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Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri. In 1839, his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri. Many people suggest that the family moved due to the death of Sam's younger sister Margaret. It was in Hannibal that Sam witnessed many things he would later incorporate into his novels. For instance, he witnessed slaves being mistreated (similar to Jim in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn), and civilized people acting crazy and violent (like the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons). Sam even had a best friend in Hannibal named Tom, who could do as he pleased and was very wild. Tom eventually became the character of Huckleberry Finn.
Other tragic events, aside from the death of Sam's younger sister, influenced Twain. His young brother Benjamin also became ill and died. Then, his older brother Orion left the family business to work as a printer's apprentice for the Hannibal Journal newspaper. In 1847, Sam's father, John Clemens, died of pneumonia. Sam went to work with his brother at the Journal. This is where Sam first developed his writing skills. Later, he moved to St. Louis, where he got a job working at the St. Louis Evening News as a typesetter. He didn't stay there long, and later moved to New York City and then Philadelphia. He spent a lot of time traveling all over the world, and eventually, in 1859, Twain got his river pilot's license. Sam enjoyed this life a lot and his many experiences on the river would later be incorporated into his novels.
Events in American history such the Civil War, the gold rush, and moving west, became important themes for Twain. While working for the Nevada Territorial Enterprise, Sam first wrote under his pen name, Mark Twain.
Twain would later fall in love with Olivia Langdon, his wife and mother to his four children. The early deaths of his children would later lead to bouts of depression and emotional suffering.
In 1888, Twain earned a Master of Arts degree from Yale University. He then was awarded two honorary Doctor of Letters degrees from Yale in 1901, and the University of Missouri in 1902. His works include: The Innocents Abroad, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Prince and the Pauper, Life on the Mississippi, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. In 1910, Samuel Langhorne Clemens died at age 75 in his Connecticut home.
Cox, Clinton. Mark Twain: America's Humorist, Dreamer, Prophet - A Biography. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 1995.
Press, Skip. The Importance of Mark Twain. San Diego: Lucent Books, 1994.
Ross, Stewart. Mark Twain and Huckleberry Finn. New York: the Penguin Group, 1999.
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: the Penguin Group, 1985.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is about a young boy, Huck, in search of freedom and adventure. The shores of the Mississippi River provide the backdrop for the entire book.
Huck is kidnapped by Pap, his drunken father. Pap kidnaps Huck because he wants Huck's $6000. Huck was awarded $6000 from the treasure he and Tom Sawyer found in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Huck finally escapes from the deserted house in the woods and finds a canoe to shove off down the river. Instead of going back to the widow's house, he decides to run away. He is sick of all of the confinement and civilization that the window enforces upon him. He comes across Jim, Miss Watson's slave, and together, they spend nights and days journeying down the river, both in search of freedom.
While traveling on a raft down the river, Huck and Jim have many adventures and during many long talks, become best of friends. They find a house with a dead man. They end up stealing many things from the house. They find a wrecked ship, and go on it, only to be mixed up with murderers. They get away with money and some other goods. They get separated from each other in the heavy fog, but eventually find each other. A steamboat crashes into their raft and Jim and Huck are separated again. Huck has a run-in with the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons, two families at war with each other. He is reunited with Jim shortly after this. Then, they meet the King and the Duke, and get into a good deal of trouble performing plays. The King and the Duke pretend to be Peter Wilks' long lost brothers from England and try to steal all of the money left behind in his will. They escape before they are caught. Huck finally gets rid of them, but is left to search for Jim, who gets sold by the King. He ends up at Tom Sawyer's Aunt Sally's house, where Tom and Huck rescue Jim.
Through all of the adventures down the river, Huck learns a variety of life lessons and improves as a person. He develops a conscience and truly feels for humanity. The complexity of his character is enhanced by his ability to relate so easily with nature and the river.
Huckleberry Finn: Main character of the book. He is an illegitimate child who runs away from his adopted family to be free of society and civilization. Huck is Tom Sawyer's sidekick, and Tom is Huck's best friend. Throughout the book, Huck journeys down the Mississippi River with Jim, Miss Watson's slave. Together they have many adventures. They hide out along the river, are almost killed by robbers on a wrecked boat, and meet two con artists who call themselves the King and the Duke. These two crooks nearly get Huck and Jim tarred and feathered by performing bad plays. Because of the King and the Duke, Huck gets involved in a plot to steal Mr. Wilks' money. Finally, Huck manages to rescue Jim out of slavery with Tom's help. Through spending so much time with Jim, and some of his other experiences along the river, Huck reveals a strong sense of humanity.
Tom Sawyer: Huck's best friend who freely spins lies and loves adventure. He wants things to be exactly as they are in the adventure books he reads, and he uses the books as a guide describing the correct ways to steal, rob, and kidnap. He has many romantic ideas, including founding a gang of robbers. The gang will be run exactly as they are in the adventure books. They will rob, steal, and even murder, because that is what the books say they do. Tom helps Huck to free Jim at the end of the story by persuading Huck to use the ideas Tom has learned from adventure books.
Widow Douglas: Adopts Huck to try and civilize him. Her sister is Miss Watson.
Miss Watson: Sister of the Widow Douglas. She tries to teach Huck religion and how to spell.
Jim: Miss Watson's slave. He runs away and journeys down the Mississippi River with Huck. Together, they have many adventures, and Huck becomes best friends with Jim.
Pap: Huck's drunkard father. He kidnaps Huck because he wants his money, but Huck escapes.
Judge Thatcher: He is charge of Huck's money. He has Huck's best interest at heart. He tries to keep Huck away from Pap, Huck's drunkard father.
Shepherdsons : The opposing family to the Grangerfords. They fight the Grangerfords and are responsible for killing Buck, Buck's father, and his two brothers.
Buck: The smallest son of the Grangerford family. Huck becomes good friends with Buck. Buck gets killed in the battle with the Shepardsons. It makes Huck sick to see violence like this.
Grangerfords: The family that Huck meets after he jumps off of the raft. They take him in and feed and clothe him. They are in a feud with the Shepherdson family. Their daughter, Miss Sophia, runs away with Harney Shepherdson. This starts a battle that ends in tragedy.
The Duke: A younger man in trouble that Jim and Huck take on their raft. He tells them he is a Duke and should be treated like one. He is very crafty and is always scheming. He pretends to be Peter Wilks' deaf and dumb brother William. He is tarred and feathered at the end of the book for his cons and performing bad plays.
The King: An older man in trouble that Jim and Huck take on their raft. He tells them he is a King and should be treated like one. He pretends to be Peter Wilks' brother, Harvey. Along with the Duke, he is tarred and feathered at the end of the book for his cons and performing bad plays.
Peter Wilks: The dead man who leaves his estate to his two brothers and nieces. The King and the Duke pretend to be his long lost brothers from England.
Aunt Sally Phelps: Tom Sawyer's aunt and Uncle Silas' wife. Jim is being kept at her house. Tom and Huck rescue Jim from a cabin on their property.
Uncle Silas Phelps: Tom Sawyer's uncle and Aunt Sally's husband. Jim is being kept on his property.
Judith Loftus: When Huck dresses as a girl to go and try to find out some information about what has been happening around town, he comes across a house in the woods. It is Mrs. Loftus' house. She invites him in, they talk, and she fixes him a snack before he leaves. She tells Huck that she knows he is really a boy. She tests him by making him thread a needle, catch something in between his legs, and throw a bar of lead.
Emmeline Grangerford: She is the dead daughter of the Grangerford family. She wrote poetry and painted; her subjects were always about dead people. Huck feels bad that no one writes poetry about her, now that she is dead. He tries to write some for her, but isn't pleased with what he writes.
Miss Sophia Grangerford: She is one of the beautiful Grangerford daughters. She asks Huck to go and get the Testament that she left in Church. He does, and discovers a note for her inside the book. Later that night, Miss Sophia runs away with one of the Shepherdson boys, Harney Shepherdson.
Harney Shepherdson: He is one of the Shepherdson boys. He runs away with one of the Grangerford girls, Miss Sophia.
Boggs: He is a drunk with a red face, who appears to be around fifty years old. He comes galloping to town on a horse, and gets teased and harassed by some of the town members for yelling and causing a ruckus. Colonel Sherburn shoots him and kills him because he won't calm down.
Colonel Sherburn: A very well-dressed fifty-five year old man. He is a respected member of the town into which Boggs gallops. He shoots Boggs for yelling like a lunatic in the streets. When the town crowds around his house, seeking revenge for killing Boggs, he insults them by telling them they are all just a bunch of cowards. Everyone eventually clears out.
Mary Jane: She is one of the sweet daughters of Peter Wilks. She trusts the King and the Duke immediately, even though they are liars. She doesn't even hesitate to give them the money that her father left in his will. Huck truly likes her and tells her that the King and the Duke are conning her family for the money her father left in his will.
6000: Amount of money that Tom and Huck received from the treasure they found in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Mississippi River: This river is the setting for the entire book. Huck and Jim journey down this river. Huck and the river exist together in a state of equilibrium. The civility and wildness of the river coexist, much like Huck's personality.
Jackson's Island: The island where Huck and Jim first hide out after they run away. They stay in a cavern here, where Jim is bitten by a rattlesnake.
Cairo: A town towards the bottom of Illinois. Huck and Jim try to reach Cairo; once there, they can journey up the Ohio River into the northern, free states.
Pokeville: The town where the King collects money from everyone by saying that he is an ex-pirate who has found his true path in life, free of sin. The Duke makes the reward sign for Jim there so they can travel during the day.
Quote 1: "'Ransomed? What's that?'
'I don't know. But that's what they do. I've seen it in books; and so of course that's what we've got to do.'
'But how can we do it if we don't know what it is?'
'Why blame it all, we've got to do it. Don't I tell you it's in the books? Do you want to go to doing different from what's in the books, and get things all muddled up?'" Chapter 2, pg. 9
Quote 2: "'Yes-en I's rich now, come to look at it. I owns mysef, en I's wuth eight hund'd dollars. I wisht I had de money, I wouldn' want no'.'" Chapter 8, pg. 52
Quote 3: "Mornings, before daylight, I slipped into corn fields and borrowed a watermelon, or a mushmelon, or a punkin, or some new corn, or things of that kind. Pap always said it warn't no harm to borrow things, if you was meaning to pay them back, sometime; but the widow said it warn't anything but a soft name for stealing, and no decent body would do it." Chapter 12, pg. 72
Quote 4: "'Quick, Jim, it ain't no time for fooling around and moaning; there's a gang of murderers in yonder, and if we don't hunt up their boat and set her drifting down the river so these fellows can't get away from the wreck, there's one of 'em going to be in a bad fix. But if we find their boat we can put all of 'em in a bad fix - for the Sheriff 'll get 'em.'" Chapter 12, pg. 77
Quote 5: "Conscience says to me 'What had poor Miss Watson done to you, that you could see her nigger go off right under your eyes and never say one single word? What did that poor old woman do to you, that you could treat her so mean?...' I got to feeling so mean and so miserable I most wished I was dead." Chapter 16, pg. 97
Quote 6: "It made me so sick I most fell out of the tree. I ain't agoing to tell all that happened - it would make me sick again if I was to do that. I wished I hadn't ever come ashore that night, to see such things . . ." Chapter 18, pg. 127
Quote 7: "Your newspapers call you a brave people so much that you think you are braver than any other people - whereas you're just as brave, and no braver." Chapter 22, pg. 161
Quote 8: "Well, if I ever struck anything like it, I'm a nigger. It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race." Chapter 24, pg. 178
Quote 9: "'I know what you'll say. You'll say it's dirty Low-down business; but what if it is? - I'm low down; and I'm agoing to steal him, and I want you to keep mum and not let on. Will you?'" Chapter 33, pg. 248, Chapter 33
Quote 10: "Well, it made me sick to see it; and I was sorry for them poor pitiful rascals, it seemed like I couldn't ever feel any hardness against them any more in the world. It was a dreadful thing to see. Human beings can be awful cruel to one another." Chapter 33, pg. 253-4
Quote 11: "I knowed he was white inside, and I reckoned he'd say what he did say - so it was all right, now, and I told Tom I was agoing for a doctor." Chapter 40, pg. 301
Conformity 1: When the widow and Miss Watson try to civilize Huck by teaching him about the Bible, clothing him, teaching him how to read and write, and telling him not to smoke, he goes along with it. Instead of putting up a fight, he conforms to what they want and expect.
Conformity 2: Huck continues to go to school, even though he doesn't want to. He has started to get used to the new ways, even though he may like the old ways better.
Conformity 3: When Huck is kidnapped by Pap, he takes him to a remote place in the woods. There, Huck can be his old self. Even though he is somewhat civilized now, he fits back into his former lifestyle easily. He adapts very well to new situations.
Conformity 4: Huck just met the Grangerfords, but fits right in immediately.
Conformity 5: The Duke tells Huck and Jim that he is really the Duke of Bridgewater, and he expects to be treated like a Duke. Huck immediately conforms to this idea, despite the fact that he doesn't know if they are telling the truth or not.
Conformity 6: The King tells Huck and Jim that he is the King of France, and expects to be treated like a King. Once again, Huck conforms, and treats him like a King, no questions asked.
Conformity 7: Huck knows that the King and the Duke are liars, and that they aren't really Kings and Dukes. Despite this, he continues to conform to their demands and act like their servant.
Conformity 8: When Huck finds out that Mr. and Mrs. Phelps think he is Tom Sawyer, he decides that he is really going to have to act like him. He has no problem doing this, and even likes it at times.
Conformity 9: Instead of standing up for himself against Tom, Huck conforms to all of his ideas about how they are to rescue Jim. He agrees with Tom instantly because he thinks Tom's ideas have a lot of style, even though his own ideas are much more realistic.
Humanity 1: This is the first example of Huck feeling guilty for something he has done. It shows that he has a conscience and feels bad for another human being.
Humanity 2: Huck shows his concern for humanity here as well, even though the people he is trying to help are low down robbers. He still feels it is the right thing to do to try and save them.
Humanity 3: Huck still tries to help the robbers, and he knows that the widow would be proud of him for it; this makes him feel good, like he is doing the right thing for people, even though they are "rapscallions."
Humanity 4: Huck goes so far as to lie for these robbers, but he knows that he is helping them, and that is what counts.
Humanity 5: Huck lies to Jim and he believes it. When Jim finds out the truth, he is upset. Huck feels guilty for being mean to Jim, and playing that trick on him. He says that he could have kissed Jim's foot to take back what he did.
Humanity 6: Huck starts to feel guilty that he is helping free Miss Watson's slave. He says that he thinks he is mean and he doesn't think that she deserves to have her slave stolen. After all, she never did anything to him.
Humanity 7: Huck feels that someone should take the time to write poetry about Emmeline Grangerford, recently deceased, since she always took the time to write about other people who died. He even tries to write the poetry himself, but it doesn't turn out right.
Humanity 8: To see people shooting at each other makes Huck sick to his stomach. He sees it as an act against humanity and he simply cannot relate or understand how humans can treat each other in such an uncivil manner.
Humanity 9: Huck feels bad for a complete stranger at the circus. People laugh and make fun of this man; Huck sees this as rude.
Humanity 10: Even though Huck needs money, he starts to feel bad about the Wilks girls having their money stolen from them by the King and the Duke. His conscience tells him that it just isn't right and they shouldn't be doing it. So, he decides that he is going to get it back for them.
Humanity 11: When Huck sees the King and the Duke tarred and feathered, even though he hates them and thinks they are awful people, he can't help but to feel bad for them. It makes him sick how people can be so cruel to one another.
Picaresque is a type of novel that deals with the adventures of a rascal (in this case, Huck Finn). Picaresque is a term commonly used to describe this book. It involves the combination of various elements. The hero of the book (known as the Picaro) is a realist and someone who adapts easily to new situations. Other characters often represent a combination of wildness and civility, and the setting often reveals humans and nature coexisting in harmony.
Picaresque 1: Huck comes from an illegitimate family (a drunkard father), which is characteristic of the Picaro.
Picaresque 2: This is the first instance where a pig is mentioned. There is a constant mention of animals throughout the book, mostly of pigs and dogs. This combination of animals and humans is an example of wildness and civility being intertwined.
Picaresque 3: Dogs are mentioned here, just another example of animals and humans existing in the book together.
Picaresque 4: Huck is so confused by the way the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons interact with each other. They seem to be civilized, and yet they go around shooting each other. This is an example of how civility can mask violence and wildness.
Picaresque 5: After Huck finally makes it back to the raft and is going down the river, he feels so good. It is comfortable for him to be on the river; it is where he feels most like himself. He interacts with nature on a very intimate level.
Picaresque 6: This is another example of Huck and nature existing together. When he watches the storm, he is mesmerized by it. It is almost as if he is a part of the storm. Huck feels perfectly comfortable just sitting in the rain.
Picaresque 7: This is another mention of dogs and pigs. They are everywhere around the town, running wild in the streets; the townspeople don't think anything of it. They just live around them, peacefully coexisting.
Picaresque 8: Colonel Sherburn, another person similar to the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons, appears very civil and distinguished. However, he shoots a man dead, and this makes Huck sick. It is the irony between what is civil and what is wild that confuses Huck.
Picaresque 9: Huck is a realist, a defining characteristic of the Picaro. He wants to rescue Jim in the easiest, most realistic way, something that Tom, a romantic, cannot accept. For him, Jim's escape has to be a big show, riddled with nonsensical tactics that just make the situation more complicated than it has to be.
Huckleberry Finn begins where things left off after The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Huck and Tom Sawyer had become rich from all of the treasure they discovered and the Widow Douglas has adopted Huck. She tries to civilize Huck in many different ways, including giving him new, clean clothes, teaching him about the Bible and God, and trying to educate him on things like spelling and reading. The Widow Douglas' sister, Miss Watson, even comes to try and help. Huck is not comfortable with their civilized ways; he just wants to be in his old rags and smoke.
Huck goes up to bed and is lonely and scared. He hears all sorts of creepy noises outside and this frightens him. Soon, he hears the sound of a cat's meow, and he knows that it is Tom. Huck meows back, climbs out the window, slips into the trees, and sees Tom waiting there for him.
Tom and Huck creep into the trees and climb down to the widow's garden. They see Miss Watson's slave, Jim, sitting at the kitchen door. They try to be quiet so Jim won't hear them, but Jim hears noises anyway. He keeps on asking, "Who's there?" Huck itches all over and tries not to scratch himself so he doesn't make any noise. Tom plays a joke on Jim and secretly hangs his hat above his head. Afterwards, Jim tells stories to all the other slaves about how witches bewitched him that night.
Tom and Huck eventually make it to the top of the hill. They go down the hill and meet up with a couple of their buddies. They all go down the river and Tom shows them a hole in the hill; it opens up into a cave and they all go in. Tom tells them that they're going to start a band of robbers called "Tom Sawyer's Gang." Everyone has to take an oath to the group and write their names in blood. There is talk over what they'll do if any of them tell the gang's secrets to others. Tom suggests that they kill the person and the person's family as a consequence for violating gang secrets. A question arises over what to do about Huck. He doesn't really have a family, just a drunkard for a father, Pap, who Huck never sees.
Huck offers Miss Watson as a replacement. They all talk about what they're going to do as robbers and Tom insists that they have to do what is written in the books, including holding people for ransom.
"'Ransomed? What's that?'
'I don't know. But that's what they do. I've seen it in books; and so of course that's what we've got to do.'
'But how can we do it if we don't know what it is?'
'Why blame it all, we've got to do it. Don't I tell you it's in the books? Do you want to go to doing different from what's in the books, and get things all muddled up?'" Chapter 2, pg. 9
Tom is elected first captain, they end the meeting, and discuss a next time to meet. They all go home.
Miss Watson yells at Huck for dirtying his clothes. The widow washes him off and Huck feels guilty about it.
Huck wonders about praying. Miss Watson tells him if he prays, he will get what he wants. Huck says he prayed for fishhooks once for days and he never got them. The widow explains that he should pray for spiritual gifts.
Huck explains about his father. He hasn't seen him for more than a year; this is fine with Huck because his father used to beat him. At one point, everyone thought he drowned in the river, but Huck knew better; he knows Pap isn't dead.
The gang plays for about a month and they all resign because they haven't robbed or killed anyone. Tom makes up a story about Spaniards and Arabs coming to town with camels and diamonds. He makes a plan to rob them, but when the gang gets there, it is just a Sunday school picnic.
Tom and Huck argue over genies. Huck doesn't believe in them, but Tom insists that they exist. Huck tries rubbing a tin lamp, but nothing happens, just as he thought.
It is winter and about 3 or 4 months have passed. Huck has been going to school most of the time. He is getting used to his new ways: going to school and living a 'civilized' life. He still sometimes misses the old ways of sleeping in the woods.
Huck sees tracks in the snow. It is a boot with a cross in it to keep off the devil. He goes to see Judge Thatcher. The judge tells Huck that $150 just came in for him, but Huck insists that the judge take that money plus the rest of the $6,000. The judge is confused, but Huck insists he take the money and not ask why.
Huck goes to see Jim, Miss Watson's slave. Jim has a magical hairball that was removed from the fourth stomach of an ox. Huck pays Jim an old quarter to make the ball talk and tell him what Pap is doing back in town. The footprints that Huck saw were Pap's. Jim says that the ball says that Huck will have trouble and joy in his life. He also says that Pap is around, but he isn't sure what he is going to do yet.
Huck goes up to his room, lights a candle, and sees Pap sitting in his room.
Huck's father is all worn out. He looks old, his clothes and shoes are rags, and his face is a sickening whitish color. They talk for a while and Pap gets angry. He is mad that Huck can read and is better than his own father now that he is educated and wears nice clothes. He wants Huck's money because he heard that Huck is rich, but Huck swears he doesn't have any money. Pap makes him give him the only money that Huck has in his pocket ($1). He goes and gets drunk. Pap tries to get the money from Judge Thatcher, but the judge refuses to give it to him. The judge and the widow try to get custody over Huck, but the court (with a new judge) rules against it; the court doesn't want to separate a family.
Pap gets thrown in jail and when he comes out, he goes to live with the new judge. The judge gives him new clothes, food, and a place to sleep. He tries to reform Huck's father, but it doesn't work. He sells his new coat for money to buy alcohol, falls out of the window, and breaks his arm.
Pap causes all sorts of trouble around town. To spite the widow, he kidnaps Huck and takes him to a deserted log cabin in the woods. He locks Huck in so he can't escape. Pap gets drunk and beats Huck, but Huck starts to get used to this new life. He is allowed to curse and be wild, unlike at the widow's. He also doesn't miss school, books, and Miss Watson.
Eventually, Huck gets sick of being beaten so much, so he decides to figure out a way to escape. He starts to saw off a wooden leg of the table, but he hears Pap's gun in the woods and stops. When Pap comes back, he curses everyone in the town for how long the custody trial over Huck and Huck's $6,000 is taking. He tells Huck to go to the boat and collect the food, whisky, and ammunition that he just brought back from the town. He goes down to the boat and plans to escape that night when Pap is good and drunk. He plans to maybe go across the country, but he definitely does not want to go back to the Widow's.
That night, Pap gets drunk and curses the government for the predicament he's in. He also yells about black people being allowed to vote. He eventually falls asleep, but it isn't a sound sleep, so Huck waits. He waits so long that he falls asleep too. When he wakes up, Pap yells about snakes biting him on the cheek and neck, but there really aren't any snakes. He falls asleep again, mumbling about dead people coming to get him. He wakes up and chases Huck around the house with his knife. He almost kills Huck, but he slips by. Pap rests a minute and falls asleep again. Huck takes down Pap's gun, loads it, points it at him, and waits for him to wake up.
Pap wakes up and wants to know what Huck is doing with his gun. Huck says that someone tried to come into the house and he grabbed it for protection.
Huck goes down to the river to see about a fish for breakfast; instead, he finds a canoe floating down the river along with a lot of other debris, including big pieces of wood. He grabs the canoe and hides it, so he can use it to escape later.
Pap goes to town to try and sell some of the wood they collected from the river. Huck uses this time to plan his escape. He loads up the canoe with food, ammunition, Pap's gun, matches, and a few other essentials. Then, Huck kills a pig.
He bloodies up the house and axe with this pig to make it look as though a robber came into the house and killed Huck. Huck doesn't want anyone to chase after him once he sets sail down the river. He makes two false trails, one leading to the river, and the other leading to a lake. He eventually gets into the canoe, and starts down the river. He decides he'll go to Jackson's Island, where he can rest along the shore by day and go into town at night.
He falls asleep, and when he wakes up he hears noises on the river. It is Pap rowing back from town, after selling the wood. Huck ducks down in his canoe and floats by unnoticed by Pap. He makes it to Jackson's Island, pulls the canoe ashore, and rests before breakfast.
Huck wakes up and hears booming noises. It is a ferry with everyone from town on it, looking for his carcass. They get close to him, but they don't see him.
He spends the next couple of days on the island. He likes it, but he gets lonely sometimes. He fishes, hunts, and gathers fruit and berries. He comes across a campfire that is smoking and gets nervous, so he hides in a tree. He leaves the Missouri bank and paddles over to the Illinois shore. He feels better over there, until he hears more noises and a man's voice. Huck leaves and goes back to his old place. He looks around and comes across a fire and sees a man lying next to it. When the man gets up, Huck sees that it is Miss Watson's slave Jim. Jim thinks he is seeing a ghost, but Huck assures him that he isn't dead. They make breakfast and talk.
Jim tells Huck that Miss Watson was going to sell him, so he ran off. He tells Huck all about his escape and how he found out Huck was dead. They talk about superstitions and signs. Jim is certain that one day he'll be rich again because he has hairy arms. Jim says he feels rich already because he owns himself, now that he is free.
"'Yes-en I's rich now, come to look at it. I owns mysef, en I's wuth eight hund'd dollars. I wisht I had de money, I wouldn' want no'.'" Chapter 8, pg. 52
Jim and Huck go exploring around the island. They find a cavern and bring some of their stuff in it so it doesn't get wet from the approaching rain. They eat a good dinner and rest in the cavern while it rains. It is a big storm, but it ends quickly.
The river rises and is full of debris. One night, Huck and Jim notice a two-story house floating by. They wait for daylight to explore it. They find a dead man in the house. Jim covers his face so Huck doesn't have to look at it. They find all sorts of things in the house, including whisky bottles, women's and men's clothing, a boy's old straw hat, a broken bottle, an old chest, a sun-bonnet, and masks. They steal knives, candles, old medicine, a bed-quilt, beeswax, buttons, fishhooks, and a wooden leg. They leave the house and paddle back to their side of the shore, the Illinois shore.
Huck wants to know about the dead man and who shot him, but Jim won't talk about it. He says it will bring bad luck.
A couple of days prior to this, Huck touched a snakeskin with his hands and Jim said that bad luck would come. It finally did. Huck recounts the story of what happened to bring the bad luck.
Huck went into the cavern for some tobacco and found a rattlesnake in it. He killed it and put it on Jim's blanket for some fun. When Jim went to lie down on the blanket that night, the snake's mate bit Jim on the heel.
Jim drinks himself drunk so as to ease the pain of the bite. He is drunk for a few days, and the swelling finally goes away. They fish and catch a huge catfish as big as a man.
Huck wants to know what has been going on in the town. He dresses up as a girl with the clothes they stole from the house. He rows over to town and comes across a beat up house in the woods. He looks through the window and sees a woman, about forty years old, who he's never seen before. He knocks and hopes that she won't recognize he's not really a girl.
Huck goes inside the house and talks with the woman for a while about what has been going on around town. Pap supposedly disappeared, and some people think he may have killed Huck for Huck's money. Some others think Jim did it and there is a $300 reward out for him. The woman thinks that Jim might be over at Jackson's Island because she saw smoke over there. Her husband and another man went to check it out. Huck gets very nervous because the woman notices he is a boy. She can tell by the way he throws, threads a needle, and catches things in his lap (close-legged). He makes up a story that he ran away from a mean old farmer that took care of him. Huck says that he meant to go to Goshen, and the woman tells him that he is in St. Petersburg. Huck says he has to be on his way. Before he goes, she quizzes him about farm things to see if he is lying, but he knows all of the answers. She fixes him a snack and tells him her name, Judith Loftus, in case he needs her, and he leaves.
Huck runs back to the canoe and paddles back to Jim in the cavern. He wakes Jim up, they load up the raft with all of their stuff, and they shove off.
Huck and Jim travel all night on the raft and finally stop on the Illinois shore. They stay there all day and are thankful that no one found them out. Jim makes a wigwam on the raft for when it rains. They make an extra oar, a dirt mound to make a fire on, and a stick to hang a lantern on.
Huck and Jim make a habit of traveling the river at night and resting by day. They spend the next couple of nights going down the river.
Every so often when they are by a village, Huck will go into a cornfield and borrow food.
"Mornings, before daylight, I slipped into corn fields and borrowed a watermelon, or a mushmelon, or a punkin, or some new corn, or things of that kind. Pap always said it warn't no harm to borrow things, if you was meaning to pay them back, sometime; but the widow said it warn't anything but a soft name for stealing, and no decent body would do it." Chapter 12, pg. 72
There is a big storm one night and they see a steamboat that crashed against a rock. Huck wants to go on it and explore it, but Jim is against doing that. He eventually gives in to Huck because Huck says there might be some money on the boat they can collect. They go on, but they see a light and hear voices. Jim gets nervous and says he's going back to the raft, but Huck stays to listen. He crawls to where he can see the men. He sees two men (one with a gun and the other with the light) standing over a man that is tied up on the floor. The man with the gun wants to shoot the man on the floor, but the other man standing doesn't want him to. They walk over to where Huck is, so he hides. He hears them talk some more. They decide to gather the money from the boat along with some other goods, and then move onto their own boat, allowing the wreck with the tied up man to wash away down the river.
Huck yells Jim's name out and tells him that there are murderers on the boat. He says that they need to find the men's boat and shove it off so they can't get away.
"'Quick, Jim, it ain't no time for fooling around and moaning; there's a gang of murderers in yonder, and if we don't hunt up their boat and set her drifting down the river so these fellows can't get away from the wreck, there's one of 'em going to be in a bad fix. But if we find their boat we can put all of 'em in a bad fix - for the Sheriff 'll get 'em . . . '" Chapter 12, pg. 77
Huck tells Jim to get their raft, but Jim says it broke loose and is gone.
Huck and Jim find the men's boat and glide down the river. They search for their raft. Huck feels bad about the men in the wreck and so he comes up with a plan to fix it. However, the rain prevents him from carrying the plan out.
They come across a captain and Huck makes up a story about the gang on the wreck. He pleads for the captain to go and rescue the gang, and he agrees. Huck knows that what he did is a good thing, and he is proud of himself for it.
Huck and Jim sink the boat, hide the raft, and sleep.
The boat that they stole had all sorts of things in it, including books, cigars, clothes and boots. Huck reads Jim some of the books. They are all about kings and dukes and what they do. Jim likes the way it all sounds; it sounds high and mighty. They argue about King Solomon, and the famous biblical story about him cutting the child in half to see who the real mother was. They also argue over why French people speak the way they do and why they speak differently than Americans. Jim doesn't understand the sense in it so Huck eventually quits trying to teach him.
Huck and Jim are almost at the bottom of Illinois, near the city Cairo. They want to stop there, sell the raft, and make their way up the Ohio River into the free states.
One night, Huck goes to tie the raft to the shore, but the current is too strong and it breaks loose. Huck searches the river for it (because Jim and all of their stuff is on it) but the fog is too thick. They holler back and forth because they can't see each other. Huck falls asleep and when he wakes up, he sees Jim asleep on the raft. He gets on the raft and pretends to have just woken up. Jim is so excited to see Huck alive, but Huck tells him that he was there the whole time, and makes Jim feel stupid. Huck says that he was either drunk or dreaming, but that he has been there the whole time and he doesn't know what Jim is talking about. Jim finally figures out that Huck made a fool out of him because he sees the leaves and rubbish on the raft. He gets mad and goes into the wigwam. Huck feels guilty for making Jim feel so bad.
They continue to travel by night and sleep during the day. Jim keeps talking about getting to Cairo because once he does, he will be on his way to being a free man. Huck starts to feel guilty for not turning Jim in. He feels bad because he says Miss Watson never did anything to Huck that deserved her slave being taken away.
"Conscience says to me 'What had poor Miss Watson done to you, that you could see her nigger go off right under your eyes and never say one single word? What did that poor old woman do to you, that you could treat her so mean? . . .' I got to feeling so mean and so miserable I most wished I was dead." Chapter 16, pg. 97
Huck decides he's going to turn Jim in, but when two men (who are looking for runaway slaves) on a raft float by, he tells them that the man on his raft is white. When they say they're going to check for themselves, Huck tells them that it's his Pap, and he's very sick. The two men assume it's smallpox, and they leave without checking the raft. Out of sympathy, they give Huck $20 before they go.
Huck goes back on the raft and finds Jim hiding in the water. He had heard the men say that they were coming to check the raft.
They get on the raft and continue to look for Cairo. They think they may have passed it in the fog and they attribute their bad luck to Huck's touching the snakeskin.
Finally, they think they've made it to Cairo; they plan on waiting until dark to paddle the canoe upstream. They sleep all day and when they come back to get the canoe, it's gone. Huck and Jim plan on buying another canoe when they get a chance.
Huck and Jim are on the raft when they notice a big steamboat coming their way. They light the lantern so the boat knows they're there, but the boat still comes right for them. They jump off of the raft right as the steamboat plows through the middle of it. Huck comes up out of the water and sees no sign of Jim. He climbs up the bank and sees a log house. Dogs come barking at him and he refuses to move.
Someone from the house hears the dogs barking and asks, "Who's there?" Huck says his name is George Jackson and he just fell off of the steamboat. The man asks Huck if he is a Shepherdson, and Huck says he's never even heard of them. The man tells some boys in the house to get the candle and their guns. They carefully let Huck enter the house and when they see him, they see that he isn't a Shepherdson. The mother tells Buck (a boy about 13 or 14, the same age as Huck) to go and get Huck some dry clothes. He gets Huck the clothes and tells him that he can stay there forever and they can play together.
Huck makes up a story about how he used to live on a farm, how his father died, and how he came to be there now. They tell him he can have a home there as long as he wants. They make him a delicious meal and they all talk.
Huck thinks their house is the nicest he's ever seen before in the country. He is impressed with all of their stuff: the tables, fireplace, clocks, baskets, books, and pictures. He is especially interested in the paintings and poetry that their dead daughter, Emmeline made. She wrote all about dead people, and since she is now dead, Huck thinks that it is only fair that someone should take the time to write about her. He tries it, but isn't satisfied with his work.
Huck really likes it at their house and he fits in well.
Huck describes the Grangerfords in detail. The father, Col. Grangerford, is tall and thin with black hair and black eyes. He is very handsome, with a well-mannered and commanding personality. There are two sons, Tom and Bob, who are older and look just like the father. Then there is the younger son, Buck, who is just like Huck. There are also two sweet, beautiful daughters, Miss Charlotte and Miss Sophia. The mother is just like them and is very sweet. They also had three other sons and a daughter, Emmeline, all who have died.
There is another family, the Shepherdsons, who live near the Grangerfords.
Huck and Buck run into one of the Shepherdson boys, Harney Shepherdson, and Buck tries to shoot him. They run home and tell Buck's father. Buck tells Huck all about the feud that's been going on for the past thirty years between the two families. They keep trying to kill one another because of a legal dispute over land that happened thirty years ago.
Miss Sophia asks Huck to sneak over to the church and get her Testament that she left there. He goes and finds a note in the book that says, "Half past two." When he brings it home to her, she is very excited and she tells Huck it is only a bookmark.
Buck's slave takes Huck down to the river to supposedly show him some water moccasins, but when he gets there, he is reunited with Jim. Jim is so happy to see Huck. He tells Huck that the night the boat crashed into the raft, he was behind Huck the whole time. He didn't want to shout because he didn't want to get caught. He's been hiding out in the woods this whole time fixing their raft and preparing to leave. The slaves have been bringing him food and letting him know how Huck is doing.
Huck goes back to the house and when he wakes up the next morning, everyone is gone and there is an odd stillness. He asks one of the slaves what is going on and he tells him that Miss Sophia ran off with Harney Shepherdson and there is a big fight going on because of it. Huck sneaks into the woods and hides in a tree to watch the feud. He sees men being shot at and chased and he hears gunshots and cursing. Buck sees Huck and he tells him that his father and two brothers were killed. Huck is horrified at the violence.
"It made me so sick I most fell out of the tree. I ain't agoing to tell all that happened - it would make me sick again if I was to do that. I wished I hadn't ever come ashore that night, to see such things . . ." Chapter 18, pg. 127
Topic Tracking: Humanity 8
Topic Tracking: Picaresque 4
Huck waits until dark to climb out of the tree. He finds Buck dead in the river, pulls him out, and covers him up.
He doesn't go back to the house, but instead goes to find Jim. They shove off on the raft and eat a good meal. They are both happy to be back on the raft. It feels natural to be on the river again.
Huck goes over to the shore one day to collect berries and he sees two men being chased by dogs. He helps them escape into his canoe and they all talk. One of the men is older, around seventy, and he was being chased for spending his time and money getting drunk. The other man, around thirty, was being chased for selling a product that not only took the tartar off of your teeth, but the enamel as well.
The young man tells them all that he is really a Duke, the Duke of Bridgewater. He says that it would make him feel better if they all address him as "Your Grace, My Lord, or Your Lordship." Also, they should wait on him at dinner. Huck and Jim feel bad for him, so they wait on him and act like servants.
The older man tells them all that he is really a King, and is a descendant from the Kings of France. He too wants to be treated like a King by being called "Your Majesty" and expects to be waited on first at meals. Jim and Huck conform and act like servants to him too.
Huck eventually realizes that the two men are liars, but he doesn't say anything about it. He feels the best way to deal with these type of people is to allow them to have their own way.
The King and the Duke wonder what Huck is doing with a black man, and they ask if he is a runaway slave. Huck makes up a story about Jim being his slave from back in Missouri. He says that he had a Pa and a brother, but they fell off of the raft when a steamboat crashed into it, and they never came up out of the water.
It starts to look like a big storm is approaching. The rain and the lightening pick up. The King and the Duke take Jim and Huck's beds and Huck and Jim are left outside in the rain to keep watch over the raft. Huck loves the storm and can't get enough of it.
The Duke comes up with a plan to make some money. Being knowledgeable in the theater, he says that he's going to teach the King all about Romeo and Juliet, and Richard III. They will do a reenactment and charge people for the show. The Duke will be Romeo and the King will be Juliet. The Duke will be Richard III and the King will be Richmond. He explains a little bit of the plays to the King.
The Duke comes up with a plan so that they can travel with Jim during the day. The Duke, the King, and Huck stop at a town and look for a printing office. A slave tells them that everyone in the town is gone to a town meeting in the woods. They find the printing office, but no one is around. The Duke stays and the King and Huck go off to the meeting. At the meeting, they see preachers preaching about sin to a big crowd of people. They all scream and shout "amen!" The King gets up there and tells the town of Pokeville that he is an ex-pirate of the Indian Ocean who found his true path; he is going to dedicate his life to converting other pirates to this true path of life. Everyone cries for him and he ends up collecting $87.75 and a jug of whisky. Later, the King and Huck meet up with the Duke who has made $9.50 from doing printing jobs. He also printed out a sign that had a picture of a runaway slave on it with a reward under it for $200. Now, they can travel during the day, and if anyone asks them what they're doing with a slave, they can show them the picture and say they are going to collect the reward money.
The King and the Duke are drunk and Jim tries to get the King to speak French so he can hear what it sounds like.
The King and the Duke practice Romeo and Juliet and Richard III. The Duke says that they need something to answer encores with so he tries to teach the King Hamlet's soliloquy. They practice the plays for a while and then arrive at the town in which they plan to perform. It is an old, beat-up country town in Arkansas. They are having a circus come there that night, and it is the perfect night for the show. The Duke has some show bills with the plays and prices on them; they go about putting them up around town.
The town's streets are all mud. Pigs and dogs are everywhere.
A drunk man named Boggs comes to town on his horse cursing and yelling about how people are going to die. He approaches and startles Huck, but the townspeople tell Huck he is harmless. Boggs says that he is looking for Colonel Sherburn. He finds him and Sherburn warns him to leave before something bad happens. Boggs keeps yelling and someone goes to get his daughter to try and knock some sense into him. Sherburn comes outside again and shoots Boggs twice, just as his daughter runs up to him.
Sherburn drops his pistol and walks off. Boggs is taken to a drug store where Bibles are placed under his head and on his chest; he dies with everyone watching in the window (including Huck), trying to get a look. Someone says that Sherburn should be lynched and the crowd becomes more and more belligerent.
A mob of townspeople run up to Sherburn's house, making like they're going to lynch him. He comes outside and talks about how all people, in both the North and South, are cowards. He says that they're not really going to lynch him or do anything to him because they are all cowards.
"Your newspapers call you a brave people so much that you think you are braver than any other people - whereas you're just as brave, and no braver." Chapter 22, pg. 161
Huck watches the mob and then goes over to the circus. He is in awe with the dancing and how pretty the women look. The clown is a big hit too. A drunken man gets into the ring and says that he can ride better than anybody. He tries it and makes a fool out of himself. Huck feels really bad for him.
Suddenly, the drunken man gets up and starts shedding his clothes to reveal a well-dressed, handsome gentleman. He gets back on the animal and rides it like gold. He fools the entire audience, and everyone laughs.
The King and the Duke perform their play that night, but only about twelve people show up, only to leave early. The Duke figures that the people can't handle Shakespeare, so he decides to have another play, one that is a "low comedy." It is called "The King's Camelopard" or "The Royal Nonesuch." At the bottom of the handbill, it says that women and children are not admitted. The Duke thinks that this will get people to show up.
The King and the Duke prepare for the show and that night the audience is filled with men. The Duke gets on stage and goes on and on about the tragedy. Then, out comes the King, naked and with paint all over him. Everyone laughs and enjoys it. The King leaves the stage and after a pause, the audience begins to wonder if that was the entire show. They start to feel cheated, like the show was not what they expected. They all get up to go after the King and the Duke, but one man suggests a different idea: everyone in the audience should invite the rest of the town to come and see the show for the next two night, and be cheated just like they were.
The next two nights the show is sold out. On the third night, however, it is the same crowd from the first two nights. Huck notices that their pockets are stuffed with rotten eggs and cabbages. Huck knows that they are going to throw the eggs and cabbages on them if they perform the play. He and the Duke sneak out just before the show starts and make their way to the raft and down the river. Just as they think that the King is having a pretty bad time dealing with all of those people back at the theater (considering that Huck and the Duke snuck away without telling the King about the eggs and cabbages), he peeks his head out of the wigwam. He had made it back to the raft after all, by sneaking away just like Huck and the Duke. The King and the Duke laugh about how they fooled that town. Altogether, they made $465.
Jim and Huck talk about Kings. Jim thinks that the King and the Duke are just jokers, but Huck assures him that that's how all kings have been throughout history. Despite his historical assurances, Huck gets the actual facts all jumbled up.
They float down the river and Huck hears Jim talking about how he misses his family. He's never been away from home before. He tells Huck about how he hit his little four-year-old girl once because she wouldn't listen to him and shut the door. Since realizing that she was deaf and dumb, he has felt intense guilt for treating her so badly.
The King and the Duke want to try the Nonesuch play again, but they are afraid that the towns down the river will have heard the news from the last town. Jim asks if there is a way for him to contribute, instead of staying on the raft tied up (to make it look like he was captured for the reward). In response, the Duke paints his face blue, dresses him in a King Lear outfit, and posts a sign by the wigwam that says "Sick Arab-but harmless when not out of his head." This should keep people away from him.
They all get new clothes and get dressed really nice. The King and Huck get into the canoe and come across a man who tells them all about the late Peter Wilks. The man asks the King if he is Harvey Wilks, the preacher from England and Peter Wilks' brother, who he hasn't seen in years. The King tells him he is Reverend Alexander Blodgett. The man also tells the King that Peter Wilks had wanted to see his brothers Harvey and William (the younger being deaf and dumb) before he died. They sent a letter to Harvey in England but no one has heard from him. Supposedly, there is a will made out to Harvey explaining how Peter's estate is to be divided amongst some nieces (Mary Jane, Susan, and Joanna). It tells where he hid all of his money ($3000-$4000 in cash) too.
The King tells Huck to go and get the Duke and bring him over. When the Duke gets there, the King tells him everything that the young man told him about the Wilks family. As the King practices an English accent, he asks the Duke how he is at playing deaf and dumb. Together, they take a boat up a couple of miles and ask some strangers where Peter Wilks lives. The townspeople inform the King of Peter Wilks' death; the King cries and says that he was his brother. All of the people feel so sorry for the King and the Duke. It makes Huck sick of the human race to see such liars.
"Well, if I ever struck anything like it, I'm a nigger. It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race." Chapter 24, pg. 178
They arrive at Peter Wilks' house and everyone greets them with open arms. The King and the Duke cry and sob and make like they're very upset over the loss of their brother. The King gives a speech thanking everyone for their kindness and invites a few of Peter's close friends to stay for dinner and help with the ashes. Some of the friends, Rev. Hobson, Dr. Robinson, and the lawyer Levi Bell, are out of town. The rest are present and ready to help.
Mary Jane gets the letter that explains how Peter's estate is to be divided up. The King reads it aloud. The house and $3000 goes to the girls. Harvey and William get the tanyard (Peter's successful business), houses, and land worth $7000, and $3000 in gold. The will also explains where the $6000 cash is hidden - in the cellar. The King and the Duke go down to the cellar and count the money. It comes up a little short, and they don't want the family to think they're greedy or that the money was stolen, so they make up the difference with some of the Nonesuch profits. Then, the Duke suggests that they go upstairs, count the money in front of everyone, and give it all to the girls. That's what they do and everyone kisses and hugs them and thinks of them as such wonderful people.
Suddenly, Dr. Robinson arrives and says that the King does an awful English accent, insisting he is a fraud. Everyone, including the girls, still believes the King. In fact, the neices believe in them so much that they give the money back to the King and Duke to invest for them. The doctor says that they will be sorry for not listening to his warning.
Mary Jane gives the King and the Duke rooms to sleep in. The King gets to stay in her room (she will stay in her sister's room), the Duke gets another room, and Huck (the King's servant) gets a cubby. They all eat dinner and it is delicious. Huck and the one daughter Joanna (who has a hair-lip) talk in the kitchen. Huck gets flustered a couple of times, and has to get himself out of the screw-ups he tells. She makes him swear on a dictionary that he hasn't told her a bunch of lies. Mary Jane and Susan walk in and Mary Jane reprimands Joanna for telling Huck, a stranger in their house, that he just told lies. She says that it is rude to accuse someone and make them feel bad. She apologizes to Huck.
Huck starts to feel guilty that such sweet girls are having their money stolen by two liars.
He thinks about what he can do to help them. Huck decides that he'll steal the money himself, hide it somewhere in the house, and then when he's off down the river, he'll write them a letter telling them everything, including where the money is hidden. He starts to look around for the money. He goes into the Duke's room, but thinks better of it. The King probably has it in his room. So, Huck goes in there, but he can't find it, and decides that the best thing is to eavesdrop on their conversation. He hears the King and the Duke coming and hides behind Mary Jane's frocks. The Duke suggests that they sneak out of there early in the morning with the money that they have. The King is against this idea because he wants the rest of the property money. The Duke finally gives in, but says that they should hide the money in a better place because the slave could come in and steal it. They reach for the money, which is very close to where Huck is standing, and move it to the straw tick under the feather bed. They leave the room and Huck takes the cash up to his cubby. He wants to hide the money somewhere outside of the house because when the King and the Duke find out it's missing, they will turn the house upside down looking for it. He waits until late at night when everything is settled, sneaks down the ladder and out of his cubby.
Huck goes downstairs and sees the coffin. He hears someone coming and quickly shoves the bag of money in the coffin and out of sight. Mary Jane approaches the coffin, crying softly. Huck makes his way back to bed, but feels bad about where he hid the money.
The next morning, people come to the house for the funeral. Huck goes into great detail describing the distinguished undertaker. The coffin is closed and Peter is buried. Huck doesn't know if the money is still in the coffin, and now feels he made the situation worse than before.
The King says he must be on his way soon because his church is probably missing him. He offers for the girls to come and live with him and they get very excited. Huck feels bad again that they are just being led on. The King sells some of the property and the slaves. The girls and the slaves cry at the thought of being separated. Even worse, the slave children are separated from their mother.
The King asks Huck if he's been in his room, and Huck says no. Huck lies and tells them that he saw the slaves go into the room, all of them at different times. The King and the Duke expected that to happen. The King is angry and blames Huck for not telling him that he saw people go into the room. Huck doesn't feel bad that he said it was the slaves because now that they're sold, blaming them won't cause any harm.
Huck goes down the ladder and he sees Mary Jane crying in her room over the slaves being separated. He feels so bad for her and decides to tell her the truth about everything. He tells her about the King and Duke being frauds and about how the slaves will be back in a day, so she doesn't have to worry. He makes her promise that she'll spend the night at Mr. Lothrop's because her face will give away the truth to everyone, and that will ruin the plan to catch the frauds. Huck says that he has a plan and that when Mary Jane comes back the next night, she should put a candle in her window. If Huck doesn't come around, then she will know that he made it away safe and she can tell everyone the truth. If he does come, it means that he couldn't get away. And if that happens, he makes her promise that she will stand by him when he tells everyone the truth. Huck instructs Mary Jane to show a piece of paper with the words "Royal Nonesuch-Bricksville" written on it, to the people of Bricksville. They will recognize the frauds and capture the King and Duke.
Huck tells Mary Jane that he tried to get the money back for her, but he ended up having to hide it. He doesn't want to tell her he put it in the coffin because it will make her feel bad about Peter, so he writes it down on a piece of paper and says she can read it on her way to Mr. Lothrop's. They say goodbye to each other and Mary Jane says she is going to pray for Huck. He cannot believe that she is going to pray for him; she is the nicest and prettiest girl he has ever seen.
Huck tells Susan and Joanna that Mary Jane had to leave to tend to a sick friend with Mumps. They don't want to tell their uncles because then they won't get to go to England, so they agree to keep it to themselves. Huck also tells them that Mary Jane stopped at the Apthorps' to see about buying their house at the auction. Later that afternoon, they have the auction and practically everything sells. Just as the auction is ending, a steamboat lands, and a crowd of people yell and holler about the King and the Duke.
An older man and a younger man, claiming to be the real brothers of Peter Wilks, get off the boat and make their way over to the King and the Duke and the crowd that has now gathered. The brothers describe the various misfortunes they encountered on the way and once they recover their lost luggage at the hotel, they can prove themselves to be the real brothers of Peter Wilks. The King insists they are frauds, but some people in the crowd start to wonder. One man comes forward and says that he saw the King and a young boy (he points to Huck) arrive in a canoe with the other boy (the one who told them all about the Wilkses). People get curious and they all decide to go to the hotel to try and see which of them are the frauds
The King and Huck are questioned. The doctor says that if they are really related to the late Peter Wilks, then they won't mind getting the money and giving it to the doctor for safe keeping until they all know the truth. The King tells him he would give him the money if he could but he doesn't have it; he says that the slaves stole it. Then, the lawyer Levi Bell asks to see samples of everyone's handwriting; from that, he can tell that the King and the Duke are frauds. The King says the test is unfair, so one of the "real brothers" asks the King if he knows what was tattooed on Peter's breast. The King says it was an arrow, but the man says it was "P-B-W." No one knows so the lawyer suggests digging him up and looking. If he doesn't have any of those marks, then they are going to lynch them all, including Huck.
They drag them all down to the graveyard, and Huck is scared for his life. They dig up the grave and everyone is in shock to find the bag of gold. The man that was holding onto Huck drops his wrist in surprise, and Huck runs for his life down the road. He passes the house and sees Mary Jane's light in the window. He finds a canoe and paddles to the raft. He tells Jim to hurry up and set the raft loose, but when Jim comes out, Huck is scared at the sight of him. He forgot that he was dressed as a blue Arab in a King Lear costume.
Just as Huck is overjoyed at being rid of the King and the Duke, he hears a noise. It is the King and the Duke paddling towards them.
The King is mad at Huck and thinks Huck left him and the Duke in the graveyard on purpose. Huck denies it and says that he thought they were already dead, so he ran away the first chance he got.
The King and the Duke argue over who put the money in the coffin. They accuse each other and finally, the King admits it (even though Huck did it). This relieves Huck, for now it takes any blame off of him.
The King and the Duke get drunk and fall asleep in the wigwam. Huck tells Jim the truth about everything.
They all make their way down the river and into the south where it is warm. The King and the Duke start planning and scheming and this makes Huck nervous; he thinks they are going to rob some houses in the villages along the river. Huck decides that when he gets his first chance, he will break away from the King and the Duke; he and Jim will finally be free of them.
The King goes into one of the towns, and tells the Duke and Huck to meet him up there shortly. When they get up there, they see the King acting drunk. Huck runs away at his first chance and makes his way back down to the raft. When he gets there, he is so excited and yells out to Jim, but to his surprise Jim is gone.
Huck walks down the road, thinking about what do, and he runs into a young boy who tells him that some people caught the runaway slave and he is down at Silas Phelps' house. After talking with the boy, Huck realizes that the King told of Jim's location for forty dollars. Huck is extremely angry with the King and Duke for doing this to Jim. He doesn't know what to do. He thinks about writing a letter to Miss Watson but then decides against it because it will only get him in trouble and make Jim look like an ungrateful slave.
Huck tries to pray but can't because he thinks he is too sinful and low-down. He decides to write the letter after all, and then to try and pray. That works, but after he finishes, he tears up the letter and decides that he would rather steal Jim out of slavery than reform to be a "good" person.
Huck shoves off for a little island, hides the raft, and sleeps. He wakes up, puts on fresh clothes, and canoes over to the shore, to the Phelps' farm. He plans on walking in, looking like he just came from town. When he gets to town, he runs into the Duke putting up a "Royal Nonesuch" handbill. They talk for a while about the location of the raft and Jim. Huck makes like he has no clue what has happened and the Duke tells him that the King sold Jim for forty dollars. Huck cries and asks where he can find him. The Duke is about to tell him the truth, but lies instead, telling Huck that Jim is with a man named Abram G. Foster, a slave owner who lives forty miles back in the country. The Duke figures that this will keep Huck occupied and out of their hair for a while. Huck pretends to start walking there, but when he gets about a mile into the woods, he turns around and makes his way back to the Phelps' farm. Now, he can work out his plan to rescue Jim without the King and the Duke around.
Huck makes it to the Phelps' farm. Everything is little and run down. He starts to walk near the house, but barking dogs come running towards him. A slave woman comes and yells at them to get away. The lady of the house, about forty-five or fifty years old, comes out and thinks that Huck is Tom. As it turns out, she is Tom's Aunt Sally and she has been waiting for Tom to arrive. She tells Huck that Uncle Silas just went down to the boat to come and get him. Just as she begins to ask Huck a whole bunch of questions about home, she sees her husband coming up the road. She wants to surprise him with Tom (who is really Huck), so she tells Huck to get behind the bed. He comes in and tells Aunt Sally that Tom still hasn't arrived yet and he thinks something may have happened to the boat. With that, she pulls Huck from behind the bed. When Uncle Silas asks who it is, she says it is Tom Sawyer. Huck is so thrilled it is Tom he must impersonate. Everyone rejoices and Huck tells them all about the Sawyers and how they've been doing. He also tells them that the boat he came in on blew a cylinder head, and that's why he is three days late.
Huck is doing well acting like Tom Sawyer, but when he hears a steamboat coming, he thinks that Tom could really be on it. He decides to go directly to the boat and tell Tom everything before trouble erupts. He says that he's going to get his luggage that he hid in town.
Huck runs into Tom on the road and tells him everything. At first, Tom thinks Huck is a ghost - everyone thought Huck had died. Huck even tells Tom about Jim and how he is trying to steal him back. To Huck's surprise, Tom wants to help him.
"'I know what you'll say. You'll say it's dirty low-down business; but what if it is? - I'm low down; and I'm agoing to steal him, and I want you to keep mum and not let on. Will you?'" Chapter 33, pg. 248
Tom comes up with a quick plan. Huck should take Tom's luggage and then Tom will show up a little while later. Huck should pretend not to know him at first.
Huck makes it back to the house, and then Tom finally shows up. He says his name is William Thompson and that he is looking for the Nichols' house. They tell him he's at the wrong place, but that he must stay for dinner and then they'll drive him over afterwards. During dinner, Tom kisses Aunt Sally on the mouth and everyone is shocked. He goes on and on about how he thought she would like it. He eventually shocks everyone by revealing himself as Sid Sawyer, Tom Sawyer's brother. They are all happy to see him and they hug and kiss and talk.
Later that night, Tom and Huck want to find Jim's whereabouts. They hear Uncle Silas mention a runaway slave. He also mentions that his son isn't allowed to go to a show that is playing in town. Huck immediately knows that the King and the Duke are at it again. He and Tom go to bed early that night and sneak out of the window. They go into town to see what is going on with the show. As they're walking, a rush of people comes down the street with the King and the Duke tarred and feathered. Huck feels bad for them.
"Well, it made me sick to see it; and I was sorry for them poor pitiful rascals, it seemed like I couldn't ever feel any hardness against them any more in the world. It was a dreadful thing to see. Human beings can be awful cruel to one another." Chapter 33, pg. 253-4
Tom and Huck talk about where Jim must be locked up. They think of ways to rescue him. Huck gives his plan, which is very simple and easy. Tom hates Huck's idea because it is too simple, and won't attract enough attention. He comes up with another plan and Huck agrees instantly because Tom's plan has a lot more style.
Huck feels guilty that he has brought Tom into a dangerous situation (stealing back a slave), but Tom insists he wants to do it.
They walk around the little cabin where Jim is being kept. There is a window with just one board across it; Huck says he can take off the board and have Jim crawl out the window. This escape is too simple for Tom, though; he wants something more complicated and mysterious than that, something that takes a good long time. They see a shed next to the cabin and they break in. It doesn't connect to the cabin where Jim is being kept. They decide to dig a tunnel through to the cabin. This will take about a week, so Tom is satisfied.
Tom and Huck follow the slave who feeds the prisoner into the cabin. It is definitely Jim in the cabin and he is relieved to see Tom and Huck. They tell him that they are going to dig him out of there and to pretend as if he doesn't know them.
Tom and Huck argue over how to rescue Jim. Tom wants to make everything look very difficult and complicated. He wants to saw off Jim's leg, dig a moat, and make a ladder out of sheets. Huck doesn't see the need for any of this, but goes along with Tom anyway. Tom insists that they have to do it this way because it is part of the regulations written in all of the books he has read. Huck agrees with him after a while.
They talk over how they are going to dig Jim out. Huck suggests that they use the picks and tools that they already have available to them, but Tom doesn't go for that idea. He says that they will use case-knives. Then, he says that they will let on that it took them a couple of years, even though it will take them much less time than that.
Huck and Tom start to dig the hole with case-knives, but find that it takes too long; their hands are also full of blisters. They switch to using picks, but decide to tell everyone they used case-knives. Eventually, they make it to Jim and tell him all about their plans. Tom suggests that they give messages and other things to Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas, and have Jim steal them out of their pockets. Tom wants to make everything seem like it is really mysterious and complicated. He also wants to follow the ways that real prisoners do things in the books he reads.
Nat, a slave who gives Jim his meals, is afraid of witches. Tom tells Nat to ignore it if Jim bites into a pie and something is hidden inside. The pie is meant to keep witches away (Tom and Huck hide things in the pie for Jim). The slave agrees and is so happy that Tom is willing to keep witches away from him.
Everyone is at dinner and Aunt Sally mentions that a spoon (for Jim to keep a journal with), Uncle Silas' shirt (for Jim to write on), some candlesticks (for Jim to see with), and a sheet (for the ladder) are missing from the house. Huck and Tom get nervous for a minute because they stole these things to give to Jim. Uncle Silas reaches in his pocket and finds the spoon (Huck and Tom had placed it there earlier). Aunt Sally gets angry because she thinks that he has been taking everything. He says that it must have been an accident, but she is still mad.
Tom wants Jim to have the spoon, so he takes another one and puts it in Aunt Sally's pocket. They spend some time in the woods baking Jim a pie that has the rope hidden in it. Finally, Jim receives everything Tom and Huck want him to have.
Tom suggests that Jim have some other things, like a coat of arms and an inscription. Huck and Jim don't know what Tom is talking about, so they let him go along and do things his own way.
Tom tells Jim that in order to do thing right, like every other prisoner, he must have spiders. Jim refuses, so Tom suggests rattlesnakes. Jim refuses them too, so Tom says garter snakes. Jim isn't too happy with that idea, but it is better than the rattlesnakes. Tom says he can tie a button to the end of the snakes and let on that they're rattlesnakes. Then, Tom says that Jim must have rats, and Jim hates that idea. Tom says that Jim has to play music for the animals, but Jim only has a juice-harp. Tom says that it's good enough. Finally, he tells Jim that he has to raise a flower and water it with his tears. Jim agrees, even though he has spring water and thinks Tom's ideas are ridiculous. Jim gets annoyed with all of the things that Tom is having him do. Tom makes him feel bad, like he doesn't appreciate anything he is doing for him to make him like a real prisoner. Jim feels bad, and apologizes.
Tom and Huck collect all of the animals - spiders, snakes, and rats. Jim hates sleeping with them, but it gives him something to write about in his journal every night. Things start to look pretty good for his escape.
Uncle Silas talks about how he is going to advertise Jim because he hasn't heard anything from New Orleans, the place from which Jim supposedly ran away (according to the Duke's sign he made up in the printing office that one day). Tom decides that it's time to write anonymous letters to let people know that trouble is brewing. Huck is going to be the servant girl who sticks the anonymous letter under the front door, and Tom is going to be the prisoner's mother who helps him escape by exchanging clothes with him. Everyone in the house gets very nervous from the series of letters they receive. Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas assign two slaves to keep watch over things. That night, Tom sneaks over to one of the slaves and puts the final letter in the back of his neck. It warns them that a gang of robbers is planning on stealing their runaway slave. It says that he will "baaaa" like a sheep to warn them that the robbers are in the cabin. With that, they should run out to the shed and lock the robbers in. Until then, they should do nothing and act like nothing is wrong. It is signed, "Unknown Friend."
Huck goes into the cellar to get some bread and butter for Jim, but Aunt Sally catches him. He quickly hides the food under his hat. She makes him go upstairs and wait with the group of farmers that have gathered to shoot the robbers who plan on stealing Jim. The butter starts to melt underneath Huck's hat because he is so nervous that the farmers will shoot him and Tom by accident. Meanwhile, Tom goes to see Jim in the cabin, dressed as Aunt Sally. Huck gets a hold of him and they hide in the dark as the farmers come into the shed. They all sneak out through the hole they dug leading into the shed next door. They all make it out of the shed door quietly, and are almost home free until Tom gets stuck on the fence. The farmers hear the noise, and start shooting. Tom, Huck and Jim all run into the woods with the farmers and dogs chasing after them. They make it to Huck's canoe and then to the raft.
They are all excited that the plan worked out, until Huck and Jim notice that Tom was shot in the calf. Tom tells them to ignore the shot and just shove off down the river, but Jim refuses and demands that he see a doctor. Huck decides to go and get the doctor himself.
"I knowed he was white inside, and I reckoned he'd say what he did say - so it was all right, now, and I told Tom I was agoing for a doctor." Chapter 40, pg. 301
Tom tells him to blindfold the doctor and pay him some money so he won't know where they're hid in the woods. He also tells Jim to hide when he sees Huck and the doctor coming.
Huck gets the doctor, but the doctor doesn't think Huck's canoe is big enough for two people, so he takes it and goes to find a bigger one. Huck falls asleep and when he wakes up, it is the next day. He starts to run back to the raft, but runs into Uncle Silas, who questions him about where he and Tom (Sid) have been. Huck makes up a story about how he and Tom were out looking for the runaway slave and now Tom is at the post office trying to find out some information. They go to the post office, but Tom obviously isn't there. Uncle Silas gets a letter and they leave to go home. Uncle Silas says to let Tom come home on foot.
When they reach home, farmers and farmers' wives are all there for dinner. They all talk about the crazy things they found in the cabin, like the coat of arms, inscription, and ladder. They think Jim must have been crazy. Uncle Silas and Aunt Sally realize that Sid (Tom) still isn't home yet, so Uncle Silas goes up to town to look for him. He doesn't find him and tells Aunt Sally that he'll probably be back in the morning. Huck goes to bed and sneaks out a couple of times, with the intention of going down to the river to look for Tom. He never does because he feels guilt in putting his Aunt Sally through more pain. He sees her sitting at the window the whole night with the candle burning, waiting for Sid (Tom) to come home.
Uncle Silas goes to town and still doesn't hear anything about Tom. He goes home and remembers that he forgot to give Aunt Sally the letter he picked up from the post office the other day. She sees it is from her sister, Aunt Polly, but before she has a chance to read it, she runs out the door. She sees Tom being carried to the door on a mattress by Jim and the doctor. They see that Tom isn't well (he is sleeping), and quickly rush him off to the bedroom.
The doctor explains everything that happened and even tells them that Jim is a good person because he risked his freedom to help Tom. Huck is glad that they decide not to hang him and to treat him a little bit nicer.
Eventually Tom wakes up, and he tells Aunt Sally about how he and Huck freed Jim. She is shocked and wants to give them a good beating. Just as he is finished explaining everything, Aunt Polly walks in. She lets Aunt Sally know that Sid is really Tom, and Tom is really Huck Finn. Aunt Polly appears after hearing about Sid's arrival in a letter from Aunt Sally. She knew immediately that something was wrong. Tom finds out that Jim is being kept in the shed again, and gets very annoyed. He tells them that Jim is really free because Miss Watson freed him in her will after she died two months ago. Huck is in shock and cannot believe that Tom would go to all that trouble to free a free man. But he knows that this is Tom's style, to make everything just like an adventure.
Aunt Polly tells Aunt Sally that she wrote her two letters. Tom hid the one, and Aunt Sally was just about to read the other one when she saw Tom coming towards the house. Huck and Tom get reprimanded for playing such tricks and causing so much trouble.
They free Jim and give him anything he wants to eat for being such a big help to the doctor. Tom gives him forty dollars for being such a good prisoner. He is so excited and says that he's rich; he knew he would be rich again one day because of his hairy arms. Tom suggests that they all go and play around in outfits among the Injuns. Huck says that he would like to but he doesn't have the money for an outfit. And he doesn't want to go home to get money because he thinks Pap probably stole it all already. Jim tells him that isn't possible and Pap isn't going to be coming around ever again. He tells Huck that the dead man he found covered up was Pap.
Huck says that he's glad he finished the book, because it has been so much trouble to write it. He goes off to play with Tom amongst the Injuns because Aunt Sally is going to adopt and civilize him and he's had enough of that.