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Lana West

Dr. Price

Honors American Literature

2 November 2010

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Chapters XXVIII-XXX

I. Plot Characteristics: This section of the novel is not particularly episodic in structure,

because all of the occurring events are extremely detailed, and follow one central plotline

instead of multiple subplots. Chapters XXVIII to the end of XXIX occur on land, and

chapter XXX occurs on the raft. Violence is extremely highlighted in this section, as well as

Twain’s critical view of society and human nature.

A. Because this section of the plot is largely focused on land, Jim is almost entirely

omitted, despite a few brief moments at the end of chapter XXIX, and

occasionally during chapter XXX. As soon as Twain brings Jim back into the

text, he is quickly removed from the situation in order to get the plot moving.

a. “Not now – have it for breakfast, have it for breakfast! Cut loose

and let her slide!” (Twain 218). This quotation is said by Huck to Jim

when they are escaping the late Peter Wilks scam created by the king and

duke. It demonstrates how quickly Jim is removed from the plots

occurring events, and almost included as an afterthought. It also

demonstrates gendered language, because Twain refers to the raft as “she”.

This section urges us to become critical of Huck, for he is not as eager to

see Jim as Jim is to see him.

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B. Huck’s time spend on land is marked by problems and drama that do not normally

occur on the raft. However, the raft’s idyllic feel is interrupted by the king and

duke immediately after they return to it.

C. Three new characters are introduced in chapter XXIX. First, the two ‘authentic’

heirs of Peter Wilks: William and Harvey. Second, the man described by Huck as

husky, who challenges the king and duke’s authentication in their scheme: Hines.

II. Character Development: In this section, Huck continues to develop a stronger sense of

right and wrong, and begins to act in Jim’s defense more frequently than at the beginning

of his journey. The king and duke also undergo character developments, but as symbols

of forces within the plot.

A. “I’m agoing to chance it; I’ll up and tell the truth this time, though it does seem

most like setting down on a kag of powder and touching it off just to see where

you’ll go to” (Twain 200). This quotation is thought by Huck in response to Mary

Jane. Huck is deciding whether or not he should confess to the king and duke’s

scheme, and how he knows that the slaves will be alright. This is a huge

development in Huck’s maturity, as well as his sense of right and wrong, because

this is the first time in the plot where he has decided to tell the truth in response to

a conflict.

B. “…this town would get me out of their claws, and I’d be all right, but there’d be

another person that you don’t know about who’d be in big trouble” (Twain 201).

This quotation is said by Huck to Mary Jane, in response to the same situation as
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stated in section “A” of Character Development. Huck’s character develops here

because he is looking out for Jim’s well being.

C. “Leggo the boy, you old idiot! Would you a done any different? Did you inquire

around for him, when you got loose? I don’t remember it” (Twain 219). This

quotation is said by the duke to the king, when the king is physically shaking

Huck out of frustration, and accusing him of trying to leave the duke and himself

behind. The duke’s defense of Huck highlights himself as a symbol of hope

within the plot, because although he is ultimately a negative character, his

acceptance of his faults reveal how people are able to change.

III. Vernacular and Dialect: Twain’s use of vernacular and dialect help to create a more

believable plot.

A. “Why, he’ll say ‘It’s a great pity, but my church matters has got to get along the

best way they can; for my niece has been exposed to the dreadful pluribus-unum

mumps…” (Twain 206). This quotation is said by Huck to the hare-lip, when

Huck is trying to convince her and her sister, Susan, not to tell their ‘uncle

Harvey’ that Mary Jane has been in contact with a character who has supposedly

become ill with a new type of mumps. According to The Annotated Huckleberry

Finn on page 265, Huck is actually trying to recall the phrase “E pluribus unum”

when he says “pluribus-unum”, thus using Latin as a dialect to imitate something

‘uncle Harvey’ would say.

B. Twain uses dialect in the king’s imitation of an English accent.

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IV. Tone: Twain’s tone in these chapters can be described as eerie, disappointed, and

exhausted.

A. “…and one minute you could see everything and every face in that big crowd, and

the shovelfuls of dirt sailing up out of the grave, and the next second the dark

whipped it all out, and you couldn’t see nothing at all” (Twain 216). This

quotation is describing the graveyard scene, when the town’s people are digging

up Peter Wilks’s coffin after his burial. Twain’s tone can be described as eerie,

because the purpose of this section is to create a feeling of suspense within the

reader.

B. “…So I wilted right down onto the planks, then, and give up; and it was all I

could do to keep from crying” (Twain 218). This quotation is describing Huck’s

emotions as soon as he realizes that he is not yet free from the king and duke.

Twain’s tone can be described as both disappointed and exhausted, because his

feeling of joy associated with the raft is taken from him as soon as he hears the

king and duke approaching.

V. Poetic Moments: Twain has multiple poetic moments within this section regarding the

storm.

A. “So they dug and dug, like everything; and it got awful dark, and the rain started,

and the wind swished and swushed along, and the lightning come brisker and

brisker, and the thunder boomed…” (Twain 216). This is one of the few episodic

moments within this section of the plot. Twain loves nature, and uses an

onomatopoeia to describe the sound of the wind.

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VI. Parallels to Contemporary Life: Twain’s usage of parallels to contemporary life are

moments when the issues discussed in the novel are still relevant to the issues of modern

life.

A. “Hines let out a whoop, like everybody else, and dropped my wrist and give a big

surge to bust his way in and get a look, and the way I lit out and shinned for the

road in the dark, there ain’t nobody can tell” (Twain 217). This quotation is

narrated by Huck in response Hines’s careless act of giving him the chance to

escape, all because he saw the money in the coffin. Money is a parallel to

contemporary life, because it influences people’s decisions, and interferes with

their judgment today.

B. Huck’s conscious and concern with right and wrong are parallels to contemporary

life. Many people struggle today with taking the moral path instead of the easier,

yet sometimes unethical, way out. Please see the quotation under section ‘A’ of

Character Development.

VII. Twain Speaking Directly to the Audience: Twain occasionally uses a

conversational tone to further engage the reader in his novel, and make them feel

more directly involved with the plot’s events.

A. “Well, what do you think?” (Twain 214). Twain directly involves his audience

with Huck’s journey by asking a rhetorical question to his readers about the king

and the duke’s actions.

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B. “Well, did he? A body can’t hardly believe it, but he didn’t” (Twain 214). Please

see the explanation of the quotation in section ‘A’ of Twain Speaking Directly to

the Audience.

VIII. Role of Women: In chapter XXVIII, women are characterized as powerful problem

solvers, but also emotionally delicate creatures.

A. “…I see Mary Jane setting by her old hair trunk, which was open and she’d been

packing things in it – getting ready to go to England. But she had stopped now,

with a folded gown in her lap, and had her face in her hands, crying” (Twain 199).

This quotation presents women as strong figures because Mary Jane was packing

her own clothing to leave on a journey to a foreign country with a family member

she did not even know, but also as sentimental, because she is crying over the sale

and separation of the slaves.

B. Please see Favorite Quotation.

IX. Favorite Quotation: “‘Don’t you holler. Just set still, and take it like a man’”

(Twain 200). This is my favorite quotation, because Huck is telling Mary Jane to

react to what he is about to tell her as a ‘man’ would, when she is in fact female. This

passage is humorous, but also reminds the reader that Huck is still a child. I like this

quotation because it is sometimes difficult to remember that Huck is still a boy

because of all the responsibilities he must deal with prematurely, but when he tells

Mary Jane to “take it like a man”, the clear image of Huck’s boyhood once again rises

to the surface.