LITERARY TREND AND AUTHOR CANON
Realism in Twain’s novels
THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN (published 1885)
LITERARY GENRE
SETTING
THEMES
Main theme: Adventure. Through its title, the book points back to its prequel, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”. However, the events presented in this follow-up are nothing like the boyish exploits of Tom and Huck, but real-life situations. Adventure in this form means that Huck must face social dangerous situations that scare him (murder, imprisonment). Despite this, the character retains his lust for adventure, even though he grows to understand that some of his ideas were childish and unrealistic.
Secondary themes:
CONFLICT
Huck Finn continues his story from the previous book, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”. Upon finding out that his abusive father has returned to town and after being kidnapped by him, Huck fakes his own murder and escapes down the Mississippi River. He meets a runaway slave, Jim, who becomes his companion. They encounter several characters during their voyage, criminals who deceive them or put their lives in danger. In the end, Jim is set free, and Huck thinks of his next adventure.
CHARACTERS
Characters presented in the analysis of the literary fragment should be adapted to the fragment itself.
POINT OF VIEW
TONE
Moralistic, introspective;
Humorous;
The novel functions on two levels:
The two tones are opposite, and, as the story progresses, the reader understands that the narrator is slowly acknowledging the world for what it truly is and losing his youthful optimism.
STYLE
Informal, colloquial – written in the vernacular language of the characters, which results in a casual and intimate story;
Huck’s style is friendly, naïve, and uneducated, using slang and incorrect grammar;
The descriptions of landscape, made from the narrator’s perspective, are poetic and sophisticated and expand the reader’s understanding of the fictional universe.
The narrator often reminds the reader that he is telling a story;
Techniques:
Example: when Mrs. Judith Loftus, after hearing Huck spin a whole roomful of lies, looks him “straight in the face, and very pleasant, and says, ‘Come, now, what’s your real name'”