Huckleberry Finn

10 Pages 2534 Words

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Homework Assignment

Chapters I to IV

1. Even though Tom feels that Huck is not “respectable,” Huck is likeable, even admirable in many ways. We get certain impressions of Huck’s character in the opening chapters of the book. It seems Huck is used to caring for himself most of the time, but is now living with Widow Douglas. Widow Douglas and her sister, Miss Watson, try to “civilize” Huck, and educate him. Yet almost from the beginning of the book, Huck clearly doesn’t seem to have any interest in education, religion, or being civilized in general. Another important trait of Huck‘s that we learn about quickly is that he is superstitious. “’I got into my old rags and my sugar hogshead again, and was free and satisfied.’” and “’I didn’t need anybody to tell me that that was an awful bad sign and would fetch me some bad luck…’” are examples of his rejection to “civilization” and his beliefs in superstitions.

2. Jim is Miss Watson’s slave. My first impressions of Jim are that he is completely uneducated, very easily fooled, and extremely superstitious. Also, when he can’t explain things that’s were his ability to embellish his stories come from, but they make for entertainment to the rest of the slaves that he tells his stories too. Examples: When Jim hears the noise he‘s determined to make sure he hears it again but he falls asleep in just a short 10minutes, that shows that he‘s easily fooled and not that bright.

3. Although we do not meet Huck’s father in these chapters, we do hear some things about him. Pap isn’t a reliable person, and hasn’t been around for over a year. Ben Rogers tells us that “’He used to lay drunk with the hogs in the tanyard…’”, which obviously tells us he is a alcoholic with a poor reputation.

4. When Huck wants to smoke, the widow forbids him, saying it is a mean and unclean practice. ...