The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Mark Twain
"Alright, then, I'll go to hell," says Huckleberry Finn, the main character. He's a young boy of about twelve, who smokes, steals, sneaks out, and lies; but really just loves adventure. The story is set in the early 1800's, in the Mississippi valley and up and down the Mississippi river.
The book begins with Huckleberry faking his death in order to run away from his crazy father, then escaping on a raft up the river. On an uninhabited island, he finds Jim, a runaway slave. They become friends and decide to team up.
Thus, their adventures begin. Living off the raft, they drift up the river exploring shipwrecks, catching fish; and meeting both frauds and kind, sincere people. They make sure to fly under the radar by traveling at night. But when something unexpected happens, Huckleberry must do something he thinks is wrong to save his friend...
Though it may not be obvious, I think the main conflict of this story is Jim running from slavery. Also, the theme could be friendship. This is because Huckleberry and Jim are always helping each other out, and Huck often adventures with his friend Tom Sawyer.
What I liked most about this book was the writing. Mark Twain, the author, really captured Huck's thoughts and did a great job writing the dialogue in the dialect that would be used in the Mississippi valley at that time- even if it did involve bad words.
However, this mainly why I wouldn't recommend this book to people who aren't up for a challenge. At times, it's hard to understand what's going on because of the dialect. It takes a lot of rereading. On the other hand, it's a really good story, and I loved it!
The reason the book was originally banned was because of the morals it portrayed- smoking, stealing, sneaking out windows, and lying. Today, the book is challenged because many people believe that it's racist.
Thanks for reading!
Comments (1)
annac said
at 8:01 am on Oct 21, 2014
Cool! I want to read that book!
You don't have permission to comment on this page.