Huck Finn Experience

1. I read Huck Finn junior year in high school. We read it for my AP English class as a classic novel.
3. My only memory from reading Huck Finn the first time is that I enjoyed it. It proved interesting, thought provoking, and emotionally stimulating. I read the entire novel, not any online notes.
4. The whole class usually just grumbled about reading. It was high school, so making fun of the reading list was cool. My instructor assigned the novel because it is a well-written teaching tool. Mark Twain exhibits satire, different English dialects, and colorful language. Since it has been so long since I read the novel, I do not remember how he taught the novel.
5. We had timed writes, quizzes, and class discussion over Huck Finn. During discussion, the class interacted in open-ended questions with our teacher.
6. Huck Finn is controversial because of the close-mindedness and ignorance of many of its readers. It is a satire that makes fun of slavery, religion, and education. The most provoking part of the satire is religion, but Twain did not intend to make fun of all religion, just how some people carry about their religious lives. The legalistic aspect of christianity in the 19th century stifled many people's belief in God.
7. Huck Finn is still relevant. History repeats itself, which means history in novel form should still be taught. While most people will not face the same obstacles as Huck, we will still face many choices in life and have to go against norms.
8. The flaws can be found in the original easiness in which slavery is portrayed and the false representation of stuck-up Christians.

Huckleberry Finn: Difficult Choices

Throughout the novel, Huckleberry Finn, Huck is faced with many difficult choices of right and wrong. He forms opinions about religion, education, and slavery. Ultimately, Huck is used by Mark Twain as a simple mouthpiece to show the hypocrisy of social norms in the 19th century.

Growing up in the south with no family support or any moral compass instilled within in him, Huck relied on his own wit and thoughts. In his mind, God appeared impersonal and demanding, an education seemed worthless, and slavery a strange norm. While reading the book, I rooted for Huck to save himself and Jim from the adult world's continual injustices. His simplistic mind grasped the importance of human life more than "educated" Miss Watson, the Judge, or any of the other "well-meaning" townspeople.

The first time we see Huck come-of-age in his mindset about living is when he escapes from Pap. The new judge's ruling to have Pap keep custody proved the judges short-sightedness and ignorance. This kept with the social norm of having a child stay with their biological parents, even if they abused them. This is one of the first jabs Mark Twain makes at society. Huck escapes and fakes his death to get away from the "helpful" adults previously in his life.

With Huck's independence, he begins to transform from a boy to a young man with opinions about life and the value of it. Next, Huck finds Jim and is faced with the decision of turning him in to Miss Watson or not. After hearing Jim's sad story of almost being sold to an abusive plantation, Huck votes against turning Jim in--a second break from social norms. He forms a bond and friendship with Jim that Miss Watson, as pious as she was, never took the time to do. Huck believes he will go to hell for all his mistakes, but really he is making the right choices. Throughout their time together on the raft, Jim teaches Huck more about life than the educated society of St. Petersburg.

Hucks final coming of age is demonstrated in his willingness to save Jim, even if it meant being injured, from Tom's aunt and uncle. Also, Huck is going against the law by freeing Miss Watson's "property." Putting value on a life that most white Americans did not demonstrates Huck's final transformation. He may not have been educated like Miss Watson and the widow Douglas, powerful like the Judge, or worldy like Pap, but he saw things that none of them could see. He saw through the blinding film of society and saw how the world should really be.

With Huck's transformation and realizations about life, he finds that independence in the West is the life for him. Also, Huck comes to put value in his own life now that he realized the value of others. He no longer listened to his previous "mentors," but made his own choices and found happiness in them. Growing up does not mean conforming to society, but finally being happy with yourself and your own beliefs. Simple Huck found this by the end of his adventures.

How to NOT Catch A Fish

As a child, I loved the outdoors. Fear did not exist in my young vocabulary. I played outside all the time. My feet were usually bare, which caused some minor injuries. Since I never picked up my feet high enough while walking/running (which is still true and causes me to have embarrassing falls around campus), I almost always came home with bleeding toes, knees, and elbows. In essence, pain and dirt did not phase me. Tomboy should have been my middle name.

Being a tomboy made interacting with both my grandpa's easier. One taught me how to ride a horse and the other taught me how to fish. My Grandaddy loved fishing. Teaching his granddaughters how to fish became one of his favorite pastimes when we visited. Due to my aggressive, impatient, and dysfunctional use of a fishing pole, I rarely caught any fish. Instead, my grandaddy put me in charge of grabbing the minnows from the bucket and re-baiting everyone's hook. They dubbed me "minnow girl."I knew to aim for the really fat ones to catch the best fish. It also helped that the fat minnows swam the slowest.

One day, while everyone still had bait on their hook, I took up my fishing pole and started to fish. As the breeze off the lake swirled around us, I suddenly felt a nibble on my line. With a semi-coordinated jerk I hooked a fish and began to quickly reel him in. Due to my excitement, I reeled in the catfish so fast that before I knew it his mouth hit the end of the fishing pole. Little did I know this would cause problems later.

I called for my grandaddy to show him that I finally caught my first fish. I could not wait to see the proud look on his face. His face beamed with pride. He did not tell me yet, but how fast and unmercifully I reeled in the fish caused some minor difficulties getting him off of the hook, as well as keeping the fish alive. Fish cannot breath in the air and winding my fish before he came off the pole caused him to struggle to survive. My grandaddy grabbed the catfish off of the hook and put him in the "well." The well is where fresh lake water circulated through the boat in a closed container to keep the fish we caught alive.

After catching my first fish, my lucky streak soon ended. I still strutted around the pontoon boat like I caught the world on my fishing pole, not a little catfish. Being a sassy four-year old came naturally to me. I continued to go to the well and grab minnows out of their separate container for everyone else still fishing. This gave me a job and an opportunity to periodically check on my "catch of the day."

While watching the rest of my family fish, I thought of how proud my grandma would be when she cooked my catfish for dinner. I would be able to tell everyone that I provided part of their dinner! I finally caught my first fish, which meant my big sister no longer had license to tease me about my previous failures.

Soon, someone got cheated by a fish out of their minnow and needed another one. A call for "minnow girl" soon rang through the air. I walked over to the well, which I ruled over, and opened the lid. To my surprise and great dismay, my little catfish lay floating at the top. In an agitated voice I called for my grandaddy. He walked over and looked at the crime scene. I frantically waited for his verdict. He diagnosed the problem as the fish had fallen asleep. Of course due to the delicacy of my age, he made it sound like it happened all the time.

My grandaddy disposed of the "sleeping" fish overboard. I still sat in denial. How could the fish have fallen asleep? It couldn't have been that tired. The clock barely read after twelve! I soon rebounded, as every four-year old does. I had my minnows, the sun shined intensely, the breeze swept through my nostrils, and we still had awhile longer to fish; how could I be sad? My four-year old logic told me to stick to where my talent lay: catching minnows.

As the years passed, I still rarely caught fish. Over the past decade and a half I have only caught a couple fish. Most of the time they were not good for eating. At the age of twenty, my grandaddy still calls me "minnow girl" while I am on his boat. I still get requests to catch the biggest minnow and rebait hooks for people. I may not have learned to catch fish very well, but I caught a great memory with my granddaddy and family. When the time comes for him to pass from this world I will still have this memory and my lovely nickname "minnow girl."

1936 Life Magazine: The Future Queen

Taking an occasional trip down memory lane can be a refreshing and nostalgic experience. I enjoy reminiscing on times when I only worried about if I could play with my best friend or not. At the age of ten, my life was simplistic, fun, and easy. I left the worry of growing up for future Kara. For some, growing up came at an early age.

In 1936, Princess Elizabeth of York became the tentative heir of the British throne. Her picture was found in almost every British and American magazine, including the newly founded Life. The weight of the throne became heavy on her father, Albert the Duke of York, as he became next in line for the throne with the abdication of King Edward VIII. 

The whirlwind and gossip of the time could not be lost on Princess Elizabeth. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin forbade King Edward VIII to marry the infamous Mrs. Simpson if he wanted to remain king. The king abdicated. The royal family and advisers considered Mrs. Simpson ineligible for marriage for many reasons. The largest being her divorcee status and being married to another man during her affair with then Prince Edward. 

The Duke of York, Albert, became coronated early in 1937 as King George VI. Young Elizabeth started making decisions based on the responsibilities she could inherit at any moment. Life in the first issues kept continual tabs on the young girl. From that moment on, every move she made Life and other magazines documented, such as her first royal appearance as an heir. Laws were changed all throughout her lifetime to allow her more responsibility as a female heir.

Through the past decades, the royal family has received heat for being strict on moral codes. One can only assume this stemmed from Queen Elizabeth’s early coming-of-age story. Due to her uncle’s “scandal” and poor decision-making, the respect by some of the empires subjects became lost. Living such a high profile life from an early age must have shaped most of Queen Elizabeth’s habits and beliefs.

An ironic correlation between Life and Elizabeth is that they both began to grow-up at the same time. Life was first published in November 1936. Elizabeth became an heir in December of that same year. The irony is that Life was one of the few magazines to publish about the royal family scandals happening in Britain. British magazines refused to even print Mrs. Simpson's name unless it was next to her husbands. Life acted as a leech to the royal trouble, being brought to life by their trouble by printing gossip most magazines would not touch. 

From December 1936 and on, Queen Elizabeth continued to be a person of interest in Life. An issue of Life almost always had stories on the new princess. She began growing up at the end of 1936, but by the time of WWII at age 18 she was acting as Counselor of State. She continued to be groomed to accede the throne all starting with one man’s abdication of the British throne. Life has become a staple magazine in American culture. Both came "of age" in the tumultuous year of 1936.