Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Unlike a lot of the other students in this class, this is my first time reading Adventures of Huckleberry Fin. I approached this novel with a bit of apprehension, as I had previously been informed it was a tedious read. Despite this, I have found that it is not difficult to follow and only takes a little bit of extra effort to understand the dialects of the characters. 

As we discussed in class, I quickly noticed the differences in personality between Tom and Huck. Tom is adventurous and imaginative, basing his thoughts and plans off of his readings. In contrast, Huck seems more practical and has less of an imagination. This is demonstrated by his disappointment upon arriving at the Sunday school picnic that was supposed to be the scene of the Spanish merchants and Arabs. In a sense, although he is practical, Huck also seems somewhat gullible to believe that Tom's imaginations would actually play out. 

          Despite this, Huck also seems intelligent in some ways. Initially, I didn't really understand why Huck stated that he did not want any of his money, and instead, wanted the judge to have it. However, it became evident that he only did so because he feared his father would return and try to take advantage of him. Huck figured that if he actually did not have money, his father would be more likely to leave him alone. This suggests, perhaps, that Huck does have the ability to think critically, which is in contrast with his father.

We also talked about the use of the word "nigger" in the novel. In the interim class I participated in, we discussed this issue relating to this novel, as well.  One of the major themes we discussed was the fact that people desire to read literature that reflects real life, which can sometimes be cruel and unkind. Even so, this story is authentic in how it demonstrates the terminology people used. While many people may have a hard time reading this novel because of this, removing them could take away from the meaning of the story. Since I have not yet read this whole story, I cannot yet say if I think the term " nigger" is essential to the story line or not. However, it's something to ponder.