Huck Finn Experienced?

1.   Have you read the novel –Huck Finn- before?  If so where and why?

No, this is my first time reading Huck Finn.

Answer either 2 or 3 depending on your answer to 1.

2.   If you have not read Huck Finn before, surely you know something about the novel and character from references and allusions in popular culture.  What do you know about either the novel and/or character?

I have never heard about this book since I am from China. I know nothing about it but I think it shows American popular culture.

3.   What was your response to reading Huck Finn, and what do you remember from your reading?  Also, did you actually read the whole novel, or just parts of it?  Did you read Cliff Notes or Monarch Notes instead?

Same as question number 2. But I would like to talk about the reading experience from this time. I had problem understand the texts this time especially comes to Jim. I did actually read the whole novel with keep checking the definition of the words throughout the whole book.

4.   If you were assigned to read Huck Finn in a previous class, either here or in high school, how did your class as a whole react to the novel?  Why do you think your instructor assigned the novel?  How did he or she try to “teach” the novel?

The class shows the opinions about Racism and everyone talks about the personality of Jim. He is the one who influence Huck and show the coming-of-age of Huck. Also the language in Huck is controversial. Sometimes it is confusing but that also shows the real language slaves use at that time. We also have strong reaction about the personality of Huck. He is superstitious and can’t understand Bible, not a Christian at all but at the same time, he has a great heart and his courage and pure shows completely throughout the journey.

5. If you were required to read Huck Finn in a previous class, what sort of assignments were you required to complete, and what exactly did you do during the classes when

Huck Finn was being discussed.

 Sigh. I haven’t read it before.

6. Huck Finn is still one of the most controversial and most banned books in America.  Why is it so controversial? 

  I think it is because it associated with serious racism and the language they use also means racism. The ironic way of criticizing the slavery made it so controversial.

7. Is Huck Finn still relevant to you as college student today?  Should it continue to be taught in college classrooms?

  I don’t think it relates that much. I can’t say that racism doesn’t exist in college, but I think this book exaggerates the truth and people are more unwilling to accept this especially for college student. College students may feel it’s not related to them so they can’t notice the deep meaning of this book. The words Mark want to express through this book.

  But I still think it should continue to be taught in college because it s a good piece of literature if you read it carefully. We can see the reflection of the society of that period of time through this book. Read the cruel and the warm part of different people.

8.  The general consensus among critics is that Huck Finn is a brilliant and powerful novel, but also a flawed and problematic novel.  What do you think might be flawed and/or problematic about the novel?

  I think the flawed part including bad grammar, coarse manner. The kinds of tone give people low moral and atheism. We don’t encourage superstition now but Huck is really superstitious.

  Some of the word they use very often is offensive like “nigger”. It will remove the original meaning of the book if it is being removed but at the same time, it’s not good to keep it either.

1st meeting with my conversation partner

  I was looking for today for so long since the beginning of the semester. The professor in ESL told me they paired me up with someone then told me later it couldn't work since the limited English skill she has. So I waited for two more weeks, finally I got my communication parter.
  We emailed each other several times and we decided to meet in front of BLUU. I recognized him immediately after a glimpse since I stalk him on Facebook. We went to Milton and found a study lounge where is big and bright. We began to talk.
  Since he just got here for several months, it's really hard to communicate with him. I used very simple words and sentence but still found difficulty understand each other. So I started with very simple questions like his family. I learnt that he lives in his uncle's house right now, as well as with his aunt and their five children.  His mom works in the church and his dad is a businessman in Malaysia. This fact drew my attention.
  " So, is your mom Christian?"
  "Yes!! "
  I was really surprised by this fact. In Asian countries in general, it's really hard to find people are Christian. The most common religion is Buddhism.
  Then I asked him, " Are you also Christian? "
  "Yes, My whole family is Christian!! "
  He answered so fast and I can see the pride in his face. He is proud of his religion, the minor religion in Korea.
  I asked him, " Do you read Bible in your uncle's house?" I am very curious about the religion in different countries, for me it associate with different ritual and different ways of interrupt the religion.
  " Yes, we read 5 pages of Bible every day, it's our daily routine. "
  I was deeply touched by this.  A family immigrated from South Korea. They don't really understand the language, but they study Bible every day in Korean. How incredible it is. Religion is sharing, people from different country with different background have the same belief. This really happens around us.
  "So, is it hard for you to move from your country to here?"
  " It's not bad, my uncle is here, they take care of me and I like here! After I finish my English program, I want to study Business Studies in TCU!"
  I smiled to him, that contains the best wishes to him.
  "Business is hard, the classes and everything. It's really competitive." I told him.
  He was surprised by my statement . He began to ask me the details about this major because we have the same major. I told him about the classes we have to take and we have to prepare for applying the Neely Business School.
  He looked frustrated after I told him all of that because he thinks his English is not good enough to finish all of the classes.
  " But my professor said my English is improving," he told me.
  " Of course, I think it's not a problem for you. Just keep on doing what you are doing right now. "
  He smiled back to me. I can see the confidence in this smile, with the courage which covered by the sunshine came through the window. It feels warm.
   Then I asked him about his favorite movie. Unexpectedly, his favorite movie is the same as me, "Titanic". I was thrilled by this common interest we had. I told him the 3-D version will come up soon and my friends and I are going to watch the mid-night premier ( I explain the definition of the midnight premier as well).
   One hour passed so fast that I didn't even realize. It's so cool to meet someone from different country and you can sit down and talk about each other's life without any purposes. It's pure chatting and sharing things in you life.

The taste of childhood-Huckleberry Finn

   I smiled after closing the book “The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn”. This is the first time I have read this book, and it was also the first time that I have read a book that exposes the dissatisfaction of slavery, the irony of the people living in that time, and as well as the injustice of the society. The most important part of “The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn” is the analysis of the personalities of different people in the book.

  For Huckleberry, his personality being defined by two things: his rebellion to the world of adults and the sympathy he has for the slaves. We can all feel these two aspects of his personality from reading the book. However, there is another kind of taste, the taste that only Huck and those little boys can spread. This is the unique taste of the characteristics Huck has. At the same time, only real children can understand this taste and feeling.

    This taste lets Huck and all the other children dream to do some “ big deal”, like to be a robber or to be a hero. They said something like “ if anybody that belonged to the band told the secrets, he must have his throat cut, and then have his carcass burnt up and the ashes scattered all around, and his name blotted off the list with blood and never mentioned again by the gang, but have a curse put on it and be forgot, forever”. But in the reality, he can’t even cope with a car full of carrots. He thought that he is the son of the God and that he can save the world, but he also feels something behind him when he is in his room by himself. This contrast shows the most innocent dream of a child and their dream like views of themselves

   This taste leads Huck and Tom to do the impossible task of wanting to use a knife to dig a hole for 37 years to save Tom, but when they found it impossible to finish this task, they changed their idea to use a spade. These are all the imagination of children that can reach everywhere and influence everything. We call these children  “miracles. “

    We can hear the inner voice of a child from this book.  This voice is from the child itself to show the understanding attitudes and the expectation to the society. He is the son of the tippler and always bullied by his father, so he is used to sleeping in the nature that it makes him “ sleep well”. But everything changed when the widow adopted him, he began to accept some a “real style of life”. But he is reluctant because he doesn’t like life with too many rules; he thinks it’s torturing for him. When he can’t stand anymore of this kind of life, he ran away. Huck likes the natural style of living; he loves exploring the world like all the other little boys. After he set the “ I am dead” scenario for himself, he begins to find his own place in this world. He meets Jim, a runaway slave, when the law says it’s illegal to hide the running slaves. He fought with this dilemma in his heart, and he almost reported Jim several times. At the same time, he found the kindness and the love from Jim, as well as the dirty, hypocrisy and evil in this “ civilized world”. In this period of time, he is also walking towards maturity. His journey is actually an unintentionally exploration; it is the same direction that his heart wants him to follow. His exploration is looking for freedom under the guide of his heart, closer to the nature and away from the bounds of the civilized world. 

Coming-of-age draft 1

  If there is only one moment in my life that I will never forget it would be that day, the morning of October 15^th, 2011. That day I left home for the first time without parents accompanying me and traveled thousands of miles to go to college by myself.

  It was 7 A.M when we arrived at the airport. My dad parked his car in front of airport. My mom and I got out of the car and pulled out three huge suitcases from the trunk and back seat. I quickly found a cart to put the suitcases on. My mom was standing next to me and insisting to do this for me. I am always a child in front of mom. However, I did this by myself because I was going to leave my parents for a very long time in a few hours; no one would help me expect myself. We pushed the cart and looked for the right flight company. I didn’t really care about those things before because my parents were always the ones who took care of me. However, this time, since I was leaving home, I started to notice all of those signs by myself. My mom showed her happy face because I looked more mature; I could see her “I am proud of you” expression on her face.

 Now it was 8A.M.. I got the boarding pass and we still had 2 hours until the plane took off. We sat in front of the security check. There was a huge area with benches surrounded by trees. I observed all the people sitting there. They were mostly families just like us. I could see some moms with tears in their eyes as well as their daughters. To be honest, I didn’t like this situation. I always felt embarrassed to see parents cry because they are the strong ones in my heart.  We sat down and began to talk about random stuffs. I meant to avoid any touchy topics since I was about leave this country, and leave the people who were always there for me for the last 18 years. My mom was really upset. She had that “ on the verge of crying” face which forced me to change our conversation to some happier topic. My dad is always the spiritual support of the family. He seemed much more composed than my mom right now, even though I could tell that the softest part of his heart didn’t want me to leave the home either. But, it was my destiny to go to the United States and there is nothing that could change this fact. My heart was more filled with uncertainty and fear. I still couldn’t believe that I was going to whole new “world” by myself without anyone I knew. I was going to go on my own new adventure, a whole new chapter in my life book. I was excited; I was scared. Does that mean that I would no longer be the little princess at home and I would have to live on with the strongest part in my heart instead? Will it be hard? Will I cry? Yes, but I was ready. If you chose a path in your life, then there is nothing you should be afraid of.

  I gave a big my smile to my parents a warm and sweet smile that belonged to their daughter.

  It was 9:30 A.M. Time to go. I packed up all of my stuffs, stood up, and walked with my back straight and head high

  “Bye mom!” I said.

  She looked at me, and tears were pouring down her face.

  “Bye dad!” I said, and I hugged him.

   I went into the security check without turning my head.

  “ I can do this!!!” I told myself. At that moment, I felt like an adult. I was being mature and taking more responsibility. That’s a coming-of-age moment.

Coming of age everyday-we never stop growing up

      This was my first time glancing over the magazines that published in 20s, 30s. Old pictures as well as those old articles catch my eyes.  Pictures with wars, smiles and national affairs. I am more sensitive to pictures than articles. After half an hour’s research, two pages of pictures grabbed my full attention.

    There are 15 pictures. A dad and a daughter indicate 15 years, also indicate growth, mature, coming of age.

     On these pages you see the year-by–year growth of this daughter Marion who is now 16. Mr. Chadwick, changing little with the years, stands behind her. All the pictures were taken by Mrs. Chadwick at about the same time each year with the same camera-a 2A folding Brownie which cost $10.50 when it was bought in 1915.  The first picture was taken at City Island in 1922 on Marion’s fist trip to the beach.  Before anybody could stop her, she ran into the water up to her neck. When her father remarked that she looked like a “drowned rat”, her mother decided to photograph them both.  Next year, again at City Island, they took a similar picture to see how much Marion had grown. Soon the annual picture of Marion and her father, always taken their first day at the beach, became a family tradition. Sometimes it was Coney Island, sometimes Oakland Beach, lately Ocean Grove, Rye beach or Glen Island. So important did this yearly ritual become that Mrs. Chadwick sometimes exposed a complete roll of film to make sure she got a good picture.

   I think this set of pictures is very precious because photograph wasn’t that popular during that time. From the picture, we only can see the growth of Marion’s height, as well as decrepitude of Mr. Chadwick. However, we can’t see how many stories happened in between.

  Growth is pain and happy at the same time.  I want to say that coming-to-age maybe more pure at that time, or in the other words, less complicated. It can be just arriving a certain age, getting married or having your first baby.  For now, it’s hard to say when is the time that you are really coming of age. It needs patience, love, and persistence. In this set of pictures, this little girl grows up, when is her coming to age? 13? 15? Or even 25? No one knows including herself.  In my perspective, she is growing up everyday, coming to age everyday. Coming of age is about being more mature. Sometimes you think you change to another person in a certain point, through a huge change which makes you grow up to an adult in on night. For me, what I see from this picture is, we are growing up everyday, just like this little girl. Her height indicates her maturity, it will never stops. We never stop absorbing new knowledge from outside. We are always curious as a child. We keep meeting new people. We lie to people. People lie to us. We love people and people love us. We grow up in this every single day. The process of finding who we are for me is called coming of age.

  These are only 15 pictures to us, but it means much more to Marie. I want to know more pictures about her life. Those thousands more pictures that didn’t show up here. Those laughter and tears behind the pictures. We still can feel those warmth, those courage she and the information her parents want to transfer through those pictures. She is growing up, so do we. And we need courage to grow up and to face the world by ourselves.  I love the picture that this little girl changed from standing in front of her dad to standing behind him. It means one day you will grow from the little child that you need your dad to hold your back, support you to that woman or man you want to be. Then you are be able to hold you dad’s hand just like the time your dad hold you when you are small.  In the meanwhile, we never stop growing up, we never stop loving and smiling.