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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Education Guide 2012-2013 Season

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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Education Guide

2012-2013 Season

Classical Theatre Project - theCTP.ca15

At Classical Theatre Project,

we believe that young people should experience classic

works live.

We believe !"#!$ %!&'()!%$*+$#,,$-#./01*&)'%$ .#)$ 1(.*0)23($themselves and their world in classic works of literature.

We believe$!"#!$-4$&%2)0$!"(#!1($!*$%56&,#!(7$('&.#!($#)'$2)%821($%!&'()!%7$9($.#)$ 2).1(#%($!"(21$.*):'().($#)'$.&,‐tural literacy.

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This study guide was createdby Je!rey Simlett, CTP’s edu-cation director and one of the original cast members in CTP’s production of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Thanks to Charles Roy, our Artistic Director, for providing his insight during countless hours of rehearsals and interviews.

Created by:Je!rey Simlett, MFA Education Director

Charles Roy, MFAArtistic Director

Dear Educator,

Classical Theatre Project - theCTP.ca6

A note on the language in Adventures of Huckleberry FinnFrom CTP Artistic Director, Charles Roy

Our production of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is very faithful to the original novel; in fact, most of the language in our script has been extracted directly from the book.

This means you will hear much of Mr. Twain’s beautiful writing, but you will also hear some of the harsher language of the day. This language includes the word “nigger.”

The historical use of the word “nigger’”during Mark Twain’s time -- the 19th century -- was very di!erent than its use in the 20th and 21st centuries. During Mr. Twain’s time, that word was a “describer” of a particular kind of person – an African American person: it was often used inter-changeably with the word “slave.” Later on, that same word became a derogatory word. When we hear the word – even being spoken from a character in a play which is set 150 years ago – we hear it as a horrid, negative word. You might study words changed in meaning over time.

We at the Classical Theatre Project do not support using this word casually, or thoughtlessly. We do, however, see value in including it in our show. Much like the novel Adventures of Huck‐leberry Finn itself, this word is an artifact of both our past and our present. It’s something we need to look at critically to learn from. As we have seen while working on this piece, and as you will soon see, the book may be 150 years old but it still has a lot to teach us.

Mr. Twain was very selective in his word choices and he always wrote to make a point. In choos-ing to keep his writing intact, we have a point, too.

As the play unfolds, listen closely to how Mr. Twain used words and then consider how we use them. For, as you know, how people use words is as important as the meaning and history of the words themselves.

At the end of the performance, you’ll have a chance to talk to the actors and air your views on this matter. You will also have a chance to ask questions and talk about any other issues raised in the play.

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Inspiration for this production of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

“I wrote several versions of the script, analyzing the novel from the point of view from several di!erent characters. The thing I began to question most was: Why is Huck telling this story? “

‐ Director / Adaptor Charles Roy

CTP’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn$.()!(1%$*)$!"($G&(%5*)$of storytelling: the human need to retell and relive the events

*+$!"($8#%!$#%$#$9#4$*+$2)%5,,2)0$6(#)2)0$#)'$&)'(1%!#)'2)0$our world.

Just as the novel looks back on a world that was decades re‐

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The play examines the way in which our lives are shaped by

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A new adaptation

The Classical Theatre Project’s production of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an original adaptation. This adaptation features a cast of nine actors, who each play multiple roles as the story is told, and retold. The words they speak are drawn almost entirely from the language of Mark Twain’s novel. Artistic Director Charles Roy created this adaptation in 2011.

Introduction

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Huckleberry FinnThe son of the town drunk, seen in the play both as a young boy and as an older man look-ing back on his life.

PapHis father. Drunk, dangerous, broke, racist and illiterate. He tries to claim custody of Huck.

Tom SaywerHuck’s best friend, a fan of outlandish adventure and wild schemes.

The Widow Douglas and Miss WatsonTwo older sisters, Huck’s guardians. They aim to civilize him, and teach him about religion and society.

JimMiss Watson’s slave – Jim escapes to pursue his dream of "nding freedom and reuniting with his wife and children.

Judge ThatcherAdvisor to Huck and custodian of his money, he "ghts to protect Huck from Pap.

King and DukeA pair of con men who enlist Huck and Jim in a number of swindles as they travel down the river. They eventually betray Jim, and sell him to Uncle Silas.

Mary-Jane and JoannaSisters whom King and Duke attempt to con out of their inheritance. Huck falls in love with Mary-Jane and betrays the swindler’s scheme.

Doctor RobinsonFriend to Mary-Jane, who recognizes that King and Duke are frauds. He warns Mary-Jan-against trusting them.

Aunt Sally and Uncle SilasTom Sawyer’s aunt and uncle. Uncle Silas purchases Jim from King and Duke for $40.

Also a Preacher and various doctors, farmers, townspeople and slave hunters.

CharactersPeople you will meet in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

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We meet Huckleberry Finn, seeing him both as a boy AND as an older man looking back on his life. We learn that as a result of a previous series of adventures with his friend, Tom Sawyer, the young Huck has a fortune of six thousand dollars – all gold – which is being held for him in trust. He’s being cared for by the Widow Douglas and her sister, Miss Watson, and feels smothered by their attempts to “sivilize” him with good manners, church and school.

Huck’s drunken father returns to town and demands Huck’s money. The Widow tries to get custody of Huck, and to safeguard his money. But Pap kidnaps Huck and hides away in a cabin in the woods. Huck eventually escapes from Pap by faking his own death, and hides out on Jackson Island, in the middle of the Mississippi.

Huck encounters Jim, one of Miss Watson’s slaves, on the island. Jim has run away after hearing of Miss Watson’s plan to sell him. Huck is uncomfortable befriending a runaway slave, but he and Jim team up and start down the river on a raft. They intend to go to the free states, where Jim can work to earn money to buy his wife and children out of their slavery. Their lazy days #oating down the river are peaceful, blissful, and they both feel free at last.

Huck realizes that they are drifting further into the slave states. Huck continues to con-ceal Jim’s identity from the slave-hunters they meet along the way, but his conscience nags him about concealing “stolen property.”

Huck and Jim rescue a pair of men who are being pursued. The men turn out to be a pair of swindlers who have been conning the local townspeople, and they tell Huck and Jim that they are in fact a Duke and the rightful heir to the throne of France. Duke and King enlist Huck’s help in a number of scams as they continue down the river.

Duke and King sell Jim to a local farmer. Huck decides to free his friend. When he arrives at the farm, he discovers that Jim is being held by Tom Sawyer’s Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas. Aunt Sally mistakes Huck for Tom, and then the real Tom arrives; he pretends to be his own younger brother, Sid. Tom’s adventurous imagination invents a wild plan to free Jim, a scheme that involves all kinds of unnecessary complications from the adventure books he’s read. Jim is eventually freed, but as they are pursued, Tom is shot in the leg. Jim, at the risk of his own freedom, demands that they call the doctor to get help for the wounded boy.

Tom reveals that Jim has in fact been free all along; his owner, Miss Watson, has died and set him free in her will. Tom knew all along that Jim was a free man, and plotted the crazy escape as a game, an adventure…

Synopsis

The events of the play

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Huck FinnMark Twain wrote Adventures of Huckleberry Finn nearly twenty years after the end of the Ameri-

can Civil War, between 1876 and the early 1880’s. The novel was "rst published in 1884, and de-

picted a world that had, in theory, passed into history.

Huckleberry Finn begins in the "ctional town of St. Petersburg, Missouri, based on Mark Twain’s

boyhood home town, Hannibal. Missouri was a “slave” state that remained part of the Union dur-

ing the Civil War, although many Missourians fought for the Confederacy. The states surrounding

Missouri were “free” states, and abolitionists from Iowa and Illinois frequently came to the assis-

tance of slaves escaping from Missouri.

In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution o$cially abolished slavery. Former slaves were

granted citizenship and the right to vote in 1870 by the 15th Amendment. The 15th amendment

declared that no man could be denied the vote because of “race, color, or previous condition of

servitude.” Much of Southern white society, however, continued to regard the former slaves as

sub-human, and in practice, the newfound freedom of the former slaves did not mean equality.

In the 1870’s, a series of state and local laws known as “Jim Crow Laws” legalized racial segregation,

resulting in inferior social services and serious educational and social disadvantages. Such laws

also erected barriers to the vote that e!ectively disenfranchised most African-Americans. W.E.B.

Dubois described the situation in this way: “The slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun;

then moved back toward slavery.”

continued->

an historical context

“Twain had rendered Jim’s liberation in Huckleberry Finn at that precise moment in American history when barely realized liberties were being wrenched one by one from the grasp of the emancipated black

man in the South.” - Neil Schmitz, “Twain, Huckleberry Finn, and the Reconstruction.”

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Huck Finnan historical contextan historical contextan historical context

During the time when Twain was writing Huckleberry Finn , the dream of freedom, justice and racial

equality in America was rapidly souring. Toni Morrison wrote that the “evasion” section at the end

of the Huckleberry Finn was Mark Twain’s satirical commentary on this period of history, when “the

nation, as well as Tom Sawyer, was deferring Jim’s freedom in agonizing play.”

“When the Civil War ended, there was no end to the possibilities of what America could

be – suddenly uni"ed, suddenly with an emancipated labor force, "lled with energy and

freedom.

But then there was a push back from that sudden emancipation, from freedom, and

good will. And America had a problem: how do we, as a country, deal with the fact

of what we’ve been versus what we want to become? That’s when a lot of the racial

tensions that we still experience today began to foment. After emancipation, the way

people had treated slaves had to changed. But they couldn’t – it was too entrenched.

There was a systemic intolerance. People were trying to "gure out how to move on. At

the time they found no easy solutions. And these issues are still pertinent today. So

many things about the world have changed, but that central issue has not. We’re still

dealing with our shared history, and that’s what this production explores.”

- Director/Adapter Charles Roy

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Lesson!"#$%&'"()'#*&'+,%-',.'/"%-'01"$(!"#$%&'"()'#*&'+,%-',.'/"%-'01"$(

Satire and the Work of Mark TwainSatire and the Work of Mark Twain

Satire is a style in which sarcasm, ridicule, and irony are used as tools to expose human folly. Satire is meant to demonstrate foolishness or vice in the characters depicted; sometimes it is a serious protest intended to cause change in attitude. Sometimes satire pokes fun more gently and comically, to make people laugh. In either case, the audience should be left to think at least a little more deeply about the condition of the world – laughter leads to thought.

Satire is one of the oldest forms of humor, originating in the early ‘satyr’ plays of the Ancient Greek world. Those plays featured a chorus of mythological goat-like characters who commented on the action; their drunken antics and exaggerated silliness provoked laughter by mocking and criticizing well-known Athenians. Such criticism, softened by laughter, could carry a message without causing o!ense. The genre proved so popular that it has en-dured to this day and continues to be a highly-respected literary form. When done well, satire uses sarcasm, irony and other good-natured forms of humor to teach us a lesson about ourselves.

Consider television programs like 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, The Simpsons and South Park. Each of them com-ments on politics, society, religion, work and relationships in a tongue-in-cheek way that allows us to question our attitudes and opinions. The fact that each of them has aroused controversy is a sign that some disapprove of the attitudes being challenged, and the questions being raised.

WATCH and LISTEN:@"2)/$#-*&!$!"($."#1#.!(1%$#)'$2).2'()!%$2)$!"($8,#4?$$I"#!$#%8(.!%$*+$%*.2(!47$9"#!$!48(%$*+$."#1#.!(1$'*(%$H#1/$@9#2)$!#10(!$92!"$"2%$%#51(J

Are we meant to take everything the characters say and do literally? Can you think of a moment in the play when what

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Huckleberry Finn: A Picaresque Story

Lesson2304567''869!32!'"##&:;#$(<'#,'=()'"'motive in this narrative will be prosecut-&)>';&%?,(?'"##&:;#$(<'#,'=()'"':,%"@'$('$#'1$@@'A&'A"($?*&)>';&%?,(?'"##&:;#$(<'#,'=()'"';@,#'$('$#'1$@@'A&'?*,#B'

BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR

What does “picaresque” mean?

A “picaresque” story is one that tells the story of a lower-class character who moves from adventure to adventure and lives by his wits in a hypocritical and corrupt society.

The word ‘Picaresque’ comes from 16th Century Spain where rambling stories starring roguish heroes were very popular (‘picaro’ means ‘rascal’ in Spanish). Like satire, these stories mask social commentary and strong lessons with humor.

Huck Finn is often referred to as ‘picaresque’ because in the novel, Huck bounces from adventure to adventure with-out an obvious over-arching narrative governing his actions. There are many (sometimes unrelated) events in the plot, each of which is almost a separate short story.

Director Charles Roy says:

The book is highly episodic in nature. Mark Twain has a famous statement: “anyone looking to "nd a plot in this story will be shot,’ deliberately suggesting that there was is no single unifying through line or mes-sage in the novel.

But the stage requires a narrative; it’s not like a novel, which you can pick up and put down again. Once you enter a play you’re there until the play is over; to simply jump from one episode to the next would make for an unsatisfying play. So when I made this adaptation, I had to create something that was a little more traditional in terms of storytelling structure, that has a through line and a tightly controlled journey for the central characters.

WATCH and LISTEN:C%$4*&$9#!."$!"($8,#47$#%/$4*&1%(,+$9"4$!"($'21(.!*1$620"!$"#<($."*%()$!*$%"*9$(#."$(82%*'($*1$8#1!$*+$!"($%!*14?$$What do we learn about the characters? How does it move the characters forward? Are there parts of the story that

you miss?

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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is almost always described as a classic, yet it has sparked controversy from the moment of its publication in 1885. It was famously banned by the Public Library in Concord, Massachusetts; the library committee described it as “trash”, and complained that the book was “couched in the language of a rough, ignorant dialect” and that “all through its pages there is a systematic use of bad grammar and an employment of inelegant expressions.”

Eventually the book came to be celebrated for this rough, everyday style of speech, and for presenting all man-ners and classes of characters, the crass as well as the re"ned; this break with the tradition of “proper” novels was a "rst in American literature. In time Ernest Hemingway would declare that “all modern American Literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.”

More recent controversy, centers on Twain’s frequent use of the word “nigger”, which appears over 200 times in the novel. Many argue that the use of the word in a contemporary classroom is harmful and hurtful to students. Others argue against censorship, note the book’s status as a classic, and suggest a variety of historical and literary contexts to support inclusion of the word. A 2011 printing of the book edited by Alan Gribben replaces all 219 instances of the word “nigger” with “slave”, fueling the "re of the controversy.

In this adaptation of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, director Charles Roy has chosen to retain some uses of the word “nigger.”

continued->

Controversial “Trash” or “Celebrated” Classic?

LessonThe Language of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

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Director Charles Roy says:

“The world has changed dramatically since the novel was written. The connotations and the depth of the impact of the word “nigger impact has changed .

It’s now a word that has oppression layered into it, has power and struggle layered into it. But it seemed dishonest to me to do the book without acknowledging the fact of the word. If we’re going to do a play about a man looking back on his life, he should also look back on the words he used to use, and how and why that may have changed. I wanted to honor the book as it was written as much as I possibly could.

I chose to preserve the utterance of the word in the script, but use it for its modern dramatic impact. A lot of time it comes out of the mouths of characters we are meant to dislike – so we use it as a dramatic tool that intends to both honor the past, and also recognizes what its impact could be today.”

Lesson0*&'C"(<D"<&',.'E)F&(#D%&?',.'GDH-@&A&%%I'J$((K'H,(#$(D&)

Discussion Questions

Do you agree with the director’s choice to use the word “nigger” in the play? Can you think of reasons it should be included? Reasons why it should be replaced or omitted? What do you gain, or lose, in either case? Are there some words that are so o!ensive they should never be used?

The "rst character to use the word is Pap, who repeats it 6 times as he rails against the “govment.” What is the e!ect of hearing it spoken then? How do you feel, and what is the reaction of the audience?

Is it di!erent to hear the word spoken out loud, on stage, than it is to read it?

Jim and Huck both also use the word – is it di!erent to hear it spoken by a young character? By an African-American character?

Are there other elements of the story or the production that could be considered controversial?

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@"($%!*14$*+$K&./,(-(114$;2))7$%(!$ 2)$ !"($C6(12.#)$A*&!"$*+$ !"($MNOP=%7$6&%!$)(.(%%#12,4$-($#-*&!$%,#<(147$#)'$+1(('*6?$$Q!$2%$6*%!$266('2#!(,4$#-*&!$,2!(1#,$8"4%2.#,$()%,#<(6()!7$#)'$!"($R20"!$+*1$+1(('*6S$T26$"#%$U1&)$*LV$!*$#<*2'$-(2)0$%*,'$'*9)$!"($12<(1$-4$"2%$*9)(17$H2%%$I#!%*)?$$K&./$2%$*)$!"($1&)$+1*6$"2%$+#!"(1$#)'$!"($U.2<2,232)0V$2)R&().($*+$!"($I2'*9$B*&0,#%?$$C%$!"(4$)#<20#!($!"($+1(('*6$W#)'$8(12,%X$*+$!"($H2%%2%%2882$Y2<(17$!"(4$().*&)!(1$#,,$6#))(1$*+$."#1#.!(1%$'(#,2)0$92!"$()%,#<(6()!%$*+$,(%%$,2!(1#,$/2)'%Z$8(*8,($9"*$#1($.#85<($!*$%*.2(!47$+#62,47$1(,202*)7$6*1#,%7$#)'$+#!(?$

DISCUSS:

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8*1#14$'(8()'().($*)$!(.")*,*047$*&1$#^#."6()!$!*$*&1$%6#1!$8"*)(%7$*1$%*6(*)(=%$"#-2!$*+$%6*/2)0$.*)%5!&!($a kind of slavery?

Huck: “I am the boss of it all!”

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!"#$%&'()*+,&-./#+0&12&0++3&02&#,/3-+1&"-&/41&032)*+,56&7")&/&,/8&1249):&&;2"&<++.&3=>*)5&<,++&/41&+/05&/41&#23<2,)/7.+&24&/&,/8:?

T26$#)'$K&./$,(#<($.2<2,23#5*)$-("2)'$#)'$-(02)$!"(21$'12_$'*9)$!"($H2%%2%%2882?$$Q)$*)($#)*!"(1=%$.*68#)47$#)'$!"($+1(('*6$*+$!"($12<(17$!"(4$:)'$#$/2)'$*+$8(#.($#)'$(#%($!"#!$)(2!"(1$"#'$(]8(12().('$*)$,#)'?

DISCUSS:

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WRITE:

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freedom?

Quotations and Discussion

ThemeJ%&&),:'"()'6(?@"F&:&(#

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The telling of stories is built into the very structure of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?$$@"($)*<(,$2%$912^()$#%$#$:1%!c8(1%*)7$8#%!c!()%($)#11#5<($d$!"($E,#%%2.#,$@"(#!1($D1*F(.!$#'#8!#5*)$!#/(%$!"#!$#$%!(8$+&1!"(1$-4$#.!&#,,4$2).,&'2)0$!"($."#1#.!(1$*+$U>,'$K&./V7$9"*$!(,,%$!"($%!*14$#%$"($,**/%$-#./$*)$!"($(<()!%$*+$!"($8#%!7$%"#82)0$!"($)#11#5<($#)'$arguing over the way things really happened.

@"($2)!(18,#4$-(!9(()$+#.!$#)'$:.5*)7$!"($U1(c9125)0V$*+$"2%!*147$!"($*62%%2*)$*+$'(!#2,%7$!"($!(,,2)0$*+$,2(%$+*1$%(,+c81(%(1<#5*)$#1($#,,$#$8#1!$*+$Huckleberry Finn’s world.

I"()$.*)+1*)!('$-4$#$8#21$*+$%,#<(c"&)!(1%7$K&./$,2(%$#)'$!(,,%$!"(6$!"#!$U"2%$6#)V7$T267$2%$9"2!(?$$K($6(#)!$!*$!&1)$T26$2)7$-&!$:)'%$!"#!$!"($,2($%812)0%$!*$"2%$,28%S$"($-,#6(%$"2%$&8-12)02)0$d$UQ$9&3$-1&)0$&8$92./('?V

DISCUSS:

Q%$2!$#,9#4%$91*)0$!*$!(,,$#$,2(J$$C1($!"(1($'(01((%$*+$&)!1&!"J$$e20$,2(%$#)'$,2^,($,2(%JK#<($4*&$(<(1$!*,'$#$,2($!*$81*!(.!$#$+12()'J$$B2'$2!$-*!"(1$4*&$!*$"#<($-(()$'2%"*)(%!7$*1$9#%$!"($&)!1&!"$F&%5:('JIs the telling of lies a habit that can be blamed on a bad upbringing? Is it possible to overcome such a habit?

B*$f>g$"#<($#)4$"#-2!%$!"#!$4*&$92%"$4*&$.*&,'$-1(#/J$$I"#!$81(<()!%$4*&$+1*6$'*2)0$2!J

!CDE%&'F&A/0&),5=4>&)2&3/$+&35&32")*&GH;&F&A2".1&12&)*+&,=>*)&)*=4>&/41&)*+&#.+/4&)*=4>6&7")&1++-&12A4&=4&3+&F&$42A+1&=)&A/0&/&.=+:&&;2"&#/49)&-,/5&/&.=+&I&F&<2"41&)*/)&2"):?

WRITE:

Conscience and regret play a huge part in the story of Huckleberry Finn. That feeling of regret can come immediate‐

,4$#%$9($%#4$*1$'*$%*6(!"2)07$*1$2!$.#)$#112<($#$,2+(56($,#!(1?$$@"2)/$-#./$!*$#$56($9"()$4*&$'2%#88*2)!('$4*&1%(,+$*1$%*6(*)($(,%($d$6#4-($#$:0"!$92!"$#$+12()'$*1$+#62,4$6(6-(17$#$,2($4*&$!*,'7$*1$#$56($9"()$4*&$'2'$)*!$-("#<($#!$4*&1$-(%!?$$I12!($2)$'(!#2,$#-*&!$9"#!$"#88()('7$9"#!$9#%$%#2'7$!"($()<21*)6()!$9"(1($!"($(<()!$!**/$8,#.(?$$K*9$'2'$4*&$+((,$2)$!"($6*6()!7$#)'$"*9$'*(%$!"#!$+((,2)0$."#)0($#%$4*&$!"2)/$-#./$*)$!"($(<()!J$$I(1($4*&$#-,($!*$#8*,*023(J$$I"#!$81(<()!('$4*&J$$B2'$4*&$(<()$9#)!$!*$#8*,*023(J$$

Quotations and Discussion

ThemeJ"H#'"()'J$H#$,(K'!#,%$&?'"()'C$&?

Classical Theatre Project - theCTP.ca11

@"($2)!(18,#4$-(!9(()$.*)%.2().($#)'$0&2,!$2%$#$.*)%!#)!$&)'(1.&11()!$2)$!"($)#11#5<($*+$K&./,(-(114$;2))?$$@"($."#1#.!(1%7$8#15.&,#1,4$K&./7$#1($.*)5)&#,,4$!*1)$-(!9(()$9"#!$!"(4$9#)!$!*$'*$#)'$9"#!$!"(4$+((,$2%$(]8(.!('$*+$them. &@*+&323+4)&)*/)&!"#$&1+#=1+0&)2&<2..2A&*=0&2A4&*+/,)&J,/)*+,&)*/4&02#=+)590&+K-+#)/L24&2<&*=3M&=0&)*+&#.=3/K&2<&)*+&0)2,5:

@(B%&'N249)&52"&,+#$24&)*/)&)*+&-+2-.+&)*/)&3/1+&)*+&722$0&$42A0&A*/)90&)*+&#2,,+#)&)*=4>&)2&12O?

Q)$,#42)0$*&!$!"($01*&)'$1&,(%$+*1$!"($-#)'$*+$1*--(1%$W#)'$*!"(1$#%%*1!('$#'<()!&1(%X7$@*6$A#94(1$-,2)',4$#'"(1(%$!*$!"($81(.('()!$,#2'$'*9)$-4$*!"(1%?$$B*2)0$!"2)0%$'2L(1()!,4$9*&,'$U0(!$!"2)0%$#,,$6&'',('$&8?V

DISCUSS:

I"#!$#1($%*6($*+$!"($01*&)'$1&,(%$!"#!$4*&$#1($(]8(.!('$!*$*-%(1<(7$-#%('$*)$!"($81(.('()!`(]8(.!#5*)%$!"#!$others have set?

E*)%2'(1$+#62,47$%."**,7$1(,202*)7$8*,25.%7$%*.2(!4$#!$,#10(?$$Q%$.*)+*162!4$!*$!"*%($-("#<2*1%$&%(+&,J$$C1($!"(1($8&)‐2%"6()!%$+*1$-1(#/2)0$92!"$U!"(6$!"#!$6#'($!"($-**/%JVTom’s faithfulness to what he’s read in the books is carried so far that it’s plainly meant to be ridiculous. Do you

!"2)/$H#1/$@9#2)$620"!$"#<($6(#)!$!"2%$2)$%*6($9#4$#%$#$.*66()!$*)$"2%$-**/J

!CDE%&'P+2-.+&A=..&#/..&3+&/&.2AQ12A4&H72.=L24=0)&/41&1+0-=0+&3+&<2,&$++-=4>&3"3&I&7")&)*/)&1249)&3/$+&42&1=R+,+4#+:?

I"()$"($,(#1)%$!"#!$T26$"#%$1&)$#9#47$K&./$2%$!*1)$-(!9(()$"2%$'&!4$!*$!&1)$T26$2)$#)'$"2%$'(%21($!*$-($+#2!"+&,$!*$"2%$friend. This tension between what society demands and what one feels to be right is a steady presence in the play.

DISCUSS, or WRITE:

I"2."$2%$01(#!(1$d$*&1$*-,20#5*)$!*$*)($8(1%*)$*1$*&1$*-,20#5*)$!*$%*.2(!4$#!$,#10(JK#<($4*&$(<(1$0*)($#0#2)%!$!"($01#2)7$'*)($'2L(1()!$+1*6$(<(14*)($#1*&)'$4*&J$$K*9$'2'$2!$+((,J$$I(1($!"(1($.*)%(‐quences for following your own path? Was it worth it?

Quotations and Discussion

Theme5,(?H$&(H&K'LD$@#K'"()'J%&&),:',.'0*,D<*#

Classical Theatre Project - theCTP.ca12

!CDE%&'H..&,=>*)6&)*+46&F9..&>2&)2&*+..S?

K&./$:)'%$!"#!$"($2%$&)#-,($!*$-(!1#4$"2%$+12()'7$(<()$!"*&0"$2!$6(#)%$0*2)0$#0#2)%!$(<(14!"2)0$"(=%$-(()$!#&0"!7$(<(14!"2)0$!"#!$"($/)*9%$2%$U120"!V?$$Q)$#$9*1,'$!"#!$%((%$T26$#%$,(%%$!"#)$"&6#)7$K&./$)*9$%((%$"26$#%$<(14$"&6#)7$#)'$#%$#$+12()'?$$K($9*112('$!"#!$"(='$)(<(1$-($#-,($!*$,**/$#)4*)($2)$!"($+#.($#0#2)7$-&!$:)#,,4$'#1(%$!*$#..(8!$!"($.*)%(G&().(%$*+$"2%$#.5*)%$-4$+*,,*92)0$"2%$*9)$8#!"?

DISCUSS, or WRITE:

E#)$4*&$!"2)/$*+$%*6(*)($W(2!"(1$2)$4*&1$*9)$,2+(7$*1$#$"2%!*12.#,$:0&1(X$9"*$6#'($!"(21$*9)$9#47$'2'$!"($*88*%2!($*+$9"#!$9#%$!"($#..(8!('$U120"!V$!"2)0J$$B2'$4*&$'(%82%($!"(67$#%$K&./$+(#1%$"($9*&,'$-($'(%82%('J$$Did you admire their courage in taking an unpopular or unorthodox stand?

TH@D!&/41&UFG@VW%&

;*1$6*6()!%$2)$!"($8,#4$9"()$!"($."#1#.!(1%$#1($!*1)$-(!9(()$'*2)0$9"#!$!"(4$9#)!7$#)'$'*2)0$9"#!$2%$U120"!V?$$I"*$'*$4*&$1**!$+*1$2)$%&."$%2!&#5*)%J$$B*$4*&$#01(($92!"$!"($."*2.(%$!"(4$&,56#!(,4$6#/(J$$

Quotations and Discussion

Theme5,(?H$&(H&K'LD$@#K'"()'J%&&),:',.'0*,D<*#

Classical Theatre Project - theCTP.ca13

In those old slave‐holding days the whole community was agreed as to one thing‐‐

the awful sacredness of slave property.

@*$"(,8$%!(#,$#$"*1%($*1$#$.*9$9#%$#$,*9$.126(7$-&!$!*$"(,8$#$"&)!('$%,#<(7$*1$+(('$"26$*1$%"(,!(1$"267$*1$"2'($"267$*1$.*6+*1!$"267$2)$"2%$!1*&-,(%7$"2%$!(11*1%7$"2%$'(‐%8#217$*1$"(%2!#!($!*$81*68!,4$!*$-(!1#4$"26$!*$!"($%,#<(c.#!."(1$9"()$*88*1!&)2!4$*L(1('$9#%$#$6&."$-#%(1$.126(7$h$.#112('$92!"$ 2!$#$%!#2)7 a moral smirch which

42)*=4>&#2".1&A=-+&/A/5:&

@"#!$ !"2%$ %()56()!$ %"*&,'$ (]2%!$ #6*)0$ %,#<(c*9)(1%$ 2%$ .*681("()%2-,(cc!"(1($were good commercial reasons for it‐‐7")&)*/)&=)&0*2".1&+K=0)&X&1=1&+K=0)&/324>&)*+&-/"-+,06&)*+&.2/<+,0&)*+&)/>Q,/>&X&727)/=.&2<&)*+&#233"4=)56&X&=4&/&-/00=24/)+&X&"4#23-,23=0=4>&<2,36&=0&42)&=4&2",&,+32)+&1/5&,+/.=Y/7.+: It seemed natural

()*&0"$ !*$6($ !"()S$)#!&1#,$()*&0"$ !"#!$K&./$h$"2%$ +#!"(1$ !"($9*1!",(%%$ ,*#+(1$%"*&,'$+((,$2!$h$#881*<($2!7$!"*&0"$2!$%((6%$)*9$#-%&1'?$

Q!$ %"*9%$ !"#!$ !"#!$ %!1#)0($ !"2)07$ !"($ .*)%.2().(cc!"($ &)(112)0$ 6*)2!*1cc.#)$ -($!1#2)('$!*$#881*<($#)4$92,'$!"2)0$4*&$9#)!$2!$!*$#881*<($2+$4*&$-(02)$2!%$('&.#5*)$(#1,4$h$%5./$!*$2!?

c$H#1/$@9#2)7$i*!(-**/$jOk

Parting Thoughtfrom the notebook of Mark Twain

Classical Theatre Project - theCTP.ca14

Resources & Bibliography

http://etext.virginia.edu/railton/huck"nn/hfconcrd.htmlLinks to historical documents describing the controversy of the Concord Library Ban.

http://www.tolerance.org/blog/n-word-or-no-n-word-questionArticle by Deborah Solomon Baker, “N-Word or No N-Word? That is the Question.” One teacher muses on the new “censored” version of Huckleberry Finn, including thoughts from her stu-dents.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2011/01/sanitising_huckleberry_"nnA blogger from The Economist writes about the new Gribben edit of Huckleberry Finn, which replaces the word “nigger” with “slave”.