Chapter
1
Huckleberry
Finn begins where things left off after The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer. Huck and Tom Sawyer had become rich from all of the
treasure they discovered and the Widow
Douglas has adopted Huck. She tries to civilize Huck in many
different ways, including giving him new, clean clothes, teaching him about the
Bible and God, and trying to educate him on things like spelling and reading.
The Widow Douglas' sister, Miss Watson, even comes to try and help. Huck is
not comfortable with their civilized ways; he just wants to be in his old rags
and smoke.
Huck goes
up to bed and is lonely and scared. He hears all sorts of creepy noises outside
and this frightens him. Soon, he hears the sound of a cat's meow, and he knows
that it is Tom. Huck meows back, climbs out the window, slips into the trees,
and sees Tom waiting there for him.
Chapter
2
Tom and
Huck creep into the trees and climb down to the widow's garden. They see Miss
Watson's slave, Jim, sitting at the kitchen door. They try to be
quiet so Jim won't hear them, but Jim hears noises anyway. He keeps on asking,
"Who's there?" Huck itches all over and tries not to scratch himself
so he doesn't make any noise. Tom plays a joke on Jim and secretly hangs his
hat above his head. Afterwards, Jim tells stories to all the other slaves about
how witches bewitched him that night.
Tom and
Huck eventually make it to the top of the hill. They go down the hill and meet
up with a couple of their buddies. They all go down the river and Tom shows
them a hole in the hill; it opens up into a cave and they all go in. Tom tells
them that they're going to start a band of robbers called "Tom Sawyer's
Gang." Everyone has to take an oath to the group and write their names in
blood. There is talk over what they'll do if any of them tell the gang's
secrets to others. Tom suggests that they kill the person and the person's
family as a consequence for violating gang secrets. A question arises over what
to do about Huck. He doesn't really have a family, just a drunkard for a
father, Pap, who Huck never sees.
Huck offers
Miss Watson as a replacement. They all talk about what they're going to do as
robbers and Tom insists that they have to do what is written in the books,
including holding people for ransom.
"'Ransomed?
What's that?'
'I don't
know. But that's what they do. I've seen it in books; and so of course that's
what we've got to do.'
'But how
can we do it if we don't know what it is?'
'Why
blame it all, we've got to do it. Don't I tell you it's in the books? Do you
want to go to doing different from what's in the books, and get things all
muddled up?'" Chapter 2, pg. 9
Tom is
elected first captain, they end the meeting, and discuss a next time to meet.
They all go home.
Chapter
3
Miss Watson
yells at Huck for dirtying his clothes. The widow washes him off and Huck feels
guilty about it.
Huck
wonders about praying. Miss Watson tells him if he prays, he will get what he
wants. Huck says he prayed for fishhooks once for days and he never got them.
The widow explains that he should pray for spiritual gifts.
Huck explains
about his father. He hasn't seen him for more than a year; this is fine with
Huck because his father used to beat him. At one point, everyone thought he
drowned in the river, but Huck knew better; he knows Pap isn't dead.
The gang
plays for about a month and they all resign because they haven't robbed or
killed anyone. Tom makes up a story about Spaniards and Arabs coming to town
with camels and diamonds. He makes a plan to rob them, but when the gang gets
there, it is just a Sunday school picnic.
Tom and
Huck argue over genies. Huck doesn't believe in them, but Tom insists that they
exist. Huck tries rubbing a tin lamp, but nothing happens, just as he thought.
Chapter
4
It is
winter and about 3 or 4 months have passed. Huck has been going to school most
of the time. He is getting used to his new ways: going to school and living a
'civilized' life. He still sometimes misses the old ways of sleeping in the
woods.
Huck sees
tracks in the snow. It is a boot with a cross in it to keep off the devil. He
goes to see Judge Thatcher. The judge tells Huck that $150
just came in for him, but Huck insists that the judge take that money plus the
rest of the $6,000. The judge is confused, but Huck insists
he take the money and not ask why.
Huck goes
to see Jim, Miss Watson's slave. Jim has a magical hairball that was removed
from the fourth stomach of an ox. Huck pays Jim an old quarter to make the ball
talk and tell him what Pap is doing back in town. The footprints that Huck saw
were Pap's. Jim says that the ball says that Huck will have trouble and joy in
his life. He also says that Pap is around, but he isn't sure what he is going
to do yet.
Huck goes
up to his room, lights a candle, and sees Pap sitting in his room.
Chapter
5
Huck's
father is all worn out. He looks old, his clothes and shoes are rags, and his
face is a sickening whitish color. They talk for a while and Pap gets angry. He
is mad that Huck can read and is better than his own father now that he is
educated and wears nice clothes. He wants Huck's money because he heard that
Huck is rich, but Huck swears he doesn't have any money. Pap makes him give him
the only money that Huck has in his pocket ($1). He goes and gets drunk. Pap
tries to get the money from Judge Thatcher, but the judge refuses to give it to
him. The judge and the widow try to get custody over Huck, but the court (with
a new judge) rules against it; the court doesn't want to separate a family.
Pap gets
thrown in jail and when he comes out, he goes to live with the new judge. The
judge gives him new clothes, food, and a place to sleep. He tries to reform
Huck's father, but it doesn't work. He sells his new coat for money to buy
alcohol, falls out of the window, and breaks his arm.
Chapter
6
Pap causes
all sorts of trouble around town. To spite the widow, he kidnaps Huck and takes
him to a deserted log cabin in the woods. He locks Huck in so he can't escape.
Pap gets drunk and beats Huck, but Huck starts to get used to this new life. He
is allowed to curse and be wild, unlike at the widow's. He also doesn't miss
school, books, and Miss Watson.
Eventually,
Huck gets sick of being beaten so much, so he decides to figure out a way to
escape. He starts to saw off a wooden leg of the table, but he hears Pap's gun
in the woods and stops. When Pap comes back, he curses everyone in the town for
how long the custody trial over Huck and Huck's $6,000 is taking. He tells Huck
to go to the boat and collect the food, whisky, and ammunition that he just
brought back from the town. He goes down to the boat and plans to escape that
night when Pap is good and drunk. He plans to maybe go across the country, but
he definitely does not want to go back to the Widow's.
That night,
Pap gets drunk and curses the government for the predicament he's in. He also
yells about black people being allowed to vote. He eventually falls asleep, but
it isn't a sound sleep, so Huck waits. He waits so long that he falls asleep
too. When he wakes up, Pap yells about snakes biting him on the cheek and neck,
but there really aren't any snakes. He falls asleep again, mumbling about dead
people coming to get him. He wakes up and chases Huck around the house with his
knife. He almost kills Huck, but he slips by. Pap rests a minute and falls
asleep again. Huck takes down Pap's gun, loads it, points it at him, and waits
for him to wake up.
Chapter
7
Pap wakes
up and wants to know what Huck is doing with his gun. Huck says that someone
tried to come into the house and he grabbed it for protection.
Huck goes
down to the river to see about a fish for breakfast;
instead, he finds a canoe floating down the river along with a lot of other
debris, including big pieces of wood. He grabs the canoe and hides it, so he
can use it to escape later.
Pap goes to
town to try and sell some of the wood they collected from the river. Huck uses
this time to plan his escape. He loads up the canoe with food, ammunition,
Pap's gun, matches, and a few other essentials. Then, Huck kills a pig.
He bloodies
up the house and axe with this pig to make it look as though a robber came into
the house and killed Huck. Huck doesn't want anyone to chase after him once he
sets sail down the river. He makes two false trails, one leading to the river,
and the other leading to a lake. He eventually gets into the canoe, and starts
down the river. He decides he'll go to
He falls
asleep, and when he wakes up he hears noises on the river. It is Pap rowing
back from town, after selling the wood. Huck ducks down in his canoe and floats
by unnoticed by Pap. He makes it to Jackson's
Island, pulls the canoe ashore, and rests before breakfast.
Chapter
8
Huck
wakes up and hears booming noises. It is a ferry with everyone from town on it,
looking for his carcass. They get close to him, but they don't see him.
He spends
the next couple of days on the island.
He likes it, but he gets lonely sometimes. He fishes, hunts, and gathers fruit
and berries. He comes across a campfire that is smoking and gets nervous, so he
hides in a tree. He leaves the Missouri bank and paddles over to the
Jim tells
Huck that Miss Watson was going to sell him, so he ran off. He tells Huck all
about his escape and how he found out Huck was dead. They talk about
superstitions and signs. Jim is certain that one day he'll be rich again
because he has hairy arms. Jim says he feels rich already because he owns
himself, now that he is free.
"'Yes-en
I's rich now, come to look at it. I owns mysef, en I's wuth eight hund'd
dollars. I wisht I had de money, I wouldn' want no'.'" Chapter
8, pg. 52
Chapter
9
Jim and
Huck go exploring around the island. They find a cavern and bring some of their
stuff in it so it doesn't get wet from the approaching rain. They eat a good
dinner and rest in the cavern while it rains. It is a big storm, but it ends
quickly.
The river
rises and is full of debris. One night, Huck and Jim notice a two-story house
floating by. They wait for daylight to explore it. They find a dead man in the
house. Jim covers his face so Huck doesn't have to look at it. They find all
sorts of things in the house, including whisky bottles, women's and men's
clothing, a boy's old straw hat, a broken bottle, an old chest, a sun-bonnet,
and masks. They steal knives, candles, old medicine, a bed-quilt, beeswax,
buttons, fishhooks, and a wooden leg. They leave the house and paddle back to
their side of the shore, the
Chapter
10
Huck wants
to know about the dead man and who shot him, but Jim won't talk about it. He
says it will bring bad luck.
A couple of
days prior to this, Huck touched a snakeskin with his hands and Jim said that
bad luck would come. It finally did. Huck recounts the story of what happened
to bring the bad luck.
Huck went
into the cavern for some tobacco and found a rattlesnake in it. He killed it
and put it on Jim's blanket for some fun. When Jim went to lie down on the
blanket that night, the snake's mate bit Jim on the heel.
Jim drinks
himself drunk so as to ease the pain of the bite. He is drunk for a few days,
and the swelling finally goes away. They fish and catch a huge catfish as big
as a man.
Huck wants
to know what has been going on in the town. He dresses up as a girl with the
clothes they stole from the house. He rows over to town and comes across a beat
up house in the woods. He looks through the window and sees a woman, about
forty years old, who he's never seen before. He knocks and hopes that she won't
recognize he's not really a girl.
Chapter
11
Huck goes
inside the house and talks with the woman for a while about what has been going
on around town. Pap supposedly disappeared, and some people
think he may have killed Huck for Huck's money. Some others think Jim did it
and there is a $300 reward out for him. The woman thinks that Jim might be over
at
Huck runs
back to the canoe and paddles back to Jim in the cavern. He wakes Jim up, they
load up the raft with all of their stuff, and they shove off.
Chapter
12
Huck and
Jim travel all night on the raft and finally stop on the
Huck and
Jim make a habit of traveling the river at night and resting by day. They spend
the next couple of nights going down the river.
Every so
often when they are by a village, Huck will go into a cornfield and borrow
food.
"Mornings,
before daylight, I slipped into corn fields and borrowed a watermelon, or a
mushmelon, or a punkin, or some new corn, or things of that kind. Pap always
said it warn't no harm to borrow things, if you was meaning to pay them back,
sometime; but the widow said it warn't anything but a soft name for stealing,
and no decent body would do it." Chapter
12, pg. 72
There is a
big storm one night and they see a steamboat that crashed against a rock. Huck
wants to go on it and explore it, but Jim is against doing that. He eventually
gives in to Huck because Huck says there might be some money on the boat they
can collect. They go on, but they see a light and hear voices. Jim gets nervous
and says he's going back to the raft, but Huck stays to listen. He crawls to
where he can see the men. He sees two men (one with a gun and the other with
the light) standing over a man that is tied up on the floor. The man with the
gun wants to shoot the man on the floor, but the other man standing doesn't
want him to. They walk over to where Huck is, so he hides. He hears them talk
some more. They decide to gather the money from the boat along with some other
goods, and then move onto their own boat, allowing the wreck with the tied up
man to wash away down the river.
Huck yells
Jim's name out and tells him that there are murderers on the boat. He says that
they need to find the men's boat and shove it off so they can't get away.
"'Quick,
Jim, it ain't no time for fooling around and moaning; there's a gang of
murderers in yonder, and if we don't hunt up their boat and set her drifting
down the river so these fellows can't get away from the wreck, there's one of
'em going to be in a bad fix. But if we find their boat we can put all of 'em
in a bad fix - for the Sheriff 'll get 'em . . . '" Chapter
12, pg. 77
Huck tells
Jim to get their raft, but Jim says it broke loose and is gone.
Chapter
13
Huck and
Jim find the men's boat and glide down the river. They search for their raft.
Huck feels bad about the men in the wreck and so he comes up with a plan to fix
it. However, the rain prevents him from carrying the plan out.
They come
across a captain and Huck makes up a story about the gang on the wreck. He
pleads for the captain to go and rescue the gang, and he agrees. Huck knows
that what he did is a good thing, and he is proud of himself for it.
Huck and
Jim sink the boat, hide the raft, and sleep.
Chapter
14
The boat
that they stole had all sorts of things in it, including books, cigars, clothes
and boots. Huck reads Jim some of the books. They are all about kings and dukes
and what they do. Jim likes the way it all sounds; it sounds high and mighty.
They argue about King Solomon, and the famous biblical story about him cutting
the child in half to see who the real mother was. They also argue over why
French people speak the way they do and why they speak differently than
Americans. Jim doesn't understand the sense in it so Huck eventually quits
trying to teach him.
Chapter
15
Huck
and Jim are almost at the bottom of
One night,
Huck goes to tie the raft to the shore, but the current is too strong and it
breaks loose. Huck searches the river
for it (because Jim and all of their stuff is on it) but the fog is too thick.
They holler back and forth because they can't see each other. Huck falls asleep
and when he wakes up, he sees Jim asleep on the raft. He gets on the raft and
pretends to have just woken up. Jim is so excited to see Huck alive, but Huck
tells him that he was there the whole time, and makes Jim feel stupid. Huck
says that he was either drunk or dreaming, but that he has been there the whole
time and he doesn't know what Jim is talking about. Jim finally figures out
that Huck made a fool out of him because he sees the leaves and rubbish on the
raft. He gets mad and goes into the wigwam. Huck feels guilty for making Jim
feel so bad.
Chapter
16
They
continue to travel by night and sleep during the day. Jim keeps talking about
getting to
"Conscience
says to me 'What had poor Miss Watson done to you, that you could see her
nigger go off right under your eyes and never say one single word? What did
that poor old woman do to you, that you could treat her so mean? . . .' I got
to feeling so mean and so miserable I most wished I was dead." Chapter
16, pg. 97
Huck
decides he's going to turn Jim in, but when two men (who are looking for
runaway slaves) on a raft float by, he tells them that the man on his raft is
white. When they say they're going to check for themselves, Huck tells them
that it's his Pap, and he's very sick. The two men assume it's smallpox, and
they leave without checking the raft. Out of sympathy, they give Huck $20
before they go.
Huck goes
back on the raft and finds Jim hiding in the water. He had heard the men say
that they were coming to check the raft.
They get on
the raft and continue to look for
Finally,
they think they've made it to
Huck and
Jim are on the raft when they notice a big steamboat coming their way. They
light the lantern so the boat knows they're there, but the boat still comes
right for them. They jump off of the raft right as the steamboat plows through
the middle of it. Huck comes up out of the water and sees no sign of Jim. He
climbs up the bank and sees a log house. Dogs come barking at him and he
refuses to move.
Chapter
17
Someone
from the house hears the dogs barking and asks, "Who's there?" Huck
says his name is George Jackson and he just fell off of the steamboat. The man
asks Huck if he is a Shepherdson, and Huck says he's never even heard
of them. The man tells some boys in the house to get the candle and their guns.
They carefully let Huck enter the house and when they see him, they see that he
isn't a Shepherdson. The mother tells Buck
(a boy about 13 or 14, the same age as Huck) to go and get Huck some dry
clothes. He gets Huck the clothes and tells him that he can stay there forever
and they can play together.
Huck makes
up a story about how he used to live on a farm, how his father died, and how he
came to be there now. They tell him he can have a home there as long as he
wants. They make him a delicious meal and they all talk.
Huck thinks
their house is the nicest he's ever seen before in the country. He is impressed
with all of their stuff: the tables, fireplace, clocks, baskets, books, and
pictures. He is especially interested in the paintings and poetry that their
dead daughter, Emmeline made. She wrote all about dead people,
and since she is now dead, Huck thinks that it is only fair that someone should
take the time to write about her. He tries it, but isn't satisfied with his
work.
Huck really
likes it at their house and he fits in well.
Chapter
18
Huck
describes the Grangerfords in detail. The father, Col.
Grangerford, is tall and thin with black hair and black eyes. He is very
handsome, with a well-mannered and commanding personality. There are two sons,
Tom and Bob, who are older and look just like the father. Then there is the
younger son, Buck, who is just like Huck. There are also two sweet, beautiful
daughters, Miss Charlotte and Miss
Sophia. The mother is just like them and is very sweet. They also
had three other sons and a daughter, Emmeline, all who have died.
There is
another family, the Shepherdsons, who live near the Grangerfords.
Huck and
Buck run into one of the Shepherdson boys, Harney
Shepherdson, and Buck tries to shoot him. They run home and tell
Buck's father. Buck tells Huck all about the feud that's been going on for the
past thirty years between the two families. They keep trying to kill one
another because of a legal dispute over land that happened thirty years ago.
Miss Sophia
asks Huck to sneak over to the church and get her Testament that she left
there. He goes and finds a note in the book that says, "
Buck's
slave takes Huck down to the river to supposedly show him some water moccasins,
but when he gets there, he is reunited with Jim. Jim is so happy to see Huck.
He tells Huck that the night the boat crashed into the raft, he was behind Huck
the whole time. He didn't want to shout because he didn't want to get caught.
He's been hiding out in the woods this whole time fixing their raft and
preparing to leave. The slaves have been bringing him food and letting him know
how Huck is doing.
Huck goes
back to the house and when he wakes up the next morning, everyone is gone and
there is an odd stillness. He asks one of the slaves what is going on and he
tells him that Miss Sophia ran off with Harney Shepherdson and there is a big
fight going on because of it. Huck sneaks into the woods and hides in a tree to
watch the feud. He sees men being shot at and chased and he hears gunshots and
cursing. Buck sees Huck and he tells him that his father and two brothers were
killed. Huck is horrified at the violence.
"It
made me so sick I most fell out of the tree. I ain't agoing to tell all that
happened - it would make me sick again if I was to do that. I wished I hadn't
ever come ashore that night, to see such things . . ." Chapter
18, pg. 127
Topic
Tracking: Humanity 8
Topic
Tracking: Picaresque 4
Huck waits
until dark to climb out of the tree. He finds Buck dead in the river, pulls him
out, and covers him up.
He doesn't
go back to the house, but instead goes to find Jim. They shove off on the raft
and eat a good meal. They are both happy to be back on the raft. It feels
natural to be on the river again.
Chapter
19
Huck goes
over to the shore one day to collect berries and he sees two men being chased
by dogs. He helps them escape into his canoe and they all talk. One of the men
is older, around seventy, and he was being chased for spending his time and
money getting drunk. The other man, around thirty, was being chased for selling
a product that not only took the tartar off of your teeth, but the enamel as
well.
The young
man tells them all that he is really a Duke,
the Duke of Bridgewater. He says that it would make him feel better
if they all address him as "Your Grace, My Lord, or Your Lordship."
Also, they should wait on him at dinner. Huck and Jim feel bad for him, so they
wait on him and act like servants.
The older
man tells them all that he is really a King,
and is a descendant from the Kings of France. He too wants to be treated like a
King by being called "Your Majesty" and expects to be waited on first
at meals. Jim and Huck conform and act like servants to him too.
Huck
eventually realizes that the two men are liars, but he doesn't say anything
about it. He feels the best way to deal with these type of people is to allow
them to have their own way.
Chapter
20
The King
and the Duke wonder what Huck is doing with a black man, and they ask if he is
a runaway slave. Huck makes up a story about Jim being his slave from back in
It starts
to look like a big storm is approaching. The rain and the lightening pick up.
The King and the Duke take Jim and Huck's beds and Huck and Jim are left
outside in the rain to keep watch over the raft. Huck loves the storm and can't
get enough of it.
The Duke
comes up with a plan to make some money. Being knowledgeable in the theater, he
says that he's going to teach the King all about Romeo and Juliet, and Richard
III. They will do a reenactment and charge people for the show. The Duke will
be Romeo and the King will be Juliet. The Duke will be Richard III and the King
will be
The Duke
comes up with a plan so that they can travel with Jim during the day. The Duke,
the King, and Huck stop at a town and look for a printing office. A slave tells
them that everyone in the town is gone to a town meeting in the woods. They
find the printing office, but no one is around. The Duke stays and the King and
Huck go off to the meeting. At the meeting, they see preachers preaching about
sin to a big crowd of people. They all scream and shout "amen!" The
King gets up there and tells the town of Pokeville
that he is an ex-pirate of the
The King
and the Duke are drunk and Jim tries to get the King to speak French so he can
hear what it sounds like.
Chapter
21
The King
and the Duke practice Romeo and Juliet and Richard III. The Duke says that they
need something to answer encores with so he tries to teach the King Hamlet's
soliloquy. They practice the plays for a while and then arrive at the town in
which they plan to perform. It is an old, beat-up country town in
The town's
streets are all mud. Pigs and dogs are everywhere.
A drunk man
named Boggs comes to town on his horse cursing and
yelling about how people are going to die. He approaches and startles Huck, but
the townspeople tell Huck he is harmless. Boggs says that he is looking for Colonel
Sherburn. He finds him and Sherburn warns him to leave before
something bad happens. Boggs keeps yelling and someone goes to get his daughter
to try and knock some sense into him. Sherburn comes outside again and shoots
Boggs twice, just as his daughter runs up to him.
Sherburn
drops his pistol and walks off. Boggs is taken to a drug store where Bibles are
placed under his head and on his chest; he dies with everyone watching in the window
(including Huck), trying to get a look. Someone says that Sherburn should be
lynched and the crowd becomes more and more belligerent.
Chapter
22
A mob of
townspeople run up to Sherburn's house, making like they're going to
lynch him. He comes outside and talks about how all people, in both the North
and South, are cowards. He says that they're not really going to lynch him or
do anything to him because they are all cowards.
"Your
newspapers call you a brave people so much that you think you are braver than
any other people - whereas you're just as brave, and no braver." Chapter
22, pg. 161
Huck
watches the mob and then goes over to the circus. He is in awe with the dancing
and how pretty the women look. The clown is a big hit too. A drunken man gets
into the ring and says that he can ride better than anybody. He tries it and
makes a fool out of himself. Huck feels really bad for him.
Suddenly,
the drunken man gets up and starts shedding his clothes to reveal a
well-dressed, handsome gentleman. He gets back on the animal and rides it like
gold. He fools the entire audience, and everyone laughs.
The King
and the Duke perform their play that night, but only
about twelve people show up, only to leave early. The Duke figures that the
people can't handle Shakespeare, so he decides to have another play, one that
is a "low comedy." It is called "The King's Camelopard" or
"The Royal Nonesuch." At the bottom of the handbill, it says that
women and children are not admitted. The Duke thinks that this will get people
to show up.
Chapter
23
The King
and the Duke prepare for the show and that night the audience is filled with
men. The Duke gets on stage and goes on and on about the tragedy. Then, out
comes the King, naked and with paint all over him. Everyone laughs and enjoys
it. The King leaves the stage and after a pause, the audience begins to wonder
if that was the entire show. They start to feel cheated, like the show was not
what they expected. They all get up to go after the King and the Duke, but one
man suggests a different idea: everyone in the audience should invite the rest
of the town to come and see the show for the next two night, and be cheated
just like they were.
The next
two nights the show is sold out. On the third night, however, it is the same
crowd from the first two nights. Huck notices that their pockets are stuffed
with rotten eggs and cabbages. Huck knows that they are going to throw the eggs
and cabbages on them if they perform the play. He and the Duke sneak out just
before the show starts and make their way to the raft and down the river. Just
as they think that the King is having a pretty bad time dealing with all of
those people back at the theater (considering that Huck and the Duke snuck away
without telling the King about the eggs and cabbages), he peeks his head out of
the wigwam. He had made it back to the raft after all, by sneaking away just
like Huck and the Duke. The King and the Duke laugh about how they fooled that
town. Altogether, they made $465.
Jim
and Huck talk about Kings. Jim thinks that the King and the Duke are just
jokers, but Huck assures him that that's how all kings have been throughout
history. Despite his historical assurances, Huck gets the actual facts all
jumbled up.
They float
down the river and Huck hears Jim talking about how he misses his family. He's
never been away from home before. He tells Huck about how he hit his little
four-year-old girl once because she wouldn't listen to him and shut the door.
Since realizing that she was deaf and dumb, he has felt intense guilt for
treating her so badly.
Chapter
24
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The King
and the Duke want to try the Nonesuch play again, but they are afraid that the
towns down the river will have heard the news from the last town. Jim asks if
there is a way for him to contribute, instead of staying on the raft tied up
(to make it look like he was captured for the reward). In response, the Duke
paints his face blue, dresses him in a King Lear outfit, and posts a sign by
the wigwam that says "Sick Arab-but harmless when not out of his
head." This should keep people away from him.
They all
get new clothes and get dressed really nice. The King and Huck get into the
canoe and come across a man who tells them all about the late Peter
Wilks. The man asks the King if he is Harvey Wilks, the preacher
from
The King
tells Huck to go and get the Duke and bring him over. When the Duke gets there,
the King tells him everything that the young man told him about the Wilks
family. As the King practices an English accent, he asks the Duke how he is at
playing deaf and dumb. Together, they take a boat up a couple of miles and ask
some strangers where Peter Wilks lives. The townspeople inform the King of
Peter Wilks' death; the King cries and says that he was his brother. All of the
people feel so sorry for the King and the Duke. It makes Huck sick of the human
race to see such liars.
"Well,
if I ever struck anything like it, I'm a nigger. It was enough to make a body
ashamed of the human race." Chapter
24, pg. 178
Chapter
25
They arrive
at Peter Wilks' house and everyone greets them with open arms. The King and the
Duke cry and sob and make like they're very upset over the loss of their
brother. The King gives a speech thanking everyone for their kindness and
invites a few of Peter's close friends to stay for dinner and help with the
ashes. Some of the friends, Rev. Hobson, Dr. Robinson, and the lawyer Levi
Bell, are out of town. The rest are present and ready to help.
Mary
Jane gets the letter that explains how Peter's estate is to be
divided up. The King reads it aloud. The house and $3000 goes to the girls.
Harvey and William get the tanyard (Peter's successful business), houses, and
land worth $7000, and $3000 in gold. The will also explains where the $6000
cash is hidden - in the cellar. The King and the Duke go down to the cellar and
count the money. It comes up a little short, and they don't want the family to
think they're greedy or that the money was stolen, so they make up the
difference with some of the Nonesuch profits. Then, the Duke suggests that they
go upstairs, count the money in front of everyone, and give it all to the
girls. That's what they do and everyone kisses and hugs them and thinks of them
as such wonderful people.
Suddenly,
Dr. Robinson arrives and says that the King does an awful English accent,
insisting he is a fraud. Everyone, including the girls, still believes the
King. In fact, the neices believe in them so much that they give the money back
to the King and Duke to invest for them. The doctor says that they will be
sorry for not listening to his warning.
Chapter
26
Mary Jane
gives the King and the Duke rooms to sleep in. The King gets to stay in her
room (she will stay in her sister's room), the Duke gets another room, and Huck
(the King's servant) gets a cubby. They all eat dinner and it is delicious.
Huck and the one daughter Joanna (who has a hair-lip) talk in the kitchen. Huck
gets flustered a couple of times, and has to get himself out of the screw-ups
he tells. She makes him swear on a dictionary that he hasn't told her a bunch
of lies. Mary Jane and Susan walk in and Mary Jane reprimands Joanna for
telling Huck, a stranger in their house, that he just told lies. She says that
it is rude to accuse someone and make them feel bad. She apologizes to Huck.
Huck starts
to feel guilty that such sweet girls are having their money stolen by two
liars.
He thinks
about what he can do to help them. Huck decides that he'll steal the money
himself, hide it somewhere in the house, and then when he's off down the river,
he'll write them a letter telling them everything, including where the money is
hidden. He starts to look around for the money. He goes into the Duke's room,
but thinks better of it. The King probably has it in his room. So, Huck goes in
there, but he can't find it, and decides that the best thing is to eavesdrop on
their conversation. He hears the King and the Duke coming and hides behind Mary
Jane's frocks. The Duke suggests that they sneak out of there early in the
morning with the money that they have. The King is against this idea because he
wants the rest of the property money. The Duke finally gives in, but says that
they should hide the money in a better place because the slave could come in
and steal it. They reach for the money, which is very close to where Huck is
standing, and move it to the straw tick under the feather bed. They leave the
room and Huck takes the cash up to his cubby. He wants to hide the money
somewhere outside of the house because when the King and the Duke find out it's
missing; they will turn the house upside down looking for it. He waits until
late at night when everything is settled, sneaks down the ladder and out of his
cubby.
Chapter
27
Huck goes
downstairs and sees the coffin. He hears someone coming and quickly shoves the
bag of money in the coffin and out of sight. Mary Jane approaches the coffin,
crying softly. Huck makes his way back to bed, but feels bad about where he hid
the money.
The next
morning, people come to the house for the funeral. Huck goes into great detail
describing the distinguished undertaker. The coffin is closed and Peter is
buried. Huck doesn't know if the money is still in the coffin, and now feels he
made the situation worse than before.
The King
says he must be on his way soon because his church is probably missing him. He
offers for the girls to come and live with him and they get very excited. Huck
feels bad again that they are just being led on. The King sells some of the
property and the slaves. The girls and the slaves cry at the thought of being
separated. Even worse, the slave children are separated from their mother.
The King
asks Huck if he's been in his room, and Huck says no. Huck lies and tells them
that he saw the slaves go into the room, all of them at different times. The
King and the Duke expected that to happen. The King is angry and blames Huck
for not telling him that he saw people go into the room. Huck doesn't feel bad
that he said it was the slaves because now that they're sold, blaming them
won't cause any harm.
Chapter
28
Huck goes
down the ladder and he sees Mary Jane crying in her room over the slaves being
separated. He feels so bad for her and decides to tell her the truth about
everything. He tells her about the King and Duke being frauds and about how the
slaves will be back in a day, so she doesn't have to worry. He makes her
promise that she'll spend the night at Mr. Lothrop's because her face will give
away the truth to everyone, and that will ruin the plan to catch the frauds.
Huck says that he has a plan and that when Mary Jane comes back the next night,
she should put a candle in her window. If Huck doesn't come around, then she
will know that he made it away safe and she can tell everyone the truth. If he
does come, it means that he couldn't get away. And if that happens, he makes
her promise that she will stand by him when he tells everyone the truth. Huck
instructs Mary Jane to show a piece of paper with the words "Royal
Nonesuch-Bricksville" written on it, to the people of Bricksville. They
will recognize the frauds and capture the King and Duke.
Huck tells
Mary Jane that he tried to get the money back for her, but he ended up having
to hide it. He doesn't want to tell her he put it in the coffin because it will
make her feel bad about Peter, so he writes it down on a piece of paper and
says she can read it on her way to Mr. Lothrop's. They say goodbye to each other
and Mary Jane says she is going to pray for Huck. He cannot believe that she is
going to pray for him; she is the nicest and prettiest girl he has ever seen.
Huck tells
Susan and Joanna that Mary Jane had to leave to tend to a sick friend with
Mumps. They don't want to tell their uncles because then they won't get to go
to
Chapter
29
An older
man and a younger man, claiming to be the real brothers of Peter
Wilks, get off the boat and make their way over to the King
and the Duke and the crowd that has now gathered. The
brothers describe the various misfortunes they encountered on the way and once
they recover their lost luggage at the hotel, they can prove themselves to be
the real brothers of Peter Wilks. The King insists they are frauds, but some
people in the crowd start to wonder. One man comes forward and says that he saw
the King and a young boy (he points to Huck)
arrive in a canoe with the other boy (the one who told them all about the
Wilkses). People get curious and they all decide to go to the hotel to try and
see which of them are the frauds
The King
and Huck are questioned. The doctor says that if they are really related to the
late Peter Wilks, then they won't mind getting the money and giving it to the
doctor for safe keeping until they all know the truth. The King tells him he
would give him the money if he could but he doesn't have it; he says that the
slaves stole it. Then, the lawyer Levi Bell asks to see samples of everyone's
handwriting; from that, he can tell that the King and the Duke are frauds. The
King says the test is unfair, so one of the "real brothers" asks the
King if he knows what was tattooed on Peter's breast. The King says it was an
arrow, but the man says it was "P-B-W." No one knows so the lawyer
suggests digging him up and looking. If he doesn't have any of those marks,
then they are going to lynch them all, including Huck.
They drag
them all down to the graveyard, and Huck is scared for his life. They dig up
the grave and everyone is in shock to find the bag of gold. The man that was
holding onto Huck drops his wrist in surprise, and Huck runs for his life down
the road. He passes the house and sees Mary
Jane's light in the window. He finds a canoe and paddles to the
raft. He tells Jim to hurry up and set the raft loose, but when
Jim comes out, Huck is scared at the sight of him. He forgot that he was
dressed as a blue Arab in a King Lear costume.
Just as
Huck is overjoyed at being rid of the King and the Duke, he hears a noise. It
is the King and the Duke paddling towards them.
Chapter
30
The King is
mad at Huck and thinks Huck left him and the Duke in the graveyard on purpose.
Huck denies it and says that he thought they were already dead, so he ran away
the first chance he got.
The King
and the Duke argue over who put the money in the coffin. They accuse each other
and finally, the King admits it (even though Huck did it). This relieves Huck,
for now it takes any blame off of him.
The King
and the Duke get drunk and fall asleep in the wigwam. Huck tells Jim the truth
about everything.
Chapter
31
They all
make their way down the river and into the south where it is warm. The
King and the Duke start planning and scheming and this makes Huck nervous; he
thinks they are going to rob some houses in the villages along the river. Huck
decides that when he gets his first chance, he will break away from the King
and the Duke; he and Jim will finally be free of them.
The King
goes into one of the towns, and tells the Duke and Huck to meet him up there
shortly. When they get up there, they see the King acting drunk. Huck runs away
at his first chance and makes his way back down to the raft. When he gets
there, he is so excited and yells out to Jim, but to his surprise Jim is gone.
Huck walks
down the road, thinking about what do, and he runs into a young boy who tells
him that some people caught the runaway slave and he is down at Silas Phelps'
house. After talking with the boy, Huck realizes that the King told of Jim's
location for forty dollars. Huck is extremely angry with the King and Duke for
doing this to Jim. He doesn't know what to do. He thinks about writing a letter
to Miss Watson but then decides against it because it will only
get him in trouble and make Jim look like an ungrateful slave.
Huck tries
to pray but can't because he thinks he is too sinful and low-down. He decides
to write the letter after all, and then to try and pray. That works, but after
he finishes, he tears up the letter and decides that he would rather steal Jim
out of slavery than reform to be a "good" person.
Huck shoves
off for a little island, hides the raft, and sleeps. He wakes up, puts on fresh
clothes, and canoes over to the shore, to the Phelps' farm. He plans on walking
in, looking like he just came from town. When he gets to town, he runs into the
Duke putting up a "Royal Nonesuch" handbill. They talk for a while
about the location of the raft and Jim. Huck makes like he has no clue what has
happened and the Duke tells him that the King sold Jim for forty dollars. Huck
cries and asks where he can find him. The Duke is about to tell him the truth,
but lies instead, telling Huck that Jim is with a man named Abram G. Foster, a
slave owner who lives forty miles back in the country. The Duke figures that
this will keep Huck occupied and out of their hair for a while. Huck pretends
to start walking there, but when he gets about a mile into the woods, he turns
around and makes his way back to the Phelps' farm. Now, he can work out his
plan to rescue Jim without the King and the Duke around.
Chapter
32
Huck makes
it to the Phelps' farm. Everything is little and run down. He starts to walk
near the house, but barking dogs come running towards him. A slave woman comes
and yells at them to get away. The lady of the house, about forty-five or fifty
years old, comes out and thinks that Huck is Tom.
As it turns out, she is Tom's Aunt
Sally and she has been waiting for Tom to arrive. She tells Huck
that Uncle Silas just went down to the boat to come
and get him. Just as she begins to ask Huck a whole bunch of questions about
home, she sees her husband coming up the road. She wants to surprise him with
Tom (who is really Huck), so she tells Huck to get behind the bed. He comes in
and tells Aunt Sally that Tom still hasn't arrived yet and he thinks something
may have happened to the boat. With that, she pulls Huck from behind the bed.
When Uncle Silas asks who it is, she says it is Tom Sawyer. Huck is so thrilled
it is Tom he must impersonate. Everyone rejoices and Huck tells them all about
the Sawyers and how they've been doing. He also tells them that the boat he
came in on blew a cylinder head, and that's why he is three days late.
Huck is
doing well acting like Tom Sawyer, but when he hears a steamboat coming, he
thinks that Tom could really be on it. He decides to go directly to the boat
and tell Tom everything before trouble erupts. He says that he's going to get
his luggage that he hid in town.
Chapter
33
Huck runs
into Tom on the road and tells him everything. At first, Tom thinks Huck is a
ghost - everyone thought Huck had died. Huck even tells Tom about Jim and how
he is trying to steal him back. To Huck's surprise, Tom wants to help him.
"'I know what you'll
say. You'll say it's dirty low-down business; but what if it is? - I'm low
down; and I'm agoing to steal him, and I want you to keep mum and not let on.
Will you?'" Chapter 33, pg. 248
Tom comes
up with a quick plan. Huck should take Tom's luggage and then Tom will show up
a little while later. Huck should pretend not to know him at first.
Huck makes
it back to the house, and then Tom finally shows up. He says his name is
William Thompson and that he is looking for the Nichols' house. They tell him
he's at the wrong place, but that he must stay for dinner and then they'll
drive him over afterwards. During dinner, Tom kisses Aunt Sally on the mouth
and everyone is shocked. He goes on and on about how he thought she would like
it. He eventually shocks everyone by revealing himself as Sid Sawyer, Tom
Sawyer's brother. They are all happy to see him and they hug and kiss and talk.
Later that
night, Tom and Huck want to find Jim's whereabouts. They hear Uncle Silas
mention a runaway slave. He also mentions that his son isn't allowed to go to a
show that is playing in town. Huck immediately knows that the King and the Duke
are at it again. He and Tom go to bed early that night and sneak out of the
window. They go into town to see what is going on with the show. As they're
walking, a rush of people comes down the street with the King and the Duke
tarred and feathered. Huck feels bad for them.
"Well,
it made me sick to see it; and I was sorry for them poor pitiful rascals, it
seemed like I couldn't ever feel any hardness against them any more in the
world. It was a dreadful thing to see. Human beings can be awful cruel to one
another." Chapter 33, pg. 253-4
Chapter
34
Tom and
Huck talk about where Jim must be locked up. They think of ways to rescue him.
Huck gives his plan, which is very simple and easy. Tom hates Huck's idea
because it is too simple, and won't attract enough attention. He comes up with
another plan and Huck agrees instantly because Tom's plan has a lot more style.
Huck feels
guilty that he has brought Tom into a dangerous situation (stealing back a
slave), but Tom insists he wants to do it.
They walk
around the little cabin where Jim is being kept. There is a window with just
one board across it; Huck says he can take off the board and have Jim crawl out
the window. This escape is too simple for Tom, though; he wants something more
complicated and mysterious than that, something that takes a good long time.
They see a shed next to the cabin and they break in. It doesn't connect to the
cabin where Jim is being kept. They decide to dig a tunnel through to the
cabin. This will take about a week, so Tom is satisfied.
Tom and
Huck follow the slave who feeds the prisoner into the cabin. It is definitely
Jim in the cabin and he is relieved to see Tom and Huck. They tell him that
they are going to dig him out of there and to pretend as if he doesn't know
them.
Chapter
35
Tom and
Huck argue over how to rescue Jim. Tom wants to make everything look very
difficult and complicated. He wants to saw off Jim's leg, dig a moat, and make
a ladder out of sheets. Huck doesn't see the need for any of this, but goes
along with Tom anyway. Tom insists that they have to do it this way because it
is part of the regulations written in all of the books he has read. Huck agrees
with him after a while.
They talk
over how they are going to dig Jim out. Huck suggests that they use the picks
and tools that they already have available to them, but Tom doesn't go for that
idea. He says that they will use case-knives. Then, he says that they will let
on that it took them a couple of years, even though it will take them much less
time than that.
Chapter
36
Huck
and Tom start to dig the hole with case-knives, but
find that it takes too long; their hands are also full of blisters. They switch
to using picks, but decide to tell everyone they used case-knives. Eventually,
they make it to Jim and tell him all about their plans. Tom
suggests that they give messages and other things to Aunt
Sally and Uncle Silas, and have Jim steal them out of
their pockets. Tom wants to make everything seem like it is really mysterious
and complicated. He also wants to follow the ways that real prisoners do things
in the books he reads.
Nat, a
slave who gives Jim his meals, is afraid of witches. Tom tells Nat to ignore it
if Jim bites into a pie and something is hidden inside. The pie is meant to
keep witches away (Tom and Huck hide things in the pie for Jim). The slave
agrees and is so happy that Tom is willing to keep witches away from him.
Chapter
37
Everyone is
at dinner and Aunt Sally mentions that a spoon (for Jim to keep a journal
with), Uncle Silas' shirt (for Jim to write on), some candlesticks (for Jim to
see with), and a sheet (for the ladder) are missing from the house. Huck and
Tom get nervous for a minute because they stole these things to give to Jim.
Uncle Silas reaches in his pocket and finds the spoon (Huck and Tom had placed
it there earlier). Aunt Sally gets angry because she thinks that he has been
taking everything. He says that it must have been an accident, but she is still
mad.
Tom wants
Jim to have the spoon, so he takes another one and puts it in Aunt Sally's
pocket. They spend some time in the woods baking Jim a pie that has the rope
hidden in it. Finally, Jim receives everything Tom and Huck want him to have.
Chapter
38
Tom
suggests that Jim have some other things, like a coat of arms and an
inscription. Huck and Jim don't know what Tom is talking about, so they let him
go along and do things his own way.
Tom tells
Jim that in order to do thing right, like every other prisoner, he must have
spiders. Jim refuses, so Tom suggests rattlesnakes. Jim refuses them too, so
Tom says garter snakes. Jim isn't too happy with that idea, but it is better
than the rattlesnakes. Tom says he can tie a button to the end of the snakes
and let on that they're rattlesnakes. Then, Tom says that Jim must have rats,
and Jim hates that idea. Tom says that Jim has to play music for the animals,
but Jim only has a juice-harp. Tom says that it's good enough. Finally, he
tells Jim that he has to raise a flower and water it with his tears. Jim
agrees, even though he has spring water and thinks Tom's ideas are ridiculous.
Jim gets annoyed with all of the things that Tom is having him do. Tom makes
him feel bad, like he doesn't appreciate anything he is doing for him to make
him like a real prisoner. Jim feels bad, and apologizes.
Chapter
39
Tom and
Huck collect all of the animals - spiders, snakes, and rats. Jim hates sleeping
with them, but it gives him something to write about in his journal every
night. Things start to look pretty good for his escape.
Uncle Silas
talks about how he is going to advertise Jim because he hasn't heard anything
from
Chapter
40
Huck goes
into the cellar to get some bread and butter for Jim, but Aunt Sally catches
him. He quickly hides the food under his hat. She makes him go upstairs and
wait with the group of farmers that have gathered to shoot the robbers who plan
on stealing Jim. The butter starts to melt underneath Huck's hat because he is
so nervous that the farmers will shoot him and Tom by accident. Meanwhile, Tom
goes to see Jim in the cabin, dressed as Aunt Sally. Huck gets a hold of him
and they hide in the dark as the farmers come into the shed. They all sneak out
through the hole they dug leading into the shed next door. They all make it out
of the shed door quietly, and are almost home free until Tom gets stuck on the
fence. The farmers hear the noise, and start shooting. Tom, Huck and Jim all
run into the woods with the farmers and dogs chasing after them. They make it
to Huck's canoe and then to the raft.
They are
all excited that the plan worked out, until Huck and Jim notice that Tom was
shot in the calf. Tom tells them to ignore the shot and just shove off down the
river,
but Jim refuses and demands that he see a doctor. Huck decides to go and get
the doctor himself.
"I
knowed he was white inside, and I reckoned he'd say what he did say - so it was
all right, now, and I told Tom I was agoing for a doctor." Chapter
40, pg. 301
Tom tells
him to blindfold the doctor and pay him some money so he won't know where
they're hid in the woods. He also tells Jim to hide when he sees Huck and the
doctor coming.
Chapter
41
Huck gets
the doctor, but the doctor doesn't think Huck's canoe is big enough for two
people, so he takes it and goes to find a bigger one. Huck falls asleep and
when he wakes up, it is the next day. He starts to run back to the raft, but
runs into Uncle Silas, who questions him about where he and Tom (Sid) have
been. Huck makes up a story about how he and Tom were out looking for the
runaway slave and now Tom is at the post office trying to find out some
information. They go to the post office, but Tom obviously isn't there. Uncle
Silas gets a letter and they leave to go home. Uncle Silas says to let Tom come
home on foot.
When they
reach home, farmers and farmers' wives are all there for dinner. They all talk
about the crazy things they found in the cabin, like the coat of arms,
inscription, and ladder. They think Jim must have been crazy. Uncle Silas and
Aunt Sally realize that Sid (Tom) still isn't home yet, so Uncle Silas goes up
to town to look for him. He doesn't find him and tells Aunt Sally that he'll
probably be back in the morning. Huck goes to bed and sneaks out a couple of
times, with the intention of going down to the river to look for Tom. He never
does because he feels guilt in putting his Aunt Sally through more pain. He
sees her sitting at the window the whole night with the candle burning, waiting
for Sid (Tom) to come home.
Chapter
42
Uncle Silas
goes to town and still doesn't hear anything about Tom. He goes home and
remembers that he forgot to give Aunt Sally the letter he picked up from the
post office the other day. She sees it is from her sister, Aunt Polly, but
before she has a chance to read it, she runs out the door. She sees Tom being
carried to the door on a mattress by Jim and the doctor. They see that Tom
isn't well (he is sleeping), and quickly rush him off to the bedroom.
The doctor
explains everything that happened and even tells them that Jim is a good person
because he risked his freedom to help Tom. Huck is glad that they decide not to
hang him and to treat him a little bit nicer.
Eventually
Tom wakes up, and he tells Aunt Sally about how he and Huck freed Jim. She is
shocked and wants to give them a good beating. Just as he is finished
explaining everything, Aunt Polly walks in. She lets Aunt Sally know that Sid
is really Tom, and Tom is really Huck Finn. Aunt Polly appears after hearing
about Sid's arrival in a letter from Aunt Sally. She knew immediately that
something was wrong. Tom finds out that Jim is being kept in the shed again,
and gets very annoyed. He tells them that Jim is really free because Miss
Watson freed him in her will after she died two months ago. Huck is
in shock and cannot believe that Tom would go to all that trouble to free a
free man. But he knows that this is Tom's style, to make everything just like
an adventure.
Aunt Polly
tells Aunt Sally that she wrote her two letters. Tom hid the one, and Aunt
Sally was just about to read the other one when she saw Tom coming towards the
house. Huck and Tom get reprimanded for playing such tricks and causing so much
trouble.