Chapters 30-31: Huck Finn

1. Chapters 30-31: Huck Finn • Remember: Huck believes what he’s been told in Sunday School. He believes that God will punish evil people by sending them to hell for eternity. And he believes that slavery, like other American institutions, has the Heavenly Stamp of Approval. • So he really does believe he will go to hell – yet he decides to do it because he feels for Jim as a human being, even if all the “good” people – and even if God – don’t. • If helping the only real friend he has is wicked according to the “civilized” people, then he’ll be wicked and give up all hope of reforming.

2. Chapter 32: Huck Finn • Nothing Huck has said so far has indicated he is opposed to slavery, or that he even wants to see improvement in the status of black people. • Huck isn’t challenging society – he’s simply choosing to live outside of it. His decision to help Jim is a way of becoming a permanent outsider.

3. Chapter 33: Huck Finn • Tom’s agreement to help Huck help Jim escape shocks Huck, and Tom “fell considerable in my estimation.” • Even after all they’ve done, Huck still feels for the duke and king – seeing them ridden out of town on a rail. • Note his comments on conscience at the end of this chapter.

4. Chapter 33: Huck Finn • “Human beings can be awful cruel to one another.” • Huck recognizes the universal tragedy of man’s inhumanity to man. • He has seen much cruelty, and it saddens him. He understands human nature only too well and knows that people often can be cruel.

5. Chapters 34-35: Huck Finn • We now see some interesting contrasts between Huck’s view of the world and Tom’s. • Huck’s plan is practical, straightforward, and based in experience – all the things that Tom’s plan is not.

6. Chapters 36-37: Huck Finn • Read Tom and Huck’s conversation carefully about morality: There is irony in Huck’s comment, “He was always just that particular. Full of principle.” And notice the final punch line about coming up the stairs instead of climbing the lightening rod. • Twain’s comment on hypocrisy is sharp and piercing, but his manner is as skillful as that of a surgeon performing a difficult operation. Huck’s remarks about Tom are so subtle, that they could easily be missed.

7. Chapter 36: Huck Finn • Although superstitious, uneducated, and generally ignorant of the world, Jim has displayed his intelligence and common sense on many occasions. • Recall his discussion with Huck about the wisdom of Solomon and the logic of mankind speaking in diverse languages: His clear reasoning prompts Huck to give up.

8. Chapter 36: Huck Finn • Now, Jim can’t help but feel that Tom’s unnecessarily complicated escape plan is downright silly. • However, he patiently endures all of the annoyance and suffering that Tom’s grandiose scheme forces upon him.