Final Blog

      Over the entire semester I have read about 1300 pages. Before i took this class I did not consider myself a great reader. The only books that I remember reading were for school. I would have read every once in a while when I had a lot of free time. The books that I would read would just be some quick reads that would keep me wanting to read the entire time, and not a lot of need for comprehension. I would usually read in my room, either laying on my bed or sitting in my chair. I would usually read because my parents would tell me that I had to read so many pages before I could do something. During the semester I picked books that were quick to read, and also at the same time an interesting book to read. I read all of my books through except for one because it was a little bit boring, and it was a lot of boring talking scenes. I picked out books that I had heard were good books, or I picked out the books because I had heard of them before. The book The Jungle I had heard about that book when studying U.S. history. The first book I read Cat and Mouse i picked that book out because my uncle had told me that it was a good book to read. From the start of the semester to the end of the semester I consider myself a better reader, and now I actually do not mind sitting down and reading a good book. 

The Jungle page 301-357

         Both Jurgis and Marija are set free from jail. Jurgis gets set free because he said he just went to the brothel to go and see his sister. While Marija has been set free because the madam of the brothel had paid for her release. Marija also tells Jurgis that she is addicted to morphine, and she also says that many of the prostitutes are addicted to something. Marija gives Jurgis the address where Teta Elzbieta is staying along with the rest of their family. Jurgis spends the day looking for work, but he finds his way into a socialist political meeting. Jurgis believes that this is the party for him because Jurgis feels as if this party represents him. After the speech Jurgis talks to Ostrinski, a socialist that can speak Lithuanian. This man tells Jurgis that the larger economic class the poor and impoverished cannot work together because most of them are ignorant. The socialist also explains how the wage earners only have their labor to sell so that it is harder to find a good wage that most desperate workers would take. The man also says that the socialism system is a "new religion." He also states that socialism is a worldwide movement because one nation will rise up and crush the weaker one. Jurgis then goes to visit Teta Elzbieta and Jurgis informs her about socialism. Jurgis then finds a job at a hotel that pays thirty dollars a month. Jurgis finds out that his boss Tommy Hinds is a well-known speaker for the socialist party. Jurgis takes up spreading socialism with great joy, and he starts reading and learning all about the political and economic systems in America. Jurgis then tries to get Marija to leave prostitution, however she cannot because she is addicted to morphine. The socialists want to create a public ownership of the meatpacking plants so that they can eliminate the inefficiency of production. The socialists were encouraged to keep fighting for the well being of their economic class, they would chant "Chicago will be ours."

            I thought that it was weird how even in this time period there was a strong use of different drugs, like morphine. I also thought that it was a little ironic how Jurgis happened to stumble onto a socialist meeting. Also, Jurgis was going to sleep through the mans speech however, the lady woke him up and he was able to listen to the rest of the speech. Also how Jurgis' boss just happened to be a well renown socialist leader. I also thought that it was unfortunate how Marija could not leave her life as a prostitute because she was addicted to morphine.

The Jungle page 251-300

        Jurgis tries to get change for his one hundred dollar bill, by taking it to a bar. The bartender tells Jurgis that he has to buy a drink first in order to get change. Jurgis buys a  drink for five cents and the bartender gives Jurgis 95 cents in change. Jurgis attacks the bartender because he was cheated, and he was later arrested and sentenced to jail for ten days. After being in jail Jurgis then thinks that it would be a good idea to turn to a life of crime. He and a man named Jack Duane mug a well dressed man, and Jurgis gets 55 dollars from this. However Jurgis worries about what happens to his victims, because the wealthy man lost a finger to frostbite while unconscious. Jurgis then becomes a member of a vote buying group where he helps corrupt politicians in Packingtown. Jurgis helps out the Republican candidate, and Jurgis brings in numerous immigrant workers into the polls. After the Republican gets elected Jurgis earns three hundred dollars. There was a big strike in Packingtown so then Jurgis is urged to become a scab and work while he can at the factories. Jurgis then runs into Phil Connor again and attacks him again, this later leads to Jurgis' arrest. After Jurgis is arrested he pays his bail and then leaves town. Jurgis is now out of  a job and he can't find any work because the strike has just ended in Packingtown. He is out on the streets again begging for money just to spend a night in a warm bed. The Jurgis runs into someone that he had known from the first years he was in Packingtown. This lady gives Jurgis the address that Marija and Teta Elzbieta are working. Soon after arriving their is a police raid on the building and Jurgis discovers the building is a brothel. He talks to Marija about the family just before he gets arrested again.

       I thought that it was a little bit funny how the bartender tried to trick Jurgis out of one hundred dollars by giving him 95 cents in change for a five cent drink. I also think that it is weird how many times Jurgis gets thrown into jail during his stay in the United States. I also think that it is ironic how Jurgis earns a lot of money, thinks that he will keep earning this money so he spends it all on alcohol, and then he loses his job. Jurgis also needs to control his anger, because he had a good job in a meat packing factory when he attacked Phil and then thrown in jail, causing him to lose his job.

The Jungle page 201-250

        Jurgis begins to look for a job in Packingtown, but soon realizes that he has been blacklisted by Phil Connor. Jurgis soon runs into a man that was from his union, this man shows Jurgis to a factory that produces harvesting machines. The foreman at this factory gives Jurgis a job, the working conditions here are much better than his previous jobs. However Jurgis' job and his department have been closed intill further notice. One day Teta Elzbieta's son is in a dump looking for food when a wealthy woman finds him. She then ventures to their boarding house with him, and writes a letter of recommendation for Jurgis at a steel mill. Jurgis gets a job at the steel mill, but it is too far away to travel home everyday. One day when he arrives at the boardinghouse he discovers that his son Antanas has drowned in the mud of the streets. Jurgis filled with grief and emotion from the death of his son, gets onto the nearest traincar and rides it into the country. After leaving the train, Jurgis runs into a farmer that sells him dinner and allows Jurgis to sleep in the barn for the night. Jurgis is offered a job from this farmer but he turns it down because it will not last year long. Jurgis returns to Chicago because of the cold weather, and he gets a job digging underground tunnels. He is confident that he will have this job for a long time, so he spends all of his money on alcohol. Unfortunately Jurgis breaks his arm and has to spend Christmas in the hospital. One night while begging in the streets Jurgis finds a man named Freddie Jones and Freddie invites Jurgis into house for a meal. During their meal Jurgis finds out that Freddie is related to the owner of the factory that Jurgis worked at first.

        Jurgis throughout this entire book experiences good luck and also bad luck. The good luck is that he finds a job at the steel mill and how he runs into Freddie Jones, a very renown man in Packing town. Some of the bad luck is how he was blacklisted inside of Packingtown. Another example of bad luck was how he broke his arm on the job for working for the underground tunnels. The worst of his bad luck was when he realized that his son had just drowned in the mud.

The jungle pg 151-200

     During the next season of winter, the family are working 15-16 hour work days. Ona explains to Jurgis that she does not come home after work because the snow drifts are so bad, that she has to stay with a friend over night. Jurgis does not believe her, so he gets a confession out of her. Ona says that her boss at the factory has been harassing her, and wanting Ona to become his mistress. Ona also said that her boss raped her after everyone had gone home, and she said that he threatened to get everyone in her household out of work. Jurgis then goes into Ona's workplace, and beats up the boss. Jurgis is eventually taken away to the police station and arrested. In Jail he realizes that it is Christmas Eve, and he begins to cry, knowing that his family will be spending Christmas without him. During Jurgis' trial, Phil Connor testifies that Jurgis attacked him out of rage because Phil fired Ona. Jurgis is then sentenced to thirty days in jail. Jurgis then realizes that his entire family has lost their jobs, and the only money they earn is from begging and the children selling papers. After being released from prison, Jurgis discovers a new family living in his home, and comes to learn that his family has been evicted. Jurgis then travels to the boarding house where his family is now living. Once in the boarding house, he hears Ona screaming and discovers she has gone into premature labor. Jurgis goes to find a midwife, to help Ona give birth. After finding one, he then goes to a saloon because they say that he will only be in the way. At four in the moring Jurgis returns to the boarding house, and he discovers that the baby is dead, and Ona is dying. Jurgis rushes to she her, and Ona looks at him for a moment and then dies.

           I thought that this part of the book had some really unlucky things that happened to this family, especially to Jurgis. First Jurgis finds out that his wife has been getting raped by her boss. Then Jurgis gets thrown in jail  because he beats this man up. Then Jurgis' entire family loses their jobs because they are too weak to work, and because of the bad weather. Then after Jurgis gets out of jail, his wife dies and his newborn baby also dies. This would be an extremely stressful time in Jurgis' life with all of these bad events going on in his life.

Poetry Selection

Theme: Winter

London Snow by Robert Bridges

The soldier and the snow by Miguel Hernadez

Minnesota Ice Train by J.P white

January Drought by connor o'callaghan     *poetry video*

Winter Stars by Larry Levis

Last Snow by Heid E. Erdrich

Grieve not by Walter Clyde Curry

The jungle 116-150

           The Packingtown laborers are worked at an ever greater speed only to see their wages cut numerous times.  Marija opens a bank account for her savings. One day there was a rush of people to withdraw funds from the bank, because there was a large crowd watching a police officer arresting a drunk man. The big crowd caused people to get frantic and they went to withdraw their funds. Jurgis sprains his ankle and cannot return to work for almost three months. The frustration eats away at him and he often vents his bitterness upon his family. Stanislovas suffers frostbite in his hands, and the first joints on his fingers are permanently damaged. Jurgis often has to beat Stanislovas in order to make him go to work on snowy mornings. Teta Elzbieta’s youngest child, Kristoforas, dies after eating bad meat. Marija loans Teta Elzbieta the money to pay for a real funeral because Jurgis refuses to help. In the spring, Jurgis looks unsuccessfully for work. He is worn out and unable to attract the boss’s eye. He settles for the least desirable job around, a position in a fertilizer mill. The chemicals seep into his skin, making him smell as foul as the muck itself. During the summer Teta Elzbieta takes a job in a sausage factory. The bad working conditions wear on Teta Elzbieta’s health she must stand and perform the same repetitive motion for hours and hours. Jurgis and his family know all of the dirty secrets of the meat-packing industry. The most spoiled of meats becomes sausage. All manner of dishonesty exists in the industry’s willingness to sell diseased, rotten, and adulterated meat to American households. Antanas suffers various childhood illnesses, and the measles attack him. Ona, pregnant again, develops a bad cough.

            The part of this section when there is a mad rush for the citizens of packingtown to withdraw their funds, because this could cause the bank to become bankrupt. This would be very unfortunate for those who are unable to withdraw their funds, because it no longer exists. I think that it was bad how Jurgis sprangs his ankle, because he is the one in the family that has always been working in the United States, and he is their main source of income. I also thought that it was bad how all of these people like Kritoforas are dying from the bad meat.

The Jungle page 78-115

       Ona and Jurgis' wedding ceremony had put them over one-hundred dollars in debt. Illness strikes the family frequently due to the unsanitary conditions of Packingtown, but no one can take a day off work to recover. Dede Antanas had died in packingtown, because there was a bad snow storm and the company did not provide heating during work. Tamoszius, a musician, begins to court Marija. His fiddle-playing brings a note of cheer into the family’s life. Marija’s canning factory shuts down and she loses her job. During the winter, after the rush season, many factories close down and many workers lose their jobs. Jurgis attends union meetings regularly and resolves to learn English by attending night school and having the children help him. Jurgis becomes a U.S. citizen at the urging of a man at his plant.  He learns of the graft, corruption, and greed spread by the likes of Mike Scully, a local Irish politician in Packingtown.  He comes to realize that the dishonest meat companies sell diseased meat and label cans as “deviled ham” or “potted ham” although the contents are a mixture of leftover bits and entrails from any number of slaughtered animals. Spring arrives and with it come frequent cold rains and mud. In the summer, the factories are infernos. Marija regains her job at the can painting factory, only to lose it two months later. She is fired when she vocally protests being cheated out of a portion of her wages. The loss of her income is devastating to the family because during the summer Ona discovers that she is pregnant. Ona gives birth to a healthy boy. She and Jurgis name him Antanas after Jurgis’s father. Jurgis is seized with an overpowering affection for his child and his commitment to his role as a family man grows in consequence. But his long work hours prevent him from seeing his son very much. Ona returns to work a week after giving birth, and her health suffers badly.
        
           I thought that was unfortunate how Dede Atanas died because of the poor working conditions, and how there was no heat during the extremely cold days. I also, thought it would be very unfortunate to work in a place like that because it is scorching heat in the summer, and is like an icebox in the winter. I thought that it was nasty and full of corruption how the meat packing plants were selling to the public a certain meat like ham, when it could have included any type of meat. I also thought that it was wrong how many of the factory workers got sick because of eating the meat that had a disease associated with it.
          

The jungle 51-77

          Jurgis begins his job of sweeping the entrails of slaughtered cattle through trap doors. He earns a little over two dollars for twelve hours of labor. The family finds a paper advertising the sale of four-room homes for fifteen hundred dollars. Buyers need only pay three hundred dollars down and the monthly payment is twelve dollars. Ona, Marija, and Teta Elzbieta visit the real estate agent, a slick, well-dressed man who speaks Lithuanian. The entire family makes a trip to see the house. To their disappointment, it doesn’t look as new or big as the one in the advertisement. Ona and Teta Elzbieta, accompanied by Jokubas, meet the agent to close the deal. The family purchases household necessities and settles happily into their home. One man promises Dede Antanas a job in exchange for one-third of his wages. Jurgis speaks to a friend and coworker, Tamoszius Kuszleika, about this practice. Tamoszius explains that corruption exists everywhere in Packingtown. From the top to bottom in the chain of power, people take advantage of one another. It is impossible to move ahead without taking part in the web of graft and corruption. Marija learns that her job came at the expense of a fifteen-year employee. She also learns that Jonas obtained his job after his predecessor died as a result of the unsafe working conditions. Grandmother Majauszkiene, a wizened old Lithuanian neighbor, explains to the family that houses such as the one they have taken are a swindle.  No one is able to buy the houses because, for the Packingtown workers, missing even one month’s payment means eviction and the forfeiture of everything paid on it.

        I think that Jurgis is a very hard worker, and he will do almost anything for his family. He said that he was very happy sweeping up slaughtered cattle, when everyone else was complaining about their jobs. I am also shocked at what the people have to do to get jobs, like Dede had to give one-third of his wages to the man that helped him get a job. I also think that the contract for buying the house might be a mistake, because if they miss one payment, then they lose all of the money that they put into the house, and they get put out onto the streets.

The Jungle page 26-50

          Jurgis came to Chicago from the rural countryside of Lithuania. In Lithuania, Ona’s father died, leaving his family troubled by debt. They lost their farm and had little in cash savings. They spoke of traveling to America, where the wages were much higher. Jurgis worked for months to save money to help pay for the cost of the voyage. His father, Dede Antanas, resolved to go with his son and Ona’s family. By a stroke of luck, Jonas finds Jokubas Szedvilas, the Lithuanian man whom he claimed had made a fortune. Jokubas owns a delicatessen in Chicago but he is suffering financial troubles. Jurgis and Ona go for a walk through their new neighborhood. The stench of rotting animal flesh and animal excrement, along with billowing smoke, fills the air. After gazing at Packingtown in the distance for a few moments, Jurgis promises to go and get a job. Jokubas takes the family on a tour of Packingtown. They are amazed to see pens packed with tens of thousands of cattle, pigs, and sheep. Jokubas notes sarcastically the signs regarding the sanitation rules. The government inspector who checks the slaughtered pigs for signs of tuberculosis often lets several carcasses go unchecked. Spoiled meat is specially doctored in secret before it is scattered among the rest of the meat in preparation for canning and packing.

I think that the part is a little bit disturbing where Jokubas is showing Ona and Jurgis the meat packing plant. It feels wrong because of how the workers just sarcastically read the sign regarding sanitation. Also, how the government inspector often misses many of the dead animals to inspect for tuberculosis. I also, think that when the spoiled meat goes in private, it does not actually gets cured of whatever ills it before it is distributed to the rest of the public.

The Jungle page 1-25

         Around the turn of the twentieth century, Ona Lukoszaite and Jurgis Rudkus, two Lithuanian immigrants who have recently arrived in Chicago, are being married. The celebration takes place in a hall near the Chicago stockyards in an area of the city known as Packingtown because it is the center of the meat-packing industry. The highlight of the celebration is the guests, linking their hands, form a rotating circle while the musicians play; the bride stands in the middle and each male guest takes a turn dancing with her. After this every male guest is expected to drop money in the hat held by Teta Elzbieta, Ona’s stepmother. Many unscrupulous guests take advantage of the families of the newlyweds at these celebrations, however, filling themselves with food and drink and leaving without contributing any money. Noticing that many people are leaving without paying, Ona becomes frightened and worried about the cost of the ceremony, but Jurgis promises that they will find some way to pay the bill.  He vows that he will simply work harder and earn more money. The celebration is overshadowed by the knowledge that most of the men who are lucky enough to have jobs must report to work early in the morning. If a worker is one minute late, he loses an hour’s pay; if he is twenty minutes late, he loses his job. Getting fired means waiting for hours in doorways for up to weeks at a time to obtain another job. In Packingtown, men, women, and children alike work grueling hours for the most paltry of wages.

      I thought that the punishment for being late to work in these time periods were a little bit harsh, but looking back on the time period the employers could replace an unskilled worker very easily. I also, thought that it was a little bit cruel how the people at the wedding would not leave any money to help pay for the huge celebration. I also, like how the area in Chicago was called Packingtown, because it was the center of the meat-packing industry.

huckleberry Finn page 401-451

            Tom insists that Jim scratch an inscription bearing his coat of arms on the wall of the shed, the way the books say. Tom, however, expresses disapproval at the fact that they are writing on a wall made of wood rather than stone. The boys try to steal a millstone, but it proves too heavy for them, so they sneak Jim out to help. As Huck and Jim struggle with the millstone, Huck wryly notes that Tom has a talent for supervising while others do the work. Tom tries to get Jim to take a rattlesnake or rat into the shack to tame, and then tries to convince Jim to grow a flower to water with his tears. Jim protests against the unnecessary amount of trouble Tom wants to create, but Tom replies that his ideas present opportunities for greatness. Huck and Tom capture rats and snakes to put in the shed with the captive Jim and accidentally infest the Phelps house with them.  Uncle Silas, not having heard back from the plantation from which the leaflet said Jim ran away, plans to advertise Jim as a captured runaway in the New Orleans and St. Louis newspapers. Later that night, Huck sees that fifteen uneasy local farmers with guns have gathered in the front room of the house. Huck goes to the shed to warn Jim and Tom, but news of the armed men only excites Tom even more.  Suddenly, the men attack the shed. In the darkness, Tom, Huck, and Jim escape through the hole they cut in the wall. Tom makes a noise going over the fence, attracting the attention of the men, who shoot at the boys and Jim as they run. They make it to their canoe and set off downstream toward the island where the raft is hidden. They delight in their success, especially Tom, who has a bullet in the leg as a souvenir. Huck and Jim are concerned about Tom’s wound, and Jim says they should get a doctor.  is brought in semi-conscious on a mattress, accompanied by a crowd including Jim, in chains, and the doctor. Some of the local men would like to hang Jim but are unwilling to risk having to compensate Jim’s master. They treat Jim roughly and chain him hand and foot inside the shed. The doctor intervenes, telling the crowd how Jim has sacrificed his freedom to help nurse Tom. When Aunt Polly and the Phelpses hear about the assistance Jim gave the doctor in nursing Tom, they immediately unchain him, feed him, and treat him like a king. Huck now has nothing more to write about and is “rotten glad” about that, because writing a book turned out to be quite a task. He does not plan any future writings.

            I thought that this was a good end to the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain. I thought that it was funny how long Huck and Tom were taking to try and free Jim, like the ways in Tom's books. I also, thought that it was funny how Tom was excited that he was hit with a bullet from the armed men. I also, liked how after Tom made a full recovery, he was wearing the bullet that had hit him in the leg. I thought that it was a little bit odd how everyone was treating Jim very poorly, but then once they heard that he helped nurse Tom back to health than they treated him like royalty.

Huckleberry Finn 368-400

       Tom, disappointed that Silas Phelps has taken so few precautions to guard Jim, proclaims that he and Huck will have to invent all the obstacles to Jim’s rescue. Tom says they must saw Jim’s chain off instead of just lifting it off the bed’s framework, because that’s how it’s done in all the books.  Despite all the theft that the plan entails, Tom chastises Huck for stealing a watermelon from the slaves’ garden and makes Huck give the slaves a dime as compensation. Late that night, Tom and Huck, after much fruitless effort, give up digging with the knives and switch to pick-axes instead.  The next day, they gather candlesticks, spoons, and tin plates. Tom says that Jim can etch a declaration of his captivity on the tin plate using the other objects, then throw it out the window for the world to read, just like in Tom’s novels. Tom convinces Jim’s keeper, Nat, who believes witches are haunting him, that the only cure is to bake a “witch pie” and give it to Jim. Tom plans to bake a rope ladder into the pie. Aunt Sally notices the missing shirt, candles, sheets, and other articles Huck and Tom steal for their plan, and she takes out her anger at the disappearances on seemingly everyone except the boys. She believes that perhaps rats have stolen some of the items, so Huck and Tom secretly plug up the ratholes in the house, confounding Uncle Silas when he goes to do the same job. By removing and then replacing sheets and spoons, the boys confuse Sally so much that she loses track of how many she has. The baking of the “witch pie” is a trying task, but the boys finally finish it and send it to Jim.

     I thought that Tom's plan to try and free Jim was very funny. How he is going to bake a rope ladder into a pie so that Jim can be free. I also, like how at first Huck and Tom are trying to dig to Jim using kitchen knives. I also like how Tom is trying to simulate what happened in his books, and how he tries to apply it to his own life in rescuing a slave.

Huckleberry Finn 337-367

           With only trust in providence to help him free his friend, Huck finds the Phelps’s house, where Jim is supposedly being held. A pack of hounds threatens Huck, but a slave woman calls them off. The white mistress of the house, Sally, comes outside, delighted to see Huck because she is certain he is her nephew, Tom. Huck is not sure he will be able to keep up the charade as Tom. When Sally’s husband, Silas, returns, however his enthusiastic greeting reveals to Huck that Sally and Silas are the aunt and uncle of none other than Tom Sawyer, Huck’s best friend. Huck meets Tom’s wagon coming down the road. Tom is at first startled by the “ghost,” believing that Huck was murdered back in St. Petersburg, but is eventually convinced that Huck is actually alive. Tom even agrees to help Huck free Jim. That night, Huck and Tom sneak out of the house. As they walk on the road, they see a mob of townspeople running the duke and the dauphin, tarred and feathered, out of town on a rail. Huck feels bad for the two, and his ill feelings toward them melt away. “Human beings can be awful cruel to one another,” he observes. Huck concludes that a conscience is useless because it makes you feel bad no matter what you do. Tom remembers seeing a black man delivering food to a shed on the Phelps property earlier that evening and deduces that the shed is where Jim is being held. Huck and Tom get Jim’s keeper, a superstitious slave, to let them see Jim. When Jim cries out in recognition, Tom protects their secret by tricking Jim’s keeper into thinking the cry was the work of witches. Tom and Huck promise to dig Jim out and begin to make preparations.

          I thought that it was a little bit strange how the one town that Huck and Jim are in, Tom Sawyer's Aunt and Uncle live there. I also, thought it was weird how out of all the house's Tom's family were the ones that were holding the runaway slaves. So this almost appeared that the setting made it easier for Huck to get back Jim. I am also surprised that the one time in the year for Tom to visit his Aunt and Uncle, is also the time that Huck is there.

Huckleberry FInn page 302-336

         The real Harvey Wilks, in an authentic English accent, explains the reasons he and his brother, William, were delayed: their luggage was misdirected, and his mute brother broke his arm, leaving him unable to communicate by signs. A lawyer friend of the deceased then asks the duke, the dauphin, and the real Harvey to sign a piece of paper. When the lawyer compares the writing samples to letters he has from the real Harvey, the frauds are exposed. To put an end to the situation, the real Harvey declares he knows of a tattoo on his brother’s chest, asking the undertaker who dressed the body to back him up. But after the dauphin and Harvey each offer a different version of the tattoo’s appearance, the undertaker surprises everyone by telling the crowd he saw no tattoo.  Huck steals a canoe and makes his way to the raft, and he and Jim shove off once again. Huck dances for joy on the raft. His heart sinks, however, when the duke and the dauphin approach in a boat. The dauphin nearly strangles Huck out of anger at his desertion, but the duke stops him. The con men explain that they escaped after the gold was found. The duke and the dauphin each believe that the other hid the gold in the coffin to retrieve it later, without the other knowing. The foursome travels downstream on the raft for several days without stopping. The con men get into a fight at a tavern, and Huck takes the chance to escape. Back at the raft, however, there is no sign of Jim. A boy explains that a man recognized Jim as a runaway from a handbill that offered $200 for Jim’s capture in New Orleans. Based on the boy’s description, Huck realizes that it was the dauphin himself who captured and quickly sold Jim.   Overwhelmed by his predicament, Huck suddenly realizes that this quandary must be God’s punishment for the sin of helping Jim. Huck tries to pray for forgiveness but finds he cannot because his heart is not in it. Huck writes the letter to Miss Watson. Before he starts to pray, though, he thinks of the time he spent with Jim on the river, of Jim’s kind heart, and of their friendship. Huck trembles. After a minute, he decides, “All right then, I’ll go to hell!” and resolves to “steal Jim out of slavery.”

        I thought that Huck was doing a very honorable thing to try and help Jim get out of slavery. I also think that the Dauphin is a very corrupt man because he sold a man that he had been traveling with for very little money. I also, think that Huck should have tried to escape a little bit sooner before the two con artists could catch up to them from the Wilk's house. I thought that it was weird how Huck that it was a sin he was committing because he was helping Jim out of slavery.

Huckleberry Finn page 276-301

          Huck hides the sack of money in Peter Wilks’s coffin as Mary Jane, crying, enters the front room where her dead father’s body lies. Huck, who doesn’t get another opportunity to remove the money safely, worries about what will happen to it. In the next moment, though, Huck watches with horror as the undertaker seals the coffin without looking inside. Huck realizes he will never know whether the duke and the dauphin have gotten the money back. He wonders if he should write to Mary Jane after he has left town to tell her to have the coffin dug up. Saying he will take the Wilks girls to England, the dauphin sells off the estate and the slaves, sending a slave mother to New Orleans and her two sons to Memphis. The scene at the grief-stricken family’s separation is heart-rending, and the Wilks women are upset. Huck comforts himself with the knowledge that the slave family will be reunited in a week or so when the duke and the dauphin are exposed. When the con men question Huck about the missing money, he manages to make them think the Wilks family slaves were responsible for the disappearance. The next morning, Huck finds Mary Jane crying in her bedroom. All her joy about the trip to England has given way to distress over the separation of the slave family. Huck instructs Mary Jane to leave without seeing her “uncles,” for her innocent face would give away their secret. Huck leaves her a note with the location of the money. She promises to remember him forever and to pray for him. In retrospect, Huck tells us that he has never seen Mary Jane since but that he thinks of her often. Later that day, a mob interrupts the auction of the family’s possessions. Among the mob are two men who claim to be the real Harvey and William Wilks.

          I do not understand why Huck would place all of that money into the coffin, when he knows that it is about to be sealed very quickly. I also thought that it was a little bit of justice for those conmen when the real brothers showed up at the house. I also thought that was cruel how the dauphin split up the slave family by selling them to different areas. I also, wonder why all of these people would believe that the Duke and Dauphin are related to the Wilk's.

Huckleberry Finn page 233-275

         The dauphin, who appears onstage wearing nothing aside from body paint and some “wild” accoutrements, has the audience howling with laughter. But the crowd nearly attacks the duke and the dauphin when they end the show after only a brief performance. The people in the crowd, embarrassed at having been ripped off, decide to protect their honor by making certain that everyone in the town gets ripped off. After the performance, they tell everyone else in town that the play was wonderful. The second night, therefore, also brings a capacity crowd. As the duke has anticipated, the crowd on the third night consists of the two previous nights’ audiences coming to get their revenge. Huck and the duke make a getaway to the raft before the show starts. They have earned $465 in three nights. As the duke and the dauphin tie up the raft to work over another town, Jim complains about having to wait. The dauphin encounters a talkative young man who tells him about a recently deceased local man, Peter Wilks. Arriving in Wilks’s hometown, the duke and the dauphin ask for Wilks and feign anguish when told of his death. The dauphin even makes strange hand gestures to the duke, feigning sign language. A crowd gathers before the Wilks home to watch Wilks’s three nieces tearfully greet the duke and the dauphin, whom they believe to be their English uncles.  The letter Wilks has left behind bequeaths the house and $3,000 to his nieces. His brothers stand to inherit another $3,000, along with more than double that amount in real estate. After finding Wilks’s money in the basement, where the letter had said it would be, the duke and the dauphin privately count the money. They add $415 of their own money when they discover that the stash comes up short of the letter’s promised $6,000. Then, they hand all the money over to the Wilks sisters in a great show before a crowd of townspeople. The dauphin arranges to stay in the Wilks house. Huck has supper with Joanna. Huck feels terrible about letting such sweet women be swindled and resolves to get them their money back.

          I thought that it was nice how Huck was able to return the money back to the Wilks family so that the con men did not get it. I was also surprised with the money that the two men had earned from doing plays in front of crowds. I also wonder why the townspeople would not confront the duke, and dauphin about ripping them off about the play, instead of buying another ticket just to get revenge during the play.

Huckleberry Finn page 201-232

           The duke and the dauphin ask whether Jim is a runaway slave. Huck makes up a story about how he was orphaned and tells them that he and Jim have been forced to travel at night since so many people stopped his boat to ask whether Jim was a runaway. The next morning, the duke gets the dauphin to agree to put on a performance of Shakespeare in the next town they pass. They reach the town and find that everyone in the town has left for a religious revival meeting in the woods, a lively affair with several thousand people singing and shouting. The dauphin gets up and tells the crowd that he is a former pirate, now reformed by the revival meeting, who will return to the Indian Ocean as a missionary. The duke also prints up a “handbill,” or leaflet, offering a reward for Jim’s capture, which will allow them to travel freely by day and tell anyone who inquires that Jim is their captive. Waking up after a night of drinking, the duke and dauphin practice the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet and the swordfight from Richard III on the raft. The duke also works on his recitation of the “To be, or not to be” soliloquy from Hamlet, which he doesn’t know well at all, throwing in lines from other parts of Hamlet and even some lines from Macbeth. Huck then goes to the circus, a “splendid” show with a quick-witted clown. A performer, pretending to be a drunk, forces himself into the ring and tries to ride a horse, apparently hanging on for dear life. The crowd roars in amusement, except for Huck, who cannot bear to watch the poor man in danger. That night, only twelve people attend the duke’s performance, and they jeer throughout the entire show.

       I thought the part when the duke published those handbills that offered a reward for the capture of Jim was very cruel. I also, wonder how naive Jim and Huck are for letting these two strangers travel with them, even if they think that they are royalty. I also thought that it was funny how there were only twelve people that showed up for the Duke's performance.

Huckleberry Finn page 164-200

             Huck admires Colonel Grangerford, the master of the house, and his supposed gentility. Everyone in the household treats the colonel with great courtesy. One day, Buck tries to shoot a young man named Harney Shepherdson but misses. Huck asks why Buck wanted to kill Harney, and Buck explains that the Grangerfords are in a feud with a neighboring clan of families, the Shepherdsons. Later, Huck’s slave valet leads Huck deep into the swamp and tells Huck he wants to show him some water-moccasins. Huck finds Jim there, much to his surprise. Jim says that he followed Huck to the shore the night they were wrecked but did not dare call out for fear of being caught.  In the woods, Huck finds Buck and a nineteen-year-old Grangerford in a gunfight with the Shepherdsons. Both of the Grangerfords are killed. Deeply disturbed, Huck heads for Jim and the raft, and the two shove off downstream. Huck and Jim continue down the river. On one of his solo expeditions in the canoe, Huck comes upon two men on shore fleeing some trouble and begging to be let onto the raft. The men do not know each other but are in similar predicaments.  The younger man used to sell a paste that was meant to remove tartar from teeth but that took off much of the enamel with it. He fled to avoid the locals’ ire. The older man used to run a temperance revival meeting but had to flee after word got out that he drank. Having heard each other’s stories, the two men, both professional con artists, decide to team up. These two men tell Jim and Huck that they are royalty, but Huck knows that they are liars, but doesn't tell because he does not want quarrels.

           I thought that the reunion of Huck and Jim was nice, because it relieved some tension because you would not know if Jim was captured or if he was still running around free. I thought that the part about the two con artists were funny how the guy sold tooth paste that damaged the enamel of teeth. I also thought that it was funny how Jim and Huck at first called the two con artists,  “Duke” and “Your Majesty.”

Huckleberry Finn Page 136-163

           Jim and Huck worry that they will miss Cairo, the town at the mouth of the Ohio River, which runs into the free states. Meanwhile, Huck’s conscience troubles him deeply about helping Jim escape from his “rightful owner,” Miss Watson. When Huck and Jim think they see Cairo, Huck goes out on the canoe to check, having secretly resolved to give Jim up. But Huck’s heart softens when he hears Jim call out that Huck is his only friend, the only one to keep a promise to him. Some men on the river, want to search Huck and Jim's canoe, to check and see if there are any runaway slaves. Huck then says that his family is aboard the ship and that they are infected with smallpox, the men fearing the infection back away and give Huck 40 dollars in gold for help. Huck then feels that he has done something wrong by not giving Jim up. However he feels that he would have felt just as bad if he had given his friend up. They stop for the night and resolve to take the canoe upriver but in the morning discover that it has been stolen. They attribute the canoe’s disappearance to continued bad luck from the snakeskin on Jackson’s Island. Jim and Huck dive off their raft before it got hit by a steamboat but are separated. Huck makes it ashore, but a pack of dogs corners him. A man calls off the dogs, saving Huck, who introduces himself as “George Jackson.” Then Huck is invited into his house. Huck innocently admires the house and its humorously tacky finery. Settling in with the Grangerfords and enjoying their kindness, Huck thinks that “nothing couldn’t be better” than life at the comfortable house.

          I thought that Huck had some quick thinking and when he told the men that his family had small pox and it was best if they had stayed away before they caught anything. I also, wonder if Huck was worrying about Jim's safety while Huck was inside of the stranger's house. I think that Huck and Jim should have stayed closer together so that they did not get separated. Also, they should have someone keeping a watch on the canoe so that it did not get stolen.