Twain is satirizing the lynch mob in these chapters. In what way can the individuals in a mob be seen as
cowards? Discuss the psychology of a lynch mob. Why is Sherburn successful in breaking up the mob?
Cite examples from the novel to support your argument. - Answers The mob can be described as
cowards because they only attack at night. They strike when their
victim will be least expecting it and to many that is not how you go about a fight with someone
Through the characters of the duke and the king, Twain is satirizing royalty. What qualities in a king
would make him a "rapscallion?" How does Huck's reference to kings throughout history prove his
point? Explain your answer. - Answers Twain makes it seem as if all kings are the same and he portrays
that through Huck. Huck views
kings as greedy men who have many wives and women at their grasp. He makes it seem like they
have whatever they want at their grasp
The relationship between Huck and Jim is growing deeper as the novel progresses. How is Jim's
humanity expressed through the eyes of Huck? How does Jim feel about Huck? How can Huck tell?
Explain your answer. - Answers Jim's humanity is expressed when he remembers a time when he beat
his daughter for not
listening when she was deaf and really couldn't hear what he was saying. I think Jim thinks of
Huck like a son and wants to protect him and help him no matter what. Huck can tell by the way
Jim treats him and how he always gets so excited when they find each other again after losing
each other.
In these chapters Twain satirizes the gullibility of the townspeople who believe an imposter like the king,
but, ironically, do not believe Dr. Robinson. Write an essay comparing the gullibility of the townspeople
to people in today's world. In what ways are people gullible? What makes them gullible? Explain your
answer. - Answers The people in our world today are much like the townspeople. Most people's
opinions now come
,from the media and what the media says. People do not do their own research to make sure what
they are hearing is true. The same can be said about the townspeople. They just believe anything
that is said to them.
Huck has become more critical of the duke and the king than he was in preceding chapters. Why has this
change taken place in his character? Explain Huck's moral development as it relates to previous chapters
in the novel. Cite examples from the novel to support your argument. - Answers Huck is starting to
realize that the king is only out for himself and he sees the wrong in that. He
can see how selfish the king is.
The ultimate sacrifice in the eyes of the townspeople is when the king and the duke give the Wilks girls
the whole six thousand dollars. Why do they give it away? What is their motive? What do they hope to
gain? Support your argument with examples from the novel. - Answers They did this to try to get in good
with the townspeople and show them that they are good people. They wanted the townspeople to see
them for good and to know that they aren't all bad like
people may think.
The king and the duke have been involved in several fraudulent schemes along the river. Compare and
contrast the Wilks episode to The Royal Nonesuch in the last town. Why does Huck take action against
the frauds in the Wilks episode? Why was he merely an observer in The Royal Nonesuch? How do they
compare? How are they different? Use examples from the novel to support your argument. - Answers
Huck sees the bad in the two from the beginning. With everything they did in the town before and
taking all their money he saw through everything. I think Huck felt bad for them and wanted to
help them without alerting the duke and the dauphin. Huck left the money in Peter Wilk's coffin
in hopes that the girls would find it
The two frauds have supposedly been duped through their sale of the slaves. In what way do the king
and the duke judge the slaves by their own standards? In what way do they think the slaves have played
a game in order to get away with the money? Defend your argument with examples from the novel. -
Answers The king and the duke judged the slaves by their own standards because they felt that the
, slaves
were only property and only saw them as that. They acted as if since they only slaves that they
could not be treated like real people.
The separation of families through the selling of slaves is a recurrent theme in the novel. What is Twain's
attitude about this controversial issue? Cite at least two examples from the novel that deal with the
separation of families and point out the way in which Twain satirizes the issue. - Answers Twain's view of
the separation of slave families is negative. He is very open in this novel about
his feelings toward the topic when he used Jim and his family to let the readers know how bad it
was and what it was like. Jim talks earlier in the book about stealing his family back and in
chapter 27 and 28 when the duke is splitting up this slave family it is not a positive chapter. He
uses both of these parts in the story to give his views about slavery and splitting families up
during these times.
The novel is filled with examples of stories Huck tells when he is in a tight situation. In Chapter 28 he
decides that truth is better than lies, however. Why does he have a change of heart in this chapter? How
does Huck feel about Mary Jane? Does he trust her with the truth? Does he ever lie to her? Why does he
depend on lies to get through difficult situations? Cite examples from the novel to support your
argument. - Answers I think Huck wanted to tell Mary Jane the truth because he trusts her and does not
want her to be
upset. Huck probably felt like the truth would be better in this situation but also I feel like Huck
could not help but tell her the truth because he likes her. I think Huck finds it easier telling lies to
get out of tight situations because the truth can be hard to face at times and I don't think he wants
to face it.