Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: The Original Text Edition
    Unavailable
    Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: The Original Text Edition
    Unavailable
    Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: The Original Text Edition
    Ebook430 pages7 hours

    Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: The Original Text Edition

    By Alan Gribben

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Perennially listed among the classics of American literature, Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) broke new ground by allowing a teenage boy to narrate his own story. The son of a cruel town drunkard, Huck Finn vividly describes his friendship with Tom Sawyer, his resolve to run away from his abusive father, and his decision to join a runaway slave named Jim in a search for freedom. Jim and Huck’s days and nights on a raft floating down the Mississippi River form one of the most evocative stories of interracial bonding ever written, and the bizarre characters they encounter in their journey are memorably sketched. Though comical in places, ultimately the book warns about the price of immoral social conformity. Editor Alan Gribben explains the historical and literary context of Twain’s novel and vigorously defends it against the many critics who fault its language, relationships, and conclusion. Gribben also supplies a helpful guide to Twain’s satirical targets. This Original Text Edition faithfully follows the wording of the first edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNewSouth Books
    Release dateOct 1, 2012
    ISBN9781603062428
    Unavailable
    Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: The Original Text Edition
    Author

    Alan Gribben

    Fifty years of research and travel resulted in ALAN GRIBBEN’s two-volume Mark Twain’s Literary Resources: A Reconstruction of His Library and Reading. Gribben was the editor of the Mark Twain Journal: The Author and His Era and for fifteen years he reviewed books and articles about Mark Twain for American Literary Scholarship, An Annual. His NewSouth editions of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn offered altered versions of the texts, which omitted racial slurs. He also coedited Mark Twain on the Move: A Travel Reader. Gribben’s Harry Huntt Ransom: Intellect in Motion was the first biography about the eminent library founder at the University of Texas at Austin. Forty-five years as an English professor concluded with Gribben’s retirement from the classroom in 2019.

    Related to Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    Related ebooks

    Classics For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Journey of Mann

      Oct 10, 2021

      Journey of Mann
      2 min read

    • Article

      Great Art Doesn’t Just Happen: The Millions Interviews Bill Goldstein

      Sep 28, 2017

      And then every so often you just stop yourself in awe and realize, these are Virginia Woolf’s letters! This is her paper, her ink, she wrote this — it’s not a facsimile. The post Great Art Doesn’t Just Happen: The Millions Interviews Bill Golds

      13 min read

    • Article

      5 over 50

      Oct 10, 2018

      5 over 50
      12 min read

    • Article

      Free as Aira

      Sep 1, 2017

      Free as Aira
      5 min read

    • Article

      EDITOR’S Note

      Feb 15, 2023

      WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF A REMARKABLE CONVERSATION that veered from motorcycles to square dancing, from Carl Jung to Marcel Proust, when his wife politely interrupted and set before us a plate of madeleines she had just that afternoon procured from a

      2 min read

    • Article

      Six Phases Of The Moon

      Jun 1, 2023

      Six Phases Of The Moon
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Roots Of Science Fiction

      Sep 2, 2021

      The Roots Of Science Fiction
      6 min read

    • Article

      Graphic Adaptation Of 'Heart Of Darkness' Takes On Canonical Racism, Artfully

      Nov 10, 2019

      Artist Peter Kuper has adapted Joseph Conrad's classic Heart of Darkness in a way that undercuts Conrad's depiction of Africa as a place of existential horror, and centers the African characters.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Looking Backward From the future

      Jun 30, 2020

      Looking Backward From the future
      14 min read

    • Article

      Reading and Writing California

      Jun 30, 2020

      Reading and Writing California
      9 min read

    • Article

      Finding “A House in Taos”

      Mar 19, 2024

      Finding “A House in Taos”
      9 min read

    • Article

      Sinclair Lewis, American Prophet

      Mar 6, 2017

      It Can’t Happen Here, a 1935 novel about the rise of a fascist government in America has been garnering plenty of attention post-election, but even as it muscles its way onto bestseller lists and inspires think pieces in publications like the New Yor

      8 min read

    • Article

      The Secret History of Creative Nonfiction

      Oct 15, 2021

      A common misconception about literary history is that women weren’t writing professionally or significantly before Jane Austen. To talk about women’s historical oppression, Virginia Woolf famously conjured up an imaginary sister for William Shakespea

      8 min read

    • Article

      Pulp Addiction

      Sep 16, 2022

      Pulp Addiction
      15 min read

    • Article

      Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Washington, Amis, and More

      Oct 27, 2020

      Here’s a quick look at some notable books—new titles from the likes of Bryan Washington and Martin Amis—that are publishing this week. The post Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Washington, Amis, and More appeared first on The Millions.

      5 min read

    • Article

      Those Who Left Us: Select Literary Obituaries of 2019

      Dec 31, 2019

      Death didn’t discriminate in 2019—it took down the acclaimed, the obscure, and a little bit of everything in between. The post Those Who Left Us: Select Literary Obituaries of 2019 appeared first on The Millions.

      10 min read

    Reviews for Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    4/5

    8,983 ratings216 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      matters appear hysterical on goodreads these days. Ripples of concern often appear daunting to the literate, cushioned by their e-devices and their caffienated trips to dusty book stores; why, the first appearence of crossed words often sounds like the goddamn apocalypse. Well, it can anyway. I find people are taking all of this way too seriously.

      I had a rough day at work. It is again hot as hell outside and I just wanted to come home and listen to chamber music and read Gaddis until my wife comes home. Seldom are matters that simple. It is within these instances of discord that I think about Pnin. I love him and the maestro's creation depicting such. I situate the novel along with Mary and The Gift in my personal sweet cell of Nabokov, insulated well away from Lolita and Ada, perhaps drawing strength from Vladimir's book on Gogol, though certainly not his letters with Bunny Wilson. It is rare that I can think about Pnin washing dishes and not tear up. I suppose I'll survive this day as well.
    • 4/5
      Emily GooseAmerican LiteratureMrs. J. Clark Evans27 August 2007Reaction to A Walk to Remember by Nicholas SparksNicholas Sparks’s A Walk to Remember is a heart wrenching story about a young, first love and heartbreak. While this may sound like a traditional love story, this novel was nothing of the sort. I laughed, cried, and took time to dwell on the storyline. At times I put the book down to think, ponder, and imagine “what if.” Sparks writes about two seventeen year olds, Landon Carter and Jamie Sullivan, who live in Beaufort, North Carolina and find themselves unexpectedly in love. Landon was a typical rule-breaking, willing-to-do-anything-for-fun teenager, while Jamie was anything but. She carried her bible wherever she went, wore a plaid skirt with a sweater and a smile everyday, spent time weekly at the local orphanage, and said “hello” to every person she passed by, “just because.” Through a school play and periodical conversations on her front porch, they slowly grew quite fond of each other. It wasn’t long until they spent all their time together and Landon was falling for the girl he had once spent time making fun of. Throughout the formation of their friendship, however, Jamie had been keeping something from him. She had been diagnosed with leukemia six months previous and the side effects were worsening as the days passed. With the secret out, the two faced monumental hurdles together and their lives were changed forever. While they knew their love was special, strong, and impossible to let go of, they were aware that their time together was quickly coming to an end. A surprising conclusion led the reader to believe that miracles can and do happen, one just needs to look deep for them. Sparks has a way of making every story he writes easy to connect to, even if the reader has never experienced what he’s writing about. His word choice is descriptive, picture-painting and mind boggling. The plot twisted and turned throughout the story, keeping the reader guessing to the very end. Jamie and Landon’s story is one that I will not soon forget. Their strength together in the situation they were in was truly admirable. I believe that young love is a rare and extraordinary occurrence. Sparks sent a message to the reader that if it happens, to hold it tight and value it because it may never happen again. I recommend Nicholas Sparks’s A Walk to Remember to all readers who are willing to let themselves cry and genuinely appreciate a one-of-a-kind love story.
    • 5/5
      Truly deserves its status as an American classic.
    • 4/5
      Yet another banned book that kicks ass.
    • 5/5
      A nicely bound, nicely printed, edition of Huckleberry Finn, this time by an Indian publisher and printer. The validity and accuracy of this edition yet to be determined.
    • 3/5
      This book is quite humourous and satirical, and for the most part, it's quite fun to read. I did zone out for a bit in the middle there, losing interest when it wasn't about Huck's tomfoolery, but I greatly enjoyed the parts with Tom. The relationship between Huck and Tom is quite interesting and captivating, and really elevates the story itself.
    • 3/5
      Re-reading since high school. Good classic!
    • 5/5
      (Original Review, 1981-03-18)I guess “Ulysses” pushes the envelope of “Literature was made for man, not man for literature” but I like to give the benefit of the doubt to books especially if not only do they have a sustained critical reputation, but if people whose opinions I respect think the book is great stuff. When I was venting some of my frustration about “Ulysses” and “Finnegans Wake” to a well-read musician friend, she just gently suggested that if I let myself listen to the music of the language it might change my perception. When it comes to ”Finnegans Wake” I couldn’t do it…I’m still deaf.I guess Huck is a little trying as a voice, especially in the beginning, but I think it is one of the greatest books ever written, or I ever read. Tom Sawyer is OK, but HF is brilliant. In the most direct way possible Huck learns about the absolute humanity of Jim but also Huck feels guilty because Jim is property and in the South, being property trumped being human. In its quiet, folksy way it presents us with something intensely evil face to face with something just as intensely familiar and homey. All those people, many of them, are such fine nice people so vividly portrayed as such, except that the vilest evil that they live with every day, and have created and sustain, is totally invisible to them. As a really human document, a damning one, it has never been done so well and so quietly. Freud drew attention to the uncanny in his short but influential essay, as having just that quality of being so homey and yet being alien, so human but so inhuman.Not totally sure about the ending though; it was contrived in a way, BUT I was very impressed by the late chapter scene where the doctor, clearly a good and fine man, will not go seek help for a sick child because he was afraid that Jim might run off. Again that MONSTRUOUS blindness vs the child. And the scene where the men, the good folks of the town, were talking about what to do with Jim, some wanting to lynch him, not for running away, but because of his ingratitude!!! And then deciding not to kill him because after all he is someone's property and they might be held liable for his dollars’ worth!!! Nevertheless Huck comes of age.I would agree more with the idea that all American fiction is a response to Huck Finn if it hadn't been Hemingway who said it, but I will not accept that anyone else could possibly admire the book more than I do. Still, the ending is the weakest part. I don't know who could have written a better ending but facts are facts and by the time we get to the last few chapters the really astonishing novelties have already been spent where they'd do the most good.
    • 4/5
      We read it in the great books class. It was a good book. I would read it again.
    • 5/5
      One frequently challenged American classic is Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemons.) The reasons for challenging it are various. It uses the "n-word" to refer to African-Americans of the pre-Civil War period. Huck Finn makes an important choice in the course of the book, in which he defies the law and the moral injunctions of his elders, and is shown as being right to do so. America of the pre-Civil War period is portrayed as being less than perfect--a long way less than perfect.

      The story of Huckleberry Finn is simple; in fact, the Author's Note at the beginning threatens dire consequences for anyone claiming to identify a plot in the book. Huck, having come into money in an earlier book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, has been placed in the custody of the Widow Douglas, who is attempting to civilize him. He appreciates her efforts, but feels confined. The alternative, living with his abusive father, is even worse. Huck runs away, heads down the Mississippi River--and meets up with the Widow Douglas' slave, Jim, who has also run away. They raft down the Mississippi together, with Huck getting an education about people, relations between black and white, and injustice. In the end they are back in the fictional town of St. Petersburg, MO, with Jim recaptured and set to be sold. Huck has a difficult choice to make.

      This is not a grim book; it is lively and entertaining, and filled with adventures that any young or young-at-heart reader will enjoy. Huck learns a lot, though, and grows as a human being. This is an important book; it's also a fun one.

      Highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a tough classic to rate. The story is written entirely from Huck’s point of view, which I loved. He speaks to his reader no differently than if I were in the presence of a friend, listening to a telling. Mark Twain has the language of the time and class perfectly on spot.The trouble that I had was that as an adult reader who was reading it in its entirety, it became boringly repetitive at times. It is a story more suitable to reading by the chapter to a young child, but… There is a problem with that as well. The book is not appropriate for a young person either, since the lines of prejudice may be overwhelming with the use of the “N-word” on a regular basis. Now, I am not complaining about that. Taking into account of when the book was written and the time period of the story, it is historically correct. I don’t think that we can pretend that history didn’t happen if we are to learn anything from it. It’s just that I don’t know where this book fits in for today’s reader, which makes it unusual in of itself.
    • 5/5
      I guess this is the summer of reading classic books. People already know the story from all of the various movies and Wishbone episodes. So I won't dwell on the plot too much. There's intrigue and secret pacts and rafts and steamboats and scams. Huck always seems to find the craziest events on the Mississippi.

      The best part of this is that it's written in various dialects. Huck's narrator voice is at least easy enough to understand, but lots of times I found myself reading things aloud to even figure out what some other character was saying. It really gives you a feel for the time period, more than any description would. I feel like I have a better understanding of the South now.

      I can see why people don't want this to be read in present-day schools, or prefer to read Tom Sawyer's adventures instead. Everyone says the n-word ALL THE TIME. I get it that it was the culture, that it is a historical piece, but it would make reading aloud in class quite difficult. This book has an undercurrent of racism and morality that is definitely more thought-providing my though.
    • 4/5
      I can see now why this is so often a required read in school. This style of writing is often hard to find and it is rich with descriptions that leap off the page.

      My favorite part of this was the dialogue. Say what you wish about the "n-word," but the truth is that it was commonly used in the south. I, personally, don't approve of the word, but I cannot deny it was a part of history, especially during the time of slavery when this novel takes place.

      What I loved about the dialogue was I could hear the characters. Huck sounded different from Pap and Jim. The words were thick with Southern accents instead of written in plain English, and it was done well. Writing accents isn't for everyone and can sometimes come across as trying too hard, but you can tell Twain heard these slang terms and thick accents. He wrote the words how they sound not how they should be spelt and it is what makes this "classic" special.

      I'm usually remiss about writing reviews for books I am assigned to read, especially if I've had to discuss it at length. Honestly, much of what I'm required to read is not to my personal taste, but Huck Finn is different. Even though I read and discussed this book in class for 3 weeks, I enjoyed reading it. Picking it apart and analyzing it was more fun than an assignment.

      There were some really funny moments, like when Huck disguised himself (poorly) as a girl, and the lessons or messages underneath the story are still relevant today.

      Slavery is no longer legal, but the relationship between races is still a topic being discussed today with schools named after Confederate soldiers being renamed and historic statues being removed across the country.

      Twain's message is simple and beautiful: We are all human beings.

      In the beginning, Huck views Jim only as a slave. As they travel together, the relationship changes. Jim is no longer looked at or treated differently because of the color of his skin and Jim takes care of Huck in a fatherly way. If you look at it closely, it is a beautiful father-son relationship between two that aren't related. Huck and Jim's connection is more of a highlight than Huck's actual adventure down the Mississippi River on a raft.

      I think everyone should read this book at least once during their lifetime to get a glance at life along the Mississippi River before the Civil War.
    • 5/5
      At first I felt the ending was flawed, agreeing with some of Twain's critics. However, after reflection, I believe it is exactly the right ending for this book.

      Without the ending, the story would revert to more romantic prose: white boy learns his lesson about slavery and becomes a better person for it. Such an ending, I believe, would have undermined Twain's purpose in writing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In actuality, the ending gives earlier chapters their meaning, showing the difficulty in a person's ability to throw off societal norms. It is his commentary of the influence of society on a person's moral judgment.
    • 3/5
      Yeah, I wasn't terribly impressed by this book. It started out good enough, but by the middle it was just like pulling teeth. All that stuff with the Duke and the King and all that stupid stuff just bored me tears. It was all I could do to read ten pages a night. And then I absolutely hated the end of it, it just seemed so stupid, and entirely heartless to make such a game of helping a man escape from slavery. I didn't find it funny at all...rather I found it pretty disgusting.

      And even though I knew that the language was accurate according to the dialect of the time, I'm a 21st century girl, and couldn't help but feel disgusted and actually offended by the attitudes and language. It's just constant, and Twain entirely embraces just about every negative stereotype possible to use in this book. I can completely understand why this book has been banned, even if the greater themes of it are not racist at all. I think it's just one of those books that it's hard to see past what's on the surface, especially by those of us raised to the greater sensitivity of the 21st century.
    • 5/5
      Huck Finn's voyage with Jim holds much significance and is still debated today. Read it and you decide what it means, but I'll say this- this book is about friendship, war, crime, unjustified hate and prejudice, religion and freedom and still manages to stay lighthearted. Worth it.
    • 5/5
      Probably my number one book of all time. The language, the voice, the stories, the sense of what it means to be an American.
    • 4/5
      I liked this book a lot. The experience of encapsulating every chapter into a poem was a fun but challenging experience. Twain had a lot more than just a kids book in mind when he wrote this book. He was writing to all people who were caught up in the political question of the time: "Should one leave slavery alone, or do something about this issue?"

      I however, did grow tired of Tom and felt like grabbing him by the lapels and screaming, "Grow up Kid!" But it was merely a book, and Tom Sawyers merely a fictional character, so I restrained myself.

      This book is an astute answer to the political cross hairs of the nineteenth century.
    • 4/5
      Better than I expected.
    • 3/5
      #2 of the Rory Gilmore ChallengeSo I'm going to go ahead and give this 3 stars because by the last 10 chapters I was pretty ready to be finished with it. I found myself intrigued by the plot by the middle of the book but found it hard to read for long periods. By the time I read 2 chapters I was kind of ready to move on to something else or fell asleep causing my long period in reading.I didn't read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer first, although it was referenced pretty highly in the first 5 chapters or so. If my TBR stack and library stack weren't so tall I'd have considered it. However, when Tom Sawyer appears in the last chapters of the book I'm really grateful I didn't go back. Did anyone else think Tom Sawyer was the MOST ANNOYING character in this book? Being a kid of the 80s I remember the Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Brad Renfro and Elijah Wood renditions of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer that came out all within a few years of each other. So, I was interested in reading the first published stories to see what I remembered and what was actually in the book. I read the Penguins Classics version that had additional notes for background on Twain's writing. I quite liked the intro that talked about Twain's reading history that helped influence pieces of the story. The plot - I liked the plot, except the end with Tom Sawyer. I had no idea it was so gory at parts, but I guess I always read the editions for kids. The King and Duke were quick-paced which I appreciated once I got there. Some of the small river plots were interesting but seemed somewhat far fetched for a novel so acclaimed for giving insight in the Mississippi culture of the 1800s. I definitely want to go back and read Twain's "Life on the Mississippi" novel now while taking a month-long trip (you know, as soon as I save $8000 to do so). The characters - Jim was quite simple and I thought Mark Twain may be more interested in developing the ties of slavery through his character rather than the plot. Huck Finn's morale tests and self-talk were amusing, wish there had been a bit more. Maybe I'm a character-driven reader these days?All-in-all as a historical piece I enjoyed the context of the Mississippi River and the almost short story excerpts of river life. However, the novel dragged a bit for me to really enjoy it more and seemed to be a bit all over the place with Twain's style.
    • 5/5
      A classic worthy of the name - and you get something new every time you read it.
    • 5/5
      Simply wonderful.
    • 3/5
      Undoubtedly a good book. Some heavy themes: racism and slavery, child and substance abuse. And lots of clever stuff, like the correspondences between Jim and Huck's situations.At times there are extraneous scenes and a resulting lack of narrative drive that left me stalled.
    • 5/5
      Had to read this long long ago as a high school assignment. Rereading it is much more meaningful now than then.
    • 5/5
      Classic read for many high school students. Huck is one of literature's great characters. He is street smart and dishonest, but loyal (to an extent). His relationship with Jim has stood the test of time. Personally, I think it has one of literature's best ending to any book I have ever read. I would recommend this for upper level high school readers. The language is difficult because of the southern accent. I recommend reading many sections aloud or reading along with an audio version to begin with.
    • 3/5
      Definitely a classic to read!
    • 5/5
      Wonderful! A ripping yarn!
    • 5/5
      I grew up just a few miles south of Hannibal, Missouri, one of the many towns in the US that calls itself Mark Twain's hometown. In third grade, our class trip was to Mark Twain Cave, where the tour tells about Tom Sawyer's fictional adventures in the cave. In college, I got a summer job as a tour guide in Hannibal, MO, riding on a trolley and telling stories about Mark Twain, the cave, the river, and other interesting points of interest. As a result, I know a bit about Tom Sawyer. However, Huck Finn didn't figure into the tour much. After all, Huck leaves Hannibal near the beginning of his book, taking off down the Mississippi River with an escaped slave named Jim. So it was fun to revisit this book. I remembered very few of the details of Huck's adventures, but fell right back into Mark Twain's comic and observant writing style. Huck is a resourceful boy, which is good because he is always getting into trouble. I found myself wishing that Huck would learn from his previous adventures occasionally because he always seemed to be getting into the same scrapes. But his relationship with Jim develops as they go down the river on a raft together with Jim looking out for Huck even when Huck doesn't realize it. This made me want to revisit Tom Sawyer, which I have read in years, and maybe branch out into some of Mark Twain's other stories.
    • 4/5
      This book is fun. I have heard it criticized as racist, but I generally get the opposite impression from Mark Twain's books, that he opposed slavery and racism. I don't think that was a major point in the book anyway, and it gets a lot more discussion than it warrants. Huck and Jim are both intelligent and likeable characters.
    • 5/5
      Definitely one of my absolute favourites.