Reader Response 2: Huck Finn (7 - 13)

Huck is influenced by Tom Sawyer in a negative way because even if danger is coming their way Tom would tell Huck not to get chicken. The quote where this shows how Tom is a negative influence is “Tom Sawyer wouldn’t back out now, and so I won’t either; I’m agoing to see what’s going on here….”(ch. 12, pg.51, par.3) But if Huck never met Tom he wouldn’t even be in that situation he’s in now. He just would’ve listened to Jim, and not go one the boat. The positive affect that Tom has on Huck is that Tom told Huck that he was one of the smartest people.

The positive influence that Widow Douglas has on Huck is that she wants him to do well, and be proper and get a good education. Not to grow up and be like his father. A quote that was stated by widow was “Take your hands away, Huckleberry- what a mess you are always making.” (ch.4, pg.12 par. 1) After reading what she said to Huck she only wants the best. A negative affect is that she is always nagging at Huck and he’s tired of it. The only reason why she puts up with him is because she wants that six-thousand dollars.

The negative influence that Pap has on Huck is really bad. He doesn’t even want Huck to go to school and learn new things because he didn’t go to school. And Pap doesn’t want Huck to know more than him. And he also teaches him to steal and says its borrowing. “Pap always said it warn’t any harm in borrowing things, if you was meaning to pay them back, sometime;..” (ch.12, pg.49, par.3). The positive influence that Pap has on Huck is that he took him from Widow Douglas so that she wouldn’t harm him for the six- thousand dollars. Even though, Huck didn’t like it at first.

The negative influence that Jim had on Huck was that, he basically told him to keep running away and not tell anybody that he was dead. And to keep the lie going, because Jim was on the run too, as an escaped slave. The positive influence that Jim had on Huck is that he looked out for him in time of trouble. “I don’t want to go foolin’ ‘longer no wrack…Like as not dey’s a watchman on the rack”(ch12, pg. 50, par.3)

Reader Response 1: Huck Finn (1 - 6)

The theme that i want to focus on is racism from the book Huck Finn. "Oh yes this is a wonderful government, wonderful. Why, looky here. There was a free "n" there,from ohio; a mulatter, most as white as a white man... had fine clothes and he had a gold watch and chain and a sliver headed cane-the alfulest old gray headed nabob in the State.... It was lection day, and i was just about to go vote myself, if i weren't to drunk to get there; but when they told me there was a State in the country where they'd let that "n" vote, i drawed out." The character that stated this quote was pap, who is Huck's father. It is located in ch. 6, p. 20, par 2. Basically pap was saying that he was mad that they let thje black man vote because he was a professer at a college. Then he tried to make up the excuse that he just left because, he was mad a bout the black man voting, but he was actually too drunk to vote.

What i think about this quote is that people don't like change. Since its been racial conflict that long people just won't accept that things are going to be changing for the better. Epecially pap, he needs to relize that things aren't ever going to be the same and they don't always go your way. I don't know maybe pap just jealous that he can't read and write and speak different languages. So he just blames it on his drinking problem. This really relates to the theme because he's being racist because someone of a differnt color is doing better than he is. This relates to my life a little, because at my old school people thought just cause I was african american that i wasn't smart but i proved them wrong.

What Mark Twian thinks about this qoute i he doesn't like it. He doesn't appove of people talking down about other people, if they're not up themselves. But when the quote was written by Mark, he didn't make it seem like the black man was like, just that poor and didn't have anything. This relates to Twain's life becaus he lived in those days and he seen these things that were happening around him.