...How to compare and contrast essay As you generate points of comparison, consider the purpose and content of the assignment and the focus of the class. What do you think the professor wants you to learn by doing this comparison/contrast? How does it fit with what you have been studying so far and with the other assignments in the course? Are there any clues about what to focus on in the assignment itself? Here are some general questions about different types of things you might have to compare. These are by no means complete or definitive lists; they’re just here to give you some ideas—you can generate your own questions for these and other types of comparison. You may want to begin by using the questions reporters traditionally ask: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? If you’re talking about objects, you might also consider general properties like size, shape, color, sound, weight, taste, texture, smell, number, duration, and location. Two historical periods or events When did they occur—do you know the date(s) and duration? What happened or changed during each? Why are they significant? What kinds of work did people do? What kinds of relationships did they have? What did they value? What kinds of governments were there? Who were important people involved? What caused events in these periods, and what consequences did they have later on? Two ideas or theories What are they about? Did they originate at some particular time? Who created them? Who uses or defends them? What...
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...Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Questions and Characters Major Characters Huckleberry Finn: Huck is the main character who has a taste for adventure just like Tom Sawyer. He can be sneaky in a way that he can trick others and lie. As he goes on this adventure, he begins to feel for the slaves. He came from an uneducated family in the south of St. Petersburg. Out of all his relatives, he is the smartest and because of this his abusive father tries to take advantage of it so Huck can work for him. Jim: a runaway slave who is accompanied by Huck Finn. Jim is a childish and very superstitious person. He despises dangerous adventures thinking that he might get caught and get sent back to his owner. Tom Sawyer: The book is followed...
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...While the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was written more than a hundred years ago, the teachings are still very important to this day. One of the most important teachings that the book offers is that you have to fight for what you believe in no matter what the circumstances are. In the book, Huck writes a note to Miss Watson telling her where she could find Jim and what she can do to get him back. He wrote this note because he was taught that it was right to return runaway slaves to their owners, and if he didn’t tell her, it would be very sinful. Before he delivers the note, he thinks about the impact of what he is about to do Jim's life, and how Jim said he was his best friend. He then tears up the note, and is tells...
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...Escape – Extract 2 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn “It was kind of lazy...”(p26) to “...till he got that chance.” (27) Collins Classics The Catcher in the Rye “The funny thing is though...”(p13) to “...when you think about it.” (p16) Penguin Analyse the extract in detail. Make sure you cover: * The ways in which the writer presents and develops Huck’s character. * The ways in which the writer creates a distinctive narrative voice. * The ways in which the theme of escape is presented. The ways in which any other themes are explored by the writer. * The ways in which the extract is a product of the novel’s social and historical context. In both extracts the theme of escape is explored. In extract 1, Huck is planning to escape from his abusive father and in extract 2 Holden does his best to escape from Mr Spencer’s room. Both extracts are in the first person so that the reader feels the narrator’s discomfort. Both characters feel the need to escape from oppression of some type; Huck from physical abuse at the hands of his alcoholic father and Holden from what he feels is the oppressive, “depressing” atmosphere of Spencer’s room and Pencey in general. In both extracts the reader feels the anxiety of the main character. However, the two characters are quite different. Huck is practical, resourceful and admirably cheerful whereas Holden is portrayed as neurotic and judgemental. We seem to be presented with a hero in Huck and an anti-hero in Holden. Both characters...
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...Nishat Anzum RR #5 Say It Ain’t So, Huck by Jane Smiley, Pg. 815 Brief Summary Throughout her piece, Jane Smiley’s underlying purpose remains to criticize Twain in his writing of Huckleberry Finn. Smiley carries a skeptical and disapproving tone throughout her essay. Her first argument is that the last twelve chapters of the book was a complete “failure”. She supports this with the fact that the novel strayed from its central focus: the relationship between Huck and Jim. She also argues that the novel had a weak beginning as well as a weak ending and that the author did not really know the actual meaning of racism, and due to this, the novel had no deep meaning. Lastly, Smiley argues that a better novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, should be considered a greater novel than Huckleberry Finn because it carries better propaganda and holds better messages of racism. Questions 1. Literal- Is Smiley’s thesis clearly stated in the essay? If so, where is it and what is it? 2. Literal- What novel does Smiley contrast Huckleberry Finn to? Why does she say that it is a better novel? 3. Interpretive- Huck is supposed to be the hero of the story. What major aspect of the novel demonstrates that the novel is another failure because Huck was not emphasized as a hero? 4. Interpretive- What characteristics of the character Jim make him inferior in the novel, according to Smiley? 5. Evaluative- Early in the essay, Smiley says that she isn’t criticizing the character Huck, but do...
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...Mark Twain’s widely known and appreciated novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn follow countless boyhood adventures between the rambunctious young boys, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. While Twain’s novels depict long playful summer days spent in the sun, his work is far from children’s literature. Twain’s novels include dark adult themes such as death, ignorance, physical punishment, deceit and most prominently, racism. Twain modeled both novels based on his own life experiences growing up along the Mississippi River (Frost), hoping to mirror how one's surroundings influence their character development, furthermore shaping who they will become. To do so, Twain creates a world of struggle for his protagonists,...
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...Hannibal Journal, where he quickly became saturated in the newspaper trade. Rising to the role of sub-editor, Twain indulged in the frontier humor that flourished in journalism at the time: tall tales, satirical pranks, and jokes. II. Influences of the Writer The following were the persons, things, places and events that influenced Mark Twain. -his connection to the mississippi river as a boy and the fact that he became a riberboat pilot -time spent traveling the world -the nice life he led shortly after he married -tragedies in his family -financial problems -problems he saw in the south during reconstruction Hannibal inspired several of Mark Twain's fictional locales, including "St. Petersburg" in Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. These imaginary river towns are complex places: sunlit and exuberant on the one hand, but also vipers' nests of cruelty, poverty, drunkenness, loneliness, and life-crushing boredom. All of that had been a part of Sam Clemens' boyhood experience. The story is set in the town of "St...
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...American Literature 23 November 2009 Analytical Essay of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, was written by Mark Twain and originally published in 1884 during a time when slavery was prominent in the United States. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the story regarding the interracial friendship between the two main characters, Huck and Jim. Huck is a young white male who is on the run, making his getaway from his abusive father. While escaping the life he lived, his adventures take him down the Mississippi River. Jim is a black escaped slave, making the same journey along the Mississippi River as Huck, making his way to freedom. As they experience different adventures on their travels along the Mississippi River, Huck and Jim form a very unique friendship. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn became a book that both revolutionized American literature and became a book at the center of literary debate (Webb). Many people regard The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as one of the greatest novels in American literature; others think it celebrates racism and should be banned from our schools. “In recent years the racial (and racist) implications of every aspect of the novel have been subject to critical debate, as have questions about the racial beliefs of the author”(Levine 95). The reason for the wide spread debate is mainly due to the books vernacular use of the word “nigger” and, although some argue that the novel is extremely racist,...
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...The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Classic American Bildungsroman Mark Twain’s famous novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is much more than a story about a boy and an escaped slave adventuring along the Mississippi River; it is a bildungsroman, a coming of age tale. Huckleberry has the mindset of a child in the beginning of the story. Over the course of the novel, Huckleberry gains a more mature outlook on things such as racism. He also becomes a more morally aware individual as a result of his adventures. Although Huckleberry regresses near the conclusion of the novel, it easy to see that he is far more mature than he is in the beginning of the novel and therefore a better person, Huckleberry has come of age. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is difinetly bildungsroman. In the beginning of the novel it is clear that Huckleberry is not mature in the least bit. He has a poor understanding of morals which is to be expected due to his lower class upbringing and lack of education, neither academic nor religious. Huckleberry addresses the fact that he has been living with the Widow Douglas: “she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was in all her ways; and so when I couldn’t stand it no longer I lit out” (1). Although Huckleberry ends up not running away, it is clear to the reader that he is not happy trying to be civilized. He is a typical teenager...
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...Slavery in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Metaphor Over the past three centuries, only a handful of American authors have achieved such success that their work continues to be read and studied decades, even hundreds of years after their deaths. Mark Twain achieved this success by writing some of the greatest novels American literature has ever seen. Arguably his most famous work, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn essentially revolutionized American literature. One might say that Twain initiated the transition from romantic epics to more realistic-based tales. A second profound American author, Ernest Hemingway, even said, “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn,” (Hemingway). Within this work, Twain uses some topics that were very controversial at the time to present an even more insightful idea. While one of the main issues in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is slavery, Twain uses it as an allegory for the struggle, that still exists today, between an individual’s conscience and society’s norms and ideals. In this novel, the setting and time period during which it takes place plays a significant part in the overall plot. Though Twain wrote this novel in the 1880s, several years after the Emancipation Proclamation, he chose to set the novel a few decades before the Emancipation Proclamation. In choosing this, he enabled himself to highlight slavery as one of the main issues of the novel. During the time when the...
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...Furthermore, we see thematic exploration of morals and race. Huck persistently struggles throughout the novel to decide what morals to accept. Huck struggles with accepting what society has taught him because it does not feel right in his heart. During the time, it was appropriate for people to owned slaves to treat them as less than people. While brutal, this is the harsh reality of America's past. However, we see the theme of race and morals through the interactions of Jim and Huck. In the beginning of the novel we see that Huck sees Jim as a slave and while Huck is still a child, he technically has more rights than Jim. As the novel progresses, Huck begins to care for Jim and see him for what he truly is: a person, a father, and a man. During...
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...It’s evident from the conversation between Buck and Huck Finn that Mark Twain is satirizing family feuds and their battle for honor through the Shepherdson-Grangerford dispute. Twain believes feuds are foolish and idiotic, commenting on the stupidity of humanity and the lack of a real, logical reason to continue the violence that ensues between families. Both the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons, after fighting for so long, forget the purpose of the feud to begin with; however, they believe that it’s important to not back down in order to uphold their family reputation. Despite the fact that many lives have been taken from both sides, the families actually respect one another. Twain also wants to note that feuds often involve children who don’t even understand the definition of a feud and want to please their families. According to Buck, feuds are not over until everyone is killed off on both...
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...Exploring the big wide world in a canoe and a raft, evading death by gunshot wounds, impersonating people to save their own skin. Boy, would it be exciting to live the way Huck Finn did.In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the story follows Huck, a young boy, who fakes his death and runs away to find something different than what he’s got and is accompanied by Jim, a slave of his old caretaker.He encounters many challenges on his journey, but learns todeal with them andovercome them.This book is still importantto read even today as it lends insightinto the setting ofthe American 1830’sand 40’s,it teaches kids to become independent and grow up, and that companionship and friendship...
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...heavily biased against blacks. For a few moments, he believes that “there’s One that’s always on the lookout” and that God was catching up to him for all the “wickedness” he had done (160). He attempts to pray to make his problems go away and tries to hold up the beliefs that the white people had taught him. When Huck claims that he unable to pray, he realizes that “ you can’t pray a lie”(161). This means that he can’t faithful to something he doesn’t believe. Huck doesn’t believe should be allowed to be a slave again because he cares about Jim and see him as a human being, rather than just a slave. He would rather save Jim than follow what society tells him to do. After Huck fails to pray, he tries to write Miss Watson a note. When he is finished with the note. He starts to think about the wonderful time he had with Jim on the river. Huck recalls how kind Jim was to him, how Jim would care for him, and how Jim would sacrifice multiple thing to make Huck happy. He also remembered how Jim thought of Huck as his best friend. Huck subconsciously realizes that Jim and him were kind of a family and that Jim was more of a family to him than Pap ever was. It is in this moment that Huck recognizes Jim as a human being rather than a slave and accepts Jim as a person who is equal to him. Finally, Huck officially decides that he is going to help free Jim and he doesn’t care if he is going to “go to hell” (162). Huck was taught about hell by Miss Watson, who represents a common southern citizen...
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...The novel’s scathing diction may be too extreme for some audiences, but it is absurd to ban this novel from school curricula entirely. This book should be offered in schools where there is a choice to read the novel or not to. Although there are justifiable reasons to remove the book from classrooms, the novel should still be offered for its educational value. Like Aesop’s Fables, where fictional representations yield moral lessons, there is value in teaching The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to students. Aesop’s lessons have reverberated through the classrooms of young children since the times of Ancient Greece, just as Twain’s writings will resonate for the rest of time – only tailored to slightly older students. Huck’s experiences illustrate a time in history that most history books will try to whitewash, the source of another essential lesson within the text. Students of age to be reading this novel are able to comprehend that life was very different in the nineteenth century. Twain addresses civil issues, preaches out against conformity, and emphasizes the power of the individual vicariously through Huck. The novel’s relevance in society today is clear, as the story unfolds to illuminate the value humanity and interpersonal...
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