Context of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
GeographicalThe book is set in America during the 1840s, in St. Petersburg, Missouri. St. Petersburg is significant as it is considered to be the 'Gateway to heaven'. Inspiration for the book has come from Twain's experience as a riverboat pilot, on the banks of the Mississippi River. This book can also show the journey of Twain's life experience as a metaphor.
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HistoricalThe book was set during the 1840s where slavery was not abolished. throughout the novel, Twain talks about families owning slaves. Novel was written before the civil war which was in 1861-1865, between the north (who were against slavery) and the south (who opposed to slavery as they gained alot from the cotton field production in America. there was a huge language barrier between slaves and owners, slaves spoke a language called 'pidgeon'.
Civil war, was after the book which was the first industrial war, this was a very bloody war and many families were split. |
BiographicalTwain had many experiences in his lifetime, working as a journalist for newspapers in several states such as: New York and Philadelphia. This meant that he met many people and heard many stories which helped him in writing the novel, as he would meet people with different idiolect and dialects which made his novel realistic. 1859, where he became a riverboat pilot, on the Mississippi river was cruicial for his novel, as the book is set in the same geographical setting.
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LiteraryTwain is known for his colloquial speech and critism. the novel took a total of 7 years to write, as he claimed he wanted the novel to 'come to him'. The use of ebonics is embedded in the novel, to create the realistic effect.
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SocialAs the North became increasingly democratic, the South continued to adhere to the old, almost feudal social order. At the top were a select few, extremely wealthy, white plantation owners who controlled the southern and represented the South in Congress. Then came the farmers who owned one or two slaves, followed by the poor and sometimes landless whites. Black slaves were confined to the bottom of the social hierarchy. Though slaves did the bulk of the manual labor on the largest cotton plantations, not all whites owned slaves. In fact, only about one in four southern males owned slaves in the 1850s, and those men usually owned only one or two slaves. Most southern whites were poor subsistence farmers who grew food only for their own use.
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Economic In the 1840s, The Cotton Gin revolutionised the southern tobacco industry in America. therefore the requirement of slaves in the Southern, due to the cotton and tobacco industry.The Cotton Kingdom developed into a huge agricultural factory making quick profits. The use of the Mississippi river is crucial as it was the best transport of goods, this was put out of bounds during the Civil war. The South was producing 75 percent of the cotton supply used in British textile factories. In the north there was a market revolution as more Americans moved to large cities to find work and leaving farms as the size of the major cities tripled.
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Tom Sawyer
Before reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is the first book which was also written by Mark Twain.
Twain's next major publication was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which drew on his youth in Hannibal. Tom Sawyer was modeled on Twain as a child, with traces of two schoolmates, John Briggs and Will Bowen. The book also introduced in a supporting role Huckleberry Finn, based on Twain's boyhood friend Tom Blankenship.
He toned down the large-scale social satire that characterized many of his earlier works, choosing instead to depict the sustained development of a single, central character. Twain had originally intended for the novel to follow Tom into adulthood and conclude with his return to St. Petersburg after many years away. But he was never able to get his hero out of boyhood, however, and the novel ends with its protagonist still preparing to make the transition into adult life.
Twain based The Adventures of Tom Sawyer largely on his personal memories of growing up in Hannibal in the 1840s. In his preface to the novel, he states that “most of the adventures recorded in this book really occurred” and that the character of Tom Sawyer has a basis in “a combination . . . of three boys whom I knew.” Indeed, nearly every figure in the novel comes from the young Twain’s village experience: Aunt Polly shares many characteristics with Twain’s mother; Mary is based on Twain’s sister Pamela; and Sid resembles Twain’s younger brother, Henry. Huck Finn, the Widow Douglas, and even Injun Joe also have real-life counterparts, although the actual Injun Joe was more of a harmless drunk than a murderer.
As he was heavily influenced from his experience on the old Mississippi, before the Civil war in 1861 to 1865. He claimed to of retained a picture of it which was as clear and vivid as a photograph. He also worked as a steamboat pilot in his early manhood which also influenced him .
Twain's next major publication was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which drew on his youth in Hannibal. Tom Sawyer was modeled on Twain as a child, with traces of two schoolmates, John Briggs and Will Bowen. The book also introduced in a supporting role Huckleberry Finn, based on Twain's boyhood friend Tom Blankenship.
He toned down the large-scale social satire that characterized many of his earlier works, choosing instead to depict the sustained development of a single, central character. Twain had originally intended for the novel to follow Tom into adulthood and conclude with his return to St. Petersburg after many years away. But he was never able to get his hero out of boyhood, however, and the novel ends with its protagonist still preparing to make the transition into adult life.
Twain based The Adventures of Tom Sawyer largely on his personal memories of growing up in Hannibal in the 1840s. In his preface to the novel, he states that “most of the adventures recorded in this book really occurred” and that the character of Tom Sawyer has a basis in “a combination . . . of three boys whom I knew.” Indeed, nearly every figure in the novel comes from the young Twain’s village experience: Aunt Polly shares many characteristics with Twain’s mother; Mary is based on Twain’s sister Pamela; and Sid resembles Twain’s younger brother, Henry. Huck Finn, the Widow Douglas, and even Injun Joe also have real-life counterparts, although the actual Injun Joe was more of a harmless drunk than a murderer.
As he was heavily influenced from his experience on the old Mississippi, before the Civil war in 1861 to 1865. He claimed to of retained a picture of it which was as clear and vivid as a photograph. He also worked as a steamboat pilot in his early manhood which also influenced him .