Literary Criticism criticism, anyone? (Huck Finn) - Writers Forum

krazyklassykat · 01-03-2007, 02:18 PM

I'm reading a few literary criticisms on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for a class, and I've come across some interesting views and opinions. I thought discussing them here might help me to better understand where the authors of the criticisms are coming from, and whether or not I share their views.

This might be a rather difficult conversation to keep organized, so I think I'll number/label the pieces I found worth discussing, and you can respond to whichever of them interests you.
If you've come across any other Huck Finn criticisms you'd like to talk about, please feel free to bring them up. Just make sure you include what essay they are from, in case anyone wants to read it.

Well, here goes.

"Huckleberry Finn: An Overview"
Unfortunately, this essay was provided by my professor, and only an excerpt is available here: http://www.enotes.com/finn/1938

1a.

Quote:

Watching the King and Duke "work" small-town crowds, Huck is more offended by the credulity of the dupes than by the duplicity of the con artists. As the mountebanks pull the wool over the family and neighbors of the later Peter Wilks, it is the responses of the victims, their slavish willingness to believe, that Huck finds disconcerting, declaring that, "it was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race" (p.137).

I could be wrong, but I could have sworn that when we discussed it in class, it was assumed that the King and Duke were "enough to make a body ashamed of the human race." I'm about to go read through that part again, but let me know what you think of that.

1b.
At one point, Moore discusses the difference between Huck's idea of freedom and Jim's idea of freedom.

Quote:

In contrast to Jim, who conceives freedom in positive terms, feeling "trembly and feverish" as they approach the free northern state of Illinois, Huck sees freedom in terms of the absence of external compulsion.

I can see, vaguely, Moore's point here... but I can't quite manifest it in words. Especially that last underlined part. Does anyone know a simpler way to state that? I don't quite understand what he means....

1c.
At the close of the essay, Moore states an opinion that the views stated in Huck Finn are not those of Mark Twain. I've heard that this is a popular debate among literary critics. What do you think?

Quote:

Plainly, Twain's purpose in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was not to present his opinion about broad social issues that continued to confound people in his day, but to entertain them with an amusing, picaresque tale that touches upon timeless subjects such as freedom as seen through the eyes of a highly particularized character.

I will add more as I come across them. I really hope I'm not boring you all to death here.

Disclaimer: All quotes cited thus far in this post were originally written by Roger Moore in "Huckleberry Finn: An Overview", which can be found on enotes.com.

Jolly McJollyson · 01-03-2007, 02:24 PM

This irks me a little, yes, but not NEARLY as much as Jane Smiley's essay on Huck Finn. I find it trite, superficial, vague, and, in some instances, flat out ignorant.

krazyklassykat · 01-03-2007, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jolly McJollyson

This irks me a little, yes, but not NEARLY as much as Jane Smiley's essay on Huck Finn. I find it trite, superficial, vague, and, in some instances, flat out ignorant.

I'm sorry... which part irks you?
First off, is it me or Roger Moore?

I shall look up that essay... is it available for free? I'm writing a paper and I want to include at least one essay that I absolutely do not agree with. Just for fun. So I'll see how I feel about that one.

Jolly McJollyson · 01-03-2007, 02:32 PM

Haha, Roger Moore, don't worry.

There's a lot of fallacious, and nigh on BAD, criticism out there on Huck Finn.

EDIT: Didn't Roger Moore play James Bond?

Jolly McJollyson · 01-03-2007, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krazyklassykat

I shall look up that essay... is it available for free? I'm writing a paper and I want to include at least one essay that I absolutely do not agree with. Just for fun. So I'll see how I feel about that one.

Free I'm not sure of. I found it in the Second Edition Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, edited by Gerald Graff and James Phelan.

Hodge · 01-03-2007, 02:36 PM

Yes. And he was BETTER than Sean connery, dammit! And both are better than the last three... Bleh.

krazyklassykat · 01-03-2007, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jolly McJollyson

Haha, Roger Moore, don't worry.

There's a lot of fallacious, and nigh on BAD, criticism out there on Huck Finn.

EDIT: Didn't Roger Moore play James Bond?

Haha yeah. No wonder it sounded familiar... I don't think it's the same guy though. 0_o But you never know.

Hodge · 01-03-2007, 02:41 PM

Quote:

At the close of the essay, Moore states an opinion that the views stated in Huck Finn are not those of Mark Twain. I've heard that this is a popular debate among literary critics. What do you think?

Ack! I hate this one! Twain clearly states in the beginning of Huck Finn that he doesn't want this, but is he telling the truth? He tells the reader not to look for any deeper meaning, which, of course, causes us to think about what the deeper meaning could be. Not to mention it's Mark Twain who says this, not Samuel Clemens. So there's already a deeper layer right there.

Jolly McJollyson · 01-03-2007, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hodge

Yes. And he was BETTER than Sean connery, dammit! And both are better than the last three... Bleh.

WHOA WHOA WHOA...

Better than Connery!?

Moore was always winking at the camera like an idiot. That Sean Connery, though. What a Bond.

krazyklassykat · 01-03-2007, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jolly McJollyson

WHOA WHOA WHOA...

Better than Connery!?

Moore was always winking at the camera like an idiot. That Sean Connery, though. What a Bond.

-______-

krazyklassykat · 01-03-2007, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hodge

Ack! I hate this one! Twain clearly states in the beginning of Huck Finn that he doesn't want this, but is he telling the truth? He tells the reader not to look for any deeper meaning, which, of course, causes us to think about what the deeper meaning could be. Not to mention it's Mark Twain who says this, not Samuel Clemens. So there's already a deeper layer right there.

So, do you think Twain does use Huck Finn as a device for his opinions? Or do you think Clemens does...?

Hodge · 01-03-2007, 02:47 PM

Moore was suave and British. Connery was rough and Scottish.

Of course, I don't really like James Bond.

Hodge · 01-03-2007, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krazyklassykat

So, do you think Twain does use Huck Finn as a device for his opinions? Or do you think Clemens does...?

Clemens uses his works as a device for his opinions, and he puts Twain in between himself to make him seem more credible. If he isn't writing about how the south sucks, then if anyone gets that from the piece it's not his fault, right? But if he says that, he's being dishonest and loses his credibility if word gets out he lied. Solution? He writes as Twain, who isn't lying when he says there's nothing deeper or satirical in his story.

krazyklassykat · 01-03-2007, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hodge

Of course, I don't really like James Bond.

*Waits for a million invisible people to appear and begin brandishing torches and pitchforks at Hodge*

Please keep your torches away from my essay, people...

krazyklassykat · 01-03-2007, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hodge

Clemens uses his works as a device for his opinions, and he puts Twain in between himself to make him seem more credible. If he isn't writing about how the south sucks, then if anyone gets that from the piece it's not his fault, right? But if he says that, he's being dishonest and loses his credibility if word gets out he lied. Solution? He writes as Twain, who isn't lying when he says there's nothing deeper or satirical in his story.

Ahhh... I see. I'd never really thought about that before..