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Of course, Huck and Tom are the ultimate in mischief and going against establishment, so it's ironic that it has become the study material of forced assignments
by Raphael 18y ago
Of course, Huck and Tom are the ultimate in mischief and going against establishment, so it's ironic that it has become the study material of forced assignments.
- gamache 18y agoTom is the anti-establishment, mischievous one -- he's set up with a family, so he has the room for mischief. Huck has no family, no one other than a drunk bum dad. He's interested in Tom's mischief, and that's his strongest connection to childhood, but mostly he's grown up beyond his years because he needs to take care of himself all the time.
- Raphael 18y agoThanks. I am a bit hazy from not reading too thoroughly and mostly picking it up from spoofs.
- jimbokun 18y agoI think this makes an important point about paying attention to more than just computers in high school.
- gamache 18y agoI actually think The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has more literary value to an adult than to a high-schooler, not that I would remove it from any high school curriculum. It's the Great American Novel. Worth a re-read, whether or not one has read it or grasped it before.
- GHFigs 18y agoOh, the irony of the assigned reading was not lost on many, teachers included. What does it mean when freshmen are assigned things like 1984 and Brave New World, Lord of the Flies and Les Misérables for sophomores, The Catcher in the Rye for juniors, and Catch-22 for seniors? All are great books, worth reading, and worth assigning as the object of study, but it's sad that the curriculum is so focused on shallow analysis.