Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is often considered to be Twain's masterpiece. It combined his raw humor with startlingly mature material to create a novel that directly attacked many of the traditions the South held dear. Huckleberry Finn is the main character, and it is through his eyes that the South is revealed and judged. His companion, a runaway slave named Jim, provides Huck with friendship and protection during their journey along the Mississippi.

The novel begins with Huck himself writing the story. He briefly describes what has happened to him since The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. After Huck and Tom discovered twelve thousand dollars in treasure, Judge Thatcher invested the money for them. Huck was adopted by the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, both of whom took pains to raise him properly.

Dissatisfied with his new life, Huck runs away. Tom Sawyer manages to bring Huck back by promising to start a band of robbers. All the young boys in town join Tom's band, and they use a hidden cave as their hideout. However, many of them soon become bored with the make-believe battles and so the band falls apart.

Soon thereafter Huck sees footprints in the snow which he recognizes as his Pa's. Huck realizes that Pa has returned to claim his money, and so he quickly runs to Judge Thatcher and "sells" his share of the money for a "consideration" of a dollar. Pa catches Huck and makes him hand over the dollar, and threatens to beat Huck if he ever goes to school again.

Judge Thatcher and the Widow try to gain court custody of Huck, but a new judge in town refuses to separate Huck from Pa. Soon thereafter, Pa steals Huck away from the Widow's house and takes him to a log cabin. Huck says that he enjoys the life at first, but he soon decides to escape after Pa starts to frequently beat him.

Soon thereafter Pa returns to the town and Huck seizes the chance to escape. He saws his way out of the log cabin, kills a pig and spreads the blood as if it were his own, and then takes a canoe and floats downstream to Jackson's Island. Once there he sets up camp and hides out.

A few days later Huck stumbles onto a still smoldering campfire on the island. He is frightened but decides to discover who the other person is.