New England Understanding Mark Twain Adventure of Huckleberry Finn Discussion
- Post at least one question/point about Lecture 3 and Twain’s Huck Finn
- What is your favorite scene in Huck Finn? Why have you chosen this scene? How does this scene help you understand the entire novel?
- Do the ending and resolutions of Twain’s novel work for you?
- Why would you or would you not recommend this book to your (choose one: spouse, friend, parent, child, enemy, former teacher, etc.)?
Lecture 3 Video: https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/e98b1784-966…
*(The Discussion Assignment is due tomorrow at 11:59pm ET so start this immediately)
Peer responses
respond to each of the two students and use 150-200 words when responding. Start of by saying (Hello name)
Brenton
1) Post at least one question/point about Lecture 3 and Twain’s Huck Finn
Professor Melander speaks about the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and schools banning the book in our lecture. I don’t get why this book is being banned. This book speaks of a time in our history that molded our world. This book touched on a time in our history where this was reality. To ban this book is like not excepting our past. Most schools probably ban this book because of the language. But this language was what African Americans endured at that point in time. For someone to ban it because the language is offensive is doing a disservice to our history. We can’t truly learn from our past if we are muting some of its contexts.
2) What is your favorite scene in Huck Finn? Why have you chosen this scene? How does this scene help you understand the entire novel?
Mark twain writes “Huck sits down and contemplates his next move. He is torn between his friendship with Jim and his belief that helping a runaway slave is a sin. Huck finally writes a letter to Miss Watson explaining where Jim is. Not quite satisfied, he thinks about it some more, and, in one of the most dramatic scenes in the novel, rips apart the letter saying, “All right, then, I’ll go to hell!” (2017). I liked that moment because at that point Huck went against what he was taught and thought for himself. He saw a slave as an equal and morally did what he thought was right.
3) Do the ending and resolutions of Twain’s novel work for you?
For me, the ending and resolutions work. Huck resolved what he sets out to do. He now has a disconnect with society. After the horror, he knows they can cause. Even though Sally and Silas want to adopt him, they will raise him as part of that society. For that reason, he rejects that offer and heads towards Indian territory. I see that as coming full circle. Being part of and believing in a Society and then turning around and rejecting that Society for Cruelty you believed as just.
4) Why would you or would you not recommend this book to you (choose one: spouse, friend, parent, child, enemy, former teacher, etc.)?
Yes, I would highly recommend The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This book gives the readers a look at the harsh realities for African Americans during slavery in the United States. We can’t learn from our past if we can see, read, or view it in its most genuine forms.
Twain, M. (2017). Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In Norton Anthology of American Literature (9th ed., pp. 108–291). essay, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Theodore
- Post at least one question/point about Lecture 3 and Twain’s Huck Finn
I would have to disagree with Dr. Melander on banning Huck Finn in schools. The book has been a valuable piece of American history reading. I didn’t like history as a child and found myself often asking my parents what is the point of history class? They would respond, “it is to learn from our past, right or wrong. If it was wrong, then we learn not to repeat it.” This is exactly what this book portrays. I am not saying a young person should read it, but teens that have already learned about race and history. This book helps to reinforce the evils that was considered normal for that time. The book was written before we grew and improved as a nation. It is a piece of history to learn from.
- What is your favorite scene in Huck Finn? Why have you chosen this scene? How does this scene help you understand the entire novel?
One of my favorite scenes in Huck Finn is in chapter 22 when the mob goes to hang Sherburn. This part always sticks out to me because Sherburn stands up and calls out the crowd. He does not back down but tells the truth how the men are only doing what the others are doing. They cannot think for themselves and are cowards. Many parts in the book feature groups of people or mobs that call out to each other. Many scenes show the people acting as groups, not as individuals. This is how much of the world is today. It seems that people sometimes go with what the majority believe, instead of thinking for themselves.
- Do the ending and resolutions of Twain’s novel work for you?
I am not a big fan of the ending of the novel. I know Twain had stopped writing for a while before completing the end of the book, so I am not sure if he was still deeply passionate about it. The ending goes back into the whole escape plan, but then ends up being for no reason. This shows that they had not grown up on there journey or learned along the way. What was the point of this?
- Why would you or would you not recommend this book to your (choose one: spouse, friend, parent, child, enemy, former teacher, etc.)?
As I stated in the first question, I think this book is full of learning reinforcements. I would recommend it to any young adult that understands what happened in our history. They must understand the time that this book was written in. It is from a dark side of our past that reinforces where we came from as a nation. The novel is entertaining, but full of history as well.
Response Essay
Huck Finn
Write a three-paragraph letter, two pages, in response to the writer (Leo Marx, Julius Lester, David L. Smith, Jane Smiley, Toni Morrison, Alan Gribben, or Michiko Kakutani) of one of the essays on pp. 292–305.
Please submit assignment by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. EST
- If an essay is below standard (below a “C”) in terms of content, style, and punctuation, you will have to rewrite it to receive a grade, so be sure not to submit first drafts.
- Acceptable essays will graded “B” if they meet the demands of the assignment, “A” if they both meet the demands of the assignment and teach me something, and “C” if they are minimally satisfactory.
- You may rewrite C- and B-level essays (except for the final essay), but if your essays progress in quality, you will earn a final grade based on improvement rather than an average of all assignments (of course, if you work is “up and-down,” your final grade will be more of an average grade).
Pages to help you with Discussion Assignment and Essay
- Mark Twain, pp. 101–104, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, pp. 108–291
- Critical Controversy: Race and the Ending of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, pp. 291-305
