Topics for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
1. Among the writers we've studied this quarter, a few can be defined as representing both realism and romanticism in their writing. How do Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson and/or Mark Twain combine these two approaches to literature in their poems and in Huckleberry Finn*? If you wish, you may discuss one, two or all three writers in your essay. In your discussion, define both realism and romanticism (use the definition in your literature book for "realism" and use your notes and, if you wish, an outside source, to define "romanticism"). Then show how the language, subject matter, stories, themes and images of your authors apply to each category. Finally, take a step back and make an observation regarding how well the mix works. Should a work be entirely romantic or entirely realistic? Or is the work somehow enriched in the intersection of elements?
*If you choose to write about Huck Finn, bring into your discussion a romantic writer such as Poe, Emerson, Thoreau or Hawthorne and a realistic writer such as James, Wharton and Chopin and show how Twain merges elements from both traditions.
2. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain uses wonderful ironies, paradoxes and contradictions. Discuss these turnarounds and show how they serve one or more of the book's themes.
3. Compare the characters of Huckleberry Finn and Daisy Miller, especially regarding their mix of innocence and experience, their singular quest for freedom, their concern with doing the right thing and their rejection of society's values.
4. Does Huck change by the end of the novel? To answer this question well, consider most of the following questions:
€ To what extent is he a mask that Twain uses to criticize society?
€ To what extent is he a dimensional character that grows and changes throughout the story?
€ How important is the fact that he runs away three times in the course of the story from "sivilization"?
€ Is his final rejection of "sivilization" different from his other two rejections (when he ran away on the first page of the story and when he escaped Pap's cabin)?
€ Does he change his opinion of either Jim or of slavery in general throughout the story?
5. How is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn a Hero Journey for Huck? Do more than simply name the various stages of the journey. Think deep thoughts first about why we go through journeys. What must Huck discover about himself? How are his father and Jim opposite figures and who is the true father? What does Huck's rejection of civilization mean at the end? Is Twain telling us that he's lost hope in us? If so, then why write the novel?
6: With The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in mind, write of your own journey where you were faced with some moral dilemma and made a choice. Perhaps your dilemma pitted society's values against your own. Perhaps you found yourself agreeing with your parents and not with your friends. You may wish to recall a significant movie, novel or other work of art that helped you form your values. In other words, at what point did you tear up the letter and damn yourself? Also, consider writing about a character with a deformed conscience &emdash; perhaps based upon something that society holds to be correct but that you are beginning to suspect.
7: Write a critical essay dealing with some aspect of Huck Finn. Perhaps you wish to deal with the tangential issues of censorship or the history of slavery. Even if you choose this route, rely upon research to help you form and prove your original thesis.