DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ON REALISM IN LITERATURE The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
How are the qualities of close observation, concrete detail, and objectivity reflected in the prose of Twain? Provide examples.
What is innovative about Twain's techniques in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?
What are the archetypal symbols in this excerpt?
What role does the dialect play in the story? Humor? Irony?
What purpose did this segment of the novel serve? What is Mark Twain's objective in creating this part of the story?
Why does Huck feel better when he decides to turn Jim in?
Why do the men give Huck the twenty-dollar gold pieces?
What decision does Huck make? Why does he make this decision?
Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn "a book of mine where a sound heart and a deformed conscience come into collision and conscience suffers defeat." What influences have "deformed" Huck's conscience? Are such influences still at work in the world today? What forces are available to try to change "deformed consciences"?