The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a sequel to Twain's earlier work, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which introduced the character of Huckleberry Finn to the masses. It was first published in England in 1884, and then printed in the U.S. in early 1885. The illustrations were many, and totaled 174 in all. The book has never been out of print since its first publication run. It has been translated into more than 50 languages. The book has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.
It was one of the first works of American literature that was written primarily in vernacular English. Twain's tale, while told in the first person, includes 'local color regionalism.' A number of various dialects are represented, and are outlined in an explanatory in the first edition by the author himself, including:
The book takes place in a period of time that is never actually solidly confirmed, but due to mention of steamboats can be traced to a ten year time period between 1835-1845. The book was first published in 1884 and early 1885, and the book states that the scene was set 'forty to fifty years ago.' The events in the book take place prior to the abolition of slavery. The store is is set in a fictional town in Missouri, 'St. Petersburg,' which is actually based on the town of Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain himself lived as a young boy.
It was one of the first works of American literature that was written primarily in vernacular English. Twain's tale, while told in the first person, includes 'local color regionalism.' A number of various dialects are represented, and are outlined in an explanatory in the first edition by the author himself, including:
- The Missouri Negro Dialect
- The Extremest Form of the Backwoods Southwestern Dialect
- The Ordinary "Pike County" Dialect
- Four Modified Varieties of the "Pike County" Dialect
The book takes place in a period of time that is never actually solidly confirmed, but due to mention of steamboats can be traced to a ten year time period between 1835-1845. The book was first published in 1884 and early 1885, and the book states that the scene was set 'forty to fifty years ago.' The events in the book take place prior to the abolition of slavery. The store is is set in a fictional town in Missouri, 'St. Petersburg,' which is actually based on the town of Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain himself lived as a young boy.
The story picks up where The Adventures of Tom Sawyer left off - Huck and his friend, Tom Sawyer, have come into a great deal of money as a result of their adventures in the previous book, and Huck has been become the guardian of a female character, the 'Widow Douglas.' She and her sister, Miss Watson, attempt to 'civilize' Huckleberry, as well as introduce religion into his life. One night, Huck and Tom run away and join a group of boys who refer to themselves as robbers. Their activities are not exciting enough for Huck, but it barely matters anyway as his alcoholic, abusive father 'Pap' reappears in Huck's life, looking to get his hands on Huck's new financial riches. He forces Huck to leave St. Petersburg and his life behind, and they end up in a remote woodland cabin in Illinois.
Huck escapes the torment of his father after faking his own death. He flees to Jackson's Island, where he finds Jim, a slave who belongs to his former guardian's sister, Miss Watson, who has also run away. Jim and Huck become closer and Huck begins to question his beliefs and morals.
Huck escapes the torment of his father after faking his own death. He flees to Jackson's Island, where he finds Jim, a slave who belongs to his former guardian's sister, Miss Watson, who has also run away. Jim and Huck become closer and Huck begins to question his beliefs and morals.
After discovering a dead body, which eventually turns out to be that of Huck's own neglectful father, Huck decides to dress up as a young girl to retrieve information from a local woman - Judith Loftus. While speaking with Judith, he discovers that others believe him to have been murdered, and that Jim is believed to be a suspect for the murder and is a wanted man. Huck's female disguise is discovered, and after being ejected from Judith's home, meets back with Jim and informs of his this startling news.
Huck and Jim flee the island on a raft. They encounter a steamship that has become grounded, wherein they find two thieves discussing murder. They are able to escape before the thieves are aware of their presence. Jim and Huck are separated briefly, and then reunited. At this time, Huck plays a cruel prank on Jim, telling him that he dreamt the entire scene. Jim is deeply hurt by this, and realizes it not to be true. Huck's conscience gets the better of him, and he ends up apologizing to Jim - however, he struggles greatly with 'humbling himself' to a black man.
Jim and Huck are separated once again when their raft is hit by a steamship. Huck ends up in Kentucky, where he meets the aristocratic Grangerford family, who have been part of a 30-year blood feud with the neighboring Shepherdson family. Huck befriends a young Grangerford family member, Buck, but the entire family is murdered before Huck's very eyes. After this event, Huck is again reunited with Jim, who has fixed the damaged sustained to their raft.
Two colorful characters then enter the world of Huck and Jim as they approach Arkansas. The Duke and the King are to con artists who swindle local townspeople out of their money through sham performances of a play titled 'The Royal Nonesuch.' In the end, the duo skip town with Huck and Jim in tow in order to escape a lynch mob. During a subsequent attempt to swindle money out of the family of a dead man, Huck attempts to come to the aid of the family and thwart the thieves. This ends in Jim being sold to a family intent on returning him to his rightful owner - which Huck decides vehemently to oppose.
The new owners of Jim turn out to be the aunt and uncle of Huck's good friend, Tom Sawyer. When Tom joins Huck unexpectedly, Tom concocts a plan to help free Jim. During the attempted freeing of Jim, Tom is shot in the leg. Jim stays by his side and risks being discovered. It is revealing that Miss Watson, Jim's owner, has died, and left him a free man in her will. Tom Sawyer was aware of this information the entire time, but wished to enact an elaborate plan. Jim informs Huck that his father, Pap, is deceased. At the end of the novel, Huck states his wishes to 'flee to Indian Territory.'
Read the full-length, uncensored version with complete illustrations for free online at Project Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/76/76-h/76-h.htm
Listen to an audiobook version online for free through LoudLit. Narrated by Marc Devine, and organized into 43 chapters:
http://www.loudlit.org/works/hfinn.htm
Huck and Jim flee the island on a raft. They encounter a steamship that has become grounded, wherein they find two thieves discussing murder. They are able to escape before the thieves are aware of their presence. Jim and Huck are separated briefly, and then reunited. At this time, Huck plays a cruel prank on Jim, telling him that he dreamt the entire scene. Jim is deeply hurt by this, and realizes it not to be true. Huck's conscience gets the better of him, and he ends up apologizing to Jim - however, he struggles greatly with 'humbling himself' to a black man.
Jim and Huck are separated once again when their raft is hit by a steamship. Huck ends up in Kentucky, where he meets the aristocratic Grangerford family, who have been part of a 30-year blood feud with the neighboring Shepherdson family. Huck befriends a young Grangerford family member, Buck, but the entire family is murdered before Huck's very eyes. After this event, Huck is again reunited with Jim, who has fixed the damaged sustained to their raft.
Two colorful characters then enter the world of Huck and Jim as they approach Arkansas. The Duke and the King are to con artists who swindle local townspeople out of their money through sham performances of a play titled 'The Royal Nonesuch.' In the end, the duo skip town with Huck and Jim in tow in order to escape a lynch mob. During a subsequent attempt to swindle money out of the family of a dead man, Huck attempts to come to the aid of the family and thwart the thieves. This ends in Jim being sold to a family intent on returning him to his rightful owner - which Huck decides vehemently to oppose.
The new owners of Jim turn out to be the aunt and uncle of Huck's good friend, Tom Sawyer. When Tom joins Huck unexpectedly, Tom concocts a plan to help free Jim. During the attempted freeing of Jim, Tom is shot in the leg. Jim stays by his side and risks being discovered. It is revealing that Miss Watson, Jim's owner, has died, and left him a free man in her will. Tom Sawyer was aware of this information the entire time, but wished to enact an elaborate plan. Jim informs Huck that his father, Pap, is deceased. At the end of the novel, Huck states his wishes to 'flee to Indian Territory.'
Read the full-length, uncensored version with complete illustrations for free online at Project Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/76/76-h/76-h.htm
Listen to an audiobook version online for free through LoudLit. Narrated by Marc Devine, and organized into 43 chapters:
http://www.loudlit.org/works/hfinn.htm