E. Hudson LongRecensioni

I know it's a classic, but personally I found the majority of it boring and a slow read. The final adventures were a more interesting read and the book as a whole does show how different the world was. Toms antics though we're terrible and cruel in the treatment of Jim and it seems that no matter how awful the boys are, they don't really have any repercussions

The purity of the first 20 or so chapters of Huck Finn cannot be understated. They capture the restlessness of the outcast, the desire to break the bonds of society's expectations, to find freedom in nature. Huck is an abused child of an alcoholic; Jim is an enslaved man who has no bonds, familial or otherwise, that cannot be destroyed by being sold down the river. In some ways they are like Adam and Eve on Jackson Island, trying to create a civilization, or utopia, or Eden, that allows them their own version of freedom.

The flight from slave-hunters down the Mississippi is the destruction of this Eden, finalized by taking the Duke and the King onboard the raft.

I found Ralph Ellison and Judith Fetterley's essays most insightful in this Norton Critical Edition. Ellison connects the characterization of Jim to the minstrel show, and his friendship with Huck as an undermining of Black manhood. This is the primary scar, or flaw, in this text. Jim is a martyr; he is noble; but is he fully human in Twain's portrayal?

Fetterley's analysis of the Tom Sawyer episode at the end reveals Tom's malevolent egotism as a continuation of the King and the Duke, Miss Watson, and the general milieu of violent and primitive folks who live in small towns along the Mississippi. This river is not so dissimilar from Conrad's Congo - we are in a state of nature, where the concept of civilization resides in the power structure and those who are willing to use deceit or violence to attain power.

This is one of my college textbooks from the '80s. I still pull it out for both pleasure reading and reference. It's awesome.

I read the Adventures of Huck Finn in high school and very quickly thereafter read Tom Sawyer. Both are such great adventure stories but also a lesson in writing in dialect. While there are aspects that are unfortunate/unpleasant in the way of terrible events and actions in history regarding 'The South' and the stain of the nation, it's an entertaining look into the past through the point of view of a young boy just making his way. Of course it definitely offers up opportunity for further and deeper discussion, but on the surface, it's an adventure story.

A collection of American literature; from the Colonies and the Revolution through the twentieth century.

I'd read this book before, but the Norton Critical Edition info made it much more enjoyable. Taking off half a star for the problematic ending. But still, it's easy to get caught up in the adventure of this book.½

Huckleberry Finn, like other classic works of the imagination, can provide every reader with whatever he is capable of finding as he reads. The well of the narrative runs as deep as the Mississippi River. Thus the book may be enjoyed by young boys and adults as well. It also means that the book can be and is a foundational document in American literature influencing many writers who have followed in its wake. The story is both epic and intimate. Over the years the excitement of Huck's adventures have gained depth of meaning for me that could not have when I was a boy even though I enjoyed them as much or more as a young reader. However, the friendship between Jim and Huck has come to the forefront for me in more recent readings. I have enjoyed my readings and as with all great works of literature I look forward to reading it again and gleaning more from its' depths.

When Mark Twain titled this Adventures of Huckleberry Finn he wasn't kidding. Huck is a almost orphaned boy living with a widow. Dad is an abusive alcoholic who shows up occasionally to try to steal from Huck. While Huck is grateful to the widow for a roof over his head and food to eat he is of the "thanks, but no thanks" mindset and soon runs away. He would rather be sleeping out under the stars, floating down the Mississippi while trapping small game and fishing than minding his ps and qs and keeping his nose clean in school. Huck is a clever boy and he shows this time and time again (getting away after being kidnapped by his father, faking his own death, dressing like a girl, tricking thieves etc), but his immaturity often catches up to him. Huck's partner is crime is Jim, slave of Miss Watson's. Together they build a raft and travel down the Mississippi getting into all sorts of mayhem. One of the best things about The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the descriptions of the people and places Huck and Jim encounter along their journey.

Although I've read the story before, I haven't read it since I bought this Norton Critical Edition, with all the wonderful supplementary material at the back. This past Christmas struck me as the perfect time to read about good old Huck Finn - although I'm not at all sure why I felt like it was a holiday book - so I picked it up for a reread.

I enjoyed this novel the first time I read it, back in high school, and then again when it was assigned college reading material. Yes, that makes this the third time I've read Twain's highly acclaimed, highly controversial, masterpiece. I find that reading a book three times can lead to deeper understanding and enjoyment, although I rarely have had the experience, because there are so many other books I want to read. This only ever happens, actually, when I get assigned to read the same book over again in classes or conferences. This time around, I was able to enjoy the story, since it had been quite a while since I last read it, and at the same time look at the literary composition that makes it a classic of literature and the subject matter that has made it so contentious.

No doubt about it, Twain wrote a powerful story. I'm reading the earlier Tom Sawyer to my daughter right now, and it just doesn't hold a candle to this novel. Using Huck as narrator was genius, and the way he captures his voice, innocent yet jaded, full of naive ethical morality and unwitting social commentary, is really amazing. Not to mention the wide variety of dialects used in the novel. Then there's Jim, who I love, and who becomes Huck's father figure (in the better moments of the novel). You can't help but fall for the rascally Duke and King, too, at first; yet their true nature is never hidden, and I was happy when they met their just rewards. The framework of the story, with the flowing river always pushing the characters on and holding them back, is a great piece of composition. The motifs of the novel are intertwined with the river and with the characters. Twain's craftsmanship, on so many levels, is high.

Of course, a person can write a book that is wonderfully made and still be terrible. Many people feel that Twain's book either is complicit in its acceptance of racism, or outright endorses it. This, despite the fact that Twain clearly makes a point of criticizing the society that Huck lives in, especially in regards to their treatment of slaves (and other classes of people) and makes Jim a real person that was a far cry from the accepted portrayal of African Americans at that time. Twain either doesn't go far enough, according to some, or still encourages racist stereotypes at the same time that he is purportedly denying them. After reading the story, and many of the commentaries at the end, I find the matter to be complicated, frankly. I'm a white woman, so I can't claim being able to see every angle of this issue. I can see how this book would make other African Americans uncomfortable, especially if it is taught to school children without expert handling by a teacher. Definitely, any one who reads this story will have to navigate the terrain of racial matters, and it should be handled sensitively and with understanding. For my part, I felt that Twain was trying to criticize the way African Americans were treated, both in his time and the time that the story takes place. While he obviously was still under the influence of his society and background, he was taking a bold move on his part to shake the assumptions of his contemporaries. Perhaps he could have done more, but the attempt, the desire to change things, is evident in his portrayal of Jim and Huck. The only way to come to your own evaluation of his motives is to just read the book yourself, and see what you think.

As to the format of the novel - this edition of the book will appeal to some and not others. It has a plethora of material at the conclusion of the novel to aid in deeper research into the novel. If you're like me, you'll enjoy the essays, letters, contemporary reviews and modern reviews, and other writings that accompany the text. I enjoy deconstructing my literature and finding deeper meaning; it makes me miss my undergrad English literature days. If you're like my husband, who doesn't want to be bothered with afterwords and forewords, even, but just get to the meat of the story, then this edition is not for you. Find a different edition of the story, but still find one, because this is a piece of literary history that should not be missed.

I read this book once every year. My favorite copy is a facsimile edition that was included with an anthology of American literature that I had to buy for a literature class. This Norton edition is good because it's the authoratative text. Illustrations are not included in my copy of the Norton edition--the reviewer who mentioned illustrations must be referring to a different edition.

If political correctness is a big deal for you, then this book probably isn't for you. Lucky Mark Twain--he had to deal with a lot of different issues, but the PC Police wasn't wasn't one of them.

A story that everyone knows but still a good read. Huckleberry Finn's adventures will never be forgotten.

An amazing achievement. Fathers and sons, Blacks and Whites, rich and poor, men and women (and trans-gendering), settlement and wilderness, North and South, the curse of slavery, realism and melodrama. Great scenes, themes, structure, and characters.

I first read this book at about age 10 or 11 and loved it, so much so in fact that I can still recall hearing a particular song on the radio as I was reading a certain chapter for the first time. I've read it at least 10 times over the years and take away something new and different each time. It is clearly one of the greatest of American novels.

“Huckleberry Finn,” first published in 1884, is a frequent target of banning attempts, chiefly because of its language, specifically, use of the n-word. The novel made the American Library Assn.'s list of the 10 most challenged books in 2002 and 2007.

Attempts to censor the book are almost as old as the novel itself. “Huckleberry Finn” was banned by Concord, Mass., librarians just months after its American release in 1885; they considered it “not suitable for trash.”