Huck Finn #5: p. 129-157

"Let the cold world do its worst; one thing I know- there's a grave somewhere for me" (134).

When we are born, there is one thing we are assured: death. As life progresses, we are molded by family, religion, and other influences. This whole journey represents Huck's life where Huck's mindset is the river that separates his two major outside influences, Pap and the Widow Douglas with Miss Watson, on either shore. Of course some may have a good or affluent upbringing, yet some like Huck Finn suffer from childhood abuse and no proper education or role models. That is why many people commit suicide, to relieve themselves of the misery that life bears upon them. Instead of seeking death, Huck finds his relief or freedom by going on the raft with Jim. He gets away from the influences of Pap and the widow, to live his own life.

"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).

As said earlier, the raft is an escape from society and the troubles of life. Here Huck and Jim can be free, and they will do whatever to make that peace and freedom remain. Huck does not bring up to the two new men that they are lying in order to preserve the peace on the raft. This goes to show how important freedom is to Huck. He will go so far as to lie to these men, who are complete strangers who were being chased for some wrongdoing, and even serve them as they order Huck and Jim to address and treat them as royalty. As Huck mentions, this is due to his upbringing: "If I never learnt nothing else out of pap, I learnt that the best way to get along with his kind of people is to let them have their own way" (137). Huck has been so affected by pap during his childhood that he will maintain his freedom at any cost.

Vocabulary:

"and then rip comes another flash and another sockdolager" (140).

sockdolager- n. a conclusive blow or remark

"they've left dead fish laying around [...], and they do get pretty rank" (130).

rank- adj. strong or offensive in odor or smell

Huck Finn #4: p. 89-129

"Well, then, says I, what's the use [of] you learning to do right, when it's troublesome to do right and ain't no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same?" (104).

Huck brings up a great point, yet he only defines right in a lawful sense. If he turned Jim in, he would be following the law by bringing back someone's property. Now he thinks he has done wrong for not following the law. Huck completely forgets that their is a second part that defines what is right. Huck has morally done right by keeping Jim away from those looking for him. Slavery is an absolutely immoral practice, and Huck has done what is morally right by saving his friend from the clutches of slavery. Huck's lack of knowledge in God and morality are why his definition of right and wrong are singleminded. Maybe Huck should reconsider finding heaven, for it may direct him to what is really right.

"We said there warn't no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft" (128).

Recalling all the places Huck has been, from the cabin with Pap to the Grangerford house, Huck has never found a place he could actually call home. Pap always beat him and the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons were always killing each other; he found no peace, no freedom. As for Jim, he is a slave that is running away from Miss Watson, seeking freedom in the free states. Evidently, both Jim and Huck are on a journey down the river for freedom. Though Jim did earlier say the waters would bring misfortune, they have actually found the raft to be their safe haven. Huck and Jim always end up back on the raft with each event that occurs on the land, freeing themselves from death or more trouble. The raft has grown to become a symbol of the freedom Huck and Jim seek.

Vocabulary:

"Sometimes a stack of people would come there [...] and have such junketings round about and on the river" (118).

junketing- n. act of going or attending an extravagant trip or celebration

"There was four or five men cavorting around on their horses" (126).

cavort- v. jump or dance around excitedly

Huck Finn #3: p.47-66

"Jim said bees wouldn’t sting idiots; but I didn’t believe that, because I had tried them lots of times myself, and they wouldn’t sting me" (56).

It is sad to see that Huck views himself as an idiot. We have to remember that Huck is only twelve years old and to view himself as an idiot at this age could only foreshadow a sad future. Tom Sawyer did call him ignorant before but encouraged him to read; the Widow Douglas tried to"sivilize" (9) Huck with proper manners and an education. Though Huck was getting better, his father put him in his place and told him to forget about all that he learned. Huck may not have the best formal education, yet he did successfully escape from Pap in a very impressive way, diverting their attention with the hog blood and trail. He has a great knowledge of the outdoors and has been able to take care of himself well. Huck may be an idiot with books and writing, but he sure is a genius in the outdoors life.

"But he's lucky, dey say, en I see I warn't lucky" (57).

Jim's story about his money problems seems unbelievable due to his great belief of superstitions. Touching snakeskin or how birds fly are all omens to Jim, and they actually turn out true. It is hard to understand how Jim could have dealt with his money anymore foolishly. Unfortunately, Jim found no bad omens and found his pockets almost empty. It is somewhat humorous that a slave, one to not have much of anything, was greedy for more money. Hopefully, Jim will find something of value on his journey with Huck. As I said earlier about Huck making his own path away from good or evil, Jim is also in search of freedom, not just slavewise, but from all the distractions of life. He wants to know what works behind these omens, what makes things come true, what makes him live the life of a slave. If we remind ourselves of the obedience model of morality, God is watching our movement between good and evil. Huck and Jim have broken off this scale and are possibly headed down the river toward the man who controls prayers, the man who controls life.

Vocabulary:

"It most give me the fan-tods" (51).

fantods- n. state of extreme nervousness or restlessness

"we lolled on the grass and eat it smoking hot" (53).

loll- v. sit, lie, or stand in a lazy, relaxed way 

Huck Finn #2: p.28-46

"I got to thinking that [...] I could fix up some way to keep pap and the widow from trying to follow me" (41).

Pap can be looked upon as bad and the widow can be looked upon as good. Huck has chosen to not head toward good or bad, but creating his own path. He wants to live his life away from all its hardship, away from rules, away from reality. Tom Sawyer spoke of stories that thrived on one's imagination, and this may be what Huck is looking for on his trip down the river. Huck did not love his father, and he was tired of the widow's teaching him manners. Maybe this was a chance to see if Tom's stories were true. But Huck has to remember that Jim said to stay away from the water, maybe foreshadowing an event that is to occur later. 

"They call this a govment [sic]! [..] Here's the law a-standing ready to take a man's son away from him- [...] just as that man has got that son raised at last, and ready to go to work and begin to do suthin' [sic] for him and give him a rest [...]. And they call that govment!" (36).

Pap's rants about education and literacy contradict his words. In this quotation, he is unbelievably ignorant. He is saying his child is basically his property and does not want anyone from taking what is his. He wants to use Huck so he can keep drinking while Huck works to pay for his booze. A democracy sees freedom for all people, something Pap does not understand with his illiterate and uneducated mind. He has no right to accuse the government for wrongdoing. This goes along with the black man who is richer than him that is allowed to vote. Pap can not understand how the government can let a black man vote and thinks that he should be a slave. Maybe Pap needs to learn that a black man is just another man.

Vocabulary:

"I'll take some o' those frills out o' you" (29).

frills- n.  an unnecessary extra feature or embellishment

"I'll ask him; and I'll make him pungle, too" (30).

pungle- v. to make a payment or contribution (usually money)

Huck Finn #1: p.9-27

"I didn't want him to try. I said Jim might wake up and come. But Tom wanted to resk [sic] it; so we slid in there and got three candles, and Tom laid five cents on the table for pay" (14).

This quotation shows Tom Sawyer's dominance and the immaturity of being a kid. We often see Huck questioning Tom's ideas and restraining from following his actions, but since Tom seems knowledgeable from reading many imaginative books, Huck falls under Tom's control. This goes along with the other boys. The name of their group is Tom Sawyer's Gang, another example of his dominance. They believe Tom is so educated, but Huck begins to realize that all his stories are lies. As for their immaturity, Tom and Huck are just being kids. One may think they are stealing, but they left five cents for the candles to not get into trouble. They are only having fun.

"I judged the old man would turn up again by-and-by, though I wished he wouldn't" (20).

Huck has led a hard life with his drunk father. Huck says how his father often beat him and how he would run to the woods for safety. When rumors of Huck's father being dead are brought to attention,  Huck really does not care and hopes he is dead: "I didn't want to see him no more" (20). Unfortunately, the body found was not his father's body. I believe Huck's rough childhood has a great influence to his daily mannerisms and his thought process. Huck and his friends pretend to rob and kill people. They steal and cause disruption for the Sunday school. Beyond all this, he even decides that he does not want to find God or heaven. Huck does not seem to find a father figure anywhere. This may have led to his actions and ones that are to come. This is also probably why he loves Tom because he is someone Huck can look up to: "I wanted him and me to be together" (11).

 

Vocabulary:

"So we unhitched a skiff and pulled down the river two mile and a half" (15).

skiff- n. a shallow, flat-bottomed open boat with sharp bow and square stern.

"we would lay in ambuscade" (21).

ambuscade- n. an ambush.

Final Sin Essay

Daryl Thomas

AP English- Mr. George

23 February 2009

Sin Essay

Salvation through Repentance

            Adam and Eve did not fathom the severity of taking fruit from the tree. Working the land for food, feeling pain during child labor, and shame for their bodies were something out of the ordinary in the utopian Garden of Eden, but these punishments were manageable. In actuality, they were only the first repercussions of a sin that would bring about the fall of man. Wars, slavery, death, and evil became social norms as years passed as a result of their disobedience. It was not until a starry night in the little town of Bethlehem that a Savior came to save humanity from all sin. The center of Jesus’ ministry was to repent: “I have […] come to call the […] sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). Jesus preached that salvation from sin could only come through repenting for it. Under the influence of Lord Henry Wotton and Basil Hallward’s portrait, Dorian Gray could not find salvation: “The prayer of your pride has been answered. […] I worshipped you too much. I am punished for it. You worshipped yourself too much. We are both punished” (Wilde 162). The pride he felt because of the painting’s power and the evil influence of Lord Henry nourished the seed of evil in his heart. Basil did attempt to persuade Dorian to repent, yet evil had enveloped his soul, and that evil, manifested on the canvas, forced him to kill Basil. Without repenting for his sin, Dorian Gray suffered a far worse punishment than Adam and Eve- death without entrance into heaven. No one can be saved from sin without repentance.

Basil Hallward seemed to be a simpleminded artisan, yet he committed a major sin by breaking a commandment. Basil’s infatuation of Dorian Gray was unusually strong; his “mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself” (8). The first commandment states, "I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:2-3). Dorian became a false idol to the painter. Through Dorian’s conversion, Basil was shown the truth of good and evil in Dorian, similar to the serpent that tempted Adam and Eve telling them “that when you eat [the fruit] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Luckily, Basil recognized his sin and confessed to Dorian of his obsession. After seeing the painting, he then prayed to God for forgiveness. Though Dorian ended up killing Basil, it can be assumed that Basil found redemption. His repentance cleared the imperfection in his soul, allowing him to pass through the gates of Heaven. Similar to Basil, John Proctor repented and found God in the end.

After committing adultery with Abigail Williams, Proctor took a step in finding absolution by confessing to his wife, Elizabeth. Though their relationship suffered greatly, Proctor had commenced his conversion from evil to good. Later when Dorian was accused of witchcraft, he confessed his adultery to Judge Danforth to prove that Abigail was only looking for revenge: “But it is a whore’s vengeance, and you must see it; I set myself entirely in your hands. I know you must see it now” (Miller 110). Proctor was then able to understand that he redeemed himself on earth and that his death would bring him to his final judgment from God: “God sees my name; God knows how black my sins are!” (142). Proctor left Salem heading toward Heaven. His repentance required much courage, but for Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, a strong self-esteem was needed to bear the ignominy of their sin.

Hester and Dimmesdale committed adultery together, yet they differed in how they dealt with their sin. Hester confessed her sin and publicly bore her actions with the scarlet A upon her chest and her daughter Pearl. While Hester and Pearl were condemned to standing on the scaffold for daily public shame, Dimmesdale hid his sin from everyone. Though he was safe from public eyes, Dimmesdale faced a far worse punishment for not repenting immediately. He would occasionally fast and scourge his body, destroying his youthful physique. When seeing Pearl, Dimmesdale would be reminded of the sin and face guilt and torment. There was also his former colleague, Roger Chillingworth, who was actually Hester’s husband. Chillingworth promised to “seek this man [that Hester cheated with], as [he] sought truth in books, as [he] sought gold in alchemy” (Hawthorne 70). Chillingworth’s punishment for this man would be unbearable.

Once Chillingworth found out Dimmesdale was the man who sinned with Hester, Chillingworth continued to keep the priest alive, in order for Dimmesdale to let the shame and guilt eat him up inside: “To sum up the matter, it grew to be a widely diffused opinion, that the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, like many other personages of especial sanctity, in all ages of the Christian world, was haunted either by Satan himself, or Satan’s emissary, in the guise of old Roger Chillingworth” (116). After all of Dimmesdale’s torment, he was able to find redemption when he showed the Election Sermon crowd the A seared upon his chest, standing with his family. Dimmesdale had repented and left the people of Boston with an important message: “[be] true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred!” (231). Dimmesdale entered Heaven completing his redemption, and left earth as a prophet repeating Jesus’ message of repentance. As for Hester, she became a guidance counselor to the people of Salem and when death arrived, following Dimmesdale into Heaven. Hester and Dimmesdale found redemption to be the only way to be freed from sin. As for Roger Chillingworth, the poison of evil in his soul would not be cured.

Chillingworth dedicated his whole life to get revenge on Dimmesdale, and when the priest found his redemption and died, there was no point to his existence: “[he] had made the very principle of his life to consist in the pursuit and systematic exercise of revenge, and when, by its completest triumph and consummation, that evil principle was left with no further material to support it, when, in short, there was no more Devil’s work on earth for him to do” (232). Chillingworth was the leech that sucked the life out of Dimmesdale. Without Dimmesdale around, the leech lost all its nourishment and withered to death. Chillingworth was unable to absolve his sin and the evil in his heart remained forever. The Devil had done his work on Chillingworth and would do the same to Abigail Williams.

From vengeance to pure evil, Abigail Williams fully transformed into the Devil. The amount of sins she committed were innumerable. Abigail lied to save herself from accusations of witchcraft saying, “I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus” (Miller 48). This lie led to her falsely accusing others of witchcraft, breaking the eighth commandment: "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16). These accusations gave her an opportunity to get her revenge on Elizabeth Proctor.  Her actions led to chaos in Salem and the death of innocent people. The shame and guilt of her actions were too much to handle, and Abigail decided to flee Salem to Barbados. Though she may have run away from the responsibility on earth, God would always see her sin.  Her refusal to repent resulted in her prostitution in Boston and never finding absolution. Dorian Gray had a similar fate to that of Abigail because he also never acknowledged his sin.

            When Dorian was first seated for a portrait, he was seen as a youthful, beautiful, innocent boy. Basil beseeched Lord Henry to not “spoil him. Don’t try to influence him.  Your influence would be bad” (Wilde 16). Lord Henry refused Basil’s plea and decided that “he would seek to dominate [Dorian]. […] He would make that wonderful spirit his own” (40). Dorian was then poisoned by Lord Henry’s words: “There is absolutely nothing in the world but youth!” (25). Dorian then realized how special and rare his beauty was. After seeing the portrait, Dorian grew jealous of the youth it would retain for eternity. He wishes that the portrait would age instead if himself: “For that- for that- I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!” (28). Little did Dorian know that he would get his wish.

            When Dorian first noticed a change in the painting, he could not believe what he was witnessing: “Such things were impossible. It seemed monstrous even to think of them. And yet there was the picture before him, with the touch of cruelty in the mouth” (95). After his emotions settled, Dorian realized that the “picture [...] would be to him the visible emblem of conscience” (96). Dorian now could use the painting as a guide to see his wrongdoing and repent for his actions to find redemption. Unfortunately, Dorian strayed from this idea when he realized that he could also use the portrait to take the fall for all of his actions, even his aging: “And yet who that knew anything about Life would surrender the chance of remaining always young, however fantastic that chance might be, or with what fateful consequences it might be fraught?” (110). The portrait would also remove all feelings of guilt from his mind and allow him to sin without remorse. Dorian was then corrupted by the pride elicited from the power of the painting, leading to his sinful deeds of killing Basil and Sibyl and corrupting Alan Campbell. To hide the sin of his past, Dorian realized he had to destroy the only evidence remaining of his actions- the painting: “It would kill the past, and when that was dead he would be free” (228). Dorian would never become free after destroying the painting, for it was his only and last hope for redemption. Dorian’s life ended with his body feeling the repercussions of all his sin: “He was withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage” (229). Without repenting for the evil and sin in his life, Dorian Gray died without finding goodness or redemption.

             As the legendary prince Hamlet once said, “Confess yourself to heaven;/ Repent what's past; avoid what is to come/” (Hamlet 3.4.149-150). Hamlet agreed that repentance was necessary in order to circumvent suffering and to find redemption. Putting aside his evil, Dorian did say, “it was his duty to confess, to suffer public shame, and to make public atonement. There was a God who called upon men to tell their sins to earth as well as to heaven. Nothing that he could do would cleanse him till he had told his own sin” (Wilde 228). Humanity was supposed to deal with their sin and to repent, or else they would face unendurable emotional and physical suffering on earth and would never find eternal life with God within the gates of Heaven.

 

Works Cited:

Church, Episcopal. The Holy Bible. Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1903.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Bantam Books, 1986.

Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. New York, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2003.

Miller, Arthur. “The Crucible”. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 1952.

Shakespeare, William “Hamlet”. Classic Books Company, 2001.

February Vacation Witticisms

1) If one seeks true love, open your wallet.

2) Religion thrives on our imagination.

3) The only way to gain attention is when one dies.

4) The easy way to gain friends is to hurt others.

5) The measure of intelligence is determined by the amount in one's bank account.

6) When one has lost something, its value is found.

7) We do not know anything; we only assume things.

8) The only fact of life is death.

9) The seed of evil is nourished by the soil of pride.

10) We work so hard now to not work at all later.