Ethos

Chapter 1-16  Margo Irie

“There was a free nigger there from Ohio—a mulatter, most as white as a white man. He had the whitest shirt on you ever see, too, and the shiniest hat; and there ain't a man in that town that's got as fine clothes as what he had; and he had a gold watch and chain, and a silver-headed cane—the awful-est old gray-headed nabob in the State...It was 'lection day, and I was just about to go and vote myself if I warn't too drunk to get there; but when they told me there was a State in this country where they'd let that nigger vote, I drawed out. I says I'll never vote agin”(31-32).

Twain uses his distinct diction and rhetorical strategies to make this satire novel one which can be trusted for the truth. Through background knowledge, the reader knows that Mark Twain was alive and living in Missouri when slavery was legal. This previous knowledge is apparent in the novel when Twain’s descriptions are so descriptive the reader knows Twain must have been there to witness the discrimination of blacks. Using exact examples such as “but when they told me there was a State in this country where they'd let that nigger vote, I drawed out. I says I'll never vote agin”(31) evokes ethos in the reader as they begin to imagine the white men holding such racist views towards blacks as to “never vote agin”(32). In the twenty first century this act of not partaking in an activity because the sport or art is not “cool” or “trendy” remains relevant. Mark Twain continues to relate to his audience with his background knowledge as he has lived in the time.

Chapter 17-21 Natalie Fung

Poetry for the Dead

“So when he died I took what there was left, because the farm didn't belong to us, and started up the river, deck passage, and fell overboard; and that was how I come to be here.” (104)
“There was some that they called crayons, which one of the daughters which was dead made her own self when she was only fifteen years old.” (106)  

         An immobile Huckleberry Finn is trapped by a pack of vicious dogs, when suddenly he hears a voice from a nearby house. Of course in this case faking his own death made Huck Finn a pro at the lying game because when the residents of the house ask his name he is quick to say “George Jackson” (Twain 101). Along with his fake identification Huck has made up an elaborate background, spinning in a deeper web of lies. This tragic back story of George Jackson consists of his old man kicking the bucket, then parallel to Huck’s own life George “travels up the river” (104) and soon he “fell overboard” (104) which explains why he is soaking wet. The current gullible residents of this house seem to believe Huck’s story and introduce themselves. Buck, who is around Huck’s age of thirteen, lends him a dry set of clothes because why not lend a complete stranger your best Sunday clothes. Then in the next two pages Huck realizes there was a little girl,“one of the daughters” (106), who lived in the house who died at a young age. Wait a minute, a couple pages back Twain introduces Huck’s second identity “George Jackson (101) who “fell overboard” which has a parallel to Twain’s life because he had almost drown at such a young age. Yet the connection goes farther, Twain’s daughter Jean Clemens died while in a bathtub at the age of twenty-nine which was pretty young then going farther Huck writes this dead girl poetry because he feels sympathy that she never got any poetry back. Its kind of like how in grade school one kid always passes out valentines yet never receives any back. Twain, like Huck, wrote his dead daughter poetry after she passed.

Chapter 22-28 Carmen Mascarenhas

“I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for ther’n. It don’t seem natural , but I reckon it’s so” (173)

I hate to be that one guy who always talks about the same thing, but believe it or not, I have more to say about slavery. So here goes. Mark Twain wrote this book pretty much right after slavery was abolished in the United States. If you’re unfamiliar, slavery was only abolished after the United States literally split in half and tried to kill each other over it, and even then, some of our good guys were more like eh, don’t really care one way or the other. Either way, pro-slavery or not, this was written for a society that was exposed to slavery and had a much greater tolerance and understanding for an institution that we millennials in 2016 can’t quite get our heads around. The fact that these people were considered property is insane to me. Like they could literally sell a person like I could sell my lamp on eBay. In the quote above, Huck is talking about how Jim has feelings, and how that doesn’t seem natural to him. Why? Because only people can feel- things can’t. Huck is so stuck in this mindset society has given him that he struggles to see the humanity is someone who he knows is a living, breathing person. It’s a little ridiculous. However, even though in his heart of hearts that Jim shouldn’t be a slave, he still truly believes that Jim isn’t a real person, or at least not the same sort as he is. This fundamental discrepancy between what Huck knows and what he believes is a commentary on the greater society which actively condoned the maltreatment of other human beings.

Chapter 29-35 Carolyn Lo Coco

Twain appeals to ethos many times throughout the novel, especially when referring to racism and slaves. Huck was raised with the knowledge that black people were solely slaves, and their purpose was for nothing else (aw sad). However, slaves, such as Jim, wanted to be free of enslavement since they were still people. White people in Huck’s society saw slaves just as property (aw even more sad), and referred to them as “niggers” casually.. Twain helps Suck realize that Jim is a living human, not just a slave. He humanizes Jim and sees him as an individual and a true friend.

Chapter 36-the last Trinity Gomez

Professional Adventurer

Tom has established ethos with Huck for a long time. He uses his credibility as an expert “adventurer” to Huck to agree with him. Tom tells Huck “I’ll tell you. It ain’t right, and it ain’t moral, and I wouldn’t like to get it out…”(274) Huck responds saying “Now you’re talking.” Tom has Huck wrapped around his finger. Huck constantly agrees with Tom because he sees him as an expert, and he sees him as someone who has experience and therefore has the correct answers to all of life’s problems.