Research Paper

Well now in class we are working on a research paper on a poet. My poet is Alice Walker, an African American activist who writes mostly about African American rights and about African American women and their roles in society. My theme in the paper is about how Walker explores the fight against oppression and search for freedom both in personal and racial points of views in her work. As i research Walker, most of her poems deal with the fight for freedom and how individuals are constantly attacked. She also writes a lot about the fight against oppression in a male-dominated society. In my paper, I plan to talk about the poems that deal with these themes and having each paragraph refer to one poem and analyze it. I am also going to mention Walker's novel The Color Purple which also deals with these themes and finding connections with the poems and the novel. I also found that Walker's like connects with her work in the sense that she also felt oppressed by society and felt left out at times due to a childhood incident. Some difficulties about this assignment is finding poems and analyzing them and connecting them to the theme.

Reaction to Huck Finn overall

After finally finishing the novel "The Adventures of Huckeberry Finn" by Twain i've come to realize that is very much depicts the South during the time period before the Civil War. Towards the end I was very much excited that Huck finally realized that Jim was indeed a regular human being like himself and everyone else, but little did I know that was all going to change as soon as society stepped in once again. As soon as Tom Saywer came back, it's as if Huck lost all his discoveries and lessons he learned while in the river with Jim. It was as if all these lessons and the whole entire journey were pointless. That is what I thought of about the story, not about the bigger picture behind it all. I believe Twain wrote the ending because he wanted to get the point across that even though many people did have revolutionary ideas of slavery to be abolished and that it was a mortal sin, no one really did anything to stop it. It all goes back to the 'mob' mentality and society. No one had the courage to stand up for what was wrong, everyone just let society control their thoughts. That is why i believe the endidng was brillient. Througout the whole novel we were made to believe that Huck was really going to change and was going to help out him slave friend Jim, but of course society (tom) took over and all was lost. He went back to seeing Jim as property and how everyone else saw him. Even though he still had the heart to be able to see that Jim still needed his freedom, his mentality of Jim was they same as when the novel started. This book was a way to describe how the South really was and how people acted.

Crain vs London

Now in class we have been introduced to the concept of naturalism which is a shift from realism. Both naturalism and realism are from the same branch and that is why many scholars do not distinguish them as different movements. Naturalism is a type of literature that applies to scientific principals of objectivity and detachment to the study of human beings. In class we read some pieces of two important naturalist writers which are Crane and London. Both these writers wrote about how humans react to nature and how insignificant they are against it. In their works they described nature as a very powerful force against humans. in "To Build a Fire" by London he described a 'man' as an insignificant human being against nature. Crane depicted him as almost stupid and without an imagination to survive. Nature was up against him and of course took over him. This is a very naturalist view of nature since it is seen as an indifferent force. On the other hand, we take into account Crane's "The Open Boat" where a group of human beings are put against nature and trying to survive. They each put their skills to work but then again we see how nature is much too strong for any human being.

Huck Finn after Ch31

After chapter 31 Huck faces once again the moral dilemma of freeing Jim, but this time we as readers actually hear what Huck is thinking and we feel it. Huck is very descriptive through out this scene which draws together the theme of freedom and social satire. In this chapter we notice how Huck is trying to get away from the perverted value system and finds himself trying to do the right thing for Jim but at the same time he believes he is doing wrong due to the morals he has grown up learning through society. We see Huck trying to follow his hearth and instincts as he sacrifices himself for him friend Jim. After chapter 31, the quest for freedom comes back as it was interrupted while duke and king entered scene after chapter 16. But in these chapter, this process is more internal for Huck since he is on his own trying to fight his way though society. We hear Huck now feeling for Jim, but he still doesn't see the big picture because he doesn't feel for slavery as a whole.

Novel change after Ch16

After chapter 16, I have become to realize Huck's changes on his morals and they way he is with Jim. Huck's really starts to question actions he feels are wrong like whether or not he should turn Jim in or not since he seems how many great things they Widow has done for him. He never seemed to realize this in the beginning, but now he sees the importance of education and going to school and learning new things. Huck has also become more book smart as I noticed that his speech changed and the way he narrated things changed drastically. He has become more observant since he goes into great description of things, as well as more mature. He notices the feud between both families in chapter 18 and questions why they are fighting and understands that it is very wrong. We also see his moral have changed as he becomes very emotional in the scene where Buck dies and Huck begins to see how wrong it all was and notices he doesn't fit in and goes back to Jim and the raft where he takes comfort in and can be himself. I also noticed they way Huck starts to call the raft a "home" for him since he feels himself while he's there with Jim. He also starts to notice all the people that have been good to him like Buck and the Widow and this seems to help him mature throughout the rest of the chapters as his views change about his moral.

Comparing Huck, Pap, & Jim

As we read more into the novel, I've noticed how Huck and Jim's relationship develop as I saw how Huck was glad to see Jim after he ran away from Pap. Jim made Huck not feel lonesome anymore and they started really connecting since they each had a similar quest to freedom. Huck seems to want to get away from society and the people he doesn't really fit in well with, while Jim doesn't want to be sold and wants to seek for him own freedom. This quest of freedom unifies Huck and Jim. They are both also very street smart and can survive on their own. Jim is like a father figure toward Huck since he helps him find shelter and food, while Pap locked Huck up in a cabin and wouldn't come back for days. Another way Jim seems like a father figure is the way Huck looks up to Jim and really believes all his sayings about good luck. We see the archetype of communion through the way they share their food and eat together as a sign of family and togetherness. They both also seem to take good care of each other which was not the case while Huck and Pap lived together. Pap is the complete opposite of a father figure since we learn that he teaches Huck that lying isn't a bad thing, while Jim on the other hand tells him it is very wrong and justifies a way to get around it. Pap would encourage Huck to take part in unlawful activities like when he asks to take the judges money form Huck just so he could get drunk. Huck sees these activities and knows they are wrong. And so through the book, we are well aware how Jim is seen as more of a good influence on Huck's life rather than Pap.

1st impressions of Huck Finn

As Huck Finn was introduced in the novel The Adventures of Huck. Finn by Mark Twain, i figured he was not raised with manners or very educated. I got this impression from the way he saw life while he was taken in by the widow. He seemed to me like he lacked a family to teach his manners as i saw in the scene where he felt that sitting down to have dinner and prayer before dinner were unusual to him. Huck Finn also seems like a very adventurous boy since he is always looking for something to do and accepts Tom's request of forming a band of robbers. Since Huck never really had a family, he sees his friends as his family and does not really distinguish right from wrong. He also doesn't seem to have morals in life and feels that religion is silly. I believe that all the mischief Huck may get into in the future will directly be caused by the fact he never had a family.