Quotation Response 10/15

Mark Twain: "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" p. 18

1. "Jim was monstrous proud about it, and he got so he wouldn't hardly notice the other niggers. Niggers would come miles to hear jim tell about it, and he was more looked up to than any nigger in that country."

This exerpt refers to "Nigger Jim," who was watching the kitchen at the widow's house when Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn were creeping by, attempting to sneak Huck off the premise. He tripped on a root though, startling Jim. He knew he heard something so he attempted to listen for the hooligans. They stayed quiet, though, but eventually Jim came from the doorway and leaned up against a tree to listen more closely. He fell asleep. Tom suggested that they tie him to the tree, but Huck opted not to. Instead, they meerly took his hat and hung it on a branch. When Jim awoke he fabricated a story that witches took him around the world and brought him back to the tree and hung his hat up. I found this quote interesting because the "n-word" is used so loosely in the book. Today, it is considered derogatory, however in the context it is not.

Mark Twain: "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" p. 20

2. "We'll keep them till they're ransomed to death..."

I think this is rather ironic. This is a group of young boys, one of whom cries, who are planning on killing, stealing from, and "ransoming" people. Other than the fact that they are young and planning on killing people, this is ironic because they do not know the first thing about robbing someone or holding someone for randsome. Tom Sawyer tells the others that they will read books to find out how to do these things. I was tickled by this because these boys don't seem to be the type that would read or attempt to learn.