Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Book Reports Mark Twain The Adventures of Huck Fin Mark Twain The Adventures of Huck Fin Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain is a famous author. He is one of the most widely respected and loved American writers. He wrote over 30 works, including satires, short stories, historical fiction and non-fiction novels as well as five Travelogues. One of the novels that he wrote was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. That is the novel I read. Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in Florida, Missouri on November 30, 1835. He was the sixth child of John and Jane Clemens. Just a few years later, in 1839, the Clemens family moved to a nearby town, Hannibal, where he spent his childhood years. During his those years, he had a strong bond with the Mississippi River. His childhood dream was to become a steamboat man on the river. The town in which he lived steamboats docked 3 times a day. Clemens was fascinated with them. By the age of 16, Clemens was working for his brother Orion’s Hannibal Western Union. He published sketches and worked as a printer, sometimes taking on editor in his brother’s absence. By age 21 he was seeking a bunk on a ship going to South America. There he met Horace Bixby, a steamboat pilot. He persuaded Horace to take him on as an apprentice and after two years on the Mississippi, Clemens had his pilot’s license. With the start of the Civil War in April 1861, river traffic on the Mississippi was suspended. Clemens' steamboat pilot career came to an end. He had been occasionally sending letters to the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise, the territory's most well known newspaper, and by September 1862, he had been accepted to be a reporter for the paper. After a short 17 months, Clemens left the Enterprise and went to San Francisco. He traveled extensively for the next few years and at age 33 he secretly was engaged to Olivia Langdon, better known as Livy. In 1870 his life took a dramatic change towards stability. He married Livy and settled down in Buffalo, N.Y. They had a few traumatic years and finally moved to Connecticut. They had 3 daughters, Susy, Clara and Jean. He also published The Gilded Age, with Charles Dudley Warner, his first fictional book. Now settled into his home in Hartford, Clemens devoted himself to writing novels and sketches, and performing an occasional lecture. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Life on the Mississippi and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn were published between 1876- 1885. Many other books and sketches were published in upcoming years. In 1900, Samuel and Livy moved to NYC and Livy became seriously ill. She died in 1904 and he spent the years following Livy's death primarily in New York City. By 1908, Clemens moved into his final home, a residence in Redding, CT. In December 1909, Clemen’s youngest daughter, Jean, died and his health rapidly deteriorated. In January 1910, he went to Bermuda because of his ailing heath. He sensed he wasn't going to live long and on April 21, 1910, he subsequently fell into a coma at Stormfield. At sunset, his heart failed and he died in bed. He was 74 years old. The novel, The Adventures Huckleberry Finn opens with Huck introducing himself as someone who you might have heard of. Huck is living with Widow Douglas and her sister Miss Watson. They are trying to teach him religion and proper manners. One night, Huck sneaks out of the house and joins Tom Sawyer’s gang and they pretend they are robbers and pirates. Huck soon discovers his drunken abusive father, Pap Finn, as returned to town. Pap confronts Huck and says that he should quit school and stop trying to better himself but to spite his father Huck continues to go to school. Soon Pap kidnaps Huck and takes him across the Mississippi to the Illinois riverbank. Huck is comfortable with no more religion and manner lessons but Pap’s beatings become so severe that Huck fakes his own murder and escapes. He lands a down at Jackson’s Island and meets Miss Watson’s slave, Jim. He has also run away because he was in fear that he would be sold down the river. They soon learn that two men are coming to search the island and escape on a raft. Jim had a plan to arrive at Cairo, and from there he can go up the Ohio River to the free states. Huck and Jim encounter many characters during their traveling the river. The only time that they both feel they are truly free is when they are upon the raft. This freedom is shattered when they meet the duke and the king. They take commander the raft and scam. The scams are harmless they pose as English brothers to steal a whole family’s inheritance. Before they can carry out their plan the true brothers get there. Huck and Jim flee but are soon reunited with the duke and the king. Since they are disappointed because they didn’t get the money the sell Jim into slavery. Huck goes and finds Jim but he figures out he is being held captive. Tom Sawyer soon arrives and Huck explains Jim’s situation. Tom and Jim brew an elaborate plan to free Jim. Once the escape is almost complete, a farmer shoots Tom in the calf. Because Jim will not leave Tom he is captured again. Once at the farm Tom reveals the plan to Aunt Sally. We learn that Miss Watson has passed away and has left Jim free in her will. As the novel concludes Jim is set free and Huck contemplates his next adventure. Henry Nash Smith says that there are three coherent elements in Huckleberry Finn; adventure, social attire and the developing character of Huck. “All three elements must have been present to Mark Twain’s mind in some sense from the beginning, for much of the book’s greatness lies in its basic coherence, the complex interrelation of its parts.” (quoted in The Greenhaven Press Literary Companion to American Authors: Mark Twain p. 145). Mark Twain had these three elements in the back of his head from the start of the novel. Smith thinks that Twain might have not seen clearly as he began to write. “The narrative tends to increase in depth as it moves from the adventure story of the early chapters into the social satire of the long middle section, thence to the ultimate psychological penetration of Huck’s character in the moral crisis of Chapter 31.” (p. 146). While writing Huck Finn, Mark Twain took a three-year break. While picking up the novel again he decided on a different plan for the narrative. “Instead of concentrating on the story of Huck and Jim’s escape, he launched into a satiric description of the society of the prewar South.” (p.146). Huck was key to this direction because Twain meant to view his subject through Huck’s eyes. T.S. Eliot says that the river controls Huckleberry Finn. Eliot says that the river gives the novel its form as well as controls the journey of Huck and Jim. “The river gives the book its form” (p. 151). Rivers are very big and powerful and it’s the only thing that can determine the destination of human migration. “…it carries down human bodies, cattle and houses.” (. 151). The river is Huck and Jim’s place for freedom. “Thus the river makes the book a great book.” (p. 153). I feel that this is a great novel. Mark Twain wrote this book spectacularly. He is a great author. I do think the river controls the book. It is very powerful and it does control their journey. I think that he wrote a much greater book then he thought that he was going to write. He took three years off and then picked up where he left off and it still came out to be one of the best books I ever read. I had a little trouble understanding the language but overall I think it was a great book. In the novel there are many themes. Twain develops several around a central plot to create this story. Freedom and civilization are just a few themes in this novel. They are the central themes. Jim wants to be free throughout the whole story and in the end we find out that Miss Watson had died and left in her will that he was free. Huck is an uncivilized kid who lives with Widow Douglas and Miss Watson who are supposed to be civilizing him. He runs away so he doesn’t have to be civilized. I would recommend Mark Twain to anyone who likes to read. He is one of the most loved authors of all time! He writes excellent. He lived a rich and eventful life and has become an icon of American culture. He is someone to look up to and just that makes one want to read his books. I have read many of his books and I recommend all of them to people of all ages. This project has helped me to break down the writer’s work in to sections so that I can better understand the themes of this book. I understand many of the themes and can explain them in detail. I have also learned much information about Mark Twain. I have learned many things I didn’t know before. I can analyze them and I know what is important and what isn’t. This project has helped me tremendously in learning about Mark Twain and what others think of him. Bibliography: Word Count: 1589
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