The comments on the difference between leadership and mob rule are right on
target, but what I'd like to hear some discussion of is Twain's attitude to
Sherburn. How are we to interpret his speech to the mob? On the one hand,
Sherburn recognizes mob mentality for what it is, yet, on the other hand,
he has just shot a man down in cold blood. This is the part of the novel
that I find most problematic, perhaps, in part, because Huck's voice is
noticeably absent in commenting on the scene; instead, it simply unrolls
before his eyes.
  Mary Tyler Knowles
  The Winsor School,Boston, Ma.