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adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really compelling. I had to look up the plot of Huck Finn because I hadn’t read it since high school. It’s interesting what plot points Everett kept and which he changed. I love that in James’ retelling, he has a family. It seems basic, but the fact that it’s not even a consideration in Huck Finn is so telling. And Huck even references this at some point - a moment where he says he knows Jim must miss his family but he never thinks of it or asks.
I also like the very direct confrontation with the very feature of Twain’s original work that made it remarkable to so many - the vernacular. The idea that the slaves put this all on as a show is funny in and of itself, the way their feigned ignorance exposes the ignorance of the white folk. But also the white folk keep their vernacular.
Lots more you could say — the different endings, his ambivalence about the civil war, the minstrel show, Huck’s paternity and his role as the only decent white character and what that signifies; the concept of passing. I’ll be thinking about this book for a while.
I also like the very direct confrontation with the very feature of Twain’s original work that made it remarkable to so many - the vernacular. The idea that the slaves put this all on as a show is funny in and of itself, the way their feigned ignorance exposes the ignorance of the white folk. But also the white folk keep their vernacular.
Lots more you could say — the different endings, his ambivalence about the civil war, the minstrel show, Huck’s paternity and his role as the only decent white character and what that signifies; the concept of passing. I’ll be thinking about this book for a while.