The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
discussion
Am I the only one who absolutely can't stand Mark Twain?
Excellent point, David. I often don't like Twain, but that theme was well done.
Tom Sawyer is by far my favorite. But alongside Huck, Tom looks hollow and silly. Somehow or other, Tom always accomplishes his goals, even if he makes everything a game.
Nick wrote: "I agree. Huck is rather tedious. Indeed, it is slow moving. Kind of like rafting on a slow river actually, which fits the theme of the book. I wonder if that was intentional.
As for Mark Twain's w..."
I agree, LETTERS FROM EARTH is hysterical. Try PUDDING HEAD JONES for a fun trip too
As for Mark Twain's w..."
I agree, LETTERS FROM EARTH is hysterical. Try PUDDING HEAD JONES for a fun trip too
I agree Mark Twain is very tedious. I read Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer and found them awful. I even tried ACYAKAC just because Jenny Agutter starts reading it in An American werewolf in London but it was dull dull dull.
As an English teacher, I will tell you that I abhor Twain. I think that Tom Sawyer is a good children's book at times, and then I just feel like the book is trash. Huck Finn is even worse. I just think Twain was extremely vain... he didn't need to pound Jim's innocence (in contrast to Huck and Tom) over our heads. As a chronicle of an American region / lifestyle, the book is actually very significant for its era, and it provides a snapshot for future generations... but unlike most classics, it just hasn't aged very well.
D.L. wrote: "Actually, I think Mark Twain is one of the best writers in history, and Huck Finn his best novel."Me too.
no; but his infernal EGO can drive you up the cliche!..
You and some other people are the only ones. I really enjoyed Huck Finn. It's a classic.
D.L. wrote: "Actually, I think Mark Twain is one of the best writers in history, and Huck Finn his best novel."I agree! One of my all time favorites.
Edward wrote: "You and some other people are the only ones. I really enjoyed Huck Finn. It's a classic."Me and some other people are the only ones? I guess that is correct, but it's kind of a weird thing to say... You and some other people must be the only ones who like him...
Vincenzo wrote: "As an English teacher, I will tell you that I abhor Twain. I think that Tom Sawyer is a good children's book at times, and then I just feel like the book is trash. Huck Finn is even worse. I just t..."I like your response alot, and I agree. I think that historically his novels are relevant, but as entertainment I think that they are severely lacking.
I remember my English teacher saying that Mark Twain was an author with lots of debates. I did not really think high about Mark Twain when I've read some excerpts from his "Life on the Mississippi" and "Autobiography of Mark Twain". However, it was "Huckleberry Finn" that made me respect him as an author.
I enjoyed the heck out of it, to say the truth. Mark Twain's ironies made me smile time to time. I understand the part about "dumbing down", though. I used to not think highly about such "narrative". It may be fun, yes, but there are more beautiful and eloquent ways of writing, yes? I could say Huck did give me a new idea about this matter. The imagery Mark Twain painted... I was surprised to find, despite using such vernacular "easy words", he managed to show me an extremely beautiful picture. I was amazed, and thought I learnt a lesson as an aspiring writer.
Hmm. Still, there are exceptions in this world. I can definitely see why someone would think of this book horribly. It is not as if I have no controversial opinions of my own. Then again, some "great" books I hate... Objectively, I would throw some compliments in. Subjectively, I would bash them.
Rebecca wrote: "Edward wrote: "You and some other people are the only ones. I really enjoyed Huck Finn. It's a classic."Me and some other people are the only ones? I guess that is correct, but it's kind of a weir..."
May I ask, what do specifically dislike from Mark Twain's writing? I can believe without hesitation if you dislike William Faulkner, but Mark Twain's writing is not bad. Some of his prose is even enjoyable. Let's also keep in mind that he had a bipolar mood disorder...
bookbabe wrote: "Try reading The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson. I laughed aloud with this one."I love the title alone already! hahaha
There is no requirement to "like"" Twain. I think he is important to read. He is, arguably, the first great American writer. His ability to capture experiences that are uniquely "American" sets him apart. However, must we all like him? I think Twain would have been disgusted by that. Those that love his work (as I do) will continue to love it and those who do not, will not. The joy of reading is finding pleasure in what we read.
I first got introduced to Mark Twain through his collection of short stories. As a result of those stories, he's one of my favorite writers. It was only recently that I read some of his novels. While I thought they were okay, to me, his short stories are his best work.
"It is the "Melbourne Cup" that brings this multitude together. Their clothes have been ordered long ago, at unlimited cost, and without bounds as to beauty and magnificence, and have been kept in concealment until now, for unto this day are they consecrate. I am speaking of the ladies' clothes; but one might know that. And so the grand-stands make a brilliant and wonderful spectacle, a delirium of color, a vision of beauty. The champagne flows, everybody is vivacious, excited, happy; everybody bets, and gloves and fortunes change hands right along, all the time. Day after day the races go on, and the fun and the excitement are kept at white heat; and when each day is done, the people dance all night so as to be fresh for the race in the morning. And at the end of the great week the swarms secure lodgings and transportation for next year, then flock away to their remote homes and count their gains and losses, and order next year's Cup-clothes, and then lie down and sleep two weeks, and get up sorry to reflect that a whole year must be put in somehow or other before they can be wholly happy again.
The Melbourne Cup is the Australasian National Day. It would be difficult to overstate its importance. It overshadows all other holidays and specialized days of whatever sort in that congeries of colonies. Overshadows them? I might almost say it blots them out. Each of them gets attention, but not everybody's; each of them evokes interest, but not everybody's; each of them rouses enthusiasm, but not everybody's; in each case a part of the attention, interest, and enthusiasm is a matter of habit and custom, and another part of it is official and perfunctory. Cup Day, and Cup Day only, commands an attention, an interest, and an enthusiasm which are universal—and spontaneous, not perfunctory. Cup Day is supreme—it has no rival. I can call to mind no specialized annual day, in any country, which can be named by that large name—Supreme. I can call to mind no specialized annual day, in any country, whose approach fires the whole land with a conflagration of conversation and preparation and anticipation and jubilation. No day save this one; but this one does it.
In America we have no annual supreme day; no day whose approach makes the whole nation glad. We have the Fourth of July, and Christmas, and Thanksgiving. Neither of them can claim the primacy; neither of them can arouse an enthusiasm which comes near to being universal. Eight grown Americans out of ten dread the coming of the Fourth, with its pandemonium and its perils, and they rejoice when it is gone—if still alive. The approach of Christmas brings harassment and dread to many excellent people. They have to buy a cart-load of presents, and they never know what to buy to hit the various tastes; they put in three weeks of hard and anxious work, and when Christmas morning comes they are so dissatisfied with the result, and so disappointed that they want to sit down and cry. Then they give thanks that Christmas comes but once a year. The observance of Thanksgiving Day—as a function—has become general of late years. The Thankfulness is not so general. This is natural. Two-thirds of the nation have always had hard luck and a hard time during the year, and this has a calming effect upon their enthusiasm.
We have a supreme day—a sweeping and tremendous and tumultuous day, a day which commands an absolute universality of interest and excitement; but it is not annual. It comes but once in four years; therefore it cannot count as a rival of the Melbourne Cup.
In Great Britain and Ireland they have two great days—Christmas and the Queen's birthday. But they are equally popular; there is no supremacy.
I think it must be conceded that the position of the Australasian Day is unique, solitary, unfellowed; and likely to hold that high place a long time."
The fact that Mark Twain captured to an uncanny tee how important Melbourne Cup was to Australia back then, and still is today, means I have eternal respect for the man. As an Australian, I'm flattered he took the time to visit my country, and fall inlove with it. Especially at a time, when most people probably thought Australia was a country of savages and convicts.
Nope. God, definitely not.
I was read Tom Sawyer in school and I told my Dad who encouraged me to read Huckleberry Finn but I didn't enjoy it. I found it to be a book that appealed to males certainly not to me.
I find Huckleberry Finn an interesting book, and had no problem with Mark Twain until I had an English class in college. The instructor LOVED Huckleberry Finn and Mark Twain. Her insistence on the superiority and connection to EVERYTHING really hurt the appreciation I had toward anything Mr. Twain wrote. It's been nearly 10 years and I still feel nauseous when I see the book on the shelf. Next decade, Mr. Twain; next decade.
I agree. I didn't think the writing was terrible, but I think tedious is a good word for his books. I've noticed I feel the same way about several 'classic' authors, including Dickens and Hemmingway.
I liked Huckleberry Finn. It wasn't really a thriller but it was still good.
Rebecca wrote: "I have tried on many occasions to like these books, but I can't seem to make it happen. Reading about old Huck in highschool was painful. Not because of the subject matter, but because it was so sl..."Well, maybe you are not alone in this, Rebecca. But I would think that the group that doesn't like Mark Twain's works, after giving the books a fair chance, is rather small.
Fortunately, I did not read Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer in school. I began reading Twain in my thirties. And loved his books from the get-go. I happen to like audio books and I think the audio versions, particularly as read by Dick Hill, are a wonderful way to engage the stories.
Of course, no one has to LIKE anything. So if Twain is not your thing, so be it. But in my case, Twain has brought me considerable enjoyment. And his stories have certainly affected my outlook on life. Who could ask more from a novelist?
Do his stories reflect a slower way of life? Certainly. But I never found them boring.
Peter B. Martin
Rebecca wrote: "I have tried on many occasions to like these books, but I can't seem to make it happen. Reading about old Huck in highschool was painful. Not because of the subject matter, but because it was so sl..."Yes, you are the only one.
Read the articles when he wrote for the Territorial Enterprise, in Virginia City, Nevada during the gold rush days. When news was slow, he made some up. Freaking hilarious! He wrote one story about a massacre that never happened. All kinds of clues in the stories about landmarks that didn't exist, he was astounded when the public didn't pick up on his clues. He was a brilliant satirist.
Rebecca wrote: "I have tried on many occasions to like these books, but I can't seem to make it happen. Reading about old Huck in highschool was painful. Not because of the subject matter, but because it was so sl..."Huckleberry Finn is written from a boy's point of view. That could be where you have trouble with this work. This had to be a personally troubling work for Twain because he put the manuscript in a drawer for something like nine years before he returned to finish it. Like the book or not, it is still one of the great reads from the 19th century.
Rebecca,I personally adore Twain's writing, but I can understand your feeling alone is your dislike of a popular author. For instance, I would rather pound nails through my eyes than have to read Moby Dick ever again.
An author or a book being considered a classic does not automatically render it a favorite with the reader. We each take our own unique interpretation from the novels we read. However, the irony of individual thought is our overwhelming desire to find others who share the exact same thinking.
I hope you find your Twain-disliking new friend. By the way, if you find any Melville haters could you send them my way? Thanks :)
Based on this discussion, obviously not.But, yes. You are.
The language in Huck can definitely be a turn-off for some people. Especially considering there are random, subtle shifts in the wording throughout the novel (probably due to all the times Twain stopped writing and then went back to work on the book months or years later). Nonetheless, I think the ideas of the book are great and the satire is fantastic. But I must admit I have a really big problem with Tom Sawyer's knowing all along about Jim's freedom. Sort of gives the book a pointlessness to it, but I suppose Twain made it that way for a reason and it should be symbolically considered.
No..his book Huck Finn sucks...and I don't think I will read any of his other books after that so...
yes, you are the only one.
I think Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer were good books, but other than that I'm not a fan of his writing style, nor his choices in story lines.
I had fun reading Huck Finn and a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. I thought Huck and Jim together were a lot of fun.Life on the Mississippi was also a fun adventure story with lot's of humor.
Francene wrote: "I like Mark Twain but I'm a bit outraged by his comments about Jane Austen:"I haven't any right to criticise books, and I don't do it except when I hate them. I often want to criticise Jane Auste..."
I never understood why Mark Twain went out of his way to criticize Jane Austen. It makes him seem petty as I read it. And the 'joke' about exhuming her shin bone to beat upon her skull-- is that actually clever?
kellyjane1212 wrote: "Francene wrote: "I like Mark Twain but I'm a bit outraged by his comments about Jane Austen:"I haven't any right to criticise books, and I don't do it except when I hate them. I often want to cri..."
And I forgot to add, if he disliked Jane Austen's stories so intensely that he could not even exercise self-control about it, then why did he keep reading and even re-reading them?
Hmmmmm . . . did you miss Twain's sarcasm completely? It's really okay not to like him. Different writers strike a chord in different readers. However, before you bash Twain with his own shinbone, please remember he was a satirist. His goal was, more often than not, to make people look carefully at what they did or thought, particularly by presenting it in outrageous terms that would generate an emotional response. (By the way, he obviously succeeded)
With me Mark Twain succeeded in seeming juvenile and petty which, if that was what he wanted people to look carefully at, then I credit his triumph. But perhaps I am missing the redeeming depth of philosophy woven into his seemingly adolescent rant.
I can't seem to get into his books either but I do enjoy his essays; letters and quotes.
Rebecca wrote: "I have tried on many occasions to like these books, but I can't seem to make it happen. Reading about old Huck in highschool was painful. Not because of the subject matter, but because it was so sl..."No, you’re not alone. Mark Twain totally sucks -- and Huckleberry Finn especially. It’s like duh. That’s why 100 years since his death, his books still sell out in bookstores and online copies, and they continue to make movies of his works, because they are just awful. He’s an American cornerstone of literature because he had no idea what he was doing and the fact that you personally can’t relate to his work means its so. Ignore the fact his hometown is a tourism spot and that his books are taught as required curriculum in our high schools and universities or that his writing is part of American nomenclature. I was on the fence but now that I know you can’t stand him, I’ll sucker someone else into painting it for me; thanks for the tip
And just to say it, I enjoyed and appreciated every story of Mark Twain that I read (Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, A Connecticut Yankee, The Prince And The Pauper). As an author he had the gift that all truly great writers possess: he breathed life into his characters, providing an experience rather than just an account. Indeed, his narrative voice is animated with personality, making it another 'character' in his stories, and often the most interesting one (and certainly a very entertaining one). Reading Mark Twain is like pulling up a chair and sharing the spectacle alongside the author himself. I am a fan of wit and irony in storytelling; and Mr. Twain was one of a handful of classic writers who used them with mastery. I have no criticisms to make of him as a novelist.
Oh KellyJane think you're so smart just because you're all Mark Twain this and Mark Twain that and because you're right and make good sense.
Vincenzo wrote: "As an English teacher, I will tell you that I abhor Twain. I think that Tom Sawyer is a good children's book at times, and then I just feel like the book is trash. Huck Finn is even worse. I just t..."Vincenzo, what state do you teach in?
Teresa wrote: "I can't seem to get into his books either but I do enjoy his essays; letters and quotes."Great point. Almost a hundred years before the Holocaust Twain wrote a brilliant essay about Jews that should be taught in American high schools
And his posthumously published essay collection, Letters From the Earth, is absolutely brilliant (although religious folks without a sense of humor may not agree.)
Not meaning to butt in, but isn't it a good sign that we don't all agree? Isn't good art designed to incite emotions and didn't Twain do that? There is nothing ing wrong with not liking Twain
No, I think texting an emails always take a tone far more harsh than intended and you are absolutely right.I know this because I hate the movie Moonstruck and I've yet to speak with another living soul who agrees with me.
I love Mark Twain. I have a complete set of his writings released while he was still alive and with his imprint on every volume. It is close to 23 volumes. They were my great grandfathers and the pages were still uncut. I slowly worked my way through all twenty some volumes, letter opener at my side. And nearly ever page of all those volumes has something in it funny, witty, brilliant.
Huck Finn WAS the first real American novel. It all started with Twain. I don't know what to tell you about your dislike of Huck Finn because, with all due respect, I find that unfathomable. It is truly impossible for me to understand how anyone could NOT understand that what they were reading was a masterpiece of the highest order.
Huck FInn is simply one of the greatest novels ever written. Certainly THE greatest American novel, bar none.
Maybe literature just ain't your thing.
I think Huck Finn may have been a fantastic book back in the day...but its had its time!!!
Well said!