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Adventures of Tom and Huck #1-2
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER
Take a lighthearted, nostalgic trip to a simpler time, seen through the eyes of a very special boy named Tom Sawyer. It is a dreamlike summertime world of hooky and adventure, pranks and punishment, villains and first love, filled with memorable characters. Adults and young readers alike continue to enjoy this delightful classic of the promise and dreams of youth from one of America’s most beloved authors.
ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN
He has no mother, his father is a brutal drunkard, and he sleeps in a barrel. He’s Huck Finn—liar, sometime thief, and rebel against respectability. But when Huck meets a runaway slave named Jim, his life changes forever. On their exciting flight down the Mississippi aboard a raft, the boy nobody wanted matures into a young man of courage and conviction. As Ernest Hemingway said of this glorious novel, “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.”
--back cover
Take a lighthearted, nostalgic trip to a simpler time, seen through the eyes of a very special boy named Tom Sawyer. It is a dreamlike summertime world of hooky and adventure, pranks and punishment, villains and first love, filled with memorable characters. Adults and young readers alike continue to enjoy this delightful classic of the promise and dreams of youth from one of America’s most beloved authors.
ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN
He has no mother, his father is a brutal drunkard, and he sleeps in a barrel. He’s Huck Finn—liar, sometime thief, and rebel against respectability. But when Huck meets a runaway slave named Jim, his life changes forever. On their exciting flight down the Mississippi aboard a raft, the boy nobody wanted matures into a young man of courage and conviction. As Ernest Hemingway said of this glorious novel, “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.”
--back cover
520 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1884
About the author
Mark Twain
7,168 books17.7k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Faulkner calling him "the father of American literature." His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), with the latter often called the "Great American Novel." Twain also wrote A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) and Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894), and co-wrote The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873) with Charles Dudley Warner.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Faulkner calling him "the father of American literature." His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), with the latter often called the "Great American Novel." Twain also wrote A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) and Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894), and co-wrote The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873) with Charles Dudley Warner.
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December 1, 2023
Though its a combined collection but I bought it only for to read "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". I could have written much more but there is not much to say about this work. So, it would be just a brief snapshot of my thoughts on the same;
For me its nowhere belongs to the nearby aura of what The Adventures of Tom Sawyer has created so far since my childhood. What I read and feel while going through 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer', this character is nowhere close to that level.
Only at point when Tom entered the scene, it became more realistic and adventurous in true sense. I must say that the mind of author what runs for Tom didn't ran that well for Huck; not even same. Its quite boring at various points. Start was flat and so is the part with Jim being with Huck on the island. Only part that was interesting is either with Tom in the last scenes or when Huck was with 'Grangerfords' & with the 'Mary Jane' part. Even the part of king and duke was boring except when them being introduced to Huck.
Language with Jim & Aunt Sally's Nigger has been written with so deep analysis of the words came out of Black people around his habitat/surroundings. That's something he created finely.
The enjoyment that Tom created is far ahead of what Huck did, in comparing both of these Twain's works. Sense of humor that worked with Tom didn't went well with Huck Finn. I thought, separating Huck from Tom and that also while Tom in lead as theme character, spoiled things. Twain's brain seemed to have been more mischievous with Tom and more dramatic with Huck. That's the difference that can't easily be patted.
In short, just for the Tom part in last scenes and part with Mary Jane, I'm giving it 3.5/5.0 else I would have planned for only 3.0/5.0 so far.
For me its nowhere belongs to the nearby aura of what The Adventures of Tom Sawyer has created so far since my childhood. What I read and feel while going through 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer', this character is nowhere close to that level.
Only at point when Tom entered the scene, it became more realistic and adventurous in true sense. I must say that the mind of author what runs for Tom didn't ran that well for Huck; not even same. Its quite boring at various points. Start was flat and so is the part with Jim being with Huck on the island. Only part that was interesting is either with Tom in the last scenes or when Huck was with 'Grangerfords' & with the 'Mary Jane' part. Even the part of king and duke was boring except when them being introduced to Huck.
Language with Jim & Aunt Sally's Nigger has been written with so deep analysis of the words came out of Black people around his habitat/surroundings. That's something he created finely.
The enjoyment that Tom created is far ahead of what Huck did, in comparing both of these Twain's works. Sense of humor that worked with Tom didn't went well with Huck Finn. I thought, separating Huck from Tom and that also while Tom in lead as theme character, spoiled things. Twain's brain seemed to have been more mischievous with Tom and more dramatic with Huck. That's the difference that can't easily be patted.
In short, just for the Tom part in last scenes and part with Mary Jane, I'm giving it 3.5/5.0 else I would have planned for only 3.0/5.0 so far.
February 29, 2008
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com:]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reposted here illegally.)
The CCLaP 100: In which over a two-year period I read a hundred so-called "classics," then write essays about whether I think they deserve the label
This week: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain (1876)
Book #6 of this essay series
The story in a nutshell:
Designed specifically to be a popular example of the then-new American Pastoral novel, Tom Sawyer is Twain's look at an impossibly idyllic small-town childhood that never was, that never could be, in fact, based very loosely on a handful of real events that happened in his own childhood in Hannibal, Missouri (on the banks of the Mississippi River, about a four-hour drive north of St. Louis), but with each story sharpened and honed until they become too impossibly magical to be anything but fictional. As such, then, the book mostly concerns those subjects regarding childhood that adults most fondly look back on with nostalgia -- the sense of societal freedom, the sense of playful rebellion, the simplicity and elegance of pre-pubescent romance -- couched in an insanely whimsically perfect rural environment, one designed specifically to recall a kind of idealized frontier existence that most people even in 1876 had never actually experienced, much less all of us 132 years later.
In fact, our titular hero Tom pretty much stands for each and every element of a "noble childhood" that we all secretly wish we could've had -- a constant irritant to his legal guardian who is nonetheless clearly loved and constantly forgiven by her, clever hero to the rest of the neighborhood boys while still being a simple-minded romantic to the girls he's got a shinin' for. Throughout the first half of the novel, then, we follow Tom and his cohorts as they get in and out of a series of short-story-worthy jams; there's the Story of How Tom Convinced The Other Boys to Whitewash His Fence For Him, the Story of the Dog That Got Bit During Church And Made a Huge Racket, the Story of the Boys Who Ran Away and Played Pirates for a Week on a Mid-River Island But Then Found Out That Everyone In Town Thought They Were Dead So Decided To Attend Their Own Funeral. Yeah, impossibly romantic little stories about impossibly idyllic small-town life, pretty much the definition of a Pastoral novel. Add a more serious story to propel the second half, then, in which a couple of local drunks actually do commit a murder one night, with Tom and his badboy friend Huck Finn being the only secret witnesses, and you've got yourself a nice little morality tale as well, not to mention a great way to end the story (buried treasure!) and a fantastic way to set yourself up for further sequels.
The argument for it being a classic:
As mentioned, one of the strongest arguments for Tom Sawyer being a classic is because it's one of the first and still best examples of the "American Pastoral" novel, an extremely important development in the cultural history of the Victorian Age that has unfortunately become a bit obscure in our times; for those who don't know, it was basically an artistic rebellion against the Industrial Age of the early 1800s, a group of writers and painters and thinkers who came together to decry the dehumanization of mechanized urban centers. Ironically, it was these same people who established what are now many of the best things about our modern cities, things like parks and libraries and zoning laws and all the other "radical" ideas that many people first laughed at when first proposed; as a complement to these forward-thinking theories, though, such artists also put together projects about rural small-town life that were designed deliberately as political statements, as little manifestos about how much better it is when you live in the countryside and breathe fresh air and grow your own food and make your own clothes.
The Pastoral movement first really caught on over in England*, where urban industrial growth proceeded a lot more quickly than in America, and where the detrimental effects of the age could be more rapidly seen; nonetheless, by the mid-1800s (and especially after the horrific Civil War of 1860-65), more and more Americans had started pining for this unique brand of entertainment as well, and pining for a "good ol' days" that had never really existed. This is what Twain built the entire first half of his career on, fans say, and it really doesn't get much better than Tom Sawyer for pure delightful small-town escapist entertainment; his later books might be better known, they say, more respected within the academic world, but it is these earlier Pastoral tales that first really caught on with the public at large, and made him the huge success he was.
The argument against:
Of course, you can turn this argument straight around on its head; there's a very good reason, after all, that this book's sequel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (written ten years later) is the much more studied and analyzed of the two. And that's because Twain only grew into his role as "America's Greatest Political Satirist" over time, critics of this book argue; if you take a close look at his career, they say, you'll see that the majority of work he wrote in the first half of his career is either kitschy nostalgic housewife pabulum or smartass travelogues about how Americans pretty much hate everything and think they're better than everyone else. We've lost sight of this over the last century, the argument goes, but Twain wasn't really considered a "serious" writer until late in life and already a big success; I suppose you can think of it in terms of Steven Spielberg pre- and post-Schindler's List, with Tom Sawyer being the 1800s version of the popular but ultimately intellectually empty E.T..
My verdict:
So let me first admit that I am probably too close to this book to be able to be completely objective about it; after all, I grew up just three hours away from the town of Hannibal where these events took place, have visited the town many times over the years, connected deeply with the book when a child precisely because of it taking place so close to where I lived, and in fact have probably now seen and read a dozen movie, television, comic-book and stage-play adaptations of the novel by now as well. (Why yes, even as late as the 1970s, in rural Missouri you could still find plenty of stage-play versions of Tom Sawyer each year, mostly Summerstock and other community productions.) I will always love this story because it will always remind me of my childhood, just as is the case I imagine with a whole lot of people out there; of nighttime barefoot runs through woods, of bizarre superstitious rituals held in the bottoms of muddy creek beds.
That said, it was certainly interesting to read it again as an adult for the first time, I think maybe the first time I've ever actually read the original novel from the first page to the last without stopping, because what its critics say really is true -- there really is just not much of substance at all to Tom Sawyer, other than a collection of amusing little stories about small-town life, held together with just the flimsiest of overall plots. In fact, the more I learn about Twain, the more I realize that his career really can be seen as two strikingly different halves; there is the first half, where Twain was not much more than a failed journalist but great storyteller, who started writing down these stories just because he didn't have much else better to do; and then there's the second half, when he's already famous and finally gets bitter and smart and political, as we now erroneously think of his entire career in our hazy collective memories. This doesn't prevent me from still loving Tom Sawyer, and still confidently labeling it a "classic" for its American Pastoral elements; it does give me a better understanding of it, though, in terms of Twain's overall career, and how we should see it as merely one step along a highly complex line the man walked when he was alive.
Is it a classic? Yes
*And in fact, the term "Pastoral" has actually been around since the 1500s (or the beginning of the Renaissance) and originally referred to stories specifically about shepherds; these anti-city writers of the Victorian Age sorta co-opted the term from the original, with the American wing then co-opting it from the Brits.
The CCLaP 100: In which over a two-year period I read a hundred so-called "classics," then write essays about whether I think they deserve the label
This week: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain (1876)
Book #6 of this essay series
The story in a nutshell:
Designed specifically to be a popular example of the then-new American Pastoral novel, Tom Sawyer is Twain's look at an impossibly idyllic small-town childhood that never was, that never could be, in fact, based very loosely on a handful of real events that happened in his own childhood in Hannibal, Missouri (on the banks of the Mississippi River, about a four-hour drive north of St. Louis), but with each story sharpened and honed until they become too impossibly magical to be anything but fictional. As such, then, the book mostly concerns those subjects regarding childhood that adults most fondly look back on with nostalgia -- the sense of societal freedom, the sense of playful rebellion, the simplicity and elegance of pre-pubescent romance -- couched in an insanely whimsically perfect rural environment, one designed specifically to recall a kind of idealized frontier existence that most people even in 1876 had never actually experienced, much less all of us 132 years later.
In fact, our titular hero Tom pretty much stands for each and every element of a "noble childhood" that we all secretly wish we could've had -- a constant irritant to his legal guardian who is nonetheless clearly loved and constantly forgiven by her, clever hero to the rest of the neighborhood boys while still being a simple-minded romantic to the girls he's got a shinin' for. Throughout the first half of the novel, then, we follow Tom and his cohorts as they get in and out of a series of short-story-worthy jams; there's the Story of How Tom Convinced The Other Boys to Whitewash His Fence For Him, the Story of the Dog That Got Bit During Church And Made a Huge Racket, the Story of the Boys Who Ran Away and Played Pirates for a Week on a Mid-River Island But Then Found Out That Everyone In Town Thought They Were Dead So Decided To Attend Their Own Funeral. Yeah, impossibly romantic little stories about impossibly idyllic small-town life, pretty much the definition of a Pastoral novel. Add a more serious story to propel the second half, then, in which a couple of local drunks actually do commit a murder one night, with Tom and his badboy friend Huck Finn being the only secret witnesses, and you've got yourself a nice little morality tale as well, not to mention a great way to end the story (buried treasure!) and a fantastic way to set yourself up for further sequels.
The argument for it being a classic:
As mentioned, one of the strongest arguments for Tom Sawyer being a classic is because it's one of the first and still best examples of the "American Pastoral" novel, an extremely important development in the cultural history of the Victorian Age that has unfortunately become a bit obscure in our times; for those who don't know, it was basically an artistic rebellion against the Industrial Age of the early 1800s, a group of writers and painters and thinkers who came together to decry the dehumanization of mechanized urban centers. Ironically, it was these same people who established what are now many of the best things about our modern cities, things like parks and libraries and zoning laws and all the other "radical" ideas that many people first laughed at when first proposed; as a complement to these forward-thinking theories, though, such artists also put together projects about rural small-town life that were designed deliberately as political statements, as little manifestos about how much better it is when you live in the countryside and breathe fresh air and grow your own food and make your own clothes.
The Pastoral movement first really caught on over in England*, where urban industrial growth proceeded a lot more quickly than in America, and where the detrimental effects of the age could be more rapidly seen; nonetheless, by the mid-1800s (and especially after the horrific Civil War of 1860-65), more and more Americans had started pining for this unique brand of entertainment as well, and pining for a "good ol' days" that had never really existed. This is what Twain built the entire first half of his career on, fans say, and it really doesn't get much better than Tom Sawyer for pure delightful small-town escapist entertainment; his later books might be better known, they say, more respected within the academic world, but it is these earlier Pastoral tales that first really caught on with the public at large, and made him the huge success he was.
The argument against:
Of course, you can turn this argument straight around on its head; there's a very good reason, after all, that this book's sequel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (written ten years later) is the much more studied and analyzed of the two. And that's because Twain only grew into his role as "America's Greatest Political Satirist" over time, critics of this book argue; if you take a close look at his career, they say, you'll see that the majority of work he wrote in the first half of his career is either kitschy nostalgic housewife pabulum or smartass travelogues about how Americans pretty much hate everything and think they're better than everyone else. We've lost sight of this over the last century, the argument goes, but Twain wasn't really considered a "serious" writer until late in life and already a big success; I suppose you can think of it in terms of Steven Spielberg pre- and post-Schindler's List, with Tom Sawyer being the 1800s version of the popular but ultimately intellectually empty E.T..
My verdict:
So let me first admit that I am probably too close to this book to be able to be completely objective about it; after all, I grew up just three hours away from the town of Hannibal where these events took place, have visited the town many times over the years, connected deeply with the book when a child precisely because of it taking place so close to where I lived, and in fact have probably now seen and read a dozen movie, television, comic-book and stage-play adaptations of the novel by now as well. (Why yes, even as late as the 1970s, in rural Missouri you could still find plenty of stage-play versions of Tom Sawyer each year, mostly Summerstock and other community productions.) I will always love this story because it will always remind me of my childhood, just as is the case I imagine with a whole lot of people out there; of nighttime barefoot runs through woods, of bizarre superstitious rituals held in the bottoms of muddy creek beds.
That said, it was certainly interesting to read it again as an adult for the first time, I think maybe the first time I've ever actually read the original novel from the first page to the last without stopping, because what its critics say really is true -- there really is just not much of substance at all to Tom Sawyer, other than a collection of amusing little stories about small-town life, held together with just the flimsiest of overall plots. In fact, the more I learn about Twain, the more I realize that his career really can be seen as two strikingly different halves; there is the first half, where Twain was not much more than a failed journalist but great storyteller, who started writing down these stories just because he didn't have much else better to do; and then there's the second half, when he's already famous and finally gets bitter and smart and political, as we now erroneously think of his entire career in our hazy collective memories. This doesn't prevent me from still loving Tom Sawyer, and still confidently labeling it a "classic" for its American Pastoral elements; it does give me a better understanding of it, though, in terms of Twain's overall career, and how we should see it as merely one step along a highly complex line the man walked when he was alive.
Is it a classic? Yes
*And in fact, the term "Pastoral" has actually been around since the 1500s (or the beginning of the Renaissance) and originally referred to stories specifically about shepherds; these anti-city writers of the Victorian Age sorta co-opted the term from the original, with the American wing then co-opting it from the Brits.
Read
March 15, 2017I had to decided to read Huckleberry Finn as a sort of preparation for Coover's new novel Huck Out West, but I bought the wrong book combining the two by accident so I decided to read Tom Sawyer anyway. I'm so happy I did. And while that one was very good, I was much more drawn to Huckleberry Finn.
Anyway, more on the subject soon. For now I'll just say that there's a world of difference reading these novels as an adult after reading them as a child, and it's been eye opening.
later.
Anyway, more on the subject soon. For now I'll just say that there's a world of difference reading these novels as an adult after reading them as a child, and it's been eye opening.
later.
April 10, 2020
Tom Sawyer -- 3 stars
Tom Sawyer was an all right read, but it wasn't something that really stood out to me. It just felt like another story of the era, and I put it down for quite a while before I decided to try the accompanying volume.
Huckleberry Finn -- 5 stars
I couldn't put this book down. It was all in first person, so it felt like you were along for the ride on this magnificent journey down the river. It is such a perfect book with such a perfectly simple plot, and wonderfully entertaining characters. It turned my opinion of Mark Twain as just another over-rated 19th century writer into a true stand-out who needs to be read.
As you may have heard, some of the language isn't politically correct, but fifteen years ago I was saying a lot of things that would be frowned upon today, and no doubt I'm saying words currently that will be frowned upon tomorrow. So move past it and devour every word. Then do it again. Highly recommended.
Tom Sawyer was an all right read, but it wasn't something that really stood out to me. It just felt like another story of the era, and I put it down for quite a while before I decided to try the accompanying volume.
Huckleberry Finn -- 5 stars
I couldn't put this book down. It was all in first person, so it felt like you were along for the ride on this magnificent journey down the river. It is such a perfect book with such a perfectly simple plot, and wonderfully entertaining characters. It turned my opinion of Mark Twain as just another over-rated 19th century writer into a true stand-out who needs to be read.
As you may have heard, some of the language isn't politically correct, but fifteen years ago I was saying a lot of things that would be frowned upon today, and no doubt I'm saying words currently that will be frowned upon tomorrow. So move past it and devour every word. Then do it again. Highly recommended.
September 12, 2021
4,5/5
Ši knyga išlieka mano vaikystėje perskaitytų geriausių knygų dešimtuke.
Ši knyga išlieka mano vaikystėje perskaitytų geriausių knygų dešimtuke.
September 8, 2020
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is one of my all time favorite books. I have read it a few times over the years and it never fails to put a smile on my face. It is very well written and has laugh out loud moments throughout.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is also an amazing read though I liked the first one a teeny tiny bit better. Huck Finn is also great and this continues with the adventures of Tom Sawyer as well.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - 5 stars
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - 4.5 stars
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is also an amazing read though I liked the first one a teeny tiny bit better. Huck Finn is also great and this continues with the adventures of Tom Sawyer as well.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - 5 stars
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - 4.5 stars
August 13, 2007
This the best volume without annotations, as it compactly contains both The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, with the split in the middle that explains the former is the story of a boy, and the latter is the story of a man.
The former captures the spirit of boyhood extremely well, with an unrivaled sense of humor and ignorance. It's just anecdotal enough to be read in tiny doses or in a steady stream, and builds to a satisfying climax - though plot is always in third place, between these characters and Twain's poignant observations about life. Considering it was a boy's book, it does an amazing job at painting reality.
The latter is one of the best novels in American history. Racism, sexism, segregation, violence, romanticism and family strife all get put in their places in the great American picaresque. It's a much more dangerous book, and its consequences are often more severe - but it's ending reminds us of its beginning, all the way back in the first book, which this volume conveniently contains. Just as adulthood is built on and reflects life, so Huckleberry Finn's adventures grow out of and reflect Tom Sawyer's. It's greatest achievement is that despite all the heavy subject matter, Twain writes in a simple style that allows readers of any age to enter it - and because of its simple and complex wonders, a child can enjoy it just as much as an adult. I know, as I've enjoyed it as both.
The former captures the spirit of boyhood extremely well, with an unrivaled sense of humor and ignorance. It's just anecdotal enough to be read in tiny doses or in a steady stream, and builds to a satisfying climax - though plot is always in third place, between these characters and Twain's poignant observations about life. Considering it was a boy's book, it does an amazing job at painting reality.
The latter is one of the best novels in American history. Racism, sexism, segregation, violence, romanticism and family strife all get put in their places in the great American picaresque. It's a much more dangerous book, and its consequences are often more severe - but it's ending reminds us of its beginning, all the way back in the first book, which this volume conveniently contains. Just as adulthood is built on and reflects life, so Huckleberry Finn's adventures grow out of and reflect Tom Sawyer's. It's greatest achievement is that despite all the heavy subject matter, Twain writes in a simple style that allows readers of any age to enter it - and because of its simple and complex wonders, a child can enjoy it just as much as an adult. I know, as I've enjoyed it as both.
July 19, 2018
How can you rate this classic any less than five stars? This was my return to Mark Twain after a childhood acquaintance, and I found it as engrossing and enjoyable as before. One has never quite forgotten Tom’s escapades, especially turning the tables on his Aunt, who set him to whitewash the fence as a punishment, and making it a profitable venture, where he relaxes in the shade and watches his friends vie for a chance to join in the whitewashing game. ‘Lessons on a change in attitude, which can turn disaster into wild success’.
The harum scarum boy is a born leader and steers his followers into the most amazing escapades, camping on a river island to play pirates, attending their own funeral service, getting lost deep within a labyrinth, yet emerging safe and sound barring a few cuts and scrapes. His mischievous exterior hides a tender heart and an eye for pretty young ladies. But, when put to the test, his principles always override his fears. The strong hold that superstition had on the simple village folk, including Tom and Huck Finn, his vagrant pal, who is the protagonist of the next adventure, is woven carefully into the tale and lays the background for a time when, despite a rudimentary education and strong religious beliefs, superstition held its sway.
Some pearls of wisdom, which I missed as a child, but relish as an adult, I quote here: “Injun Joe was believed to have killed five citizens of the village, but what of that? If he had been Satan himself there would have been plenty of weaklings ready to scribble their names to a pardon petition, and drip a tear on it from their permanently impaired and leaky waterworks.” Hats off to Mark Twain!
I still have The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to finish, but couldn’t resist putting up half the review of this two in one volume.
Part 2: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
I’ve finally finished the last few pages, and here’s my review as promised. Huck’s adventures take off from the time when the two scamps run into riches, and Huck’s no good father reappears to take his share. Despite Huck’s attempts at giving away the money to escape the unwanted attentions of his parent, he is captured and held prisoner. How he escapes, I leave for you to read. Well, quite soon, Huck is free once more and unexpectedly runs across his old friend, the black slave Jim, who is on the run from his owner and seeks to reach the Free states, where slavery has been abolished. He dreams of gaining his freedom and getting back his beloved wife and two children, who have been sold to different masters. There is no overt moralizing or preaching in Twain’s writing, except in an ironic fashion, but the reality of slavery, families broken up and resold on the whims and fancies of the owners, and yet the complete faith in the superior knowledge and capacity of the white man, and the criminality of the black one to resist or try to escape, which merits punishment by hanging, hits the reader with the force of a blow. Can this be the United States of America, the land of freedom? I’m reminded of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which I must go back to now, in the light of my sensitivities as an adult reader.
Where Huck’s adventures differ from those of Tom is the author’s treatment of the story. While Tom ‘s story is all about Tom and his madcap adventures set against life in rural Mississippi, Huck’s long ride downriver on a raft, accompanied by Jim, is all about life in small towns along the river, the shysters who travel around deceiving the simple village folk, and doing them out of their hard earned money, the deeply entrenched family feuds, where one family takes potshots at members of the other, gleefully toting up the score, despite losing more of their own, notwithstanding the fact that the cause of the original feud is long forgotten, the simple, good-hearted country folk, who welcome all strangers to their homes and hearts, and swallow all the tall tales spun by little scamps like Huck, the gullible and easily aroused rabble, ready to lynch a victim at the drop of a hat, and many more. Huck now emerges from the shadow of Tom Sawyer, as a character in his own right, as quick-witted as Tom in inventing stories to account for his presence, when challenged, (though he himself, continues to idolize Tom), and as kind- hearted and brave as his friend and mentor, as he sets about ferrying Jim to freedom.
There are again several hilarious dialogues, like the one below (edited, a bit to cut down the length):
“Why Huck, doan’ the French people talk the same way we does?”
“No, Jim; you couldn’t understand a word they said — not a single word.”
“Well, now, I be ding-busted! How do dat come?”
“I don’t know, but it’s so. I got some of their jabber out of a book. S’pose a man was to come to you and say Pollywoo franzy — what would you think?”
“I wouldn’t think nuffn; I’d take en bust him over de head — dat is if he warn’t white. I wouldn’t ‘low no nigger to call me dat.”
“Shucks, it ain’t calling you anything. It’s only saying, do you know how to talk French?’
“Well den why couldn’t he say it?”
‘Why he is a-saying it. That’s a Frenchman’s way of saying it.”
“Well it’s a blame ridicklous way, en I doan’ want to hear no mo’ ‘bout it. Dey ain’ no sense in it.”
By and by, Tom works his way back into the tale, and the madcap adventures restart. Tom just cannot do things in an ordinary fashion, but is only satisfied when he overcomes the most daunting problems (usually self-created), faces danger, and just manages to save his skin, though not quite intact. Anymore would spoil the tale, so do re-read this childhood favourite in the light of adult appreciation.
The harum scarum boy is a born leader and steers his followers into the most amazing escapades, camping on a river island to play pirates, attending their own funeral service, getting lost deep within a labyrinth, yet emerging safe and sound barring a few cuts and scrapes. His mischievous exterior hides a tender heart and an eye for pretty young ladies. But, when put to the test, his principles always override his fears. The strong hold that superstition had on the simple village folk, including Tom and Huck Finn, his vagrant pal, who is the protagonist of the next adventure, is woven carefully into the tale and lays the background for a time when, despite a rudimentary education and strong religious beliefs, superstition held its sway.
Some pearls of wisdom, which I missed as a child, but relish as an adult, I quote here: “Injun Joe was believed to have killed five citizens of the village, but what of that? If he had been Satan himself there would have been plenty of weaklings ready to scribble their names to a pardon petition, and drip a tear on it from their permanently impaired and leaky waterworks.” Hats off to Mark Twain!
I still have The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to finish, but couldn’t resist putting up half the review of this two in one volume.
Part 2: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
I’ve finally finished the last few pages, and here’s my review as promised. Huck’s adventures take off from the time when the two scamps run into riches, and Huck’s no good father reappears to take his share. Despite Huck’s attempts at giving away the money to escape the unwanted attentions of his parent, he is captured and held prisoner. How he escapes, I leave for you to read. Well, quite soon, Huck is free once more and unexpectedly runs across his old friend, the black slave Jim, who is on the run from his owner and seeks to reach the Free states, where slavery has been abolished. He dreams of gaining his freedom and getting back his beloved wife and two children, who have been sold to different masters. There is no overt moralizing or preaching in Twain’s writing, except in an ironic fashion, but the reality of slavery, families broken up and resold on the whims and fancies of the owners, and yet the complete faith in the superior knowledge and capacity of the white man, and the criminality of the black one to resist or try to escape, which merits punishment by hanging, hits the reader with the force of a blow. Can this be the United States of America, the land of freedom? I’m reminded of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which I must go back to now, in the light of my sensitivities as an adult reader.
Where Huck’s adventures differ from those of Tom is the author’s treatment of the story. While Tom ‘s story is all about Tom and his madcap adventures set against life in rural Mississippi, Huck’s long ride downriver on a raft, accompanied by Jim, is all about life in small towns along the river, the shysters who travel around deceiving the simple village folk, and doing them out of their hard earned money, the deeply entrenched family feuds, where one family takes potshots at members of the other, gleefully toting up the score, despite losing more of their own, notwithstanding the fact that the cause of the original feud is long forgotten, the simple, good-hearted country folk, who welcome all strangers to their homes and hearts, and swallow all the tall tales spun by little scamps like Huck, the gullible and easily aroused rabble, ready to lynch a victim at the drop of a hat, and many more. Huck now emerges from the shadow of Tom Sawyer, as a character in his own right, as quick-witted as Tom in inventing stories to account for his presence, when challenged, (though he himself, continues to idolize Tom), and as kind- hearted and brave as his friend and mentor, as he sets about ferrying Jim to freedom.
There are again several hilarious dialogues, like the one below (edited, a bit to cut down the length):
“Why Huck, doan’ the French people talk the same way we does?”
“No, Jim; you couldn’t understand a word they said — not a single word.”
“Well, now, I be ding-busted! How do dat come?”
“I don’t know, but it’s so. I got some of their jabber out of a book. S’pose a man was to come to you and say Pollywoo franzy — what would you think?”
“I wouldn’t think nuffn; I’d take en bust him over de head — dat is if he warn’t white. I wouldn’t ‘low no nigger to call me dat.”
“Shucks, it ain’t calling you anything. It’s only saying, do you know how to talk French?’
“Well den why couldn’t he say it?”
‘Why he is a-saying it. That’s a Frenchman’s way of saying it.”
“Well it’s a blame ridicklous way, en I doan’ want to hear no mo’ ‘bout it. Dey ain’ no sense in it.”
By and by, Tom works his way back into the tale, and the madcap adventures restart. Tom just cannot do things in an ordinary fashion, but is only satisfied when he overcomes the most daunting problems (usually self-created), faces danger, and just manages to save his skin, though not quite intact. Anymore would spoil the tale, so do re-read this childhood favourite in the light of adult appreciation.
October 2, 2008
Of course I read Tom Sawyer and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Who didn't?
People are people, and do some of the same things regardless of the trends of the time.
I read it, largely, at the time because I had to, but I also began to notice the fun in word play with Twain's wording against modern English usage.
People are people, and do some of the same things regardless of the trends of the time.
I read it, largely, at the time because I had to, but I also began to notice the fun in word play with Twain's wording against modern English usage.
November 5, 2023
Human beings can be awful cruel to one another.
July 11, 2023
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
My main thought is that children in this village go missing at an absolutely alarming rate and I feel like someone should look into that. Mark Twain strikes me as a bit of an obnoxious author but I guess what white man in the 1800s wasn’t. “If Tom had been a great and wise philosopher, like the author of this book” give me a break it’s 21 pages in.
It definitely reads like it’s written in the 1800s and some things definitely don’t pass the test of time. Overall, I enjoyed Tom Sawyer’s shenanigans and I’m glad he wound up rich, feels like a fun ending for a 12 year old boy. Looking forward to the Adventures of Huck Finn.
The Adventures of Huck Finn: ⭐️⭐️
Obviously after you find $12k 1800s USD with your best buddy, the only reasonable course of action is to start a gang that murdered and robs people.
I liked that this story picked right back up after Tom Sawyer, and overall this was an enjoyable story. Some parts were crazy, like a gun fight between feuding families Romeo-and-Juliet-style, but who am I to judge.
What I didn’t like was Mark Twain’s writing style. He made every character into a racist caricature. Overall, I won’t read this again or probably anything else by Mark Twain, but I’m glad I powered through.
My main thought is that children in this village go missing at an absolutely alarming rate and I feel like someone should look into that. Mark Twain strikes me as a bit of an obnoxious author but I guess what white man in the 1800s wasn’t. “If Tom had been a great and wise philosopher, like the author of this book” give me a break it’s 21 pages in.
It definitely reads like it’s written in the 1800s and some things definitely don’t pass the test of time. Overall, I enjoyed Tom Sawyer’s shenanigans and I’m glad he wound up rich, feels like a fun ending for a 12 year old boy. Looking forward to the Adventures of Huck Finn.
The Adventures of Huck Finn: ⭐️⭐️
Obviously after you find $12k 1800s USD with your best buddy, the only reasonable course of action is to start a gang that murdered and robs people.
I liked that this story picked right back up after Tom Sawyer, and overall this was an enjoyable story. Some parts were crazy, like a gun fight between feuding families Romeo-and-Juliet-style, but who am I to judge.
What I didn’t like was Mark Twain’s writing style. He made every character into a racist caricature. Overall, I won’t read this again or probably anything else by Mark Twain, but I’m glad I powered through.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2024
Herrlich leichte Unterhaltung aus dem Amerika des späten 19. Jahrhunderts.
Gewissermaßen ist Tom Sawyer zu beneiden für sein herrlich erfrischendes und unbeschwertes Leben im kleinen Städtchen St. Petersburg im US-Bundesstaat Missouri.
Zusammen mit Huckleberry Finn und Joe Harper wird ordentlich Schabernack getrieben.
Ob nun Piraten oder Räuber spielen, Maiskolbenpfeife rauchen oder in Höhlen verstecken, langweilig wird es nie.
Wäre da nicht die »Rothaut« Indianer-Joe…
Sei es nun der Übersetzung der Bechtermünz-Verlagsausgabe von 1991 geschuldet war oder doch dem Originaltextes von Mark Twain, fand ich die Erzählweise und den Sprachstil von Tom super angenehm und locker leicht.
Man muss auch manchmal aus seinen Genres ausbrechen und neues wagen. Auf »Huckleberry Finns Abenteuer« hätte ich auf jeden Fall große Leselust.
Gewissermaßen ist Tom Sawyer zu beneiden für sein herrlich erfrischendes und unbeschwertes Leben im kleinen Städtchen St. Petersburg im US-Bundesstaat Missouri.
Zusammen mit Huckleberry Finn und Joe Harper wird ordentlich Schabernack getrieben.
Ob nun Piraten oder Räuber spielen, Maiskolbenpfeife rauchen oder in Höhlen verstecken, langweilig wird es nie.
Wäre da nicht die »Rothaut« Indianer-Joe…
Sei es nun der Übersetzung der Bechtermünz-Verlagsausgabe von 1991 geschuldet war oder doch dem Originaltextes von Mark Twain, fand ich die Erzählweise und den Sprachstil von Tom super angenehm und locker leicht.
Man muss auch manchmal aus seinen Genres ausbrechen und neues wagen. Auf »Huckleberry Finns Abenteuer« hätte ich auf jeden Fall große Leselust.
December 30, 2020
On je ten Mark Twain vtipný! Rereading jednej z mojich obľúbených detských kníh; prekvapujúco svieže a funkčné i dnes. Napriek všetkým námietkám voči autorovi. Taká bola doba a ja som rada, že o tom môžem čítať práve v Twainovom podaní.
May 30, 2023
If you can find it in yourself to look past the outdated morals, this book is a masterpiece!
The writing style of the author and his ability to create atmosphere, as well as his infinitely relatable way of interpreting young people's though process had me feeling like I was there.
The writing style of the author and his ability to create atmosphere, as well as his infinitely relatable way of interpreting young people's though process had me feeling like I was there.
December 2, 2019
Moby Dick and this book have rather same after-taste. The notion of uncivilized civilization came to be quintessential moral value of both Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, same as Ishmael.
With such a new style of writing, at first I've got a lot of difficulties reading this, especially with those south dialect. But oh boy, Twain told a very simple story about naughty kids in the hood. It just brings back my childhood memories about my past and stupid conviction that I used to hold true. But here and there, Twain gives a subtle lesson of humanity, though the characters seem quite naïve about what great philosophy they learned. It's revolutionary even now. As long as institutional racism exist in human society, this book will remain relevant.
I'm the one of those who don't supported censoring this book for the N-words. I mean, Twain narrates the reality, in clear honesty, about what society he lived then. Huck and Tom only a product of its society, and we must deal with that, so that we know that the outcome of racism is a bigoted people. In this case, Huck, who feels himself not civilized enough, see the worst of so-called civilized white people. Even Huck see more human in Jim, the slave, than in other white person.
The part Twain satirized tradition through Tom Sawyer's unpractical knowledge is one of the best insight about the nonsensical tradition in our society. Yet, we as a society, in the name of conforming, became one part of those ignorant herds. Through Huck's narrative, we dwell into logic and sensibility behind every rules, and always ask the outcome of it. An integral part in which society can progress.
Maybe that's all of my impression about The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, I think the sensation of this will always echo in my mind forever, because it hits many parts of my heart softly but clicked on neatly.
With such a new style of writing, at first I've got a lot of difficulties reading this, especially with those south dialect. But oh boy, Twain told a very simple story about naughty kids in the hood. It just brings back my childhood memories about my past and stupid conviction that I used to hold true. But here and there, Twain gives a subtle lesson of humanity, though the characters seem quite naïve about what great philosophy they learned. It's revolutionary even now. As long as institutional racism exist in human society, this book will remain relevant.
I'm the one of those who don't supported censoring this book for the N-words. I mean, Twain narrates the reality, in clear honesty, about what society he lived then. Huck and Tom only a product of its society, and we must deal with that, so that we know that the outcome of racism is a bigoted people. In this case, Huck, who feels himself not civilized enough, see the worst of so-called civilized white people. Even Huck see more human in Jim, the slave, than in other white person.
The part Twain satirized tradition through Tom Sawyer's unpractical knowledge is one of the best insight about the nonsensical tradition in our society. Yet, we as a society, in the name of conforming, became one part of those ignorant herds. Through Huck's narrative, we dwell into logic and sensibility behind every rules, and always ask the outcome of it. An integral part in which society can progress.
Maybe that's all of my impression about The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, I think the sensation of this will always echo in my mind forever, because it hits many parts of my heart softly but clicked on neatly.
March 10, 2022
This book is two stories: The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Tom Sawyer is much more innocent story where Huck Finn gets mixed up in some more serious stuff. Both tales start fairly slow, but actually become page turners later on, especially Huck Finn. Mark Twain did a great job reminding me what it felt like to be a 12 or 13 year old boy, he captures the world as one sees it at that age perfectly. He also has a great sense of humor and the book was funnier than what you might expect for something written in 1876.
Huck Finn also contains insight into the way a kid would perceive slavery in pre-civil-war middle America, which is an interesting perspective.
4/5 Because the pacing does drag a bit at the beginning of both stories.
Huck Finn also contains insight into the way a kid would perceive slavery in pre-civil-war middle America, which is an interesting perspective.
4/5 Because the pacing does drag a bit at the beginning of both stories.
May 17, 2022
Leyendo las aventuras de Tom, rememoré las aventuras de mi hermano menor el cual hubiera sido un digno aspirante a la cuadrilla de Tom Sawyer. Esta lectura ha estado plagada de nostalgia, ternura, suspiros y risas, me ha llegado al corazón.
Reading the adventures of Tom, I recalled the adventures of my younger brother who would have been a worthy contender for the gang of Tom Sawyer. This reading has been full of nostalgia, tenderness, sighs and laughter, it has touched my heart.
Reading the adventures of Tom, I recalled the adventures of my younger brother who would have been a worthy contender for the gang of Tom Sawyer. This reading has been full of nostalgia, tenderness, sighs and laughter, it has touched my heart.
May 14, 2020
Чудесна книга, която с умиление те връща към детството!
April 16, 2021
I remember reading these stories as an older child from my parents' Junior Classics collection that was a part of their encyclopedia set. Found them interesting stories at the time.
August 13, 2019
Miluju Pány kluky, takže na tuto předlohu pro náš krásný český film muselo jednou dojít. A je to parádní kniha o klukovinách nejen pro kluky. Dílko plné humoru, dětských tajemství a průšvihů.
July 2, 2020
My wife and I only read Tom Sawyer, which was charming. Will return for Huck Finn in a few months.
August 30, 2011
First off, this is the first time I've listened to the unabridged version. For those of us naive enough to believe that the two American Folk heroes in this book are merely rambunctious teenagers looking for adventure, the real story will come as a complete shock.
Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are budding psychopaths.
It's not like its completely their faults either. They both have a skewed sense of morality that was influenced by their upbringing and culture. Huck was abused badly and then abandoned by his father. His dad only comes back when he finds out Huck is now wealthy. Huck also believes he is destined for to go to hell because he wants to do the right thing, but his culture believes its wrong (freeing a slave).
Tom and his brother Sid are orphans. (Although, judging by Tom's behavior I think he would probably be the evil mastermind even if this were not the case.)
Poor kids and their totaly messed up lives!
The boys are clever, but not very logical. And they are poorly educated. And they lie for no particular reason at all. Crazy.
On a side note: Huck should have died, like, ten times during his trip down the Mississippi River. And, eating snakes is gross!
Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are budding psychopaths.
It's not like its completely their faults either. They both have a skewed sense of morality that was influenced by their upbringing and culture. Huck was abused badly and then abandoned by his father. His dad only comes back when he finds out Huck is now wealthy. Huck also believes he is destined for to go to hell because he wants to do the right thing, but his culture believes its wrong (freeing a slave).
Tom and his brother Sid are orphans. (Although, judging by Tom's behavior I think he would probably be the evil mastermind even if this were not the case.)
Poor kids and their totaly messed up lives!
The boys are clever, but not very logical. And they are poorly educated. And they lie for no particular reason at all. Crazy.
On a side note: Huck should have died, like, ten times during his trip down the Mississippi River. And, eating snakes is gross!
January 16, 2009
I like Huck's story better than Tom's. Probably because it is darker. Tom's story is alright, he's a very smart and creative kid and he sometimes made me laugh, especially the part when he was asked about the first two disciples during Sunday School and he answered David and Goliath, haha...
Anyway, Huck's story is better because it gives more insight on the real life and people along the Mississippi river when there's still slavery. Huck surely met with various, interesting characters during his runaway. He might not be as resourceful as Tom, but I love him because his character is more complex. He questioned himself many times on the values of society and his pondering whether he should 'break' the rules or not are quite intriguing. Apparently Huck Finn is one of the most challenged books in the US. Not surprising, especially with so much N word in it. Is it racist? My gut feeling says no. But anyway, I still think the book deserves its place among the great American novels.
Anyway, Huck's story is better because it gives more insight on the real life and people along the Mississippi river when there's still slavery. Huck surely met with various, interesting characters during his runaway. He might not be as resourceful as Tom, but I love him because his character is more complex. He questioned himself many times on the values of society and his pondering whether he should 'break' the rules or not are quite intriguing. Apparently Huck Finn is one of the most challenged books in the US. Not surprising, especially with so much N word in it. Is it racist? My gut feeling says no. But anyway, I still think the book deserves its place among the great American novels.
August 31, 2015
Although I'd read both of these a decade ago, when I was about the same age as Tom and Huck, reading them again has been such a differently enriching experience. While the first is, ostensibly, a book for children by adults, the second is a book for adults by children.
Even as both works can exist in their own, a dual edition like this brings out some of the inherent interdependencies as well those feature which contrast one another sharply. I agree with those who say that Twain is perhaps America's finest and most important author in that his fiction is so very rooted in a geographical and cultural space that it is unimaginable to see these stories written from/set elsewhere.
For an adventure tale, a story of young friendships, a semi-psychological-horror thriller and a narrative of nature vs human civilisation all rolled into two, Twain's most iconic works are essential reads for every generation across the globe.
Even as both works can exist in their own, a dual edition like this brings out some of the inherent interdependencies as well those feature which contrast one another sharply. I agree with those who say that Twain is perhaps America's finest and most important author in that his fiction is so very rooted in a geographical and cultural space that it is unimaginable to see these stories written from/set elsewhere.
For an adventure tale, a story of young friendships, a semi-psychological-horror thriller and a narrative of nature vs human civilisation all rolled into two, Twain's most iconic works are essential reads for every generation across the globe.
November 15, 2021
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is included on The Top 100 Books of All Time list https://www.theguardian.com/world/200... but the question is...for how long
10 out of 10
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has long been considered a Magnum opus, a classic that children read with gusto and as mentioned above, it is (still) included on the magical list of Best 100 books of all time, but the question may be when, and not if it will be removed from the curriculum (perhaps it has already happened…in one of the dialogues I have listened to recently, between the two Magi of our elite, Andrei Plesu and Gabriel Liiceanu, the former mentions something that had happened in one of the American universities – they are in the middle of the Cancel phenomenon and the Culture Wars may eventually move on to real gun battles, for there are republicans who ask when they can use their (myriad of weapons) against their enemies, aka those who refute the stupid Big Steal conspiracy theory
One place of learning (maybe more, in the Woke regions evidently, though cities tend to have the universities and in bigger towns, the democrats are in the ascendant, while rural places would be reserved for the Chosen One, the Very Stable Genius that has been deprived of his glory by Italian satellites, bamboo papers, Hugo Chavez…you name it and it could have a connection with the cabal of baby eaters that have stolen the trophy from the poor Orange Big Brain) has decided to remove the portrait (or was it the bust, maybe the statue) of William Shakespeare (the greatest writer in the world, unless we buy into yet another conspiracy theory, which would have someone else write the Magnum opera, including Queen Elizabeth I herself, in the moments of turpitude, between looking into fighting the Spanish Armada, launching Britain on a sky-high trajectory, becoming the greatest power in the world for some centuries).
That representation has been replaced with the figure of an African American poet or writer (the source of this information was not sure, or anyway he was vague about it) who is a lesbian, and though the reference was quite ironic, maybe even more, looking with contempt at a (rather silly) move that was design to replace the greatest author mankind has ever had (presumably, if it was not a masonic plot, if it is not a concoction prepared by the lizard people, the list is long for those determined to falsify history, make up ghoulish cakes of manure) because he is not ‘diverse’ enough and not ‘representative’.
The issues with The Adventures of Huckleberry are not related with the fact that Mark Twain was a white male and hence he needs to leave the stage for others, more diverse classics (which could happen on this cause alone, sometime in the future, near present or maybe it has already taken place somewhere) the problems would be connected with race relations, the use of the ‘N’ word in abundance, perhaps we read it more than one hundred times, when Jim is mentioned, the incriminated, insulting word is added…
This reader (and clearly so many others) was thinking that children read the book – and they are the main audience, since this is a children’s book, which adults can enjoy, albeit it is grating to hear -you can listen to the audiobook, and there are free of charge versions now, that the copyright has ‘expired’, since there are much more than seventy years since the book was published, and you can even choose between having one single reader, or a dramatic version, where different volunteers speak the different parts https://librivox.org/the-adventures-o...
If children read (or listen to) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, they would find the character of Jim more than likeable (though there is the stereotype of the man being described somehow as perhaps surprising in some ways, the allusions being maybe racist, if we use a present day lens and the standards of the age…yes, it is anathema on so many levels, but I am just debating here, I am not clearly in the possession of the truth, and even if I had it, who would listen to it…there is a Chosen One, and they have stolen his rightful place at the top of America and hence the World) they will clearly feel empathy for him -however, there is a distinction here, explained by Milan Kundera in the book that Le monde has placed on its 100 Best Novels list, The Unbearable Lightness of Being http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/11/t... and we feel compassion for those we place on the same level with us, while pity implies a separation, we look down on those we pity.
Therefore, if they feel pity, that may already send them on the wrong path and since they keep reading (or hearing) the N word, they may see it as harmless…yes, parents and educators will have warned their offspring or pupils, but this is just the point, it could become if not a habit, for adults would be quick to curtail, forbid the use of the racist word (unless of course, they are from red territory and fanatics that adore their White- Orange Super Male, so smart, he has discovered the cure for the pandemic, consume disinfectant) still a notion that they will have used their brain with and subconsciously may even accept it.
This is not a plea to ban Mark Twain, for first of all, who would listen, second, the humor, the Adventures, the joy ride, joie de vivre that we get from this (formerly known as) chef d’oeuvre justify its presence on the most respectable lists of the greatest masterpieces and then (perhaps third reason) we would have to eliminate much of what ancients have produced (some of them were slaves and Epictetus will have to be mentioned http://realini.blogspot.com/2021/04/e... for Stoicism seems to be solution for the future (nay, if we are to have a future) of the planet, given that it has some sensible rules, such as ‘wish for what you already have’ on a globe that is prey to consumerism and wasting the resources of the earth) for there have been many great names, if not most, who have owned slaves or servants…
Indeed, if we read Intellectuals by Paul Johnson http://realini.blogspot.com/2014/06/i... we find that many of the classics have been quite awful in their private life, or anyway, not admirable…Leo Tolstoy, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Ernest Hemingway, Henrik Ibsen…Ivan Turgenev seems to come out more or less as almost perfect, when compared with Tolstoy, at least in what concerns illegitimate children…
10 out of 10
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has long been considered a Magnum opus, a classic that children read with gusto and as mentioned above, it is (still) included on the magical list of Best 100 books of all time, but the question may be when, and not if it will be removed from the curriculum (perhaps it has already happened…in one of the dialogues I have listened to recently, between the two Magi of our elite, Andrei Plesu and Gabriel Liiceanu, the former mentions something that had happened in one of the American universities – they are in the middle of the Cancel phenomenon and the Culture Wars may eventually move on to real gun battles, for there are republicans who ask when they can use their (myriad of weapons) against their enemies, aka those who refute the stupid Big Steal conspiracy theory
One place of learning (maybe more, in the Woke regions evidently, though cities tend to have the universities and in bigger towns, the democrats are in the ascendant, while rural places would be reserved for the Chosen One, the Very Stable Genius that has been deprived of his glory by Italian satellites, bamboo papers, Hugo Chavez…you name it and it could have a connection with the cabal of baby eaters that have stolen the trophy from the poor Orange Big Brain) has decided to remove the portrait (or was it the bust, maybe the statue) of William Shakespeare (the greatest writer in the world, unless we buy into yet another conspiracy theory, which would have someone else write the Magnum opera, including Queen Elizabeth I herself, in the moments of turpitude, between looking into fighting the Spanish Armada, launching Britain on a sky-high trajectory, becoming the greatest power in the world for some centuries).
That representation has been replaced with the figure of an African American poet or writer (the source of this information was not sure, or anyway he was vague about it) who is a lesbian, and though the reference was quite ironic, maybe even more, looking with contempt at a (rather silly) move that was design to replace the greatest author mankind has ever had (presumably, if it was not a masonic plot, if it is not a concoction prepared by the lizard people, the list is long for those determined to falsify history, make up ghoulish cakes of manure) because he is not ‘diverse’ enough and not ‘representative’.
The issues with The Adventures of Huckleberry are not related with the fact that Mark Twain was a white male and hence he needs to leave the stage for others, more diverse classics (which could happen on this cause alone, sometime in the future, near present or maybe it has already taken place somewhere) the problems would be connected with race relations, the use of the ‘N’ word in abundance, perhaps we read it more than one hundred times, when Jim is mentioned, the incriminated, insulting word is added…
This reader (and clearly so many others) was thinking that children read the book – and they are the main audience, since this is a children’s book, which adults can enjoy, albeit it is grating to hear -you can listen to the audiobook, and there are free of charge versions now, that the copyright has ‘expired’, since there are much more than seventy years since the book was published, and you can even choose between having one single reader, or a dramatic version, where different volunteers speak the different parts https://librivox.org/the-adventures-o...
If children read (or listen to) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, they would find the character of Jim more than likeable (though there is the stereotype of the man being described somehow as perhaps surprising in some ways, the allusions being maybe racist, if we use a present day lens and the standards of the age…yes, it is anathema on so many levels, but I am just debating here, I am not clearly in the possession of the truth, and even if I had it, who would listen to it…there is a Chosen One, and they have stolen his rightful place at the top of America and hence the World) they will clearly feel empathy for him -however, there is a distinction here, explained by Milan Kundera in the book that Le monde has placed on its 100 Best Novels list, The Unbearable Lightness of Being http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/11/t... and we feel compassion for those we place on the same level with us, while pity implies a separation, we look down on those we pity.
Therefore, if they feel pity, that may already send them on the wrong path and since they keep reading (or hearing) the N word, they may see it as harmless…yes, parents and educators will have warned their offspring or pupils, but this is just the point, it could become if not a habit, for adults would be quick to curtail, forbid the use of the racist word (unless of course, they are from red territory and fanatics that adore their White- Orange Super Male, so smart, he has discovered the cure for the pandemic, consume disinfectant) still a notion that they will have used their brain with and subconsciously may even accept it.
This is not a plea to ban Mark Twain, for first of all, who would listen, second, the humor, the Adventures, the joy ride, joie de vivre that we get from this (formerly known as) chef d’oeuvre justify its presence on the most respectable lists of the greatest masterpieces and then (perhaps third reason) we would have to eliminate much of what ancients have produced (some of them were slaves and Epictetus will have to be mentioned http://realini.blogspot.com/2021/04/e... for Stoicism seems to be solution for the future (nay, if we are to have a future) of the planet, given that it has some sensible rules, such as ‘wish for what you already have’ on a globe that is prey to consumerism and wasting the resources of the earth) for there have been many great names, if not most, who have owned slaves or servants…
Indeed, if we read Intellectuals by Paul Johnson http://realini.blogspot.com/2014/06/i... we find that many of the classics have been quite awful in their private life, or anyway, not admirable…Leo Tolstoy, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Ernest Hemingway, Henrik Ibsen…Ivan Turgenev seems to come out more or less as almost perfect, when compared with Tolstoy, at least in what concerns illegitimate children…
July 17, 2020
OK, I had to break this down into two reviews, posted to my blog (if you're interested!).
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
March 17, 2008
I don't understand why these are only listed as one book- I distinctly remember reading Tom Sawyer, and then some years later, reading Huck Finn. Anyways, I liked them both although I recall particularly appreciating the latter. As far as I recall, Tom Sawyer was basically just a fun read, whereas Huck Finn seemed more of a social commentary, with a certain dark brooding about it. I read these both ages ago, prolly when i was about 13 or 14; I would definitely recommend.
February 22, 2019
I’m counting this as one book because it’s read both back to back as part of my books I always wanted to read challenge, and I only want it to count as one book. (It’s number four.)
If I’m being honest Tom Sawyer gets four stars and Huckleberry Finn gets three. Maybe I was tired of these boys and their crazy antics and the racism by the time I got through the second one, but Tom Sawyer was more palatable to me.
If I’m being honest Tom Sawyer gets four stars and Huckleberry Finn gets three. Maybe I was tired of these boys and their crazy antics and the racism by the time I got through the second one, but Tom Sawyer was more palatable to me.
September 11, 2018
Huckleberry Finn is first introduced to readers in Tom Sawyer. To try to escape his life of parental abuse and poverty, Finn sets off down the Mississippi River with a runaway slave. They encounter a many varied situations. Racist terms are used as they were acceptable when Clemmens wrote the book.
November 5, 2018
A classic for a reason! This was a great book from start to finish. Nothing else to say except I really, really loved it!
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