I was very interested in everyone's comments about the teaching of
_Huck Finn_ and the relevance (my word) and importance to today's
youth.
I hope I did not give the impression that I was considering abandoning
the book because *I* don't understand the Twain's comments on society
and the satire he uses to get his point across.  I certainly do
recognize that there are many valuable things that can be learned from
the novel, but in my (admittedly short and only) experience, I have
encountered such absolute obstinance on the part of most of my students
that I was wondering if there is a better (read:possibly easier) way to
teach the same or similar lessons.  I am of the opinion that if they're
simply NOT going to read the book, what can they learn anyway?
With all due respect to the members of this list, I ask you to consider
that I am trying to teach 16 and 17 year olds to learn from and
appreciate literature.  I doubt that many of you would be on this list
if you did not already know of the benifits to be gained from studying
literature.  My students, however, are not aware of those beneifts as
of yet, and I am just but a lowly student-teacher trying to broaden
their horizons.  You and I might understand Twain's complicated
message, but these students do not have our backgrounds.

Deidre