...
Show More
I first read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn when I was in high school. I don't remember if it was the full book or an abridged version in a textbook.
I only remembered three things about the book.
1. The Explanatory statement at the beginning of the book where Twain talks about dialects and such.
2. Huckleberry and Jim floating down the Mississippi River on a raft. (I definitely didn't remember how their adventure started or ended.)
3. I also remembered that Huck and others frequently used the N-word. (I didn't remember that they used the N-word 219 times!)
I reread Huck Finn by listening to the first thirty-two chapters of an audio book narrated by Elijah Wood. Then I read chapters thirty-three through forty-three using a text-based digital copy of the book I obtained from my local library. I started with an audio book because I wanted to get a feel for the various dialects.
I almost quit the book early on because I found the use of the N-word so offensive. I decided to continue reading the book after I read the PEN America essay titled Here’s Why Banning ‘Huck Finn’ Over The N-Word Sends The Wrong Message.
Huck Finn deals with serious topics such as slavery, child abuse, the flim-flamery we now call "white" crime, and the importance of personal loyalty and integrity. The book starts and ends like a humorous YA adventure but like a four star restaurant there's some serious meat and potatoes between the appetizer and dessert.
I do have to admit I found the comedic shtick between Tom Sawyer, Huck, and Jim to be tedious. I found myself skipping paragraphs, then pages, and finally chapters. Tom Sawyer seems to represent America's long standing bias against "intellectural" people. Tom reminded me of all the clever know-it-alls who do their own research during a pandemic. Tom and Huck express America's bias against deductive reasoning and its favorable view of "common sense".
I only remembered three things about the book.
1. The Explanatory statement at the beginning of the book where Twain talks about dialects and such.
2. Huckleberry and Jim floating down the Mississippi River on a raft. (I definitely didn't remember how their adventure started or ended.)
3. I also remembered that Huck and others frequently used the N-word. (I didn't remember that they used the N-word 219 times!)
I reread Huck Finn by listening to the first thirty-two chapters of an audio book narrated by Elijah Wood. Then I read chapters thirty-three through forty-three using a text-based digital copy of the book I obtained from my local library. I started with an audio book because I wanted to get a feel for the various dialects.
I almost quit the book early on because I found the use of the N-word so offensive. I decided to continue reading the book after I read the PEN America essay titled Here’s Why Banning ‘Huck Finn’ Over The N-Word Sends The Wrong Message.
Huck Finn deals with serious topics such as slavery, child abuse, the flim-flamery we now call "white" crime, and the importance of personal loyalty and integrity. The book starts and ends like a humorous YA adventure but like a four star restaurant there's some serious meat and potatoes between the appetizer and dessert.
I do have to admit I found the comedic shtick between Tom Sawyer, Huck, and Jim to be tedious. I found myself skipping paragraphs, then pages, and finally chapters. Tom Sawyer seems to represent America's long standing bias against "intellectural" people. Tom reminded me of all the clever know-it-alls who do their own research during a pandemic. Tom and Huck express America's bias against deductive reasoning and its favorable view of "common sense".
