim Unnamed man on skiff: Huck asks him about their location Saul Grangerford: "Old gentleman". Dramatic, kind, protective. Wealthy Buck Grangerford: Thirteen or fourteen years old, a little bigger than Huck. Emmeline Grangerford: Young girl (not fourteen yet) that died from sickness. When alive, wrote poetry for the dead, drew pictures relating to death and sadness. Tom, Bob, and Rachel Grangerford: Live in the same household with Saul and Buck Betsy: black woman, servant of the Grangerfords

Quotation #1 “I never see such a nigger. If he got a notion in his head once, there warn’t no getting it out again. He was the most down on Solomon of any nigger I ever see. (Twain 71)” Analysis: This shows Huck’s stereotypes of African Americans and how he sees them all as stubborn and refusing to accept new ideas.

Quotation #2 “‘… my heart wuz mos’ broke bekase you wuz los’, en I didn’ k’yer no’ mo’ what become er me en de raf’. En when I wake up en fine you back ag’in, all safe en soun’, de tears come, en I could ‘a’ got down on my knees en kiss yo’ food, I’s so thankful. ’ (Twain 77)” Analysis: This quote really establishes Jim’s relationship with Huck and it clearly defines how much he values Huck’s presence. It also reestablishes Huck’s moral thought process as although he did trick Jim in the first place, he felt bad about it afterwards (we see this happen a lot throughout the novel).

Quotation #3 “Conscience says to me, 'What had poor Miss Watson done to you that you could see her nigger go off right your eyes and never say one single word? What did that poor old woman do to you that you could treat her so mean? ‘ (Twain 80)” Analysis: Huck feels guilty for helping Jim escape from Miss Watson. He has grown up in such a racist society that his conscience is telling him that slavery, where actual human beings with different skin color are owned as property, is totally fine, but saving these humans from this harsh, oppressive condition of living is a grave crime.

Quotation #4 "Poor Emmeline made poetry about all the dead people when she was alive, and it didn't seem right that there warn't nobody to make some about her now she was gone; so I tried to sweat out a verse or two myself, but I couldn't seem to make it go somehow" (Twain 94). Analysis: Huck shows his humanity by his concern for other, even deceased ones. Before, in chapter 1, he said he did not "take no stock in dead people". Here, he changes his views and realizes how important the dead can be when he is told about Emmeline Grangerford.

Themes: People must be open minded to new ideas or else they will never learn new things or realize they are wrong Again we see this through the story of Solomon and the languages. Society is racist to the point that laws and morals are unjust. Huck thinks that slavery is not a crime, but freeing people from it is. He feels guilt from the fact that he is stealing “property” from Miss Watson by helping Jim to escape rather than pride from saving someone from a terrible life.

More Themes! Upholding family honor in the form of violence is idiotic. The Grangerfords and Shepardsons try to kill each other in a battle, where many members of both families are killed. They don't even know the cause of the feud. Society is inescapable. Huck is sickened by the family feud, and says that the raft is the only sanctuary. Every time he and Jim leave the raft, they get into some form of trouble.

Discussion Questions What do you think Huck could have done to try to explain Solomon’s wisdom and languages to Jim? Could he have done anything or would Jim not have listened? Did Huck give up to easily? How do Huck's morals compare to those of today's society? Do they change during his time with Jim? Why or Why not?

Works Cited Behind the Wood Pile. N. d. Huck and Jim. Blogger, 12 Apr. 2009. Web. 12 Nov. 2011. Boy, That's a Lie. N. d. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Gutenberg E-Book, 21 Sept. 2011. Web. 12 Nov. 2011.