Chapters 1-3
The complete misuse of grammar is confusing and hard to read but it does make it seem like a young, southern boy is telling you this story. The first use of the n word was jarring. Although it was not used in a derogatory fashion, it was still shocking to see it used so bluntly, especially because that is a word I would never dare to use. The little boys idea of what is fun is fairly morbid with all the killing and ransom ideas. Although you can tell that they don't really know what it means.
Chapters 4-6
Huck's fear of Pap is evident in the fourth chapter with him selling his fortune so quickly. Pap's racism is jarring because I have never heard anyone talk that derogatorily about another person purely because of their race. Also Paps insults on Huck's ability to read and write are so counter intuitive. A father should want his son to succeed even if that means the son knows more. Pap is clearly an incompetent father all around and it makes me feel sorry for Huck to have to put up with him.
Chapters 7-8
Huck's plan is really impressive and well thought out to fake his own death. Jim's plan is not as well thought out and kind of ironic. He is running away to avoid being sent away from his family but that's taking him away from his family anyway. The risk for Jim being found is a lot greater than the risk for Huck. So you would think Jim would have thought this through more.
Chapters 9-11
Huck's life seems to be very rough. He keeps running into frightening things like the dead man and the rattlesnake. Personally I don't randomly see murdered men or rattlesnakes. Maybe life was just harder back then or maybe those elements were just added for dramatic effect but those do not seem like good situations to put a young boy in. The writing is still very hard to read due to the lack of grammar and the spelled out mispronunciations. But those things do add to the style of the book. So far this book just seems like a darker children's story. I'm not really learning anything yet, but I'm not that far into the book yet. It seems like the action is going to pick up in the next couple chapters, and hopefully the book will become more exciting.
Chapters 12-14
The dialogue was particularly hard to read in this section. Overall this section just did not intrigue me. I just didn't find it exciting or interesting. This book seems to have a lot of death in it; between the murders dieing and the random dead man and Huck faking his own death. This little boy has seen a lot of death and although it is just a story, I feel concerned for Huck and how ruff his life is.
Chapters 15-16
Huck lies often in this section. He lies to Jim about getting lost and he lies about his family having small pox. Huck has lied more through out the book. For instance he lied to Mrs. Loftus, and his most severe lie was faking his own death. I think Huck's lies are started to catch up with him because Jim called him out on it in this chapter. Huck needs to start realizing how his lies will affect others.
Chapters 17-18
This chapter seems to draw a lot of parallels to Romeo and Juliet. "Two house holds both alike in dignity" are the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons. "From ancient grudge break new mutiny" they have been fighting for so long that they forget what they are fighting for. Sophia and the Shepherdson are Romeo and Juliet, but instead of killing themselves they run away, in my opinion the smarted move. Although it is not said that they die it seems plausible that they could be killed.
Chapters 19-20
Throughout the whole book there seems to not be a very cohesive plot line. It seems to be more of a book of short stories with the same two main characters. This disjointedness has appeared more while Huck and Jim are on their journey. For instance chapters 15-16 have nothing to do with 17-18 and 17-18 have nothing to do with 19-20 whereas in the beginning it seemed more like a singular story. I don't think it ever was, but the book seems like it would be good to be published in serials.
Chapters 21-24
The cons in this chapter are very odd performances. It seems like an odd way to make money but it seems to be effective. Jim's naivete has lasted a long time with him still in the dark about the duke and the king not being real. You would think he would figure it out eventually but as shown in previous chapters Jim seems fairly dull. He has a good heart but hes not very intelligent.
Chapter 25-28
I feel very badly for these poor girls being tricked out of their money. These con men are starting to bother me, they need to have some comeuppance soon. Huck's moral code is really developing with him telling Mary Jane the truth and hiding the money. Although hiding the money is probably not the best option he is trying to do the right thing. I hope the con men get figured out soon and these poor girls get their inheritance.
Chapters 29-31
I'm very glad that Huck decides to go get Jim because, although he does not think it is, it is the right thing. He has developed a greater moral sense than shown in the beginning of the book. I think this shows that although society says what he is doing is morally wrong he really has a true moral sense. Thank goodness the con men got figured out but something tells me they will get away unharmed. I hope Huck is finally able to get Jim to safety
Chapters 32-34
The con men finally got their comeuppance! I'm glad that that plot line appears to be over because I was tired of seeing them get away with everything. I find it odd that the Phelps's believed Huck and Tom's lie. You would think they would recognize Tom. But I guess they didn't see him very often, because its harder to see family back in those times.
Chapters 35-38
Tom not taking this seriously is kind of annoying. He obviously does not understand the gravity of this situation. Jim's life is at stake and Tom is treating this as a game, or a story. The extra obstacles in the way could endanger Tom himself and especially Jim. I hope they can get away and everything ends up well.
Chapter 39-40
Tom's reaction to the gun shot wound is odd, but not out of character. It makes me wonder if he takes anything seriously, or if to him all of life is just a pretend game. If he is not shocked by the gun shot, then he will probably keep getting himself into bad situations and not realizing how bad it is. Then again he is just a fictional character. It really doesn't matter that he is excited he got shot.
Chapters 41-43
The revelations in these chapters kind of make the whole book pointless. If they would've known that Miss Watson was dead and Pap was dead, the boys wouldn't have had to go very far. They could've just headed home and been just fine. Miss Watson's death explains why Tom was willing to help Jim which you think would've been out of character. The ending of the book ties up the loose ends well. The identity of the dead man is revealed, Jim is freed and gets his fortune, and Huck is free of his Pap.