Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Tom Ratliff, Mark Twain

8 reviews

emmacb's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A real adventure, I really enjoyed the parts where they were floating down the river as trying to imagine something so far out of my experience was a lot of fun. It was also an interesting peek into life at the time from an admittedly somewhat quirky kid's perspective! 

However, the use of the n word was, once again, a LOT. I gave some serious thought to putting this book down but after reading about it a little I decided to finish it (mostly in private because I was terrified of someone reading it over my shoulder)! 

One particularly interesting article mentioned how this book was both racist and anti-racist. Now the content is definitely pretty racist but at the time of it's writing it was controversial for being so 'abolitionist' which is one of the better demonstrations of 'context of the time it was written' I've seen. 

That said, I think all the articles I read were by white people so need to try harder to find some own voices perspectives which may change my thoughts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse

amalas_bookstop's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny informative lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I enjoyed Hucks perspective just a little bit more than Tom’s, however the language was still hard for me to read. I am very glad I finished it, I won’t pick it up again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Child abuse, Racial slurs, and Slavery

Minor: Death of parent

kreglow's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny hopeful lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Medical content, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, Deportation, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Child abuse, Classism, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, and Racism

scoobygirl93's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gaslighting, Medical content, Racial slurs, Racism, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Gun violence, Violence, Slavery, Classism, and Injury/Injury detail

amytk's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Gore, Death, Death of parent, Animal death, Alcoholism, Slavery, and Domestic abuse

singalana's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Aluksi irralliselta kokoelmalta sattumuksia vaikuttava romaani nivoutuu lopussa yhteen ehjäksi seikkailukertomukseksi, joka koskettaa monia yhteiskunnallisia teemoja, jotka ovat relevantteja yhä tänäkin päivänä.

Kirjan tapahtumat sijoittuvat noin parikymmentä vuotta ennen Yhdysvaltain sisällissotaa, jolloin orjuus oli voimissaan. Kirjan päähenkilö Huckleberry Finn on lähtöisin kurjista oloista, ja hänen isänsä on väkivaltainen alkoholisti. Kirjan alkupuolella neiti Watson yrittää sivistää Huckia, mutta poika ei sivistyksestä juuri piittaa. Hän karkaa lautalla alas Missisippijokea, seuranaan neiti Watsonin karannut orja Jim. Jim on taikauskoinen, mutta lojaali ystävä. Matkallaan Huck ja Jim kohtaavat huijareita ja epäoikeudenmukaisuutta, mutta myös ystävällisyyttä.

Huckleberry Finnin seikkailut on päältäpäin katsottuna seikkailu- ja veijariromaani, mutta sisimmässään kehitysromaani, joka kuvaa Huckin suhdetta “sivistyneeseen” yhteiskuntaan ja oikein tekemiseen. Yhteiskunnan lakien mukaan Huck tekee väärin auttaessaan Jimiä tämän pakomatkalla, mutta sisimmässään Huck tietää että Jim on hyvä ihminen, eikä halua saattaa tätä takaisin orjuuteen. 

Mark Twainin kirjoitustyyli, etenkin repliikit, ovat usein pitkiä ja polveilevia. Hänen henkilöhahmonsa ovat monitahoisia ja mielenkiintoisia, sekä usein hyvin inhimillisiä kaikkine vikoineen. Kirjan kielenkäyttö ja asetelma tuntuu nykylukijasta rasistiselta, mutta täytyy muistaa että kirja on aikansa tuote, ja teoksen pohjavireenä on kuitenkin kritiikki vallitsevaa yhteiskuntajärjestystä kohtaan. 

Huckleberry Finnin seikkailuja lukiessa voi aluksi erehtyä luulemaan tarinaa suoraviivaiseksi seikkailukertomukseksi, mutta mikäli keskittyy pintapuolisesti vain seikkailuaspektiin, jää paitsi Mark Twainin taitavasta yhteiskunnallisesta kritiikistä. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Slavery, Gun violence, Alcohol, Child abuse, Antisemitism, Racism, Alcoholism, and Death

jaimc's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Animal death, Confinement, Death of parent, and Blood

josiie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Set in the antebellum south, Huckleberry Finn is a very realistic critique of the minds of people growing up in racist societies. Mark Twain expertly portrays the reality of living in this sort of experience. Although, we most likely will never know if his critique was done on purpose or if he just portrayed Huck's world so vividly he did it by accident, it does an incredible job at helping us understand the life of children who are unfortunately a product of their environment.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Gun violence, and Classism