Chapter 1: A Poor Lost Lamb Writes a Book
A Summary of Events
  • Huck tells us that he himself is writing this story 
  • First person narration. Will it be true? Could be like "The Tell-Tale Heart"? 
  • Summarizes Tom Sawyer: Tom and Huck find $12,000 in a cave. They split it. Judge Thatcher is guardian of it. 
  • Widow Douglas is Huck's guardian. She tries to "sivilize" Huck 
  • Miss Watson teaches Huck about the "bad place" 
  • Huck is lonely 
  • He kills a spider and he won't be able to keep the bad luck away 
  • Tom Sawyer has a secret call for Huck 
  • Huck leaves by sneaking out of the window 
Characters Involved
  • Huck: narrator of the story. 
  • Widow Douglas: Huck's legal guardian 
  • Miss Watson: Mrs. Douglas's sister. 
  • Tom Sawyer: a good friend 
Two Discussion Questions
  • What is Huck's attitude towards religion?
  • The spider incident seems to point to the superstition of Huck. How could it be a part of the novel to come? 
Two Important Passages
  • "Pretty soon I wanted to smoke, and asked the widow to let me. She wouldn't. She said it was a mean practice and wasn't clean...She took snuff too; of course that was all right, because she done it herself." 

    - It is unclear to tell whether Huck was being sarcastic or not. One thing is clear: Huck shows that he knows the difference between what people say and what they do. Perhaps this is an early indication that Twain is poking fun of the people who go to church, for example, and yet condone slavery. 
  • "I felt so lonesome I most wished I was dead." 

    - Even though Huck is being taken care of physically, he longs for something beyond school, church, and nice clothing. He want an adventurous life; this is opposed to the "sivilized" one he is currently experiencing. 
Controversial Elements
  • It is clear that Huck doesn't use standard English. How can students use this reading as a model for themselves? 
  • Huck smokes, and there is no narrator to condemn that action. 
  • First use of the N-word: "By-and-by they fetched the n___ in and had prayers..." What is the point of this usage? If Twain was purposely using this word, why is this chosen as the first appearance?