American Lit Test 1 2025

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. - -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. - -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. - -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. - -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 Lit Lit development as it relates to previous chapters in the novel. Cite examples from the novel to support your argument. - -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. - -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. - -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. - -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. - -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 Lit Lit 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. - -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. Throughout the course of the novel, Twain uses descriptions of thunderstorms. Compare and contrast the description of the thunderstorm in Chapter 29 with descriptions in other parts of the novel. How are they the same? How is this one different? Cite examples from the novel to support your argument. - -At the beginning of the story when Huck describes thunderstorms he seems to like them but at this particular moment in chapter 29 he seems afraid of the storm and doesn't see it as so spectacular. I think Huck's view of the thunderstorms changed because when he is with Jim and with these other families it makes him feel more like a kid and he realizes how scary storms can really be. Mary Jane is one of Huck's favorite people in the novel. What qualities does she possess that makes Huck fond of her? How is she different from her sisters? Explain your answer. - -Huck loves how beautiful Mary Jane is and he is attracted to her good nature. Her heart and the way she cares for the people around her is what really draws Huck to her. Jim unselfishly gives up his freedom so they can get a doctor for Tom. Does this act seem consistent with Jim's character? Why does he do it? Describe one other instance in the novel where Jim is unselfish. Cite examples from the novel to support your argument. - -I think it's kind of in the middle with Jim's character. I don't think that he is selfish but I do think that he cares a lot about his freedom. In this situation he knew that the safety of Tom was more important than his freedom because it was a life and death situation. Jim is unselfish earlier in the story when he sticks around and follows Huck to Buck's house and doesn't just leave him there and keep heading toward freedom Lit Lit Tom is happy when they reach the raft in spite of the fact that he has a bullet in his leg. Why is he happy? Why doesn't he want to see a doctor? What instructions does Tom give Huck about the doctor? How is this a part of Tom's plan of escape? Explain your answer with examples from the novel. - -Tom is happy because they just completed an epic adventure and he lives for adventures. Tom doesn't want to see a doctor because he thinks it is cool that he has a bullet in his leg and he has it as proof when he tells this story. He told Huck to blindfold the doctor and tie his hands and take him all around the back alleys and then through the water but to take away his chalk so he can't mark the canoe and find it again later. This just adds to Tom's adventure that he conjured up in his head and makes things more exciting. Huck invents stories throughout the novel to get himself out of tight situations. Is Huck's story to the doctor as believable as his stories have been in the past? Does the doctor doubt Huck? Are there any flaws in his story. Use examples from the novel to support your argument. - -I felt that his story to the doctor was one of the most believable ones because they are young boys and he said they had been hunting and camping so it was probably easy for the doctor to believe that they were just out to have some fun. I don't think he doubted Huck a whole lot. I think he was more worried about Tom since he had been shot. I also think if he did doubt Huck it came from the canoe and how small it was and Huck saying "it fit the three of us" probably made the doctor a little skeptical. Jim is often referred to as a noble character in the novel. In what way is his nobility shown in the last few chapters. How does he show courage by helping the doctor? Why does he do it? What price does he pay? Support your answer with examples from the novel. - -Jim shows his nobility when he gave up his freedom to help Tom. He loves Huck and Jim and wants to make sure they don't get hurt in the process of trying to help him. Jim was probably very scared before he came out of the woods to help the doctor. He knew he would be giving up his freedom but he also knew he had to or Tom would die and he couldn't let that happen. The men who are attending to Jim want to hang him as an example to other slaves who might attempt to escape. Why do they decide against it? How does this incident satirize the morality of the men? Cite examples from the novel to explain your answer. - -They decided against hanging him because some of the more rational men mentioned that they would have to pay his owner for him if they did that. It satirizes them by showing that the only reason they didn't hang him isn't because he is a human being but because they didn't want to have to pay for him after they killed him At the end of the novel Huck wants to escape so Aunt Sally will not try to "sivilize" him. How has the meaning of the word "sivilize" changed for Huck? In what way has Huck grown as a character in the novel? Give examples from the novel to support your Lit Lit argument. - -For Huck I don't think the word "sivilize" has changed a whole lot. In the beginning he said he didn't want to go back to the city because they would try to civilize him and his same feelings towards the word hold in the end of the book. Tom changed from making up stories to taking advantage of situations to create a real adventure. I think both boys matured throughout the book and learned a few things about themselves and what society tries to make them believe. Explain how the parrot and the mockingbird are used to introduce this chapter. - -They are used to introduce this chapter by showing Pontellier's tolerance before he has to recluse away so he can focus on reading. The birds could also symbolize Edna's desire to get away from her husband's controlling nature Describe Léonce Pontellier. - -Leonce Pontellier seems like a very materialistic person. He is the perfect husband based on his society's standards but really he is too controlling and self absorbed. What does the following quotation tell you about Léonce's attitude toward his wife? - This quote shows that Leonce views her as property. He also thinks she has lost some of her beauty because she has aged. Who is Robert Lebrun? - -Robert Lebrun is one of Edna's friends. They seem to share a close connection that Leonce doesn't understand. Edna seems to find happiness with Robert which probably happens because she is unhappy with Leonce. Discuss the use of the following sounds in Chapter I: the other birds, the piano, Madame Lebrun, the children, Edna, and Robert. - -These sounds seem to be the sounds around Leonce Pontellier. The sounds that he cares nothing about but irritate him, forcing him to go somewhere else to avoid these sounds. How do these sounds indicate something about the setting of the novel? - -They indicate the character of Leonce and how his negativity will affect the rest of the book. He will probably play a big role in the book and his low tolerance for everything around him makes him intolerable to everyone else. What indications are there that the Pontellier marriage is strained? - -Leonce "instructing" Edna to do things. The way he looks at Edna as "a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage" shows tha