Huck Finn 9: 185-209

1) “I reckon a body that ups and tells the truth when he is in a tight place, is taking considerable many resks, though I ain't had no experience, and can't say for certain; but it looks so to me, anyway; and yet here's a case where I'm blest if it don't look to me like the truth is better, and actuly safer, than a lie”(200).

 

            Huck is again torn between telling the truth or lying. He had already decided previously that he would do whatever is the most advantageous at the time. He chooses to tell Mary Jane the truth about the king and the duke. This shows that Huck’s morals are in proper order. He cannot deal with the king and the duke tricking these innocent people, and stealing all of their possessions. One of the reasons he cannot let them get away with it is his attraction to Mary Jane. Because Huck loves her he chooses to tell the truth. Mary Jane is a good influence on Huck because she inspires him to do the right thing. Huck may go on making the right choices because of Mary Jane, or he may be doing the right thing just because it happens to be the most beneficial at the time.

 

2) “I reckon I’ve thought of her a many and a many and a million times, and of her saying she would pray for me; and if ever I’d a thought it would do any good for me to pray for her, blamed if I wouldn’t a done it or bust” (204).

 

            Huck says that even though he never saw Mary Jane again after she left, he thought about her many times. She offers to pray for him and he would do the same for her if he thought there was any point to do so. This shows that the widow and Ms. Watson’s teachings on prayer have influenced Huck. He appreciates the fact that Mary Jane will pray for him because he has been taught the importance of prayer. However, Huck shows that he still does not fully understand prayer. He does not think that praying for Mary Jane will have any positive effects, so he does not decide to pray for her. Huck still thinks that prayer only works for the right kind of people.

 

Definitions:

1) “They had borrowed a melodeom” (194).

melodeum: noun- a kind of accordion

2) “March off like a passel o' fools and leave eight or nine thous'n' dollars’”(190).

passel: noun- a large quantity or group