Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism by Gerald Graff

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism Reviews

• 
  Tabitha Gray

  I despise everything about this book.
• 
  TJ

  An absolute classic
• 
  Joseph Spence Sr

  This is an excellent book to read. It goes into several factors of life to avoid and to be successful by following the right path. I love the storie lines and the characters.
• 
  J.C.

  Not the Perfect Story; but Certainly the Perfect Edition
  
  Note: This review of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn references the second edition of "A Case Study in Critical Controversy" published by Bedford/St. Martin in 2004 (ISBN-10: 0-312-40029-2, ISBN-13: 978-0-312-40029-3).
  
  I've always said if a book has been banned and I haven't read it, I must be doing something wrong. Luckily enough, I had read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn before, and for the life of me I couldn't remember what the big deal was (outside of the obvious) (I was in Junior High at the time, some 12 years ago). I was taking an English class for fun at the university I work for and this was the first text on the reading list. The theme of the class is "racism in American culture and American literature." The reason I mention this is not because of the content of the story The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn but rather the "bonus features," such as they are, that are included.
  
  The "Case Studies in Critical Controversy" edition of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn includes the following (in addition to the original 1885 text):
  
  * A wonderful introduction about the importance of studying controversies;
  * A portfolio of the original illustrations included with the 1885 edition;
  * Twenty essays "representing major critical and cultural controversies surrounding the work" (from the back cover) over three subject matters: the controversy over the ending; the controversy over racism; and, the controversy over gender and sexuality. These essays include:
  o Lionel Trilling, "A Certain Formal Aptness";
  o T.S. Eliot, "The Boy and the River: Without Beginning or End";
  o Toni Morrison, "Jim's Africanist Presence in Huckleberry Finn" (New to this edition);
  o Jane Smiley, "Say It Ain't So, Huck: Second Thoughts on Mark Twain's "Masterpiece"";
  o Seymour Chwast, "Selling Huck Finn Down the River: A Response to Jane Smiley";
  o Leslie Fiedler, "Come back to the Raft Ag'in, Huck Honey!";
  o Christopher Looby, "'Innocent Homosexuality': The Fiedler Thesis in Retrospect"; and,
  o Several other essays, many of which have been reproduced in other editions of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
  
  
  With this edition clocking in at 550 pages, nearly 60% of the text is additional material regarding controversy in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. As my instructor said on the first day, "Everyone has their own opinions; but, leave them at the door. All I want to hear are facts." This edition has plenty of well research and comprehensive information for all sides of each controversy. Many of the essays are linked, being responses to each other. I believe oftentimes we, as a culture, forget that sometimes the discussion about the controversy is more important than the actual controversy. Reading this text is an important educational lesson, and if parents, teachers, and school children read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the context of this edition it certainly would not be banned and I think we would all be more proud of our children for the level of discourse and behavior when engaging in controversial debate.
  
  Granted, this is the only edition of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn I have read (since I was 15 years old); but, I can't ever imagine myself recommending any other edition for any other reason.
  
  Good reading,
  
  Plants and Books
  
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• 
  Adam

  Re-reading this after decades, and as a mature adult, revealed many undercurrents that I just couldn't have sensed as a teen, when I read it last. The richness of Jim's character (and I mean his "character," as in his deep morality) was so subtle and powerful, as was the darkness of Twain's satire of the American personality. It was not flawless in the end, but it was often amazing and deeply moving.
  
  Also a special experience was reading it aloud to my 11-year-old daughter -- to experience through her not just just the humor, pathos and brutality, but also to feel her indignation at the injustice of Jim's experience, and Huck's "confusion" about the true rightness of his rebellious act. Certainly, handling the dialects was a challenge, as was our decision to use "Negro" in place of the constant of the "N" word. But it was a special experience to read this to her just after having finished the much different, but equally unique "Tom Sawyer."
  
  This one deserves multiple reads!
• 
  jacky

  This is one of my favorite books of all time. It is a great growing up story, as well as a sad, serious, and touching look at America's past. It's also funny, which I didn't realize as a kid. I notice something new every time I read it, which is once a year with my students. Huck Finn can be very controversial as well due to the racial slurs it contains. When I teach this text, we focus on the message of the text beyond those slurs and how those slurs could work towards or against that message.
  
  This is not the original version I read in high school, but it is the one I got for a college class and now use. It contains essays and other materials.
  
  My students read the edition below.
  
  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• 
  Tom

  Huckleberry Finn: the American classic with probably the most bi-polar nature of any American classic. An awesome and inspiring piece of literature...until about chapter 32 or so. Then comes that remakably incongruous ending. (No spoilers here - you have to read it to understand what that means.) And that, of course is the story behind the story, isn't it? Which makes the whole thing that much more fascinating.
  
  The latter half of this edition of Huckleberry Finn is dedicated to case studies, essays, and critical analyses -- mostly dealing with that controversial ending. Some of these are more worth reading than others, but they all present some very interesting thoughts and ideas.
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  Lorelei_rox

  I read this book in high school and now in college I had a better understanding of the book. The book is about Huckleberry Finn and Jim, the runaway slave, going down river to the free him. It would appear to be a simple task but in the progress they run into carpetbaggers, a family feud, an angry mob, and plenty of other problems. The book has been banned and has carried a controversy til this day in age. It is a simple book to understand and the reader gets a fourteen-year-old boy perspective on how he saw the world around him and also how he changed throughout the book.
• 
  Kelsey Orellana

  This book was hard to read because of the English of the 1800s and it dragged a bit. Apart from that this book had good messages in it especially with the friendship between Huck and Jim. It was a good book.
• 
  Tiffany

  A good critical edition of Huck Finn.
• 
  Melanie

  Bleh.
• 
  Joe

  A truly American classic, Mark Twain writes the story of two American misfits and conquers everyone's attention.
• 
  Kirsten

  Read a second time for my American Novels course.
• 
  Sharrice

  *Sigh*
  
  While I'll admit to Mark Twain's brilliance, I was still very displeased with the ending although I knew it was going to happen.
• 
  Jessica

  Re-reading this has been a treat.