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