Assumptions

Chapter 1-16 Kristen Allan

“After supper she got out her book and learned me about Moses and the Bulrushers…” (15)

This quote is pulled straight out of the first chapters of the novel. Huck Finn here is assuming that the reader knows about the story of Moses and the Bulrushers and what happens in the story of the Bible. Surprise, not all people know about all Bible stories but it isn’t necessary to know because Huck soon gets bored when he finds out “that Moses guy” is dead and, according to him, learning about someone who is dead and gone isn’t really necessary anymore. Same Huck Finn, same.

Chapter 17-21 Trinity Gomez

¿Phrenology?

There is one point in these chapters where the “Duke” is discussing what he does in his free time, he says he does “Jour printer, by trade; do a little in patent medicines; theatre-actor---tragedy, you know; take a turn at mesmerism and phrenology when there’s a chance…”(136). Well, it is seen that the Duke does a lot in his free time, but what the hell is phrenology. It is assumed the the audience knows what the heck phrenology is. So I did a little google search. Phrenology is “the detailed study of the shape and size of the cranium as a supposed indication of character and mental abilities.” This means that the Duke studies people’s head shapes, or nose shape, or ear shape, and much more to figure out their characteristics. Mark Twain can’t go assuming people know what these weird things like phrenology are.

Chapter 22-28 Carmen Mascarenhas

“‘Here is my answer’. She hove up a bag of money and put it in the king’s hands, and says, ‘Take this six thousands dollars, and invest for me and my sisters any way you want to and don’t give us no receipt for it’” (190)

Let’s talk about stranger danger and how sweet, naive Mary Jane has zero concept of it. Firstly, these uncles she’s never even met before just show up and she trusts them straight off the bat. She assumes that they’re her family. Even then, anyone with two brain cells to rub together knows that family doesn’t always have your best intentions at heart. Call me a pessimist, but it’s true. She assumes that these foreign uncles have her best interest at heart even though she’s never even been in contact with them before. But Mary Jane isn’t the only one doing the assuming here; we, as the readers (and my extension, Twain), are also assuming quite a bit from her blind trust in these con artists. There are a few reasons Twain had the girls as the sole immediate mourners of Wilks. This is because he assumes that the audience believes that a) if there had been a boy, there is no way anything would have been left to the girls and b) girls are much more susceptible to deceit than boys are. This assumption is based off of the role of women in society. Mary Jane is gullible and naive, but she’s also a grade A mess for most of the time Huck sees her, overwhelmed with grief. Twain assumes that the audience would think Mary Jane’s decision to give all of her money to her supposed uncles wise because men would know what to do with money, right? Surely not the girls. And maybe that’s right, because the girls weren’t exactly getting the education necessary to know what to do with money at that time anyway. The thing to remember here is that Twain is trying to make this the craziest, but most realistic story ever. The society he creates is based off of the assumption that the life he writes about is the norm for most of white, impoverished America. So based off of Twain’s writings, it looks like he has a pretty poor opinion of women…or is that too broad of an assumption?

Chapter 29-35 Carolyn Lo Coco

Huckleberry Finn constantly assumes things throughout the novel, simply because of how he was raised in his society. Huck is taught that the sole purpose of African Americans is for enslavement, and that they are illiterate and uneducated. This causes Huck to state how “Jim can’t read (243). This is an accurate assumption, because during Huck’s time period, slaves had little to no access to education.

Chapter 36-the last Trinity Gomez

What Society Wants.

At the end of the novel, Huck decides to live as a true orphan, this is because surprise, surprise , he believes society is still out to civilize him. He says he isn’t going to stay with Aunt Sally “because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilise me, and I can’t stand it.”(325) Huck does not realize that these people want what is best for him, he simply assumes that they are trying to change who he is as a person. WHY DOES HUCK GOTTA ASSUME ALL OF THE TIME! He could have a better life, but prefers to live how he wants to live. Society is out to get him and is not allowing him to live the orphan life he was meant to live.