The trailer for Thor 2 is out. Go watch it.
Chapter
31
p.
195 "'All right, then, I'll go to hell'-and tore it up. It was awful
thoughts, and awful words, but they was said. And I let them stay said, and
never thought no more about reforming. I shoved the whole thing out of my head;
and said I would take up the wickedness again, which was in my line, being
brung up to it, and the other warn't. And for a starter, I would go to work and
steal Jim out of slavery again; and if I could think up anything worse, I would
do that, too: because as long as I was in, and in for good, I might as well go
the whole hog."
Comments
and Questions
After
Huck discovers that the con men have sold Jim, he begins to reminisce about his
time with Jim. Finally, after much thought, he decides that Jim is worth the
risk Huck will have to take to rescue him. The interesting thing is, Huck
exclaims that he will be going to hell, indicating the severity of his
decision. By rescuing Jim, Huck will be committing both theft and social suicide, by undertaking an
action that forces the perpetrator to admit the equality of slaves and the
white Southerners. He has subconsciously declared Jim his equal. How will this
affect his interactions with Jim?
Huck
believes that he will be going to hell for saving Jim, but he chooses to do so
anyway, despite his misgivings. Although Huck is not religious, he believes in
the concept of a possible afterlife for those who do bad things in life. He has
no parameters by which to judge the severity of his actions, which leads to him
mentally condemning himself for each perceived "sin". With his own
proclamation of guilt, Huck lets go of his own morality, an act terrifying in
itself. As this implies that Huck no longer has moral boundaries, he would, in
theory, be able to lie and steal without psychological repercussions as he has
had in the past. I’ll try to watch for this, as this seems to be the next step
in Huck's natural progression into the baser side of human nature.
Chapter
34
p.
212 "Here was a boy that was
respectable, and well brung up, and had a character to lose; and folks at home
that had characters; and he was bright and not leather-headed; he was, without
and more pride, or rightness, or feeling, than to stoop to this business, and
make himself a shame, and his family a shame, and before everybody. I couldn't understand it, no way at all. It was
outrageous, and I knowed I ought to just up and tell him so; and so be his true
friend, and let him quit the thing right where he was, and save himself, and I did
start to tell him; but he shut me up..."
Comments
and Questions
By
this point in the novel, I would like to point out the fact that the text is
drowning in commas. I feel like I am trawling through a mass of comma-linked
independent clauses.
In
this passage, Huck is trying to understand why Tom, an intelligent, well-bred
(relatively), respectable youth would deign to lower himself to the point of
rescuing a slave. Huck knows that Tom understands the social consequences of
saving a slave perfectly well and has everything to lose if the rescue fails.
It's not really that Huck doesn't want Tom's help; it's more like he doesn't
want to drag Tom down with him. Huck has come to terms with the fact that his
mindset towards slaves (Jim, at least) is different from that of most
Southerners, and Tom has not had the experience with slaves that Huck has been
privy to. Therefore, logically, there is no reason for Tom's desire for
involvement.
Huck
is overly familiar with Tom's penchant for romantic and impractical schemes.
Perhaps Huck is afraid that Tom's involvement will jeopardize their plan's
success. Perhaps he doesn't want the uncertainty of not knowing Tom's motives,
which could have Tom leaving Huck and Jim high and dry at a bad time. I'll try
to figure this out by the end of the book.
Chapter
36
p.
225 "Jim had plenty of corn-cob
pipes and tobacco, so we had a right down good sociable time; and then we
crawled out through the hole, and so home to bed, with hands that looked like
they'd been chawed. Tom was in high spirits. He said it was the best fun he
ever had in his life, and the most intellectural; and said if he only could
only see his way to it we would keep it up all the rest of our lives and leave
Jim to our children to get out, for he believed Jim would come to like it
better and better the more he got used to it."
Comments
and Questions
Can
I just point out the utter stupidity of relaxing and smoking while conducting a
time-sensitive search-and-rescue operation? If I was rescuing a prisoner from
an enemy base, I wouldn't take the time to light a cigarette after locating the
target, I would be high-tailing it out of there!
And
so we get a glimpse of what goes on inside Tom's noggin. Tom is an adrenaline
junkie. He doesn't care about freeing Jim as much as he cares about getting
that rush. It's clear that he doesn't view Jim as his equal, as Huck does. His
suggestion of leaving Jim to his and Huck's children lies in direct contrast
with Huck's goal to free Jim. Their opposing goals may cause friction later, as
they did in the planning stages. Although Huck favors practicality, Tom plans
with a dramatic element in mind, wanting a grand adventure out of the rescue.
Let's see how this will work out.
Tom's
thrill-seeking nature makes him dangerous. It's not possible to anticipate his
actions, as he doesn't have the target's safety in mind, compromising the
mission with the possibility of reckless behavior. His relatively pampered and
somewhat confining life has left him itching for adventure, like those he reads
about in novels. His sheltered upbringing has left Tom unable to separate
fantasy from reality, unlike Huck. However, Huck's experiences have left Huck
looking for escape in Tom's crazy fantasies, canceling out Huck's usual voice
of reason. This isn't going to end well.
Chapter
38
p.
233 "'...on the scutcheon we'll have
a bend or in the dexter base, a
saltire murrey in the fess, with a
dog, couchant, for common charge, and under his foot a chain embattle, for
slavery, with a chevron vert in a
chief engrailed, and three invected lines on a field azure, with nombril points rampant on a dancetta
indented; crest, a runaway nigger, sable,
with his bundle over his shoulder on a bar sinister: and a couple of gules for
supporters, which is you and me; motto, Maggiore fretta, minore atto. Got it out of a book-means, the more haste,
the less speed.''"
Comments
and Questions
In
order to mirror the sentences of his fictional characters, Tom insists that Jim
carve lamentations of his captivity onto the wall, along with a coat of arms
(Tower of London, anyone?). He then launches into a complex description of the
desired image, cobbling together ideas from his readings. His speech is
peppered with obscure references to different devices used in coats of arms,
arranged to mirror the circumstances. The description seems elegant and
wonderfully complicated to Huck and Jim. Huck then inquires to the meanings of
such terms. It quickly becomes obvious that Tom has no idea what most of the
terms mean. The suggested motto, Maggiore
fretta, minore atto, according to the footnotes of my edition of the novel,
actually means "the more haste, the less action." This incident only
serves to provide evidence to Tom's image as a romantic fool. Toms seems to
provide comic relief in his own vaguely innocent play. His goals and mindset
provide foil to Huck's own in a sometimes humorous way, presenting Tom as an
idealistic idiot. However, Tom is actually very intelligent and enjoys puzzles
and the like. His idealism turns it into idiocy at times.
Chapter
40
p.
247 "'Now, old Jim, you're a free man again, and I bet you won't ever be a slave no more.' 'En a mighty good job
it wuz too, Huck. It 'uz planned beautiful, en it 'uz done beautiful; en dey ain't nobody kin git up a plan dat's mo' mixed-up en
splendid den what dat one wuz.' We was all as glad as we could be, but Tom was
the gladdest of all, because he had a bullet in the calf of his leg. When me
and Jim heard that, we didn't feel so brash as what we did before. It was
hurting him considerble, and bleeding; so we laid him in the wigwam and tore up
one of the duke's shirts for to bandage him..."
Comments
and Questions
It's
all fun and games until someone is shot in the leg.
So
Jim and Huck are celebrating the success of their rescue mission, OPERATION:
CANDLESTICK. Huck comments that Jim is free again, indicating that his
definition of free is different from the normal. Jim is no longer captive, but
he is still a slave under the law. Huck now completely disregards the law,
having found it incompatible with his morals. However, he has also discarded
his own morality (lying, stealing) due to his circumstances and seems to be
fine with doing such things. Huck has seemingly detached himself from society.
Tom
signed up for a grand adventure, one where the hero always triumphs over evil
and gets away with no consequences, physical or otherwise. His injury becomes a
reality check for all of them, with Huck and Jim returning to reality and Tom
getting a bullet lodged in his calf. Unfortunately, the little sympathy the reader
has for him is killed by Tom's confession that Jim has been free all along and
he led Huck and Jim on so that he could have an adventure. I kind of wanted to
punch Tom after reading that. But, you know. He's also fictional.
Chapter
43 (Chapter the Last)
p.
263 "...so there ain't nothing more
to write about, and I am rotten glad of it, because if I'd a knowed what a
trouble it was to make a book I wouldn't a tackled it and ain't agoing to no more. But I reckon I got to light out
for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me
and sivilize me and I can't stand it. I been there before. THE END. YOURS
TRULY, HUCK FINN."
Comments
and Questions
So,
this is the end. Very exciting and all that.
Huck
concludes his narrative by smashing another gaping hole in the fourth wall. He
makes a rather nonchalant comment about making of the book, throwing out a
mundane complaint that helps the reader relate to him, just like in the
beginning of the novel. It's almost like a farewell, as we get the sense that
Huck is happy to have finished telling his story to someone who might listen. I
think Twain might be trying to convey Huck's relief, easing the reader away
from the excitement of the last few chapters. Huck then hints at his next
adventure, giving us a feeling that his story's not really over. Aunt Sally's
offer of adoption and Huck's refusal allows the reader to reflect on Huck's
complete detachment from society, and his physical and mental departure.
THE
END. YOURS TRULY, YASMEEN MUSTHAFA
