Mark Twain and Mitchell's Dad
Hey guys, John Grooms had a nice column recently about the wisdom of the written word. You can take a gander at it here.
So, do you think for a book to be truly great that you should be able to pull ideas like this out of it? Is speaking to that deeper part of us what has allowed the bible and other stories from ancient times to live for so long? Is that why we go back to great novels, because they clarify our world or ask questions of it and us?
I've read Huckleberry Finn about four times now and it's always a different book. I hope everyone here reads it before you leave high school and then read it again after college. It will be a different and just as rewarding experience.
6 comments:
Well fine, since no on else sees fit to comment on my Da's writing, no, I see how it is.
I don't necessarily think that a book has to be deep to be great, but I think it definitely helps if it's not *trying* to be deep. And in any case, *nothing* should be the be-all and end-all, because that just leads to people being infuriating and smug, and then getting punched.
Also, Ed, for all the different books Huck Finn has been for you, has it ever been one where Huck and Jim were in love? Strangely, this is not my original idea, and I want to know if any non-slasher beyond one insane teacher sees it.
Sorry Mitch and Ed! I havn't checked the blog in a while. I like the article very much. Funny and thought provoking, and Mark Twain is always fun.
"[Huck agonizes over whether to tell his benefactor, Miss Watson, where to find her former slave Jim (as he believes society and God expect him to), or follow his conscience and help Jim escape from his new owners] "I was a-trembling, because I'd got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself, 'All right, then, I'll GO to hell.'" (Chapter 31)
At times, it's better to follow your own moral compass than to blindly obey societal rules you feel are cruel and hypocritical."
That quote is one of my favorites from Huck Finn.
"And in any case, *nothing* should be the be-all and end-all, because that just leads to people being infuriating and smug, and then getting punched."
I'm not feeling original enough to say much of my own today, but I very much agree with this.
I don't really go for the Huck/Jim stuff, but searching for evidence did help me stay awake in English class.
I've never heard that Huck/Jim thing before.
Definitely, there is no one book, to me at least, that is the end-all of anything. That is what Mr. Grooms perfectly displayed in his column.
It's funny, I will read a decent SF book just because it's a nice litter adventure story but if I read plain ole fiction it has to be a novel that feels to me like the author tried to write something great.
Who and who?
I've never read Huckleberry Finn. I suppose I'll have to for school eventually. I'd read it on my own but I'm really wrapped up right now. Is it good enough to shirk my duties for?
Yes. I mean, no. Do your duties first and then read Huck Finn when you can. But do it soon.
I don't go for it either! Whiteside is just a very strange man, I don't even know. This has to be the only time a teacher's seen a slash pairing I haven't seen. Weird.
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