1) “If I never learnt nothing else out of pap, I learnt that the best way to get along with this kind of people is to let them have their own way” (137).
Huck realizes that the king and duke are not who they say they are. He decides not to tell Jim about this because it would only cause trouble. He says that he learned this idea from his father. Huck’s father was very racist towards blacks, and this can be seen in his speech about the government. Huck’s father taught him to just not say anything, instead of trying to reconcile with blacks. This is a very racist teaching that stereotypes blacks as stubborn. Huck shows, in some rare instances, that he agrees with some of the beliefs of his father.
2) “The duke done it, and Jim and me was pretty glad to see it. It took away all the uncomfortableness, and we felt mighty good over it, because it would have been a miserable business to have any unfriendliness in the raft; for what you want, above all things, on a raft, is for everybody to be satisfied, and feel right and kind towards the others” (137).
In the novel, the raft symbolizes freedom. It was Huck’s first chance to escape from his father, the widow, and everyone else in town. It offers Jim an escape from slavery, and it saved the king and the duke from prison. Huck views the raft in a very positive light. He does not want this image of freedom marred by quarrels. If there were quarrels on the raft, it would be just like everywhere else in the world. The raft is an escape from all of Huck’s troubles, and he wants to keep it that way. The raft is broken and lost many times, and yet it is always recovered. This may symbolize that Huck and Jim's fight for freedom will not die that easily.
Definitions:
1) “come with contrite heart!" (143).
contrite: adjective- caused by or showing sincere remorse
2) “Next you’d see a raft sliding by, away off yonder, and maybe a galoot on it chopping” (130).
galoot: noun-an awkward, eccentric, or foolish person
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