Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

As many of you know, I've been trying to knock out several classics that I've either never read, or haven't read since I was a child. This month's classic was Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which I believe is in the "never read" column. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, the third book in his Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer series, has been adapted several times starting in 1920. It even had a Broadway musical adaptation made called Big River that won a Tony Award. It deals with alcoholism, animal death, child abuse, death, gun violence, racism, slavery, kidnapping, abandonment, and rampant use of racial slurs.

Huckleberry Finn, called Huck by basically everybody, chafes at the confines of society. He has been taken in by the Widow Douglas and her sister, Miss Watson, who take it upon themselves to make sure that Huck bathes and eats with silverware. They even starch his shirts! He can't stand it. On the other hand, when he isn't with the Widow and Miss Watson, he's living with his father. Pap is abusive and has begun to keep Huck chained in a remote cabin in the woods so that he can control Huck's money. Huck decides to fake his own death and live a life of unfettered freedom on the Mississippi River. He runs into Jim, an enslaved man who found out that Miss Watson was planning to sell him and send him away from his family and has escaped in his own bid for freedom. Together, they sail down the Mississippi and Huckleberry finds himself having several adventures. He travels with two con men who both claim to be descended from European royalty, rides with two feuding families intent on killing each other, and he finds himself impersonating his friend Tom Sawyer.

I really was not a fan of this book. I forced myself through a quarter of the book each day, just to get it over with. Thankfully, it was on the shorter side. From what I understand, the book is considered a satire with commentary on the racism and prejudice of the antebellum south, but I can't say that the satire came through particularly well. Huckleberry Finn is supposed to go on this journey with Jim that changes him fundamentally, but does it really? Perhaps the change isn't actually that profound. Huckleberry is a character that you feel for and that you want to grow, I'm just not sure I saw much growth. There were times when the book was funny, and there's a veil of youth and innocence that lays over the whole novel, but I didn't like it for the most part and was only relieved when it was finally finished. This novel is also lauded for using authentic vernacular, which I did rather like.

I'm giving Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 2-1/2 stars out of 5. Maybe satirical works just aren't for me, but I can't help but get the feeling that Mark Twain was also kind of an asshole.

Pairs well with some corn dodgers and building your own raft that actually manages to float.

My favorite quote:

"Jim said bees won't sting idiots, but I didn't believe that, because I had tried them lots of times myself and they wouldn't sting me."