The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (2024)

Online copy of the text at Project Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/76/76-h/76-h.htm

Chapter-by-chapter synopses (it may help you to read these before or after your chapter to help comprehension):
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/huckfinn/section2.rhtml

Irony and Satire
It is during this section that Mark Twain's masterful work in irony and satire become apparent. Ironyis something that happens which is the opposite of what one would expect. There are three main types of irony:

• Verbal Ironyis when someone says the opposite of what they actually mean. Wordplay and sarcasm are common examples. Someone using verbal irony might say, "I just can't wait to write this 100 page paper!"
• Situational Irony involves a discrepancy between what is expected to happen and what actually happens. What a character predicts is not what happens at all. In this section, Huck plans to play a harmless trick on Jim, but it ends with Jim being bit by a rattlesnake. This is situational irony because Huck expected no real pain to come from his actions.
• Dramatic Ironyis when the audience/reader knows something that the characters do not. For example, the audience in a detective movie might know who the culprit is before the investigator does. In this section, we know that Mark Twain means to show that Jim's race is irrelevant to his worth as a person, although Huck has not yet realized this.

Satireis a form of humor which involves portraying something in an exaggerated way. Saturday Night Live, the Colbert Report, and The Onion News website are all good examples of satire. Many political cartoons are also satirical. Mark Twain shows the follies of Southern life and bigoted attitudes by exaggerating them. Twain exaggerates Jim's ignorance of things like biblical stories and history, which makes it more poignant when he humanizes Jim by showing his emotions.

Themes and Symbols
This section returns very heavily to the on of the main themes of the book. Some of the darkest moments of the novel happen here on land, in "civilization," while the few bright moments are on the raft, in "nature." The raft symbolizes a kind of natural innocence, a Utopian society in which compassion and cooperation rule. The river is said to "gnaw" at the town, symbolizing nature's dominance over civilization.

Satire
Emmeline Grangerford is used in this scene to satirize the sentimental poetry that was popular in the time. Her poetry is exaggeratedly bad and her obsession with death is over-the-top. Through this, Twain shows the folly of over-romanticizing life and death. The Grangerfords and Shepherdsons' feud is another example of satire. No real reason is given for the feud, but many have died from it. Twain uses this episode to target the cult of the Southern aristocracy, which was often engaged in mindless feuding.

Plot Synopsis
At the Phelps farm, where Jim is being held, Huck is mistaken for Tom Sawyer. Tom eventually shows up and pretends to be his own brother, Sid. Together they plan Jim's escape. Tom, in a satire of the Southern aristocracy's obsession with the romantic, insists that the escape must be as difficult and heroic as possible. He invents all kinds of problems for them, such as introducing snakes into Jim's holding place and hiding a rope ladder in a pie, although they have no use for one as Jim is kept in a one-story cabin. Finally, he alerts the family via an anonymous note that he plans to steal Jim. All the way Huck suggests practical ideas, which Tom shoots down. This is another instance of civilization (Tom) working against nature (Huck).
The escape turns out to be exactly as dangerous as Tom had hoped for, and Tom ends up getting shot in the leg. Huck runs into town and gets a doctor. Jim helps nurse Tom while Huck gets stuck back at the Phelps house. Eventually Tom is carried back and Jim is returned to the Phelps. The doctor urges the family to be lenient with Jim because of how he helped to heal Tom. At this point, Tom announces that Jim was actually free the whole time, because Miss Watson, his ex-owner, died and freed him in her will.
The novel ends with Jim's freedom, and Huck's plans to go to "Injun Territory" and seek out more adventures.

The Ending
The novel's ending is criticized by many who believe it undermines the serious, philosophical tones of the middle of the work. They say that Huck should not acquiesce to Tom so easily after Huck has grown so much as a character. Others say it is appropriate, because it continues to satirize Southern culture, which Huck, in the end, rejects.
In either case, the ending continues and concludes both themes of the novel. Tom insists on taking the practical truth and romanticizing it to the point of danger. This causes his Aunt Sally quite a bit of grief and could have led to his own death as well as Jim's. Tom and Huck, symbolizing civilization and nature, disagree frequently on how to proceed. Huck surprisingly gives in to most of Tom's demands, but eventually leaves the society which he previously bowed to.
The ending also includes some dark moments of irony. Despite all that Huck had learned, he still believes that Jim's race is inferior. It is merely Jim who deserves dignity, because he is "white inside." This is ironic because it goes against what the reader would expect after Huck ripped up the letter. Tom, who has lost the main point of saving Jim, also accuses Huck of "wandering off on a side issue" (that is, the expedient escape of his friend). Huck gives in to Tom's demands. This is more irony because the reader knows, in reality, that it is Tom who is distracted from what it really important.