Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

This satirical novel is the story of Huck Finn and his adventures down the Mississippi River on a raft trying to escape his drunken father. It is the sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and one of the first novels to be written in the local vernacular. How about this from Jim, the slave: “I tuck out en shin down de hill, en ‘spec to steal a skift ‘long de sho’ som’ers ‘bove de town, but dey wuz people a-stirring yit, so I hid in de ole tumble-down cooper-shop on de bank to wait for everybody to go ‘way. Well, I wuz dah all night. Dey wuz somebody roun’ all de time.”? Is that great or what? I've never seen so many words go red for misspellings on Google as I did writing this review. The language does slow the reader down, but conveys all the local color of the mid-1850s.

I loved this book because Twain made me feel like I was in the milieu of the South living on a Mississippian river raft. I could actually feel the heat of the day! He did an absolutely great job of recreating the atmosphere of the South before things became chaotic and uncontrollable; in another words, this novel is set just prior to the Civil War. This is the second novel that I’ve read recently pertaining to this time period in the South, and quite frankly, I’m stunned by the Southerner’s cavalier attitude towards the suffering of their slaves. Yet, Mark Twain made this novel jocular; I guess that’s all part of his satirical style of writing. This version of the novel has 148 illustrations and is a reproduction of the original 1885 masterpiece now published by Piccadilly Books, LTD.

Does the adage “boys will be boys” mean it is hard, often fruitless, to attempt to curb the natural playfulness and tendency to mischief of most growing boys, or does it mean Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn? I think the latter. This novel is the continuing saga of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, two 13-14 year old rascals. This story opens with Huck now living with the Widow Douglas and her sister Miss Watson. Huck has a considerable amount of money in trust with Judge Thatcher, garnered from Injun Joe in the previous book. Huck’s drunken Pap wants that money and somehow gets control of Huck’s guardianship and leaves with Huck to a cabin on the banks of the Mississippi River. There, Huck is constantly abused, so he fakes his death and heads down river in a canoe. He gets to Jackson’s Island (between Missouri and Illinois) and discovers that Miss Watson’s slave, Jim, is there on the run from Miss Watson because he found out that she was going to sell him for $800. Huck learns that the folks back home think either Jim or Pap killed him. They set off on a raft for incredible adventures. Jim wants his freedom, and Huck wants to get away from Pap.

On Huck’s journeys, he faces many difficult circumstances and makes harrowing escapes. The first is in a shore village where he meets the Granderfords feuding with the Shepherdsons. The ensuing big shootout causes Huck to make egress to the river again. Huck, now back with Jim, meets two incredible grifters on the run from a mob of angry townspeople. They hitch a ride with Huck and Jim on the raft. The scams they pull off with Huck are hilarious! One of these swindlers says he is the rightful Duke of Bridgewater, and the other claims to be the exiled and rightful King of France. I will not tell you anything else, but the plot thickens, and the real fun reading begins at this point in the novel (chapter XIX, page 100).

According to an article from Wikipedia: “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an often scathing look at entrenched attitudes, particularly racism”. The problem is as I read the novel, I was not convinced one way or the other whether Twain was being real or satirical. I guess it’s too late to ask him. Wikipedia also states: “To highlight the hypocrisy required to condone slavery within an ostensibly moral system, Twain has Huck's father enslave him, isolate him, and beat him. When Huck escapes – which anyone would agree was the right thing to do – he then immediately encounters Jim "illegally" doing the same thing”. Later in Twain’s career, he became the harbinger of satirical comedy, but was he the future Will Rogers or Don Rickles? Regardless of my confusion, I have to recommend this novel as it is considered one of the Great American Novels.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comment: How is this novel rated by other great writers? Well, Ernest Hemingway said: "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called 'Huckleberry Finn.' All American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since.” Norman Mailer said: "The mark of how good 'Huckleberry Finn' has to be is that one can compare it to a number of our best modern American novels and it stands up page for page, awkward here, sensational there - absolutely the equal of one of those rare incredible first novels that come along once or twice in a decade." The reader would have to admit this is high praise from two credentialed authors. Some of Twain’s quotes include: "When in doubt, tell the truth."; "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them."; "Where prejudice exists it always discolors our thoughts."; "Fleas can be taught nearly anything that a Congressman can.", and my personal favorite is: "I have been an author for 20 years and an ass for 55." However you look at Mark Twain, one has to admit that he was a remarkable human being.