So, we talked (or I talked) a great deal in class today about ways to interpret Huck Finn.
I'd be interested in hearing some other ideas you guys came up with when you read the novel.
What do you think the Apparent Narrative Rationale behind the work is all about? What did you tacitly agree with Twain on about the reason he was writing?
Happy Thinking,
Mr. B
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After just reading the book, I found the plot confusing and just dull. Honestly I did not like the book; but after you explained the reasonings, meanings, and reading the essays about the books I found that it was not so horrible. When we discussed the difference between the "United States of Huck" and "United States of Tom" I felt that I could understand a lot better why Twain was writing the book. I agree with the fact that our country has become more "Tom" than some had planned, and that Twain was trying to convey the point that we need to reform. I also think that the ANR is more about the change that the country needs to make, rather than just the abolishment of slavery. All in all, after the dicussion on Thurday, I found that I could better understand why Twain wrote the book and why it was such a classic.
ReplyDeleteI particularly enjoyed reading Huck Finn. Twain wrote the book in such a way that you could relate to either Tom or Huck. Depending on which character you could relate to you could see the follies of one or both of the characters. When we discussed the background of Huck Finn I felt particularly interested in Huck and Tom being two different sides of Twain’s psyche. Huck represented the sophisticated, rational side of Twain while Tom, represented the adventure-seeking, adrenaline junkie. It was interesting how the two sides of Twain interacted with each other. It was fascinating how Huck would bend to the will of Tom because Tom was more educated while Huck had a clearer perspective of the world then Tom. This shows how the logical side of Twain would give way to the spontaneous side.
ReplyDeleteBesides social criticism on what America is (United States of Tom) and what it would like to be (United States of Huck), Mark Twain most likely wrote the story as an early piece of sociology. His story of a boy growing up shows how impressionable people can become, demonstrated in the case of Tom and Huck. Given the right amount of trust, people would be willing to go against their own ethics or thoughts of reason to follow someone else. As Allison said, Huck and Tom represent two sides of a human: rational and logical, and spontaneous and ambitious. This was Twain's way of saying that America, or humans in general, should take the best traits of both sides, as opposed to staying on one end of the spectrum.
ReplyDeleteI never really noticed Twain's reason for writing the story until our class discussion. To me, it seemed like more of a simple tale rather than a message on the American Society. After discussing it in class, I realized more of what Twain intended to do. His detail of the river was not just to provide imagery in the story, but to show Huck's journey and the message of the story. I think Twain wrote this novel to inspire change. The story makes people notice the problems in society, and hopefully they decide to do something about them.
ReplyDeleteTwain's story was a good story, to me, but I didn't like the way he used his diction, and never really understood his word choice until the discussion we had in class, and then the story made sense to me and I realized that I liked it. Twain is obviously mocking the ignorant people of his time, and basically just American society, through his characters so that way he wouldn't get blamed for it. I think he used Huck as a disguise for himself, and all of what Huck was realizing and learning was possibly something that Twain himself had gone through and wanted other to do the same.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was reading Huck Finn I never really found Twain's reason for writing the book. It was just a story of a white boy on the run with a black slave. But after the class discussion it became more apparent that Twain was criticizing the society and trying to inspire change, and using Huck and Tom to convey that message. The ANR can be interpreted differently by different readers, of course, and to me, it seemed that Twain was trying to inspire general change in the country, not just abolishing slavery.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read Huck Fin I was aware of Twain's ANR, but it wasn't until our class discussion that I really understood what he was really trying to tell his readers. The Huck/Tom point that you made really was the eye opener for me. After that discussion, I really appreciated Huck Finn for what Twain intended. His good usage of his ANR doesn't make up for his lack of an ending though.
ReplyDeleteCommenting on what Nick said:
ReplyDelete"This was Twain's way of saying that America, or humans in general, should take the best traits of both sides, as opposed to staying on one end of the spectrum."
I agree that this was ultimately Twain's desired message, but in realizing this, I feel as if his head is in the clouds. If every person in the world, let alone in America, took the best traits of being both rational and logical, wouldn't we live in a perfect world? With all due respect, I think this makes Twain's message almost pointless, in that he is advising us to reach for something unachievable: perfection. There is however, that saying that we should always reach for the moon, so that even if we fall, we will land amongst the stars, so I'm not too sure about this one; I'm definitely on the fence in regards to this novel and its purpose.