| Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Including the Omitted, Long, Brilliant Raft Chapter, With the Final "Tom Sawyer" Section, Abridged |  | Author: Mark Twain
Creator: Charles Neider
Publisher: Doubleday
Category: Book
List Price: $3.98
Buy Used: $0.38
You Save: $3.60 (90%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  382 reviews
Sales Rank: 2558825
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 295
ISBN: 0385232446
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.4
EAN: 9780385232449
ASIN: 0385232446
Publication Date: October 1985
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
A seminal work of American Literature that still commands deep praise and still elicits controversy, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is essential to the understanding of the American soul. The recent discovery of the first half of Twain's manuscript, long thought lost, made front-page news. And this unprecedented edition, which contains for the first time omitted episodes and other variations present in the first half of the handwritten manuscript, as well as facsimile reproductions of thirty manuscript pages, is indispensable to a full understanding of the novel. The changes, deletions, and additions made in the first half of the manuscript indicate that Mark Twain frequently checked his impulse to write an even darker, more confrontational book than the one he finally published.
Book Description
'Cordially hated and dreaded by all the mothers of the town because he was idle, and lawless, vulgar, and bad - and because all their children admired him so', Huckleberry Finn, the fourteen-year-old son of the town drunkard, joins runaway slave Jim on an exciting journey down the mighty Mississippi River on a raft.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 377 more reviews...
 American Classic June 22, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Twain's Huckleberry Finn has derived much controversy from its use of the "n" word in the dialogue as well as what some believe are stereotyped characters within the novel. As some have noted in defense of Twain, Twain's main object was to portray and depict the typical Southern dialect of this time period, and so his use of the word was to mainly show that this was a common expression used. This "overuse" of the word is most obviously an attempt at debunking the idea that people should speak this way. What some forget while reading Huckleberry Finn is that it is a satire aimed at breaking down and making fun of many of the conventions of not only the South, but other aspects of social life. Perhaps the biggest indicator of Twain's intent of facetiousness is in his "Explanatory" and "Notice" in the book's preface, where it is inferred that we are not to take everything so seriously in the book. There are many other things going on in the novel, and it is a shame that often we overlook that a classic like this has so much more going for it.
For one thing, the novel is as much about growing up and striving to do good as anything else. Huckleberry Finn has this battle throughout the book, and mostly after he meets up with Jim on Jackson's Island and must do some serious soul searching to figure out what is right and what is wrong. An abolitionist wasn't thought of lightly in this setting, and so Huck is not easy to let go of society's laws. However, through much of Jim's guidance, Huck does learn morals and principles of life. Jim represents the father-figure in Huck's life, mainly because Huck's "real" Pap is an alcoholic, abusive, neglectful and mean-spirited to his son. If there ever were a case for a character breaking the stereotype idea, it would be Jim. After all, isn't it Jim who questions what Huck believes about him running away from slavery? When Huck examines ironically to himself is, and will always be, a "no good abolitionist", this admission and growth of character can be chalked up to Jim, who has already influenced Huck by then. Jim helps Huck grow up and be a more thought-provoking character. Huck gains a better picture as the novel progresses; for instance, he comes to understand that the duke and the king are not only frauds, but that they are lower than low because of their greed and callousness to the Wilks family.
On another level, the novel is a lot about light-hearted fun, satire, poking fun of society and just Huck's imagination. Huck is a child who is not easy to civilize; he wants to be out in the world and living an adventure, being in a band of robbers with Tom Sawyer or adding "style" to a given situation. Huck often lives life by the moment, and has to use his "street smarts" to get out of predicaments, which might mean making up a story, faking his own death, dressing up like a girl to get information or using quick wit to escape a sticky situation. He seeks freedom and adventure, and the Mississippi River, where Jim and he spend much of their time on the raft, is a symbol for this escape.
Over all, I found this to be a difficult review because Huckleberry Finn is probably one of my favorite books and Twain is one of my favorite authors. But, I think if you read Huckleberry Finn in the right light, it is an amazing read about adventure and growing up. Definitely recommended!
Huckleberry Finn June 21, 2008
This book accurately depicts the lifestyle and thoughts and feelings of Americans during the time slavery was legal. This book incorporates many concepts from other books such as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet when the Grangerfords and Sheperdsons feuded against each other over a marriage. I recommend this book.
An Entertaining Flight in American Literature June 20, 2008
How can one critically review what is arguably the greatest American novel? Very carefully! Twain, who briefly served the Confederacy was a river boat pilot, miner, reporter, lecturer, acerbic wit, devoted family man, was the premier writer of 19th century America.
In "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" Twain thoughtfully and compassionately weaved a tapestry of mid-stream American life and culture which probably did more to positively change white America's view of its black minority than any legislation ever could. He achieved all that while creating a timeless world of youthful adventure to where countless generations can escape.
This wonderful volume is a replica edition that contains almost 200 original illustrations by E. W. Kemble, which conveys the raw excitement of life on the Mississippi. It should be given as a present along with "The Complete Tom Saywer," so the reader can have access to the the entire mythos that Twain recorded.
A Tale From a Time Past May 25, 2008
I have read and enjoyed "Huckleberry Finn" many times; but this recording enhances the text and makes it that much more enjoyable. The narrator, Tom Parker, does a superb job of bringing this odd assortment of strange and humorous characters to life. He does an especially fine job of pronouncing the numerous dialects that Twain put down for posterity. Hearing Mr. Parker's pronunciations and articulations brings these characters to life in all of their mid-nineteenth century motley. If you close your eyes you can picture Huck and Jim conversing as they travel on the Mississippi, lazily wasting their days and outwitting the numbskulls they encounter along the way. Parker does an especially fine portrayal of Pap Finn when he rants about the Guv'ment in a drunken stupor. His Duke and King are also delightfully portrayed in all their vainglorious pomposity.
I was really impressed by how much value I received for so little cost. I laughed many times while following along with my text of the story. After all, Twain was primarily a humorist, and what's the point of reading a story like "Huckleberry Finn" if you refuse to see the humor in it? And Tom Parker's dramatic skills embellish this humor by bringing the text to life. Aside from the humor, Mr. Parker elicits the heart and soul of both Huck and Jim and shows how their views of each change as they both realize just how human and decent the other is. This is a story of some very human people from a time and a world that no longer exist. It's like reading a dream of a foreign world.
This CD set is worth the money. It's a delightful and heartfelt reading of a most wonderfully compassionate and funny story about the common sense and innate humanity of an "uneducated" boy from the back woods of Missouri who discovers his own sense of morality and humanity while living by his wits and travelling up and down the Mississippi while meeting an assortment of colorful characters along the way. And, yes, it is unabridged.
One of my favorites! Why do people hate it? May 20, 2008
First off, I love this book and I was very mad to hear stuff like "All people who like it are stupid" I read one review where the person said "It shows how stupid Anericans can be" You misspelled Americans buddy! People did talk like that. I know because they still talk like that. I loved the language, and snobs who just turn their noses up and say "that's not proper English!" are obnoxious and pitiful! How is it hard to read? The bad reviewers called lovers of this book stupid when they couldn't even understand the book. Twain uses the N word so much because that's how people talked back then! Americans who insult this book are uncultured, know nothing about history and are complete snobs. I find Jim to be a kind, patient, fatherly figure, Huck to be an interesting main character and Tom to be lovable and funny. People say it's childish and that Jim is childish, but that's because the book is written through the eyes of Huck, a 13 year-old boy. You would have to be racist to call this book racist. MARK TWAIN WAS VERY ANTI SLAVERY! I'm really mad that people can be so ignorant as to want to ban this book. People say that Huck's adventure were boring, but they were not. He is a 13 year-old helping to free a slave and then there's all the stuff in between. How many 13 year-olds do you know who have ever travelled down the mississippi river constantly being hunted for, without any parents? I love this book, the characterization is flawless and all Americans should read this and enjoy it. Mark Twain was a brilliant writer and all you people who hate on this book and are mean to people who like it, I feel kind of sorry for you that you are such stupid snobs who can't even understand a dialect which is still used today. This book takes place at America's most shameful time in history and yet I am still proud that this is a book that represents america.
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