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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I somehow made it through high school without reading Huck Finn, but I’m glad my book club picked the Huck Finn/James pairing. This was instantly recognizable as the blueprint for all journey-adventure novels to follow. Huck is more a more complex character than he lets on; using his struggle with morality as social commentary was enjoyable. Twain was an abolitionist, right?
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Things I liked:
The characters voice and train of thought frequently made me smile. The way his mind came up against big moral issues like slavery and murder and things like that were provocative, making me wonder about my own rational for strongly held beliefs.
Things I thought could be improved:
Highlight: That made both the character of Jim and Huck sing for me.
The characters voice and train of thought frequently made me smile. The way his mind came up against big moral issues like slavery and murder and things like that were provocative, making me wonder about my own rational for strongly held beliefs.
Things I thought could be improved:
Spoiler
The section at the end when Tom Sawyer was doing all manner of ridiculous rituals as part of the attempt to free Jim I thought stretched credibility of Huck or Jim going along with him. Even with the reveal at the end that Jim was really free anyway I found it tiresome after a while. While I don't mind the idea of Tom trying to add some romance to the escape, I think it definitely could be have been edited down to about a third of what it was.Highlight:
Spoiler
When Jim finds Huck again after being lost on the raft. Huck plays a trick on him to convince him it was all a dream. Jim falls for it but then catches on and shames Huck for playing with his emotions.
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Well I don’t want to be too critic toward a classic of literature because objectively it’s a good book…but not a book for me. The adventures described in the book are entertaining, but the conductor of the plot aka lets go down the river, did nothing to me. Maybe I’m not used to American fiction and I don’t know how to appreciate the stylistic details that surround it, but truth be told, the reading of this book was tedious for me. I think this is a book that has a lot of potential as one to reflect and analyze, especially on subjects like racism, superstition or social classes; so at least there is that. Personally, and aside from what I’ve already said, I didn’t like that every character talks the same way, there is no vocabulary or syntaxes characteristics that differ depending on the social class of the characters, basically the most educated and rich ones talk the same way as the poor illiterate ones. I’ve liked Huckleberry, the savior of this book for me, his cleverness, resilience and sometimes innocence, made him an interesting character. On the other hand I’ve truly disliked Tom Sawyer for as little as he was in the book, what made me glad of skipping the novel where he is the main character in favor of this one.