Update Jan. 14

Students took a reading quiz at the start of class. We then discussed Huckleberry Finn.

• We explored the symbolic loss of innocence involved in the snake incident on the island. The island was paradisiacal until the snake incident which revealed a darker side to the apparent childlike innocence of the story. Huck and Jim end up leaving the Edenic island and being cast out into the "world" of Southern society, down river.
• With the snake incident, we see Huck lying to Jim by omission.
• We see likewise that the relationship between Jim and Huck may not be as simple as it seems. Jim, an escaped slave, feels threatened when Huck, a member of Jim's owner's household, discovers him on the island.
• Jim strategically prompts Huck how much Huck needs him during the rainstorm.  He may do this to secure Huck's assistance, when in reality Jim has benefited from the relationship as much as, or more than, Huck.
• We detect Jim's intelligence when he discusses his plans for escape. We also saw earlier in the novel how Jim could use his hairball to "scam" Huck.
• When they find the dead body in the floating house, Jim covers the body apparently to protect Huck. However, a careful reading would indicate that this body may belong to Pap (who went away with his pockets full of money with some strange, dangerous looking men). Perhaps Jim has ulterior motives for keeping Huck in the dark--for Pap was the main reason Huck was running away and the main thing keeping Huck from going back to society where he could potentially turn in Jim.

Homework: Read Huckleberry Finn through page 65.