Getting to know mark twain and huck finn

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Getting to know mark twain and huck finn
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Who is Mark Twain?

• 1835-1910

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• Samuel Langhorn Clemens (Mark Twain was his pen
  name) was born in Missouri and grew up in a small
  town near the Mississippi.

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• At 18 he moved east and worked as a printer in
  New York, Washington, and Philadelphia.

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• He became a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi
  (he got his pen name from this experience Mark
  Twain means twelve feet of water)

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• He lived during the Civil War (1861-1865).

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• His books and stories reflect his life on the
  Mississippi and the political struggles he saw
  during his life.

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What makes Mark Twain qualified to tell this
story?
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What makes Mark Twain qualified to tell this
story?

• Twain was simply writing about the world around
  him, the things he saw.

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What makes Mark Twain qualified to tell this
story?

• Huck Finn is ranked number five on the American
  Library Associations list of Most Frequently
  Challenged books
• Addresses issues that are hard to talk about
• 1. Racism 2. Slavery 3. N word

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What is Censorship?

• to examine in order to suppress or delete
  anything considered objectionable
• We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom
  and resist all efforts to censor library
  resources.ALA Code of Ethics

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What is Censorship?

• They that can give up essential liberty to
  obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither
  liberty nor safety.Benjamin Franklin.

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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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• The novel is set in various locations along the
  Mississippi River (what is now known as the
  Mid-west) during the 1830s or 1840s .(see map)

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• This region was still a frontier during this time
  only a few cities and towns along the river-
  only partially civilized.

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Mississippi River
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Huck Finn Map

• Huck Finn is set Pre-Civil War. Boarder towns
  would require paperwork for a slave to become
  free. If a slave were to run away, they would
  have to travel to a Northern city/state not
  bordered by a slave state.

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Huck Finn Map Handout

• Look at the handout of the map I gave you and
  mark the states free or slave using the next
  map. Huck Finn is set Pre-Civil War.

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(No Transcript)
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Civil War Map
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Pre-Civil War

• Industrialization was in its early stages (steam
  technology- steamboats, railroads)
• Slavery was abolished in Northern states, but the
  South still supported slavery at this time
  (racists beliefs were commonplace)

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Literary Elements

• Point of View -First-person narrator- Huck tells
  the story
• Use of dialect uses southern regional
• -Spelling is even unorthodox (sivilized) to
  suggest Hucks brief exposure to formal
  education.

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• Tall tale- story featuring larger than life
  characters that perform superhuman feats
• Satire- mocking or making fun of human
  characteristics and society as a whole

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• Symbolism- Mississippi River is a symbol of life
  and maturity
• Imagery- descriptive passages of life on the raft

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• Foreshadowing- hint of things to come
• Characterization- brings characters to life with
  dialect (each has a distinctive vocabulary)
  -notice Huck Finns growth

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• Lampoon- the literary form in which vices or
  follies are ridiculed (type of satire)
• Themes slavery and racism individual and
  society transformation and maturity
• Irony uses situational irony to show
  simple-mindedness of his characters

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Realism- A literary manner that seeks to portray
life as it really is lived.
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-Usually focused on everyday middle or working
class conditions and characters, often with
reformist intentions (wanting to change society,
or conditions for the character)
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Themes to look for

• Societys values and laws can be in conflict with
  higher moral values.
• People must live outside of society to be truly
  free.
• Gullible people are partially responsible for
  their own deception.
• People tend to behave irrationally and even
  cruelly in large groups.

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Questions, Comments, or Concerns?
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• The End.