“He had got secret news by his spies that next day a whole parcel of Spanish merchants and rich A-rabs was going to camp in Cave Hollow… all loaded with diamonds… But there weren’t no Spaniards and A-rabs [and] I didn’t see no di’monds” (16).
While playing their robber game one day, Tom Sawyer tells his gang that Spaniards and Arabs will be coming to town, so they should rob them, though Sawyer is in fact wrong when the gang realizes they are simply raiding a Sunday school picnic. Twain uses this incident to display the capacity of the boys’ imaginations and their desire for adventure. This idea is again evident later in the novel when Huckleberry Finn uses his imagination to devise an elaborate plan to escape from his father’s cabin and live on his own.
Nice Job! I think this is an interesting way of looking at this, especially because of Huck's love of adventure, however I also believe that, if anything, Huck relies most on rational thought (maybe this can explain why he didn't believe Tom after hearing his story about the "Spanish merchants and rich A-rabs"). Throughout the novel Huck feels the need to explain everything he says and is much more likely to believe in what feels logical to him. This could also explain why Huck makes his own conclusions about Jim and doesn't follow the opinions of society.
Angela I love you explanation. But I also think that Twain added this to show how they view others is purely based on what they read. Even though it was a Sunday school picnic and not the rich individuals they envisioned it still shows how they will believe each other because of their limited knowledge.
"What's the use you learning to do right, when it's troublesome to do right and ain't no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same?" (103)
Huck Finn starts to feel bad after tricking two men, who were searching on the river for recently escaped slaves. Finn lies to them to prevent them from saving Jim on the raft, leading the men on to give Finn money. He realizes, though, that giving Jim up would have been just as morally wrong, leading him to the conclusion that he should just do whatever is easiest in the situation from then on, ignoring whether it is morally right or wrong. However, this is not always true. In most every situation there are more options than just two. Here, for example, Finn could have not accepted the money the strangers offered because of his lie. Additionally, doing what is morally right does have its advantages, in forming alliances and favors for the future--such as the one he formed with Jim for helping him gain freedom.
I love your explanation of the quote and loved how you said there are more options than two in some situations. You ALWAYS know the right thing to do!!! But I think the situation Huck encountered symbolizes two voices. One of them is the voice of society—-a polished, advanced, but corrupted place. Widow Douglas is an example of the “socially acceptable normality” who is a devoted Christian and a slave owner. The other voice represents Huck's personal experience with the subject slavery and how he views this world as a pure and innocent boy. Huck’s version of right and wrong might come in as vague or irresponsible, but he had the idea that ‘that giving Jim up would have been just as morally wrong“. Days into the wild, the river already washed out all the influences society had on him. Huck is becoming a wild man in a sense that he thinks simply and purely, just like the raw and unprocessed nature surroundings.
For a majority of the second half of the novel, Finn demonstrates maturity and intelligence that exceeds most individuals his age, and even that of the adults around him. Rarely, Twain contrasts Finn's seemingly innate wisdom with a fallacy, and this is a great example of one of those instances.
Fallacy Ginny Li Page (125-200) On page 139, The Grangerfords enjoy the ceremony and "said it was a good sermon, and they all talked it over going home, and had such a powerful lot to say about faith and good works and free grace and preforeordestination", but fail to realize that the preacher was talking about the silliness of their own feud (Twain 139).
True, Ginny! Love this observation, I think the feud between the Grangerfords and the Shepardson family is the most interesting part of the novel. Twain’s satire of the typical aristocratic family in the south is honestly hilarious, and the resemblance between Huck and Buck (their names even rhyme that’s so fun) has a large impact of the reader’s understanding of Huck’s character. Both boys are valiant, violent and vibrant, in addition to being the same age. This is no coincidence, as Huck is able to witness in Buck what his life could have been, if only he were wealthy and didn’t have a deadbeat dad.
Ginny I love your post but why would Twain integrate this feud into Huck Finn?Is it show that Americans are focusing on petty problems instead of the abolition of slaves or how God isn't found through sermons but nature? What does it show about American Society as a whole?
I think this is an allusion or at least, an inspiration from Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare. Mark Twain added the feud in his novel to show his respect on one of the most famous and meaningless wars in literatures between two rich families. You are right, I think it does show how ignorant upper-classmen were with sever issues of the society. It's also a satire that Mark Twain uses to laugh at the cluelessness of The Grangerfords, and how later on even Huck, someone who couldn't even speak in correct grammar, became more educated than them. Or at least, consumed more wisdom and real life experience than the family filled with gentlemen and fair ladies.
Caitlin Lee- Fallacy (200-235) “They cried around each other, and took it on so it mist made me down sick to see it. The girls said they hadn't ever dreamed of seeing the family separated or sold away from the town.” (204)
Although many slave owners had the mindset of paternal ethos, where they believed servitude was beneficial to those enslaved, the threat of sale was a slave driver’s most useful tool when slaves disobeyed. In the real antebellum south, a family would be constantly worried about being sold, about their marriages being ripped apart and their homes being torn to pieces. Furthermore, it wouldn’t have been “scandalous” (204) to separate a mother and her child, but simply an aspect of a typical auction. This fallacy of logic shows the discrepancies between Mark Twain’s idea of the antebellum south, as depicted in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and the true characteristics of the region.
It's interesting that you bring this up because I think a lot of this has to do with how Twain wanted to get a message across to his audience. Because Twain writes of a less intense system of slavery it leaves room for the reader to make conclusions about a harsher and scarier system. If the upper south is this unjust then how inhumane must the deep south be?
You certainly chose one of the most powerful quotes within the novel. I believe that this is definitely a turning point in the book, as Finn truly begins to question the cruelties and hypocrisies of slavery. This scene contrasts greatly with the point in the tale where Finn critisizes Jim for running away, despite the fact that he has done the same for similar reasons.
I agree Kemi! This quote shows that not all individuals in the south have the same opinions about slavery. Twain is trying to show the audience that slavery can be resolved.
Isabella Canani Fallacy( 235-300) The author suggests to his readers that Tom’s plans are born out of the multitude of novels he has read and that they are therefore perfect. There needs to be a “rope ladder”(267), according to Tom and because of the simplicities he has to “invent all the difficulties”(265). The reason Huck knows how to make a good plan is because he is read up on all of the novels such as Casablanca, Baron Trenck, and Henry IV. Twain assumes the audience as well as Huck have read these novels and understand their plot of elaborate plans of escape. Huck isn't as knowledgeable as Tom is in this matter nor is he as literate as him either.
I honestly thought this part of the novel was extremely difficult to get through, since Tom's poor reasoning kept leading them back in circles, making it take much longer to free Jim. Twain is suggesting through this that whites are not superior to blacks--everyone has their flaws.
“He had got secret news by his spies that next day a whole parcel of Spanish merchants and rich A-rabs was going to camp in Cave Hollow… all loaded with diamonds… But there weren’t no Spaniards and A-rabs [and] I didn’t see no di’monds” (16).
ReplyDeleteWhile playing their robber game one day, Tom Sawyer tells his gang that Spaniards and Arabs will be coming to town, so they should rob them, though Sawyer is in fact wrong when the gang realizes they are simply raiding a Sunday school picnic. Twain uses this incident to display the capacity of the boys’ imaginations and their desire for adventure. This idea is again evident later in the novel when Huckleberry Finn uses his imagination to devise an elaborate plan to escape from his father’s cabin and live on his own.
Nice Job! I think this is an interesting way of looking at this, especially because of Huck's love of adventure, however I also believe that, if anything, Huck relies most on rational thought (maybe this can explain why he didn't believe Tom after hearing his story about the "Spanish merchants and rich A-rabs"). Throughout the novel Huck feels the need to explain everything he says and is much more likely to believe in what feels logical to him. This could also explain why Huck makes his own conclusions about Jim and doesn't follow the opinions of society.
DeleteAngela I love you explanation. But I also think that Twain added this to show how they view others is purely based on what they read. Even though it was a Sunday school picnic and not the rich individuals they envisioned it still shows how they will believe each other because of their limited knowledge.
Delete"What's the use you learning to do right, when it's troublesome to do right and ain't no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same?" (103)
ReplyDeleteHuck Finn starts to feel bad after tricking two men, who were searching on the river for recently escaped slaves. Finn lies to them to prevent them from saving Jim on the raft, leading the men on to give Finn money. He realizes, though, that giving Jim up would have been just as morally wrong, leading him to the conclusion that he should just do whatever is easiest in the situation from then on, ignoring whether it is morally right or wrong. However, this is not always true. In most every situation there are more options than just two. Here, for example, Finn could have not accepted the money the strangers offered because of his lie. Additionally, doing what is morally right does have its advantages, in forming alliances and favors for the future--such as the one he formed with Jim for helping him gain freedom.
This is a really great quote! I highlighted it too and I really like your explanation of this quote.
DeleteI love your explanation of the quote and loved how you said there are more options than two in some situations. You ALWAYS know the right thing to do!!! But I think the situation Huck encountered symbolizes two voices. One of them is the voice of society—-a polished, advanced, but corrupted place. Widow Douglas is an example of the “socially acceptable normality” who is a devoted Christian and a slave owner. The other voice represents Huck's personal experience with the subject slavery and how he views this world as a pure and innocent boy. Huck’s version of right and wrong might come in as vague or irresponsible, but he had the idea that ‘that giving Jim up would have been just as morally wrong“. Days into the wild, the river already washed out all the influences society had on him. Huck is becoming a wild man in a sense that he thinks simply and purely, just like the raw and unprocessed nature surroundings.
DeleteFor a majority of the second half of the novel, Finn demonstrates maturity and intelligence that exceeds most individuals his age, and even that of the adults around him. Rarely, Twain contrasts Finn's seemingly innate wisdom with a fallacy, and this is a great example of one of those instances.
DeleteFallacy
ReplyDeleteGinny Li Page (125-200)
On page 139, The Grangerfords enjoy the ceremony and "said it was a good sermon, and they all talked it over going home, and had such a powerful lot to say about faith and good works and free grace and preforeordestination", but fail to realize that the preacher was talking about the silliness of their own feud (Twain 139).
True, Ginny! Love this observation, I think the feud between the Grangerfords and the Shepardson family is the most interesting part of the novel. Twain’s satire of the typical aristocratic family in the south is honestly hilarious, and the resemblance between Huck and Buck (their names even rhyme that’s so fun) has a large impact of the reader’s understanding of Huck’s character. Both boys are valiant, violent and vibrant, in addition to being the same age. This is no coincidence, as Huck is able to witness in Buck what his life could have been, if only he were wealthy and didn’t have a deadbeat dad.
DeleteGinny I love your post but why would Twain integrate this feud into Huck Finn?Is it show that Americans are focusing on petty problems instead of the abolition of slaves or how God isn't found through sermons but nature? What does it show about American Society as a whole?
DeleteI think this is an allusion or at least, an inspiration from Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare. Mark Twain added the feud in his novel to show his respect on one of the most famous and meaningless wars in literatures between two rich families. You are right, I think it does show how ignorant upper-classmen were with sever issues of the society. It's also a satire that Mark Twain uses to laugh at the cluelessness of The Grangerfords, and how later on even Huck, someone who couldn't even speak in correct grammar, became more educated than them. Or at least, consumed more wisdom and real life experience than the family filled with gentlemen and fair ladies.
DeleteCaitlin Lee- Fallacy (200-235)
ReplyDelete“They cried around each other, and took it on so it mist made me down sick to see it. The girls said they hadn't ever dreamed of seeing the family separated or sold away from the town.” (204)
Although many slave owners had the mindset of paternal ethos, where they believed servitude was beneficial to those enslaved, the threat of sale was a slave driver’s most useful tool when slaves disobeyed. In the real antebellum south, a family would be constantly worried about being sold, about their marriages being ripped apart and their homes being torn to pieces. Furthermore, it wouldn’t have been “scandalous” (204) to separate a mother and her child, but simply an aspect of a typical auction. This fallacy of logic shows the discrepancies between Mark Twain’s idea of the antebellum south, as depicted in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and the true characteristics of the region.
It's interesting that you bring this up because I think a lot of this has to do with how Twain wanted to get a message across to his audience. Because Twain writes of a less intense system of slavery it leaves room for the reader to make conclusions about a harsher and scarier system. If the upper south is this unjust then how inhumane must the deep south be?
DeleteYou certainly chose one of the most powerful quotes within the novel. I believe that this is definitely a turning point in the book, as Finn truly begins to question the cruelties and hypocrisies of slavery. This scene contrasts greatly with the point in the tale where Finn critisizes Jim for running away, despite the fact that he has done the same for similar reasons.
DeleteI agree Kemi! This quote shows that not all individuals in the south have the same opinions about slavery. Twain is trying to show the audience that slavery can be resolved.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIsabella Canani Fallacy( 235-300)
ReplyDeleteThe author suggests to his readers that Tom’s plans are born out of the multitude of novels he has read and that they are therefore perfect. There needs to be a “rope ladder”(267), according to Tom and because of the simplicities he has to “invent all the difficulties”(265). The reason Huck knows how to make a good plan is because he is read up on all of the novels such as Casablanca, Baron Trenck, and Henry IV. Twain assumes the audience as well as Huck have read these novels and understand their plot of elaborate plans of escape. Huck isn't as knowledgeable as Tom is in this matter nor is he as literate as him either.
I honestly thought this part of the novel was extremely difficult to get through, since Tom's poor reasoning kept leading them back in circles, making it take much longer to free Jim. Twain is suggesting through this that whites are not superior to blacks--everyone has their flaws.
Delete