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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Penguin Classics)

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Penguin Classics)

List Price: $7.00
Your Price: $6.30
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: read this (and TOM SAWYER) to your kids
Review: Do more than read this marvelous book for yourself: read it ALOUD to your kids so you can discuss with them every aspect of its brilliant satire, wounderful use of (local) language and adept characterizations. Even better, read TOM SAWYER to them first--that way they'll be able to see the vast difference between Tom and Huck and which one grows up. . . Oh, and don't be put off by the casual and to our ears very offensive use of the word "nigger" by the characters--remember that Twain carefully selected every word in his Huck and Tom dialect--use this book to teach more than merely literature to your kids, use this book to teach history and social responsibility. Caveat: Twain's Southern dialect is challenging to read out loud--better practice!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Great Novel
Review: Hemingway was right when he said that this was one of the best American novels written. It truely capture the issue of race in the post ( when Twain wrote the novel) and pre ( when the book takes place) civil war as well as our society today. Many critics argue that Mark Twain was racist, but I think that the entire book is in fact making fun of the society he lived in and showing how horrible slavery was. People who want to bann the book just because it uses the "n" word are ignorant an do not want to see that slavery really did happen. It has become one of the most evil and hated words in the english language, but during the time Twain wrote this book the word was very commonly used,;it is in the book to show the reader the how black people were treated. Although it may be a sensitive issue, people need to talk about slavery and their ideas on slavery and not supress them. If we refuse to teach the book just because of this then we are trying to ignore our history. It should be veiwewed as a chance to realize that people were wrong and their mistakes are still trying to be fixed today. Should we not teach American history of the 19th century just because there was slavery? No we must learn from our past and make sure history does not repeat itself. It is very important for people when they read this book to seperate the ideas of the author with the ideas of the characters, because these are two totally diffrent veiws. Also a person must not read this book at face value and must read between the lines to capture the underlining themes of this amazing novel. In a subtle manner he creates a challlenge to slavery not an apology or excuse for it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Huckleberry Finn
Review: Huckleberry Finn is a classic piece of American literature. School children from all over the world read this novel and write poignant essays on the evil of slavery. The various moral issues that influence the story are often ignored while the masses focus their energies on the well-known issue of slavery.
I firmly believe that one cannot fully appreciate this novel without acknowledging how much child abuse influences this story. Huck wouldn't have been living with the Widow Douglas in the first place if his father were not an abusive alcoholic who neglected and abandoned his son. When Pap returned to "claim" his son, who he views as his property, the town doctor makes a half-hearted effort to protect Huck's fortune. However, none can stop Huck's father from kidnapping his son and dragging him to an abandoned cabin in the woods. Huck secretly enjoys not having to deal with the restrictive rules of society that he had to live by at the Widow's house. However, he soon tires of the ritualistic beatings that occur more and more frequently. Huck fakes his own death, and takes off to a small, uninhabited island. Jim, an escaped slave, and Huck travel on the Mississippi River and take turns protecting each other from the dangers of the world. Jim is eventually freed after narrowly avoiding death by a lynch mob. In all respects, Jim is more of Huck's father than Pap ever was.
This story remains a classic novel that nearly all readers can relate to. Each generation has its own moral issues to address. It will be interesting to see how other generations react to this well-known and well-loved piece of literature.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Humour and tragedy - but most of all survival
Review: I have just finished reading this book to my two boys (7 and 10). It was a bit long for them really, especially the younger one. And yet it is a very engaging novel that had them periodically laughing, or breathless with their eyes popping out. It is at times a bit grim, and at times a bit farcical. It's also pretty hard to read aloud with all those accents and voices. But it is above all a story of resourcefulness, of conscience and of survival. And, of course, it is sufficiently exotic in time and place for modern Australians, as we are, to add an extra dimension to the enjoyment.
If you plan to read it to your children, allow yourself plenty of time, be prepared to pause and discuss some of the issues (such as slavery, which we no longer tolerate and yet it was not necessarily the worst of outcomes for some people). You will enjoy it I am sure (and, yes, we had read Tom Sawyer earlier although that isn't necessary)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not as much fun as Tom Sawyer
Review: I read this a long time ago (don't ask how long!) in high school because it was assigned to me in a history class, and for the life of me I couldn't remember much about it. So I read it again this year, and now I realize why I don't remember that much about it: it's just not as fun as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I read Tom Sawyer during the lazy days of summer between my seventh and eighth grades, and again as an adult. It was the first book (and to this day one of the very few books) I've read that I simply couldn't put down. Perhaps it's that reading this kind of thing when you're young and naive, you don't pick up on some of the exaggerations, the melodrama, the sentiment and the overabundance of coincidences, but I don't think so. In fact, I found that much of those things simply add to Twain's desired effect, particularly for the sake of his "tall-tale" kind of humor. Perhaps it's that one hasn't developed much taste in literature when one is 12 or 13. Who knows? Whatever the reason, I fell in love with Tom Sawyer. I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. Sure, their isn't as much that is socially redeeming in Tom Sawyer as you'll find in Huck Finn, but it's a lot more fun turning the pages. I think it's telling that Hollywood has made so many more versions of Tom than it has of Huck. There's a lot more action and adventure. There's mystery, murder, suspense and even romance -- much more in terms of cinematic value -- all revolving around Tom. While in Huck Finn, some of the best portions of the book revolve around the King and the Duke, with Huck and Jim merely watching the antics as straight men. Then later in the story, after the King and Duke get their comeuppance, Twain brings Tom Sawyer into the picture (with a RIDICULOUS coincidence), only to poke fun at him and make him look immature compared to Huck. It's a shame that Twain looks his nose down at his greatest character creation. While the book starts out promising enough, culminating with Huck's departure from home, there are some stretches of boredom on the river and even more yawns during the preparations for Jim's escape.

Overall, it's not a bad effort; there is great social, cultural and historical value here, and I can understand Hemingway's oft-quoted statement about how "all modern American literature begins with one book by Mark Twain by the name of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." But, now, more than 120 years after it's publication, with the details of America's race relations well chronicled, the socially-redeeming values are nearly pointless to modern readers outside of a university literature course. Having read both novels as a child and as an adult, I will forever believe in my heart that Huckleberry Finn is just not as fun to read as Tom Sawyer.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Great Adventure :By Matthew Moriarty
Review: I think the book "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is a very exciting and adventurous story that should be shared with all ages. The story is about a boy named Huck Finn who is kidnapped by his cruel and drunken dad. He escapes his father and then he travels down the Mississippi River and finds his friend, Jim. He comes across two imposters and the story just continues to keep your attention. This book is a real all American story. It is definately a story that you wouldn't want to miss reading.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Awesome, fun and entertaining
Review: I thought that I would like this book, but I did not expect to love this book. I had to read it for school and it is easily the best bood that I have read for the last three or four years. I recommend to this to anyone and everyone.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Adventures of Huckleberry finn
Review: If you believe that uncivilized way of life is better then an organized planed life, then you should read this book before going to college. I am first to admit that I hate to read, but this book kept my attention till the very end. I got so caught up in how huck tries to escape from the standard ways of living.
This book takes me back to when I was little and would have my own adventures with my brother. This book is one exciting adventure.

This book is about being you and not living up to other people's standards. The Mississippi river is the only place where Jim hucks friend and himself can be free and make up their own rules. Another big part in this book is friendship. This book shows you the true meaning of a friend. Some of the characters in this book are huckleberry Finn other known as huck. His friend Tom and his self discover twelve thousand dollars in treasure. Huck gets adopted bye the widow Douglas and Miss Watson. Huck gets fed up with this rich life style and runs away. But Tom manages to bring him back by promising to start a band of robbers. Then Hucks father comes back to collect Hucks money but Huck refuses. In return his father takes him to a log cabin and frequently beats him. Huck escapes and fakes his own death and, runs to Jackson Island. At Jackson Island he meets Jim an ex slave hiding out. As soon as you start to read this story the plot gets you and you will catch yourself saying what's going to happen next. I really loved the way Mark Twain used southern way of speech in this story, it made you feel like real southern people were taking. I loved the plot when you think Huck is save and free he meets somebody new and an all-new adventure takes place.

After reading this book it made me think about my family, I would feel so lonely if I was Huck and spent all my time alone on the river. Mark Twain feels that a uncivilized way of life is better I disagree I'm glad we have rules to follow if not everyone would do what they want and there would be chous. Imp happy to say though im glad that I live in a time where I'm free to be me.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Only six reviews for the Great American Novel?
Review: If you haven't read Huck Finn in decades (possibly when it was assigned to you in junior high), pick it up again and be amazed. (If you've never read it before, pick it up and be thunderstruck.) Hemingway wasn't wrong when he said that all American literature came from this book. It was the first novel that truly captured one strain of American vernacular (actually, several), and the character of Huck is so quinetssentially American that you're bound to recognize all sorts of American literary first-person characters who have directly followed (Holden Caulfield and Augie March, just to name two). Forget the PC issue -- when you read fiction, judge words in their contexts, not by their politics beyond the page. If you're too young to do that, perhaps you're not ready for it anyway. I was force-fed Huck Finn at 14 and remembered it with only bitterness until I picked it up in my 30s and was amazed (see first sentence).

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: go lucky fun time
Review: In Mark Twain's novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a young boy named Huckleberry is living with an old lady from town named Widow Douglas. Previously, Huckleberry and his buddy, Tom Sawyer, tracked some treasure and were awarded 6,000 dollars each thus allowing them to live the good life. Everything, in Huck's life is going very well until his pap strolls into town looking to cash in on Huck's fortune. Shortly, after arrival Huck is taken against his will by pap. After Huck escapes, he stumbles upon a familiar slave named Jim. Jim and Huck become friends rather quickly due to similar circumstances, and without much hang time the two set off down the Mississippi River in order to set Jim free. While, on the journey down the Mississippi the two become loyal friends.
Twain's novel relates to readers through his views on slavery, religion, and politics. Throughout the book he makes a mockery of the time in which he lived. Also, by having the main character, Huck, befriend a slave it shows how even in pre -civil war times there were people who thought people of color were the same as whites.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is highly recommended for its exciting and adventurous monologue, which can be shared with reader's young and old. This book also offers an innocent young man's views on slavery, religion and politics. So all in all, if adventure and eye tearing friendship are what you are looking for, this book is a must read.


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