Question #2
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is often called the quintessential American classic of the 19th century. One of the reasons for this argument is its use of language and dialect. Twain could have written the entire work using “proper” or “standard” American English for the time in which it was written. Instead he chose to use the specific dialects of the people he was writing about. How does this choice make his work more or less effective to readers of the 19th century, 20th century, and today? Use examples from the book to illustrate your point.
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Sample Answer to Question #2
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn takes place around the early 1840s, before the Emancipation Proclamation and the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. Mark Twain’s use of language in the novel helps readers better understand the time. Speech was one way that classes were distinguished. Slaves spoke poorly because they were banned from having an education; the peasants spoke a little better because they had some education, and so on. In the novel, Jim’s dialect can be easily distinguished from Huck and the rest of the people he encounters, because he is a slave. Language also helps display the irony of the Southern people. When the term “nigger” is mentioned, for instance, it is used in such a way that gives “nigger” the meaning of something other than human. The slaves are in fact not treated like humans. They are imprisoned and forced to labor in harsh conditions. If they try to escape they’re dead. Furthermore, dialect gives figure to character’s personality. Huck, for example, can be perceived as the school-hating type because of his accent in comparison to his caregivers. Also, the point that slaves can actually speak the English language shows how smart they are. Basically, Mark Twain used language to create the mood and setting he wanted to present in his novel.
Another Sample Answer to Question #2
In my humble opinion the use of specific dialects is extremely enjoyble for me. By adding these dialects I can hear what the character is saying. I can understand how that character thinks.
"'Ain't you a sweet-scented dandy, though? A bed; and bedclothes; and a look'n'-glass; and a piece of carpet on the floor-and your own father got to sleep with the hogs in the tanyard. I never see such a son. I bet I'll take some o' these frills out o' you before I'm done with you. Why, there ain't no end to your airs-they say you're rich. Hey?- how's that?'" (pg. 20)
From this passage I can discern several things from Huck's father. The first is that he's ignorant, second he's uneducated, and third he's greedy. He's ignorant because he's afraid of his son. He doesn't want him to be educated because it just isn't fair, it isn't right that his son should be better off. Because in rural Missouri it's a dog-eat-dog world, and you've got to make sure you're on top. It's easy to tell he's uneducated because no one educated speaks with that many grammar mistakes. Thirdly, I can tell he's greedy because he never asks about Huck's wellbeing, once he's done insulting Huck he demands to know about his riches. If this had all been spoke in proper English all that I would have been able to figure out was that Huck's father was greedy and that he doesn't care for his son for some reason. In addition to helping me understand a character and his/ her background it makes a book just that much more interesting when it contains specific dialects.
Bibliography
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Bantam Books, 2003
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Bantam Books, 2003
