The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn uses regional vernacular and an innocent point of view to tackle important issues like slavery, freedom and an exaggerated, 19th century Southern Society.

Fast Facts

1. Author: Mark Twain
2. Genre: Fiction
3. Publication Date: 1884
4. Pages: 386
5. Awards/Distinctions: Great American Novel
6. Adaptations: film, TV, musical, anime
7. Once banned and censored for racism and foul language
8. Originally meant to be a companion novel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
9. Mark Twain did not use "the" in the title.

Synopsis

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn picks up with the two boys lives from the previous book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Tom and Huck came into a decent amount of money from their previous adventures. Huck is placed under the guardianship of Widow Douglas who with her sister's help, attempts to civilize him. Huck not really enjoying the sisters efforts, gets help from Tom to escape.

Huck's father finds and gains custody of him and locks him up in his cabin. Huck once again unhappy with the confinement escapes, fakes his death, and takes off down the Mississippi River.

The book follows Huck's many adventures as he travels, grows and learns about life.

Critical Reception

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" must be pronounced the most amusing book Mark Twain has written for years. It is a more minute and faithful picture of Southwestern manners and customs fifty years ago than was "Life on the Mississippi," while in regard to the dialect it surpasses any of the author's previous stories in the command of the half-dozen species of patois which passed for the English language in old Missouri. The San Francisco Chronicle March 15, 1885" — University of Virginia Library

"It is little wonder that Mr. Samuel Clemens, otherwise Mark Twain, resorted to real or mock lawsuits, as may be, to restrain some real or imaginary selling of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" as a means of advertising that extraordinarily senseless publication. Before the work is disposed of, Mr. Mark Twain will probably have to resort to law to compel some to sell it by any sort of bribery or corruption. Boston Evening Traveller March 5, 1885" — University of Virginia

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