HF Critical Lens Close Reading- Psychoanalytical Lens

We had Jim out of the chains in no time, and when Aunt Polly and Uncle Silas and Aunt Sally found out how good he helped the doctor nurse Tom, they made a heap of fuss over him, and fixed him up prime, and give him all he wanted to eat, and a good time, and nothing to do. And we had him up to the sick-room; and had a high talk; and Tom give Jim forty dollars for being prisoner for us so patient, and doing it up so good, and Jim was pleased most to death, and busted out, and says:

“Dah, now, Huck, what I tell you?- what I tell you up dah on Jackson islan’? I tole you I ben rich wunst, en gwineter to be rich agin; en it’s come true; en heah she is! Dah, now! doan’ talk to me- signs is signs, mine I tell you; en I knowed jis’ ‘s well ‘at I ‘uz gwineter be rich agin as I’s a stannin’ heah dis minute!” (Twain, 233)

This excerpt comes from the beginning of the last chapter of Huckleberry Finn. The first paragraph gives some perspective on all three of the major characters within the book- Jim, Huck, and Tom Sawyer. Jim, who started the book as a slave who seemed to have more superstition than sense and made Huck’s sentences appear readable by comparison. In these two paragraphs, we are shown that Jim, while still acting the fool, is a kind and compassionate man despite living in a world where he is ranked behind boys like Huck and Tom.

“Dah, now, Huck, what I tell you?” is the first words out of JIm’s mouth. Jim is happy, because he has been given 40 dollars by Tom. On the surface, this is a normal reaction. However, the reason that he gave up his freedom to nurse Tom was due to Tom choosing to play a game with his life. Despite this, Huck perceives Jim’s words as an exclamation of joy and relief that Tom is willing to pay him for his contribution, which he definitely doesn’t have to do. The next part of the sentence, “what I tell you up dah on Jackson islan’?” is a reference to the beginning of the story, when Huck first meets Jim after he faked his death to get away from his abusive father. Jim was (not very) rich, then gambled and lost it- but now he has even more money than he lost. In this case, though, Jim may consider his family, and not the money, the “rich wunst and gwineter be rich again” aspect. When Jim escaped because he thought he was going to be sold, he left his family behind, still in slavery. When he returns a free man, he can be reunited with his family, and regain the ‘riches’ that he lost.

When Jim exclaims his happiness to Huck, he is also expressing his relief “en I knowed jis’ ‘s well ‘at I ‘uz gwineter be rich agin” and hope that he can finally go home. In many ways, this is one of his most poignant contrasts with Huck, who is happy for Jim, yet cannot conceive of the happiness that Jim feels about returning to the place where he grew up.

Feminist Lens - Critical Lens Close Reading (HF)

"You do a girl tolerable poor, but you might fool men, maybe. Bless you, child, when you set out to thread a needle, don't hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it- that's the way a woman most always does; but a man always does 'tother way. And when you throw at a rat or anything, hitch yourself up a tip-toe, and fetch your hand up over your head as awkard as you can, and miss your rat about six or seven foot. Throw stiff-armed from the shoulder, like there was a pivot there for it to turn on- like a girl; not from the wrist and elbow, with your arm out to one side like a boy. And mind you, when a girl tries to catch anything in her lap, she throws her knees apart; she don't clap them together, the way you did when you catched the lump of lead. Why, I spotted you for a boy when you was threading the needle; and I contrived the other things just to make certain.” (Page 53, Twain)

In this quote, Huckleberry Finn is receiving a lesson on how to act more like the stereotypical girl after he tried to trick a woman by cross-dressing in order to disguise himself while he was in town. Twain’s depiction of stereotypical feminine mannerisms as presented through his character Mrs. Judith Loftus, in addition to the implementation of a humorous tone throughout the excerpt, was used to convey the internalization of misogyny and the general attitude towards gender roles in 1850’s society.

The frequent integration of the words “like a girl” and “like a boy” throughout the excerpt immediately set a gap between the two genders by promoting the idea that they are each inherently different and uninterchangable. Subsequently, this attitude upholds an inherently traditional and heteronormative point of view, which was custom during the time period in which this book was set. This fact is particularly evident in the line, “I spotted you for a boy when you was threading the needle”, which illustrates how women are expected to be better at sewing and other home-oriented chores, while the men were better at athletic tasks, such as when Huck threw at the rat. In fact, this is further supported when she explained to Huck how to throw “like a girl”, she uses words such as “awkward” and “stiff”, which further suggests that women were not intended to do any of the physical work that the men did.

When reading this excerpt, some readers may interpret Twain’s decision to use a humorous tone as a mockery of the physical incapabilities of women. However, after careful examination of the text, it would be more reasonable to assume that he was making a statement about the sheer ridiculousness of the heteronormativity and misogyny that existed in 1850s society. This can be related back to the first part of the excerpt, which reads "You do a girl tolerable poor, but you might fool men, maybe." Through this line, we are able to assume that women are better at picking up on what is considered feminine and masculine, whereas men are less equipped to notice. This proves that these gender-specific mannerisms are more of an act put on to fit in with what is the norm of society, and is actually a concept of nurture rather than the nature of the being. This idea can be furthered by the very fact that Mrs. Loftus is literally teaching Huck how to act feminine, by telling him about a few of the stereotypical things, such as how to throw, catch, and thread a needle "like a girl" that differentiates feminine and masculine mannerisms, which he never even thought about before the lesson.

HF Critical Lens Responding and Reflecting - Marxist Lens

In history, I wondering why the South was so devastated after the civil war.  The South had lost in the war of ideology. The ideology in question was institution of slavery. This lost caused such a violent shift in way of life in South. Why was this shift so drastic? One way we can answer that question is to look back in time. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a great representation of an earlier time period before the civil war. It was a time where slavery was rampant and integral part of southern way of life. One aspect that I found interesting was how slavery was not only a part of antebellum life but it was a representation of the amount of capital a person had in the south. It seemed that the more slaves a person owned the richer they were. If the amount of slaves determined capital, then was this one of the reasons that the south had such a violent reaction after the civil war? Huckleberry Finn may show how the south didn’t just lose an ideology but a class structure.

One way that Mark Twain showed to difference in class structure was with the main character of Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberry came from a poor upbringing and hunted to live. When he is taken in by the Widow Douglas, he shown to different life style. This lifestyle was a more rich refined style with learning and manners. The new lifestyle that Huck was subjected to him was a shock as his entire life he was not used to it. I believe Mark Twain did this to show the difference of the classes in south society. This made me realize that the south was not all plantation owners but people like Huckleberry who were poor and slaveless. Huckleberry is shown to this lifestyle but it was only supported by the use of slaves. Mark Twain must of wanted to show this by having the contrast poor character of Huckleberry versus the rich antebellum society which relied on slaves. This made me realize that when the south lost the civil war, they did not only lose the ideology but also the upper class. The slavery that the upper class depended on was gone after the war which brought the end of the antebellum high society. Which is the reason why the South was so devastated after the war.

Huckleberry Finn has a very interesting look at how slavery was part the class structure of the south. Through reading Huckleberry Finn I found learning the difference in classes in south. When I learned this it made me realize why the south wanted to protect slavery. The institution of slavery was not only used for the massive agriculture industry but it allowed the class divide between the rich and the poor in the south. I don’t believe the institution of slavery was right in any respect but The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn made me realize how much did slaves matter in the south.

HF Critical Lens Close Reading - Biographical/Historical Lens

"It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a n*****; but I done it, and I warn't ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didn't do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn't done that one if I'd a knowed it would make him feel that way." (Twain 15. 49).

In this quote, the character of Huck Finn had just played a prank on his friend Jim, a black man. Almost immediately following the trick, Huck feels guilty for what he did, and eventually works up the courage to apologize to Jim for what he's done. Huck then goes on to explain that he will no longer play any tricks on Jim, as he wishes Jim no harm.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is set in the 1830's to 1840's - a time which in America, slavery was still in heavy use, as slavery was not abolished until late 1865. This is what makes and contributes to the idea that Huck was originally having a pretty difficult time apologizing to Jim for his actions. In this time, white people saw themselves as far superior to those with black skin, and a white person would almost never have considered a black person as their friend, let alone apologize to them when they have done wrong. In doing so, it was then perceived that both the white and black person were considered of equal worth, which was not believed by most people in the vast majority of the 1800's.

In addition, Mark Twain uses specific language and grammar, not only in this passage but also in the entirety of the novel, to portray how people really spoke in the times of slavery. The English language sounded very different in those times, with different accents on the words and different uses of words. The reader can see how Huck was of a lower class in society in the way he spoke with little or skewed grammar, and can even read in Huck's portrayed accent when reading words such as "warn't" come up as shown in the given passage. For word choice in the novel, Twain used the word "n*****" in an almost excessive amount. While this word usage is highly debated by all who read the book, it is factual that the word was used very casually in the past and in the 1800's especially. Many argue that Twain was capturing the real essence of the era by using the word.

Biographical/Historical Lens - Why I Chose This Lens

For my project, I decided to focus on the historical context critical lens. Out of the other types of critical lenses that I could have chosen, I wanted to use the historical context lens because while English is my favorite subject, History is a close second, and I think that I will enjoy the strong combination of the two school subjects in this project. The last time I used the historical context lens was when I was reading Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, which has since become my favorite novel. I loved the way that in using this lens, I could connect the story with real-life events both in the time of the book and still to current events today. I also believe that when history is connected to something that is supposed to be a work of fiction, it is much easier to relate to the storyline and the characters within the story. I think this is because I can more clearly see characters in situations either that I have been in myself or that I see myself going through at some point in time. Because I have read one of the two books we will be reading in this project multiple times already, I hope to be able to read the book from a different perspective and to gain more understanding of the book, and not just read its content and events. I also hope that I will be able to learn about writing as a blogger, and whether or not it’s very different from writing as a different kind of author.

Marxist Lens - Why I Chose This Lens?

I choose the Marxist lens as it gives an interesting look in to the life and systems of a the society. For the longest time, people have been using systems to organize anything. They are many ways to organize money, books and other objects. Although organizational systems make our lives easier, they can be exploited. The Marxist lens is questions the idea of class and what is the author is saying about the existing class system. The importance of analyzing the class structure is important as we must realize the systems can caused flawed societies. In the case for the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the class structure was in favor of a white demographic. This was an unfair and exploitative system. I want to explore the Marxist lens as it is important analytical device that we must use to understand and to prevent exploitation systems.

Psychoanalytic Lens- Why I Chose This Lens

For this project, I chose the Psychoanalytic lens. This lens is of particular interest to me because close reading the text for a character’s less obvious motivations and analyzing why they made the choices they did is a fascinating way of reading the text. I have used this lens for previous English projects and liked the way those essays turned out. Another lens that I had considered was the Marxist Lens, because power dynamics between characters of different social statuses are often a large component in how they speak and react. From this project, I wish to know more about how the characters in Huckleberry Finn and Song of Solomon are influenced by their subconscious desires, and how their actions reveal their inner workings. By using this lens, I hope to gain a deeper understanding of how people translate their thoughts into actions, which is something that I will value for a long time to come.

The Racial Cultural Lens- Why I Chose This Lens

    The Critical Lens that I decided to do was The Racial Cultural Lens. I think this Critical Lens is very important and for me I believe that it is something that could affect the story also within the characters that could change the reader’s viewpoint on the story. My previous experience with this lens is that I have noticed certain roles played within certain race of people. It's interesting to see these actions being performed because it gives the reader a new way of looking at things and see the significance of race. Another interesting reason why I chose this Lens it is because if the book it's older, race could be interpreted differently because of the era it was written. When this is performed, we are able to see the difference of than and now within being able to see how much things have changed such as also seeing what has really changed.

Feminist Lens - Why I Chose This Lens

There are many critical lenses to consider when reading a text, each of which serves the purpose of changing the light in which the literature is perceived. For this project I decided to focus specifically on the Feminist lens, which addresses how differences in gender are recognized, the attitudes in which they are each treated as opposed to one another, and also how the gender of the author himself may influence these attitudes. I chose to focus on this lens because as a woman myself, I feel that I will be able to relate to the subject a little easier than the other lenses, which I have little in common with and have less-so to discuss. Furthermore, I already take notice of inequity between the genders in our society today so it should not be all that difficult to pick up on and discuss the issue as presented by the far-less progressive societal context in which Huckleberry Finn’s story is set. Through the course of this project I hope to advance my ability to recognize and interpret my own understanding of gender roles, inequality, and perception in literature and use this better understanding to enrich my voice and apply it to the society that I live in today.