Final Huck Finn Post

          After finishing the book it seems that all of the "Coming of Age" that Huck has accomplished has been set back. After he reunites with Tom, the two assume the roles that they had at the beginning of the novel. Tom influences Huck to go back to his old ways and we see all of Huck's maturation fade away as he no longer views Jim as an equal. Huck has let all he came to know slip because he is a person who is easily persuaded. It was easy for him to forget all that he and Jim went through and just view Jim as another slave who was not equal to himself.
          In a way, it does not really matter because we come to find that Jim has been free for the duration of the novel. It could be viewed that Huck wanted to be friends with Jim and was using the fact that he thought Jim was a slave who needed help just to be close with him. In its own sense that is "Coming of Age" because Huck was able to overlook the racial barrier of the time period and see somebody for who they are on the inside and not how they look on the outside. Thanks for reading!

Huckleberry Finn Chapters 22-30

          For this post I'm going to focus on describing moments of "Coming of Age" rather than the plot of the book. In chapter 23 when Jim is "moaning and mourning" for his wife and two children. Huck concludes that Jim loves his family as much as white men love theirs. This shows me that Huck is maturing and is starting to view Jim as an equal because he is beginning to view Jim as a person and not just a runaway slave. In chapter 25, when the people of the town believe the duke and dauphin to be related to Peter Wilks, Huck says he has never seen anything so disgusting. To me, he could be referring to how the people are foolish enough to believe the due and dauphin or he could be disgusted at the fact that the duke and dauphin are taking advantage of the people, which again shows the maturation of Huck.
          Continuing, in chapter 26, Huck's morals take over and he seeks out the money to give back to the girls. This is "Coming of Age" because he is taking the feelings of others into account when making decisions. Throughout all off the chapters those were the only events that stuck out as "Coming of Age" to me. Till next week folks, I bid thee farewell.

Huckleberry Finn Chapters 16-21

          To kick off this portion of reading, Huck and Jim are on their way to Cairo to free Jim from slavery. Huck begins to have an internal battle with himself on whether or not he should help Jim or turn him in since he is a runaway slave. To me, this shows "Coming of Age" because he is battling with his personal morals and the law. It seems that he is acknowledging that if he is caught helping Jim, he could get into trouble, or he could turn Jim in and have to live in regret and guilt with that decision. We are then presented with a heart warming statement from Jim. "Jim won't ever forgit you, Huck, you's de bes' fren' Jim's ever had; en you's de fren's ole Jim's got now." Huck realizes that him and Jim are true friends and you can't turn your back on friendship.
          Skipping to chapter 19, Huck and Jim become "one with nature". They take in some criminals and Huck can tell that they are lying. This sense is acquired as we mature and experience life which has to do with "Coming of Age". As we grow up we deal with how people act when they are truthful and when they lie so we gain the sense of telling the difference between the two. Huck doesn't tell Jim to try and protect him which shows us that their bond is developing.
          Chapters 20 and 21 don't really involve "Coming of Age". The criminals go around town and scam people out of money while Huck and Jim stay on the raft. Towards the end one of the criminals places a $200 bounty/reward for the capture of Jim. It seems that Huck and Jim can't catch a break.
       
  

Huckleberry Finn Chapter 6-15

We start off this section of the book with Huck faking his death in a clever way that some might not have thought he was capable of thinking of and proceeding with it. To me, "Coming of Age" doesn't necessarily mean being slick and creative, but more of realizing the consequences of your actions.
Continuing, when Jim came into the picture I was excited because him and Huck have similar personalities. Huck is young and impressionable so Jim could possibly influence how he acts. They sort of have a father and son bond. This is shown when Jim doesn't let Huck see the dead body.
Huck fools around with his wardrobe and likes to explore new things which is a part coming of age because you do more of finding yourself and expressing who you are. Everything then goes downhill when robbers attack and their ship sinks. in that chapter Huck says "it warnt no time to be setimentering". This shows "Coming of Age" because he is willing to set aside all the silly things and focus on the task at hand. Other than these events, I did.t feel that there were any other moments that really defined "Coming of Age". See you next week folks!

 

Huckleberry Finn Blog Post #1

Coming of age is the process by which a young person transitions from childhood into adulthood. We see at the beginning of the novel that Huck is your everyday child. He likes to do what he pleases and is very impressionable, mostly by the townspeople and his belief in superstition. We see Huck beginning to think like an adult when he realizes that the widow is only doing what is best for his well-being. He starts to become accustomed to the widow when he realizes how much better his life is now then it previously was with his father who was not really there for him. One example of Huck's growing maturity is when he gives all of his money to Judge Thatcher. It shows that he trusts Judge Thatcher to keep his word and give him the money when he asks for it. A big part of growing up is seeing that every situation has different outcomes and not everybody is trying to hurt you.

The Scarlet Letter (Chapters 10-12)

          So it just hit me that this book is a lot like one of those soap operas your mom makes you watch with her. There is scandalous things going on around every corner. So were finally at the point where Chillingworth is very close to finding out who the father of Pearl is. His countless days of caring for Dimmesdale are finally going to pay off. While he was trying to cure Dimmesdale of his sickness he noticed that Dimmesdale would act weird when the topic of burying secrets and sin came up. I believe Chillingworth picked up on that and he is now suspicious that Dimmesdale could be the father of Pearl. Dimmesdale is trying to do everything in his power to keep it a secret and in turn it is destroying him mentally and now physically. If a secret is ravaging your mind and body it must come out for the sake of your health. Our minds are so powerful and sometimes when we think about things so frequently they start to manifest and become real. Towards the end of the chapter Pearl and Hester are in the graveyard and Pearl sees Chillingworth and Dimmesdale. Pearl says that the "Black Man" has already captured the minister and that they should leave before he gets them. I believe that the "Black Man" could be a conjuring of the devil. Maybe Pearl can sense this because she is a demon child.
          Chapter eleven delves into the mind of Dimmesdale. He is starting to become more consumed in the act of his sin. Its even worse for him because as the minister he is a role model and he preaches the Bible for a living. It would be disastrous if the town knew of his sins. With all of these emotions he is able to deliver his most powerful sermon to date which was about sin. I related this to "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards.
          Chapter twelve is a hot mess. There is a lot going on in this chapter and it was a challenge to wrap my mind around it. Dimmesdale is now starting to have visions and has made his way to the scaffold where he is joined by Hester and Pearl. They see a meteor shoot across the sky and then Dimmesdale believes that he saw a red "A" after the meteor passed. Pearl starts to talk to Dimmesdale and then they are spotted by Chillingworth. At this point I believe that Pearl knows Dimmesdale is her father and Chillingworth knows that Dimmesdale is Pearl's father.

The Scarlet Letter (Chapters 8-9)

          So the start of chapter 8 kind of felt like a cheap television show. Governor Bellingham, Mr. Wilson, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth, Hester Prynne, and Pearl are all gathered in a room to decide who will get custody of Pearl. Just to prove how mean they are, the men start to make fun of Pearl. "What little bird of scarlet plumage may this be?... Or art thou one of those naughty elfs or fairies whom we thought to have left behind us, with other relics of Papistry, in merry old England" ( Hawthorne 105-106)? When Pearl tells them her name they say things like "are you sure it isn't Ruby, Coral, or Red Rose" in reference to her mother's scarlet letter. HAHAHAHAHAHA, Mr. Wilson please stop, you're killing me with these jokes. But seriously they are acting like children. Its also ironic how they want to take Pearl away to give her a better life, but the first time they actually talk to her they are rude and make jokes. Maybe they just want to take Pearl away and sell her for a lot of money because her name is....Pearl (please people, keep the laughter down). Anyway, Hester sticks up for Pearl which made me see how much she loves her. Hester starts to yell that Pearl was a gift from God and that she has the right to keep her. When the minister  agrees with Hester and sides with her I started to think that maybe he isn't such a bad guy. Good job minister, you have just achieved bro status. When Dimmesdale sides with Hester all of the sudden it was weird because he was just bashing them, unless Hester and him have history together! "Excuse me Mr. Dimmesdale, where were you on the night Hester Prynne got pregnant"?
          So chapter 9 is basically about Chillingworth's past. Dimmesdale starts to get sick and since there are no other local physicians, Chillingworth volunteers to live with him and care for him. Since I feel that Chillingworth has this revenge plan for Hester in motion, taking care of Dimmesdale could be a strategy move to become buddy-buddy with him. If he gets close with Dimmesdale he can influence important decisions and that could be bad for some people (looking at you Hester). Even worse, if Dimmesdale was to die by sickness or murder (cue creepy music) Chillingworth could possibly fill his role in the community. I feel that Chillingworth is extremely determined to find out who Pearl's father is and he will do it by any means necessary which explains my possible murder theory. Towards the end of the chapter it says "his expression had been calm, meditative, scholar-like. Now, there was something ugly and evil in his face which they had not previously noticed, and which grew still the more obvious to sight, the oftener they looked upon him"(Hawthorne 124). To me, this quote means that the closer Chillingworth gets to his "plan", the more evil and ruthless he will become. Chillingworth isn't going to let anything stand in the way of his goal.