4.19

4

Jul 08, 2009

Different than I remembered from my childhood, sort of. I actually deeply enjoyed the slapstick silliness of the plot, where there was plot, more than I did the more 'literary' elements.

(And, overall, I'm impressed with how nonliterary the Greatest American Novel actually is. Hooray for Vernacular America!)

The book isn't entirely about race, but nearly so. Interesting that as a kid I missed a lot of it, when it seems to dominate most pages. I must have just trained my junior self to skip Different than I remembered from my childhood, sort of. I actually deeply enjoyed the slapstick silliness of the plot, where there was plot, more than I did the more 'literary' elements.

(And, overall, I'm impressed with how nonliterary the Greatest American Novel actually is. Hooray for Vernacular America!)

The book isn't entirely about race, but nearly so. Interesting that as a kid I missed a lot of it, when it seems to dominate most pages. I must have just trained my junior self to skip lightly across the n words and massive amounts of racism, and as a result missed the point of so much of it being there.

Of course poor Jim gets left out of a lot of the action, but his plight as frequently-shackled-and/or-costumed sidekick is hard to bear nonetheless. I think I can see Twain's approach: he starts with a caricature, and works in the real man gradually until the reader is unable to think of him as a caricature anymore. Though, it's too bad it stops midway through the process. I finished the book this morning and now I can't stop thinking: now that Jim's free, will he be able to rescue his wife and children? Where will he go and how will he support himself?

Of course, Huck as narrator is colorfully oblivious to a lot of things, and attentive to others. I find it believable that he'd leave out many things we'd want to know. But I wish the balance was shifted just a little.

The parts Jim gets left out of are interesting too- the small-town cons, the portrait of complicated little riverside farm families, the ways church and community and commerce and whiskey entangle. In some ways this would've still been an excellent, maybe even a less flawed, book, without Jim and slavery at all. But having such a deeply weighty theme throws all this other stuff to the side and makes the book slop water across the bows. Which, I suppose is why it's not a good book but a great one.

I know a lot of people are deeply bothered by the tacked-on ending with Tom Sawyer, and I suppose I'm a little annoyed by it too. But that's mostly because Tom Sawyer himself is so irritating: smarmy, self-important, and cushioned. Compared to Huck and Jim, he's a spoiled bourgeois with an elevated sense of entitlement. (Maybe he's intended to be annoying?) It seems very telling that Huck undergoes great moral terror to free Jim-- in his mind, it's burn in hell, or betray someone he loves, and he chooses hell. But Tom makes the decision because he knows it doesn't matter, and he wants to play make-believe.

The silliness of the plot itself during the end section is pretty great in many ways though.

...more

0

Apr 13, 2018

Personal response:
I enjoyed reading this book. It took the reader on an adventure that was interesting. The book was a short enough book to fit all the details and let me understand it. I would read the real book to understand more of the story better.

Summary:
Huckleberry Finn, who lives in a small town near the Mississippi, who is always looking for an adventure, finds it. With his new wealth from one of his past experiences, he has a lot of people trying to get the money. So, when his greedy, Personal response:
I enjoyed reading this book. It took the reader on an adventure that was interesting. The book was a short enough book to fit all the details and let me understand it. I would read the real book to understand more of the story better.

Summary:
Huckleberry Finn, who lives in a small town near the Mississippi, who is always looking for an adventure, finds it. With his new wealth from one of his past experiences, he has a lot of people trying to get the money. So, when his greedy, selfish dad comes around and decides to take the money, Huck escapes from him. Then he finds a runaway slave named Jim on an island that Jim is hiding on. They have to keep moving, or someone will discover Huck and Jim, and everyone thinks Huckleberry is dead. Then they float down the Mississippi. Then the two sailors meet two strange men the claim to be a King and a Duke, so Huck and Jim lay along. The King and Duke go from town to town stealing money. Then on one stop, they stop by a wealthy house. The owner who recently died left a lot of money to his brothers. The King and Duke act as if they were the brothers and got the money and stay awhile. A day later the real brothers come in and tell them they are the real brother. They bring their ID to prove it, and the King and Duke are thieves. Then the runaway slave is captured. Huck goes to the house where Jim is at and its actually his excellent friend Tom Sawyers grandparents, and Tom happens to be getting there. Tom comes up with an elaborate plan to set Jim free. They dig a tunnel to rescue him and Jim breaks free. Then they escape, and Huck goes to a town to confess he's alive to keep Jim safe. Then he does, and his father goes to jail.

Recommendation:
I would recommend this book to 7th grade and up. This would be enjoyed by older kids reading to younger kids. I liked this book because it was short and comprehensible. ...more

3

May 27, 2013

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was overall a very good book because throughout the book we see how Huck matures. Huck who lives outside of society do not live the same way as everyone else. This book tells about Huck traveling with Jim who is a run away slave. At first Huck does not treat Jim of upmost importance but towards the end they are like very best friends. Huck during the beginning of the book was immature and not self conscious because of the way he tries to act like Tom, a The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was overall a very good book because throughout the book we see how Huck matures. Huck who lives outside of society do not live the same way as everyone else. This book tells about Huck traveling with Jim who is a run away slave. At first Huck does not treat Jim of upmost importance but towards the end they are like very best friends. Huck during the beginning of the book was immature and not self conscious because of the way he tries to act like Tom, a mischievous boy, Huck willingly follows him around. We see a big change in Huck after he escapes and goes on a adventure with Jim. In many cases, Huck is caught in a pinch trying to save Jim and also getting put of trouble. While on their adventure Huck meets many people who changes the way he views people. What I thought was the best part was when Huck is trying to save Jim who is caught for being a runaway slave. The family that catches him happens to be Tom's relatives farm and Tom comes to visit. Huck meets Tom on the way the the house and he tells Tom the whole story of their adventure. Huck explains that he is trying to free Jim who is now locked up. Tom knows that Mrs. Watson who died freed Jim decides to play a trick and joins Huck to free Jim without telling him the truth. Overall I think this is a good book where young readers would love to read. ...more

4

Mar 11, 2016

The book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, takes place in St. Petersburg, Missouri, in about the year 1835. The main characters in the book are Huck Finn, Huck's Dad, Tom Sawyer, and Jim. The worst problem that Huck is facing is that his dad wants all of Huck's money.
I really liked this book because I always thought it would be kind of cool to live of the river. I can relate to this book because of my feelings. Another thing that I liked was that the author really used some good descriptive The book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, takes place in St. Petersburg, Missouri, in about the year 1835. The main characters in the book are Huck Finn, Huck's Dad, Tom Sawyer, and Jim. The worst problem that Huck is facing is that his dad wants all of Huck's money.
I really liked this book because I always thought it would be kind of cool to live of the river. I can relate to this book because of my feelings. Another thing that I liked was that the author really used some good descriptive words. Making me feel as if I was there with them on there adventures.
Honestly I really liked the book overall, I didn't really think there was anything wrong with the book. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes adventures, in a story, and anyone that are just looking for a good book to read to pass their free time. ...more

5

Jan 26, 2019

It took me about one week to finish it,,
and I like the story so much because it had so many chapters and pages.

5

Jan 23, 2018

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Personal Response
I thought this was a really good book because there was a lot of non stop action. You never really knew what was going to happen next. This was one of those book where you would start reading and not want to stop reading it.

Plot Summary
This book was about a young boy named Huckleberry Finn. He and his friend Tom Sawyer found a treasure and they put all the money they earned in the towns bank. Huck was adopted by a widow and was living the normal life. Huck's father found out Personal Response
I thought this was a really good book because there was a lot of non stop action. You never really knew what was going to happen next. This was one of those book where you would start reading and not want to stop reading it.

Plot Summary
This book was about a young boy named Huckleberry Finn. He and his friend Tom Sawyer found a treasure and they put all the money they earned in the towns bank. Huck was adopted by a widow and was living the normal life. Huck's father found out that Huck had found the treasure and took Huck captive. His father was keeping him captive until he gave him the money for liquor. Huck dug a hole to get out of his father's cabin and made it look like he was murdered. Huck took a canoe and went out to a island. While he was on the island he found Jim, who was a slave that Huck new from the widow's house. Apparently he ran away because people were thinking he was the one who killed Huck. Huck told Jim how he faked his death after escaping his father's cabin. Huck and Jim decided they would just hop on there raft and start heading down river. After heading down river for a while they came across a steamship that was sinking. Huck decided to go aboard the steamship where he found thieves. Jim stayed back to keep a look out for anyone else. When they went to go back to there raft it was gone. They decided they would take the thieves boat instead. They hopped in and there was a bunch of loot that they had stolen. After awhile of boating they stumbled across their raft. A few days later Huck and Jim met two men who claimed that they were royalty. Huck just went along with it because Jim believed them. The two men decided they would scam people by performing a show of one of them just jumping around and hollering. The townspeople were not happy when they realized that they just got scammed. Before the towns people could catch them the two men slipped away and they started heading down river again. They stumbled upon a little boy who was going to deliver a message to a family. It turns out that the family had a lot of money in there house and the brothers of the man who died were supposed to receive but it was hidden. The two men decided they were going to act like the brothers and steal the money for themselves. Huck didn't let that happen and put the money somewhere safe where only the daughter knew where it was. Huck ran back to the raft only to find that Jim had gone missing. He traveled to the next town and found out where Jim was. He went to the place where Jim was and the family thought he was his best friend Tom Sawyer. Huck decided to act like Tom so he could rescue Jim. Huck decided to go into town, but on his way in he met Tom on the road. Tom was shocked to see Huck because he thought he was dead. Huck told Tom everything and told him he was playing as Tom. Tom decided to act like his own brother Sid. After a few days they came up with a plan and broke Jim out of his hut. The men that were guarding the hut started shooting and one of the bullets hit Tom. Huck, Jim, and Tom went out to an island to hide. Huck left to go find a doctor to remove the bullet. Huck got the doctor but the doctor said he didn't trust the canoe with two people so he would go by himself. The doctor was gone for a couple days and Huck went back to the house to sleep. A couple days later the doctor came back and Jim was in shackles. Tom was okay just tired. Jim got caught because the doctor needed help so he helped him The doctor brought him back then they tied him up. When Tom woke up he started talking about how him and Huck broke Jim out and told the whole story. They found out that Huck wasn't Tom and Tom wasn't Sid. Tom told them who he was and who Huck was. So Huck went back to his old town.

Characterization
Huck started as a young boy who didn't want to live the normal life. He didn't want to wear fancy clothes or have proper manners. He just wanted to live how he wanted to. In dirty clothes and not a care in the world. He would sneak out to go hang out with his friends at night. When he was captive he used his head on how to escape. After he got out he decided to fake his death so he could live how he wanted to. He meet one of his friends and they had a big adventure on the river and he was starting to mature. Then after he had his big adventure he decided he would give the normal life another try.

Recommendation
I would recommend this book to kids who like adventure and exploration. This would be a good book for middle school and high schoolers because its long and has a good story line. This is also a good book if you like some pictures while you read. ...more

4

Aug 04, 2018

On this occasion of Great Illustrated Classics I’m glad they left out some of the bits that they did, I don’t know how the 3.5 year old would have done with the King & Duke. I highly recommend it to any young readers or new readers.

4

Aug 27, 2012

This book was awesome - loved it from start to finish. Huck was very adventurous and showed the evils of racism, along with child abuse. This version was easy to read and held pretty close to the original.

3

Jan 17, 2015

I grew up reading this and many other classic American stories published by Moby Books. I find the illustrated versions quite entertaining to read; words are simplified and the addition of illustrations provide better understanding and interest to young readers.

5

Sep 02, 2012

This book was very adventurous. I liked this book because it was about a a poor homeless boy on the run.
It was about a boy who lived in a house and he took a little adventure. I loved this book but I recommend to read the adventures of Tom Sawyer first.

4

Jun 08, 2015

Huckleberry Finn and his friend Tom steal a slave, outsmart robbers and run away from Tom's half drunken father. Will they be caught for taking the slave? or will Jim be free? I liked the book a lot. I liked that it has lots of strategy in it.

5

Oct 16, 2016

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is a book where it is filled with adventure and a kid named Huck goes out and tries to find adventure in his life. During some of his adventures he has made news and tricked everyone. Although Huck eventually becomes free, and so doe's Tom(Hucks best friend) and Jim(who is a runaway slave).

4

Feb 17, 2018

You have to respect the classics. Been awhile since I read this book, only giving it a four star because it’s an abridged version, great little quick read and makes me want to re-read the original to compare. All in all good little read.

0

Nov 27, 2011

This version is more focus on Jim's slavery. Huck felt guilty when he decided to help Jim escape. I bought this book in America years ago, but I gave up to read because I found it difficult to read - there were unfamiliar words. I have read it still there are some unfamiliar words for me. I realized that this is just for children but not for English learners.

3

Oct 21, 2015

The little lights of the town as we pass by. is a classic. First it has the element of adventure from heart pounding thrills to big risks. Next and last is the thing that makes you not want to stop reading you have to keep on reading that's what makes it a classic. The Adventures of Hucklberry finn is amazing with adventure and nonstop reading.

3

May 15, 2012

This story is about a boy named Huck Finn who runs away from home and has various adventures. It is set in the 1800's-southern United States. I find that this story is great for upper-mid grade levels. The adventures were exiting, the fears realistic, and the successes are thrilling.
This book is however slightly boring to some students. I would recommend this classic for a 5th or 6th grade level reader. It’s a timeless classic.

4

Oct 03, 2013

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is about a boy who ran away from his abusive dad. When he was locked in the house, he sawed away everyday when his dad went out. He eventually got out, and then stole a canoe. He went along a river to an island, and he hid there. While he was in hiding, he encountered a slave that had also ran away from his owner. Everyone in the village thought they were both dead.

4

May 17, 2012

I was reminded how wonderful the characters are in Mark Twain's books.I love how he uses extremes to teach and tell stories. I especially love the phrase, "I learned that you cannot pray a lie.' His outrageous situations twist and turn and are surrounded by eternal truths, the value of humans and how wretched they can be when they don't think of others as themselves. He is also fair in having characters of good values and without guile. I am glad I read this again. I think my wise grandmother I was reminded how wonderful the characters are in Mark Twain's books.I love how he uses extremes to teach and tell stories. I especially love the phrase, "I learned that you cannot pray a lie.' His outrageous situations twist and turn and are surrounded by eternal truths, the value of humans and how wretched they can be when they don't think of others as themselves. He is also fair in having characters of good values and without guile. I am glad I read this again. I think my wise grandmother introduced me to this book when I was at a very impressionable age. The audiobook I listened to was very well done. ...more

0

Feb 24, 2015

I really like how the described it. Huck lived with a widow she wanted him to be civilized. He did his best. Until one day his father found him there . Huck had a lot of money he got from a treasure him and Tom Sawyer found. His dad took him because he want all his money. Except Huck not give it to. On day his dad went to town for court to try and get the money with out him. So he escaped and made it look like someone murdered him. Then he went to an island on the river. He traveled for a long I really like how the described it. Huck lived with a widow she wanted him to be civilized. He did his best. Until one day his father found him there . Huck had a lot of money he got from a treasure him and Tom Sawyer found. His dad took him because he want all his money. Except Huck not give it to. On day his dad went to town for court to try and get the money with out him. So he escaped and made it look like someone murdered him. Then he went to an island on the river. He traveled for a long time with a run away slave. They went on many adventures together. They had lots and lots of fun together. ...more

3

Nov 29, 2007

This version is not the same as the others!!! This is the highly edited illustrated version for children. All of the debate Huck has with himself about turning in Jim or not is deleted as are the scenes where he plays tricks on Jim and begins to realize Jim's humanity. Also cut are the floating house, feuding families, the circus, and the lynch mob. Other small details are also altered to fill in the gaps.

I had thought of using this as a supplement for lower level readers, but the deletions and This version is not the same as the others!!! This is the highly edited illustrated version for children. All of the debate Huck has with himself about turning in Jim or not is deleted as are the scenes where he plays tricks on Jim and begins to realize Jim's humanity. Also cut are the floating house, feuding families, the circus, and the lynch mob. Other small details are also altered to fill in the gaps.

I had thought of using this as a supplement for lower level readers, but the deletions and changes really wouldn't allow it. Other versions of the text which edit style and language would work better than this version which is really best for introducing the basic plot to children.

My review of the original version is found at this book: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Case Study in Critical Controversy ...more

5

Jan 18, 2013

Finish this at a little after 1 a.m. (est)...

I really did enjoy this book. It was a quick and easy read for me. (Even though I didn't read everyday..I would have finished sooner if I had)

I was quite surprised that it got my attention and held on to it throughout the whole book. It has me going back wanting to find the movie and watch it again.

What else can I say about this book? I mean, it's just too cute for words!

The only thing I can say about the book compared to the movie is that, the Finish this at a little after 1 a.m. (est)...

I really did enjoy this book. It was a quick and easy read for me. (Even though I didn't read everyday..I would have finished sooner if I had)

I was quite surprised that it got my attention and held on to it throughout the whole book. It has me going back wanting to find the movie and watch it again.

What else can I say about this book? I mean, it's just too cute for words!

The only thing I can say about the book compared to the movie is that, the movie, it made him seem like this little bad kid that couldn't sit still. Well, reading it, and actually seeing what he thought and why he did what he did, him and Tom Sawyer, its not that they were "bad"..They're just two little boys who liked to have adventures and would get in trouble from time to time because they tended to take things too far. Since having my own kids (I have two boys), it helps me to understand Tom & Huck a little bit better now, and how adventurous little boys can be. ...more

4

Sep 20, 2015

If realistic fiction is your go to genre for a good read "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain is the book for you. Twain takes you on a journey down the Mississippi River along side a young, rebellious Huck Finn and runaway slave Jim. This journey begins after Huck decides to fake his own death to escape his alcoholic father. When the town starts to look for Huck's body Jim finds Huck's hiding spot and decides to help him stay hidden. The pair decide that the best thing to do If realistic fiction is your go to genre for a good read "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain is the book for you. Twain takes you on a journey down the Mississippi River along side a young, rebellious Huck Finn and runaway slave Jim. This journey begins after Huck decides to fake his own death to escape his alcoholic father. When the town starts to look for Huck's body Jim finds Huck's hiding spot and decides to help him stay hidden. The pair decide that the best thing to do would be to make a raft and start down the Mississippi. During the journey Huck and Jim encounter obstacle after obstacle, from horrible storms to the threat of being caught. Throughout all of these struggles Jim does his very best to keep Huck safe, where Huck starts to have doubts about not turning Jim in as a runaway slave because that would be the "right" thing to do. Despite the hardships throughout the journey Twain still finds a way to keep the bond between the two almost unbreakable. All in all Twain creates a wonderful, adventure filled story about an outcast boy and a runaway slave on their journey down the Mississippi River on a raft and the struggles they experience along the way. However the style of writing that is used thrughout the book might be challenging for some readers, especially where a lot of the words or phrases that are used are pretty dated terms. Other than that this book pretty much met my expectations. ...more

5

Mar 06, 2012

THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN

BY: MARK TWAIN

SUMMARY: Huckleberry Finn lives in a small town on the mighty Mississippi River, but he somehow manages to find adventure on every turn. When he escapes from the clutches of terrible, greedy Dad, he meets a runaway slave named Jim. Together they run off and float down the great river on a raft. Instead of an easy simple life that they had expected they run into a ton of trouble! They meet two men who claim to be a King and a Duke. Huck and Jim have THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN

BY: MARK TWAIN

SUMMARY: Huckleberry Finn lives in a small town on the mighty Mississippi River, but he somehow manages to find adventure on every turn. When he escapes from the clutches of terrible, greedy Dad, he meets a runaway slave named Jim. Together they run off and float down the great river on a raft. Instead of an easy simple life that they had expected they run into a ton of trouble! They meet two men who claim to be a King and a Duke. Huck and Jim have many adventures with these two until they end up finding out that these two men aren't who they say they are. They are just two Englishman! So Huck leaves these to men to set sail again with his good old pal Jim, but when he arrives to the raft where Jim was supposed to stay hidden he finds that he is missing! So Huck must set off to find his lost pal and on the way he meets up with his best friend Tom Sawyer! They find Jim at Tom Sawyer's aunts house where he is being held captive! Now Huck and Tom will have to do the impossible to set him free. Will they be able to do so? Or will they get caught and Jim will have to stay a slave forever?

I rated this story a solid 5 stars! It was a great book that kept me very interested!

I recommend this book to many. People who like adventure and who are interested in the slave times would really like this book! It is a thriller and will have you going the whole time while you are reading! ...more

5

Sep 25, 2018

After we moved this summer, all our books were in boxes. My ten-year-old son Daniel was in despair, but then discovered a set of Illustrated Classics that I bought a few years ago at an antique store and proceeded to read through them all at a fast pace. I had also bought a few books online a few years ago to augment the set with books I thought the boys would like. His favorite authors were Charles Dickens and Mark Twain. He really liked The Prince and the Pauper and Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. After we moved this summer, all our books were in boxes. My ten-year-old son Daniel was in despair, but then discovered a set of Illustrated Classics that I bought a few years ago at an antique store and proceeded to read through them all at a fast pace. I had also bought a few books online a few years ago to augment the set with books I thought the boys would like. His favorite authors were Charles Dickens and Mark Twain. He really liked The Prince and the Pauper and Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. He thought Tom Sawyer’s escapades were hilarious. He saved Huckleberry Finn to read with me and we just finished it last week.

Daniel also liked the humor and adventure in Huckleberry Finn, but he really liked his friendship with Jim. He was very concerned about Jim and was glad that Jim got a happy ending. I wish there was a follow up novel on Jim. Now that he is free – what happened to him?

I know that some people are dead set against the Illustrated Classics series as it takes classic stories, reduces them to a shortened kid version, and includes a picture on each paper. I have always been in favor of them. I read a few of them as a kid myself and it introduced me to authors that I then looked for as my reading level increased. I read the full Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn when I was not much older than Daniel. I have them sitting outside his room on a book shelf, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t pick them up on his own and read them sometime soon. He is a voracious reader.

Daniel said he was asked at school what the difference was, and he said there are more pictures and no swearing in the Great Illustrated Classics. Overall, they are a nice way to start introducing your children to the classics.

This review was originally posted on my blog at: http://lauragerold.blogspot.com/2018/... ...more

0

Nov 29, 2017

setting: the woods, the bank, the raft, and his home.
characters: huckleberry Finn, drunken father, Jim the slave, the lady from the bank.

huckleberry Finn found money buried in the ground and when he found it his dad found out and he would yell a huckleberry until he would give him money but he never did. he went to the bank because he couldn't deal with all of the money so he bribed the judge to take it but she denied it until he beg and begged. but one day huckleberry ran away from his dad. he setting: the woods, the bank, the raft, and his home.
characters: huckleberry Finn, drunken father, Jim the slave, the lady from the bank.

huckleberry Finn found money buried in the ground and when he found it his dad found out and he would yell a huckleberry until he would give him money but he never did. he went to the bank because he couldn't deal with all of the money so he bribed the judge to take it but she denied it until he beg and begged. but one day huckleberry ran away from his dad. he was hiding in the woods he found Jim a run away slave Jim was sleeping so huckleberry went to woke him up and Jim got scared but he noticed who it was him. they talked until night but at night they went and got sticks to make a raft to go down the stream. but they were seen going down the river to own and the officers saw him and caught Jim so later the next night he and his friend went to the jail where he was in. there plan was to dig under the floor and get Jim out so they dug and dug so when they got Jim out he shouted. so the watch boy heard and shot and called for help but when they were running they huckleberry friend got shot in the ankle. so when they got back to the raft they saw the wound so they started down stream to a doctors house for a help.the doctor agreed but huckleberry needed to stay on shore so the doctor could feel safe on the raft with the boy. when he was fixed up they came back to shore and said o stay off the the hurt foot for 3 to 5 days. so huckleberry brought him home and Jim stayed hidden so huckleberry got back around night time so they could leave and go down stream. they caught fish for food and the river was fresh water. but Huckleberry was getting tired of the river travel. so he got adopted by is a very nice family but he misses Jim and so he runs away from the family he is at now and finds Jim and stays with him. ...more