>....Perhaps [Tom] will grow up and put
>away childish things.  He is, after all, Huck Finn's comrade. Twain
>ultimately knew that Tom would have a choice, and that is why he has Huck
>say tellingly, "He had a dream and it shot him." When you don't put away
>the dream, it can shoot a lot of others besides.

Yes. I was really glad you mentioned this to temper your other good points
and those made by forum members. Tom has an excuse: he's just a kid. Most
of us don't have that excuse. I wore that one out, myself, some time ago.

I believe Twain learned his lesson well, perhaps from Chaucer, Shakespeare,
Swift, or from some Western storyteller: let your most poignant statements
come from the mouths of fools. That way, you (the author) can avoid
sounding too didactic. And it keeps us humble when we find ourselves
learning from the innocent words of kids. Believe me, I'm a teacher.

Moreover, Twain knows people learn best that which they learn through
humor, and although it is bitter at times, _Huck Finn_ is a fun book. Even
rapscallions like the King, Duke, and pap can be funny (although usually at
their own or someone else's expense).

I would also qualify Steve Ward's statement:

> In my opinion, we can count Huck's thoughts as being those of Twain....
> "Consequently, when Huck makes a profound observation or statement it is on
> a lower level of speech causing the audience to subconsciously think "From
> the mouths of babes comes the Truth."

Yes, much of the time, such as the statement of compassion and forgiveness,
"Human beings can be awful cruel to one another." But then Huck follows
that up by mentioning how worthless a person's conscience is, even though
it takes up so much room. Huck's words come across as verbal
irony--punctuated with the line "Tom Sawyer, he says the same." We
understand that none of this cruelty would have happened if the King, Duke,
or the town's folk remembered to listen to their consciences.

Often times, Twain uses Huck as Steve says, but he also uses him as an
example of ignorance, or rather of specialized education, from pap and
society. Huck is amazed that Jim feels emotions just as strong as a white
man's; Huck requires time to work up the stomach to humble himself to Jim,
a slave; etc. Not surprisingly, these scenes of negative example/irony are
the places where Huck is most likely to use the word "nigger."

Note that the use of dialect increases the effect in both instances,
whether Huck shows us our folly through his innocence, or through his
absurd, ironic statements.

Twains juggling of Huck's character as good example/bad example is pure
magic to me. He never drops the ball. It is that balance, in part, that
makes Huck so human to me.

Sorry for responding again so soon, but like many others, I found the
temptation irresistable.

Stanton Nesbit

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

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