Wednesday, Dec. 2

Final Huck Finn Discussion

The class will be split into three groups and rotate to different stations answering the following questions.

STATION ONE - Independent reflections
• ​What are at least two lessons do we learn from Huck? Back up answers with evidence from the text.
• Huck is a young, teenage boy. Why do you think Mark Twain would use his 1st person perspective to tell this story?

STATION TWO - Group reflections
• List the three most important developments in Huck as he matures and learns to take responsibility for his choices.
• List Huck’s Five Commandments—beliefs he has come to understand as rules to live by.
• Discuss: Do these represent a genuine moral code that we should all embrace?

STATION THREE - Discussions with Mr. Restad
• Discuss the place of morality in Huckleberry Finn. In the world of the novel, where do moral values come from? The community? The family? The church? One’s experiences? Which of these potential sources does Twain privilege over the others? Which does he mock, or describe disapprovingly?
​• Huckleberry Finn deals with some serious themes: murder, revenge, slavery, betrayal, conscience, abuse, and alcoholism. Is this really a book for high school students? Would a contemporary novel dealing with the same issues be assigned reading?