Monday, October 20, 2008
Ch. 24-31: Conning the Conmen
What's your opinion of the duke and king at this point? What should Huck and Jim do about them? What do you think is the object of Twain's satrical barbs in the Wilks episode? What is Huck's major moral tranformation? What did you make of his exchanges and thoughts regarding Mary Jane? Could it be love? How does Twain develop the themes of truth vs. falsehood and appearance vs. reality here? Do you notice any irony or foreshadowing in this section? What else were you thinking as you read these chapters?
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5 comments:
Yet again, the duke and the king leave me in disgust, the king especially. The duke feels bad for leaving the girls with absolutely nothing, but the king feels absolutely no remorse, he is only in it for the money. I believe that Huck and Jim should ditch them, which they have been trying to do without success. Twain uses satire to make the conmen even more ridiculous, and to show how despicable they really are.
I think that this portion of the book describes Huck's first romantic relationship. He cares very much for Mary Jane, and she for him. He describes her as beautiful and kind, and he feels very sad when he sees her crying.
In this portion of the novel, Twain develops the themes of truth vs. falsehood and appearance vs. reality. We have our first example of Huck telling the truth over telling a lie. He actually decides that the truth would be better in the situation with Mary Jane, despite the risks that come with it. Twain exposes the "uncles" that the king and duke were impersonating for the terrible cons that they actually are. Twain is reinforcing the fact that one cannot know people fully, and that people you trust may be hiding important facts from you.
The duke and the king are the exact people that you try to stay away from in your lifetime. Wherever they are, the two try to form whatever scheme they can think of to steal money away from people. This especially got out of hand when the duke and king took part in the Wilk's episode; both of them have serious money addictions! Even though all this is taking place, Huck takes part in a moral transformation for the better. With the help of Mary Jane and the love interest Huck has for her, he begins to take action against the con artists instead of sitting back and doing nothing. He takes a complete turn-around and begins to try and take control of his life and leave the duke and king behind.
WEll by this point i think the king and duke are going to get themselves into some major trouble, becase their tricks are getting way out of hand. In my opinion, Huck and Jim just need to leave them behind, or get them straightened out, becasue they're not going to stop their antics for no reason. As far as Huck's relationship is going with Mary Jane, I wouldn't call it love, but there's deffinetly something there, for the ways they act around each other. Because of this, HUck starts to change in these chapters; he starts to stand up for what he thinks is right, instead of just letting things happen that shouldn't.
I think the duke and king are comical but annoying. they are con artists in every sense. I am not sure what compels Huck and Jim to keep company with them and their antics.
I was surprised when Huck decided to help out Mary Jane and her faimly to try and get the $6000 back that they rightfully deserve. Huck is finally beginning to follow his moral judgement. He finally begins to take a stance against the duke and the king. I guess there was more to Huck than I thought there was.
I am glad that Huck decides to save his friend, Jim. Yeah Huck! I thought he was going to hold himself back and decide not to get involved with a--young--black man. It did frustrate me, though, when--I think it was the duke?--tricked Huck into thinking Jim was not at the farm, but really much farther.
The Duke and the King are still disgusting con artists. I don't understand how they can have no concious and understand for other people's feelings. In saying that I full-heartedly believe that Jim and Huck should just ditch both of them. Jim and Huck are better than the con artists- Jim is outwardly caring and Huck, even though he hides it, has a strong sense of kindness and concious. The con artists are really just bringing Huck and Jim down, leaving them more vulnerable to be caught, killed or accused of the con's schemes.
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