> Dear Twain-L members,
>
> I am interested in discussing the importance of dialect in Huckleberry
> Finn. Especially, discussing the connection between issue of morality and
> Huck's dialect.
> One of the discussion topics put to us at Uni recently was:  Is Huck's
> dialect rich enough to occupy so central a position in the narrative?

First, a brief introduction, since I am new to the list...

I am Stanton Nesbit, an American Literature teacher from Eau Claire,
Wisconsin. I have read Twain for 20 years or so, and cannot get through a
day without some passage, quote, or scene from Twain shedding light on one
of life's little ironies.

But to the question, IMHO, dialect has a huge effect on our perceptions of
the morality in the text, especially when one considers the many
stereotypes we bring to our perception of language and dialect.

Huck is a naive narrator, bringing to moral decisions only his pure-hearted
innocence, guidance from a few adults (pap, Widow Douglas, and Miss
Watson!) and no traditional "education" to establish traditional
prejudices. Huck's "lowdown" dialect creates tension with the lofty moral
questions with which he struggles (Example: Huck follows the King's policy
of "trusting Providence" to present him with an opportunity for a con game,
a chance to steal Jim from Silas Phelps).

With Jim, we have one of the most noble, lovable, human charactersto be
found in literature. Even though Jim does not talk like the professor pap
meets in town, he shows great tenderness for others, especially
children--his own (the guilt for hitting his daughter), Huck (whom he calls
"Honey" and worries over constantly), and even Tom (for whom he sacrifices
his freedom). Jim's dialect may not sound respectable to "the quality," but
clearly his nobility rises through all of the adversity, humiliation, and
abuse he receives. Without the dialect, the irony is lost. Our stereotypes
haunt us as we realize that people don't have to be educated or talk
educated to be wise, loving, and noble.

Obviously, without the dialect, _Huckleberry Finn_ would be as
unrealistically romantic as one of Emmeline Grangerford's drawings. But it
is more than that; realism IS morality in _Huck Finn_ because it shows
truth. Contrast that to the romantic dreamings of Tom and his favorite
authors, who may be entertaining, but whose fantasies are distortions of
reality, and that take little notice of the condition of human beings.

My 2 cents...probably overpriced, at that.

Stanton Nesbit

--------------------------------------------------------
"Loyalty to petrified opinions never yet broke a chain or freed a human
soul in this world--and never will."

        Mark Twain
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Stanton E. Nesbit
http://www.ecnhs.org/dept/english/nesbit/nesbit.html