Dialectic Journal 1

Chapter 1

p. 5 "You don't know about me, without you have read a book by the name of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", but that ain't no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things he stretched, but mainly he told the truth. It is nothing."

Comments and Questions

Huckleberry Finn kicks off his narrative with a bang, not by introducing himself, but by informing the reader that they probably don't know him, and that it doesn't matter if they knew him before or not. Right away, emphasis is put on the story, not the narrator. Huck also uses a conversational tone, complete with the slang of his time and location. The then-modern vernacular immediately establishes a connection with the reader, seeking a common ground through language. Throughout the novel, Huck tells his tale as if he were speaking out loud, describing every action as he himself saw it.
Mark Twain then preemptively smashes the fourth wall into splinters, decades before the term even existed. He mentions himself writing the book, implying that Tom and Huck actually had a hand in the book's creation-at least, in the story. "Mainly" is tacked on to the end of the sentence, almost as an afterthought. This draws the reader in, establishing a sense of being in the present, with Huck in front of them, telling his story. Huck then warns the reader to take the coming tale with a grain of salt, recognizing the possibility of Twain's alterations to the tale. Rather than whining about the changes, Huck makes us aware of his supposed trust of Twain. Huck's silence tells us that he trusts Twain not to twist the facts, and makes us wonder what kind of relationship Twain has with Huck. I'll be watching for further forays out from behind the fourth wall.


Chapter 4

p. 18-19 "'I want to give it to you-the six thousand and all.'  He looked surprised. He couldn't seem to make it out. He says: "Why, whatever can you mean, my boy?' I says, "Don't you ask me no questions about it, please. You'll take it, won't you?' He says: 'Well, I'm puzzled. Is something the matter?' 'Please take it,' says I, "and don't ask me nothing-then I won't have to tell no lies.'

Comments and Questions

Huck's abusive, alcoholic father has just swept into town, and Huck is absolutely terrified. At that time, six thousand dollars was a fortune, and Huck knows his father is going to take it from him. For some reason, he thinks that he can't hide it. I'll watch for that later, but I think it's safe to assume that his father will beat it out of him-literally.
After pages of Huck's narration, the crisp and proper speech of the judge provides a sharp contrast to the "uncultured" speech of the boys. I wonder how the judge's speech will match up to that of the other adults. There are obviously two very different social spheres in this town. What designates one from the other?
Huck begs Judge Thatcher not to ask him any questions. The town is tiny, and everyone probably knows about Huck's family situation. Huck is hoping the judge will read between the lines. He explains that he will lie if the judge ask him questions, and at that time, a man's word meant everything. Huck has a low opinion of people who lie, as demonstrated with his opening lines in the first chapter. We'll see how lying plays into the rest of the story, on the next chapter of...THE REAL JOURNALS OF DIALECTIC-LAND.

Chapter 5

p. 21 "...It's so. You can [read]. I had my doubts when you told me. Now looky here; you stop that putting on frills. I won't have it. I'll lay for you, my smarty; and if I catch you around that school I'll tan you good. First you know you'll get religion, too. I never see such a son."

Comments and Questions

In the south, the ability to read seems to be a measure of class and status. Huck knows something his father doesn't, and Mr. Finn is angry. To Mr. Finn, Huck is flaunting his new status. Huck's ability to read has raised his social standing, and Mr. Finn is aiming to bring him crashing down. Mr. Finn expects his son to follow in his footsteps; experience the same hardships he struggled through without a proper education. But now that Huck can read, Mr. Finn holds less power over him. This is demonstrated at the beginning of chapter five, when Huck denies his fear of his father. Reading is a mark of the civilized; if Mr. Finn isn't civilized, well, his son better not be, either. Unfortunately, he also seems to think that violence is the answer.
Mr. Finn uses a vernacular hitting somewhere between Huck's speech and that of Judge Thatcher. I'm not really sure what happened there, but I'll try and keep track.

Chapter 8

p. 45 "'You had five dollars and ten cents left. Did you speculate any more?' 'Yes. You know dat one-laigged nigger dat b'long to old Misto Bradish? well, he sot up the bank, en say anybody dat put in a dollar would git fo' dollars mo' at de en' er de year.'"

The Return of the Comments and Questions Section

Here, the word "speculate" means to invest in something. Jim attempts to make more, but is cheated out of it by another man in the same position. It's interesting how Twain has Huck narrate by phonetics, even though Huck can spell correctly. Jim is speaking in what is now called African American Vernacular, and Twain/Huck is trying to convey that here. It looks primitive, but once you sound it out, it sounds vaguely normal. Hm. That's really cool.
Perhaps Twain is attempting to convey the lack of education of most slaves during this time. He has Jim using the word "nigger", a move that has made this novel very controversial . Despite the obvious racist connotations, why did Twain have Jim refer to himself and the other slaves with such a derogatory term? I'll have to look for more details on Jim's view of his own position.

Chapter 10

p. 51 "He was barefooted, and the snake bit him right on the heel. That all comes of my being such a fool as not to remember that wherever you leave a dead snake its mate always comes there and curls around it. Jim told me to chop off the snake's head and throw it away, and then the body and roast a piece of it. I done it, and he eat it and said it would help cure him. He made me take off the rattles and tie them around his wrist, too. He said that it would help. Then I slid out quiet and throwed the snakes clear away amongst the bushes; for I warn't going to let JIm find out it was all my fault."

Comments and Questions

Huck feels guilty. Jim's gotten hurt, and it's all Huck's fault. They've managed to cross the cultural and social boundaries, out in the wilderness. Away from the "corruption" of society, Huck is able to put aside years of being exposed to "racial superiority" and begin relating to Jim as an equal. Away from society, and organized religion, Huck looks up to Jim, where Jim's knowledge of cooking and witchcraft seem to be keeping them both alive. Huck cares about what Jim thinks, and doesn't want to face the reaction when Jim finds out the bite was Huck's fault.
When Huck describes Jim's orders, he uses his own speech. Is his description of JIm's dialect being used for emphasis? Again, I'll be watching for this.
I think Jim's eating of the snake was linked to the belief if you killed the snake that hurt you, threw away its head, where the fangs were, and ate the body, the snake would cure you in exchange for hurting you.

Chapter 11

p. 54 "'Who done it? We've heard considerable about these going ons, down in Hookerville, but we don't know who 'twas that killed Huck Finn.' 'Well, I reckon there's a right smart chance of people here that'd like to know who killed him. Some thinks old FInn done it himself.' 'No-is that so?' 'Most everybody thought it at first. He'll never know how nigh he come to getting lynched. But before night they changed around and judged it was done by a runaway nigger named Jim.' 'Why he-' I stopped. I reckoned I better keep still."

Comments and Questions

Going back to my earlier comment about the dialects spoken by adults, it seems that most adults around this area speak like Huck's father. Except for the slaves, who speak their own dialect of English pidgin. Can we take a moment to appreciate the name "Hookerville"?
Again, during this time, slaves were viewed by most as property, less than animals. As seen here, the law turns quickly against Jim, the slave, over the abusive alcoholic. There's irony in how lynch mobs were often and later sent against runaway slaves and freed slaves.
It's interesting how Huck doesn't particularly care about his father's situation, but responds with almost instinctual indignation at the accusations against Jim. Jim is Huck's equal, but Huck has already forgotten that Jim is not seen as an equal by white society.
Huck and Jim are already far from Huck's home town. They haven't been on the road very long, but the news has already spread of Huck's "murder" and Jim's escape. This could be foreshadowing a future confrontation between the law and the pair.

Chapter 14

p. 73 "'But hang it, Jim, you've clean missed the point-blame it, you've missed it a thousand mile.' 'Who? Me? Go 'long. Doan' talk to me 'bout yo' pints. I reck'n I knows sense when I sees it; en dey ain' no sense in sich doin's as dat. De 'spute warn't 'bout a half a chile, de 'spute was 'bout a whole chile; en de man dat think he kin settle a 'spute 'bout a whole child wid a half a chile, doan' know enough to come in out'n de rain.'"

Comments and Questions

I believe that Jim would do well to read the They Say / I Say book. He rants like I do. Huck and Jim are pretty much friends now. As you can see, Jim's comfortable enough to argue with Huck, who, out of the wilds, could be his master. It's not really clear what Jim's trying to do here-he seems to be trying to overwhelm Huck with sound alone. There's an obvious air of companionship here, not like the awkwardness from their first few days together. They find acceptance in each other, being able to be themselves without the oppressive constraints of late nineteenth century American society. They are very alike in the way they argue: they seek conclusions that make sense to them without regard to other views. Their conversation flows freely, rather than being stilted. How will their friendship grow from here?

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