Although killing frogs is, indeed, a bad thing, we can also learn a lot from the process. In regard to literature, we can better appreciate the humor and beauty of a work by examining it closely. Twain himself critiqued other writers with no small attention to detail. His analyses of James Fenimore Cooper offer two case studies in minute dissection. We should be careful of taking the Notice of _Huckleberry Finn_ too seriously. Looking for a motive, a moral, or a plot is an integral part of reading and learning. Twain was a social satirist with an arsenal of weapons and techniques at his disposal. If we only chuckle at the surface (which is usually worth quite a chuckle), then we miss many of those features that reveal Twain's genius. Joe ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joseph L. Coulombe Assistant Professor English Department University of Tennessee at Martin 128 Humanities Building Martin, TN 38238 http://fmc.utm.edu/~jcoulomb/homepage.htm 901-587-7291 [log in to unmask] fax: 901-587-7276