The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Chapters 1-7

MARK TWAIN

THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN

CHAPTERS 1-7
The aim of the lesson is to teach you to analyse the principal characters of a literary work and the nature of
their relationship.
1. Reproduce the information and formulate its purpose.

"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", "Life on the Mississippi" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"
are really parts of one masterwork. If we take them separately, they vary greatly. The first is a story written
for boys. It is full of the horrors and joys of childhood. The second is a collection of sketches and
impressions of the great river; the third is a story of a boy, but no longer is a story only for boys. It is a book
for the discerning adult. Underneath the golden dream of boyhood lies the sense of evil and disaster. But the
mighty river serves as a symbol of that in which one can put his only faith.
"Huckleberry Finn" is a finer book than "Tom Sawyer", showing a more mature point of view. Here
Twain returned to his first idea of having the chief actor tell the story. Huck's speech is saltier than Tom's,
his mind is freer from romance. Huck is midway between the town-bred Tom and Negro Jim, full of
primitive superstition. The school of life has taught him skepticism and a tenacious grasp on reality. But it
has not turned him into a cynic.
2. Sum up the following piece of criticism selecting the chief ideas.

"Tom Sawyer" seems to me to be a boy's book, and a very good one. But the point of view of the narrator
is that of an adult observing a boy. We look at Tom as the smiling adult does; Huck we do not look at - we
see the world through his eyes. The two boys are not merely different types; they were brought into
existence by different processes. Tom has the imagination of a lively boy who has read a good deal of
romantic fiction. He might, of course, become a writer - he might become Mark Twain. Or rather he might
become the more commonplace aspect of Mark. Huck has not imagination, in the sense in which Tom has it:
he has, instead, vision. He sees the real world; and he does not judge it - he allows it to judge itself. Tom
Sawyer is an orphan. But he has his aunt and other relatives, and he has the environment into which he fits.
He is a wholly social being. When there is a secret band to be formed, it is Tom who organizes it and
prescribes the rules. Huck Finn is alone: there is no more solitary character in fiction. The fact that he has a
father only emphasizes his loneliness.
3. Fill in the blanks and continue the text to make a summary of chapters 1-7. It must show that
behind the humour of these chapters there lies the sense of deprivation.
Adopted by the kind-hearted Widow Douglas, Huck Finn desperately resists respectability. He can't fall
into the habits
оf…………………………………………………………………………………………………
It is a great relief to him to join Tom Sawyer at night. Tom is organizing "a band of robbers", and at first
Huck is nearly ruled out because………………………………………………………………………………..
Being deprived of a normal childhood, Huck finds himself unable to share whole-heartedly the childlike
vision of the fantasy world. Instead of promised by Tom, he sees nothing
but…………………………………..
He takes oriental tales for granted, but after experimenting with an oil lamp he comes to the conclusion
that………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
To avoid his father's abuse and being "civilized" by Widow Douglas, Huck escapes to Jackson's Island,
where he feels really free”.
4.1. Prove that you remember the details of the chapters you've read by pointing out the correct
choice among those offered. Add a sentence or two to each point:
"It happened before/after/because of..." Or: "So..." Or: "That is why...", etc.
1) Tom proved his honesty early by:
a) leaving five cents for the borrowed candle;
b) telling Jim about the joke he had played on him;
c) returning what the gang stole.
2) Jim became a celebrity when he:

a) found treasure;
b) joined Tom's pirates;
c) told everybody how the witches rode him.
3) Miss Watson's comments on religion and Providence:

a) persuaded Huck to remain with the Widow Douglas;
b) influenced his Pap to reform;
c) were unattractive to Huck.
4) Huck's father forbade the boy's:

a) smoking;
b) going to school;
c) wearing shabby clothes.
5) Before being taken away by Pap, Huck discovered that he:

a) hated all adults;
b) could bear the widow’s ways;
c) really liked the old man;
d) was glad to leave.
4.2. Make up five similar sets of choices for your partner to choose the only correct one from those
offered.
5. Tom and Huck, the romantic and the realist, go hand in hand together.
 How does Huck react to Tom’s ideas? What attitude to life does he demonstrate?
 Provide details to illustrate your explanations.
6. Answer the following questions giving explanations, quotations and illustrations:

 What trait(s) of character does Huck show that make(s) him appear before his reader as a boy who
was denied entrance into the world of childhood?
 Is it typical of most children to have a vivid imagination, to make up a fantasy world of their own?
 Do most children, in spite of their imagination, see the border-line between make-believe and the
world of reality? And what about Huck?
 What other traits does Huck possess?
7. Read and explain what each of them values in the other (The independent spirit? Resourcefulness?
Will-power? Recklessness? Fidelity? Readiness for adventure? Something else?)
The relationship between Huck and Tom is an interesting one. Tom, being watched by his Aunt Polly, was
once threatened with severe punishment if he associated with Huck, the ragged son of the town drunkard.
Yet Tom continues to seek Huck's company. WHY? You notice that Huck often says that he "takes no
stock" in many of Tom's ideas, yet he follows his instructions and admires him. WHY? Is it a friendship that
is destined to last through the years?
8. Read the following insight into the philosophy of the book and answer the closing questions
explaining why.
In considering the question of young people's desire to escape from responsibilities, regulations and perhaps
overbearing adults, an important distinction must be drawn. How does the DESIRE to escape under certain
conditions differ from the NEED to escape under other conditions? For example, analyse Huck's relationship
with his father. Why is Pap so opposed to education? Why does he, during his drunken delirium, regard
Huck as the "Angel of Death"? Reviewing all that Huck has to endure, is running away the only thing he can
do? Is his escape an act of cowardice and stupidity? Is it an act of courage or good sense?
9. Read and answer the questions:

In "Huck Finn", as in any other book, it is very important through whose eyes and mind the reader is
receiving the story. In this case, of course, it is the first-person narrator Huck.
1. What advantages and disadvantages did the author have in adopting this point of view?
2. Show that certain episodes or separate details gain a lot by being narrated by Huck instead of
an impartial observer or a wise omniscient author.
3. Show that what the narrative loses in objectiveness it gains in immediacy and freshness of
perception, in sincerity and expressiveness.
10. Reconstruct the themes of the novel using the scheme and explain them:
HUCKLEBERRY
FINN

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MARK TWAIN

THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN

1. Reproduce the information and formulate its purpose.

2. Sum up the following piece of criticism selecting the chief ideas.

2) Jim became a celebrity when he:

3) Miss Watson's comments on religion and Providence:

4) Huck's father forbade the boy's:

5) Before being taken away by Pap, Huck discovered that he:

6. Answer the following questions giving explanations, quotations and illustrations:

9. Read and answer the questions:

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