Download Huck Finn

The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn
By Mark Twain
Huck Finn Background
• Written between 1876-1883
• Genre: Realism/Regionalism
▫ Realism: “Life through a clear glass window”
▫ Regionalism: Literature that attempts to capture the
characteristics of a particular region
• A humorous and satirical novel—mocks all levels of
society
• A coming of age novel (Bildungsroman)
• Uses vernacular language, or local dialects
• Two main controversies:
▫ Is the book racist? (use of the “n” word)
▫ Is the ending appropriate?
Huck Finn Literary Terms:
Unreliable Narrator
• An unreliable narrator:
▫ Does not understand the full significance of the events he
describes and comments on.
▫ Gives his or her own understanding of a story, instead of the
explanation and interpretation the author wishes the audience to
obtain.
• Huck is not intentionally unreliable; his lack of education
and experience makes him so.
• Much of the humor in the first chapters comes from
Huck’s incomplete understanding of the adults around
him and their “civilized ways.”
Huck Finn Literary Terms:
Dialect
• Dialect is the distinct form of a language as it is spoken in one
geographical area or by a particular social or ethnic group.
• A group’s dialect is reflected in its characteristic pronunciations,
vocabulary, expressions, and grammatical constructions.
• When trying to reproduce a given dialect, writers often use
unconventional spellings to suggest the way words actually sound.
• Writers use dialect to establish setting, to provide local color, and to
develop color.
• Example from Huck Finn: “‘But looky here, Huck, who wuz it dat
‘us killed in dat shanty, ef it warn’t you?’”
Huck Finn Literary Terms:
Humor Terms
• Exaggeration occurs when the truth is stretched for
entertainment or for humorous effect.
• An understatement is a statement which lessens or
minimizes the importance of what is meant.
• Irony is a contrast between appearance and actuality.
▫ Situational irony: a contrast between what is expected to happen
and what actually happens
▫ Dramatic irony: occurs when readers know more about a
situation or a character in a story than the characters do
▫ Verbal irony: occurs when someone states one thing and means
another
Huck Finn Literary Terms:
Humor Terms
• Satire is a literary technique in which ideas or customs are ridiculed
for the purpose of improving society. (know the difference between
satire and a parody)
• A caricature is a pictorial or literary portrayal of an individual or
object with characteristic features distorted or exaggerated for comic
effect.
• Slapstick humor is physical humor; a boisterous form of comedy
marked by chases, collisions, and crude practical jokes.
Sample caricatures: The Twains
Shania Twain
Illustration by Dan Walsh, 1999
Mark Twain
Originally published by the
Maryland Humanities Council
GUESS WHO?!!!
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