Planning of A Level assignment on Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain uses language to help illustrate the themes in his work. Using examples from Huckleberry Finn, show how the idiolects of the different characters help create meaning in the novel.
(Basically write about how Twain uses language such as ‘nigger’ to show the characteristics of the characters, and write about how their speech/accents help tell the story – use quotations).
Huck -
Jim -
1. Unlike Huck Jim is not educated because he is a slave, and so speaks in a very poor type of English which is spoken by other African slaves who have been made to learn English.
2. Unlike Huck Jim speaks in a uneducated manner, shortening words which Huck can say easily..
3. Shortens words with a sort of slang, which show is method of speech when he talks to Huck. For example on page 98 of the novel Jim says to Huck, 'I knowed dey was arter you.' which translates from Jim's form of English as 'I knew they were after you'.
4. Unlike Huck Jim believes family are the best thing in the world, and states he worries about his family. He tells Huck about his young daughter, and how he found out she was deaf when he told her to 'Shet de do' meaning 'Shut the door', but she didn't appear to listen and he hit her across the face. It is only after hitting his daughter that he found out that she had scarlet fever and couldn't hear him and understand him. He tells Huck that how sorry he is and Huck concludes that black men love their family as much as white men love theirs, and realises thanks to Jim's words that Jim loves his family very much even more than Huck loves his own.
Mark Twain uses language to help illustrate the themes in his work. Using examples from Huckleberry Finn, show how the idiolects of the different characters help create meaning in the novel.
(Basically write about how Twain uses language such as ‘nigger’ to show the characteristics of the characters, and write about how their speech/accents help tell the story – use quotations).
Huck -
- Is educated so speaks in a knowledgable manner, which is different to that of the other main character of the book Jim who is a African adult male who has been sold as a slave.
- Uses racist terms such as 'Nigger' but says it in a non-offensive manner. Says the word as a description for 'black skinned human' which he will have grown up using.
- Seems more mature than he actually appears for his age, is able to describe how he escapes or uses items a adult will have been able to use such as a loaded rifle.
- Uses more immature language that a normal boy of Huck's age would not use, for example he says 'bastard' alot.
- Speaks about how he despises his adoptive family, and his biological father even though they are the only family he has. He tells the reader at the start of the book that he just wants to escape from them.
Jim -
1. Unlike Huck Jim is not educated because he is a slave, and so speaks in a very poor type of English which is spoken by other African slaves who have been made to learn English.
2. Unlike Huck Jim speaks in a uneducated manner, shortening words which Huck can say easily..
3. Shortens words with a sort of slang, which show is method of speech when he talks to Huck. For example on page 98 of the novel Jim says to Huck, 'I knowed dey was arter you.' which translates from Jim's form of English as 'I knew they were after you'.
4. Unlike Huck Jim believes family are the best thing in the world, and states he worries about his family. He tells Huck about his young daughter, and how he found out she was deaf when he told her to 'Shet de do' meaning 'Shut the door', but she didn't appear to listen and he hit her across the face. It is only after hitting his daughter that he found out that she had scarlet fever and couldn't hear him and understand him. He tells Huck that how sorry he is and Huck concludes that black men love their family as much as white men love theirs, and realises thanks to Jim's words that Jim loves his family very much even more than Huck loves his own.