BEFORE YOU READ
1Read about Mark Twain. What happened at the time of his birth and death?
2Read the background to the story. Why are Jim and Huckleberry leaving Jackson Island?
About the author
Mark Twain (real name Samuel Langhorne Clemens)
Born: 1835 in Missouri, USA
Died: 1910
Important works: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), The Prince and the Pauper (1881), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)
Did you know? Mark Twain is sometimes called 'the father of American literature' because he was one of the first American authors to write popular stories about ordinary people in the United States. He's also famous for his sense of humour and amusing sayings, like 'When I was younger I could remember anything, whether it happened or not.'
Mark Twain had several jobs before he became a writer. At first he was a printer, then he worked on boats and he even tried gold mining. He took his pen name, Mark Twain, from an expression used by boatmen on the Mississippi river. They shouted 'mark twain' to tell others that the water was deep enough for a boat to sail through.
He was born at a time when people could see Halley's Comet in the sky. This happens for a few weeks about every seventy-five years. He said he would die when it next returned to the sky, and he was right. He died of a heart attack the day after it appeared again.
BACKGROUND TO THE STORY
Huckleberry Finn is a fourteen-year-old boy from a small American town − St Petersburg, Missouri. He hasn't got a home because his mother died and his father, who is often drunk, rarely stays in one place. For a while, Huck lives with a kind old lady called Widow Douglas and her sister, Miss Watson. He likes Widow Douglas, but he's unhappy that she wants him to wear clean clothes and go to school.
Huck is pleased when his father returns and takes him to live in a hut in the woods. But soon Mr Finn starts hitting the boy and locking him inside the hut when he goes out. Huck runs away to Jackson Island. He meets Jim, Miss Watson's slave, who is hiding there. After a few days Huck dresses as a girl and goes into town to find out what is happening. He discovers that people think Jim is on the island and that there's a reward of $300 for anyone who finds him. What is more, there's a search party going to the island that night, so Huck and Jim decide it's time to leave.
We got out the raft as fast as we could, put all our things on it, tied the canoe on behind, and moved off down the river. 1 When it was dark again, we travelled on. On the fifth night we passed St Louis, and we decided to go on down to Cairo in Illinois, sell the raft there and get a boat to Ohio. There are no slaves in Ohio.
We slept for most of that day and we began our journey again when it was dark. After some time, we saw lights on the Illinois side of the river and Jim got very excited. 2 Jim got the canoe ready and I went off in it to take a look at those lights. But it wasn't Cairo.
After that, we went on down the river. 3 Suddenly, a big steamboat came at us very fast, and the next minute it was right over us. Jim and I jumped off the raft into the water. The boat hit the raft and went on up the river.
4 I called out his name again and again, but there was no answer. 'He's dead!' I thought. Slowly, I swam to the side of the river and got out. I saw that I was near a big old wooden house. Suddenly a lot of very angry dogs jumped out at me. 5
'George Jackson,' I answered quickly. 'I've fallen off a river boat.'
Well, the people who lived in that house were very kind, and they took me in and gave me some new clothes and a good meal. I told them that my family were all dead, so they said I could stay with them as long as I wanted. It was a beautiful house and the food was good there, so I stayed.
A few days later one of the slaves in the house came to me and said, 'Come with me!' 6 'In there!' he said and went away.
On the ground, I found a man, asleep. It was Jim! 7 When the steamboat hit the raft, Jim told me, the raft didn't break up. Jim swam after it and caught it. Then he began to look for me.
From Huckleberry Finn, Oxford Bookworms. Text adaptation by Diane Mowat.
AThey made a terrible noise and someone called from the house, 'Who's there?'
BWhen I came up out of the water, I couldn't see Jim anywhere.
CHe thought it was Cairo.
DI was really pleased to see him.
EWhen it began to get light, we hid.
FTogether, we went down to some trees by the river.
GIt was very dark that night and it wasn't easy to see where we were going.
2 Read the questions and give your opinion.
- Why are Jim and Huckleberry Finn going to Ohio? What other reasons did people have for making long journeys in the past? Do people travel for the same reasons today?
- Do you think Huckleberry Finn is a good friend? Why / why not?
- What do you think happens next?
READ ON
Huckleberry and Jim travel down the river on the raft. They meet two men who tell them they are an English Duke and the son of the King of France. Huck doesn't believe them, but says nothing. One day Jim goes missing and Huck finds out that earlier that day, the Duke and King sold his friend to a family called the Phelpses. He goes to their house, and discovers that Mr and Mrs Phelps are the aunt and uncle of his friend Tom Sawyer. In fact, they are expecting Tom to arrive when Huck knocks on their door. Because they haven't seen their nephew for many years, the Phelpses don't know what he looks like, so they think Huck is Tom. A little later, Huck meets Tom near the house and he tells his friend what happened. Tom thinks the situation is funny and decides to tell his aunt and uncle that he is Sid, his own brother. They return to the Phelpses' house and together plan to set Jim free again.
The three friends are happy because .
1Huckleberry thinks that Tom's plan is bad.
2Jim knows that the boys are trying to free him.
3Mr Phelps sends a letter to Jim's owner.
4The boys' plan to free Jim is successful.
5Tom doesn't want to see a doctor about his leg.
6Jim and Huckleberry escape on the raft and leave Tom on Spanish Island.
6 Read the questions and give your opinion.
- Why did Tom and Huckleberry write secret letters? Do you think this was a good idea?
- Use a dictionary to help you. Which of the following adjectives best describe Jim, Huck and Tom? Give reasons for your choice.
- adventurous
- loyal
- young
- clever
- happy
- sad
- afraid
- fearless
- anxious
- stupid
- poor
- kind
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7 Write an ending for the story. Imagine you are Huckleberry Finn and you are now sixty years old. You are telling the story to your grandson. Include the following and your own ideas:
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