Pathos

Chapter 1-16 Margo Irie

"Now, we'll start this band of robbers and call it Tom Sawyer's Gang. Everybody that wants to join has got to take an oath, and write his name in blood." (10).

In order to feel significant, teenage girls create an exclusive clique of friends based mainly on the interests and similarities between the people. Whether it be a sport, free time activity, or even just a food, humans like to be around people they can connect with. Mark Twain establishes this feeling of connection and friendship between Huck Finn and his “Tom Sawyer's Gang”(10). By telling “everybody that wants to join has got to take an oath, and write his name in blood”(10) the author evokes the emotion, or pathos, of acceptance in the reader. While not a wildly popular feeling to be discussed, acceptance and friendships portrayed by the characters in the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn can relate to the readers want to feel important and apart of a significant group.

Chapter 17-21 Carmen Mascarenhas

“They all asked me questions, and I told them how pap and me and all the family was living on a little farm down at the bottom of Arkansaw, and my sister Mary Ann run off and got married and never was heard of no more, and Bill went to hunt them and he warn't heard of no more, and Tom and Mort died, and then there warn't nobody but just me and pap left, and he was just trimmed down to nothing, on account of his troubles; 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. So they said I could have a home there as long as I wanted it” (111)

This passage becomes all the sadder when you realize none of it is true. Huck is creating this sense of nostalgia more for himself than anything else. Ever wonder why Huck is such a good liar? Because maybe those aren’t lies. Maybe they’re dream. Having an abusive dad that is in and out all the time and no other family around is not exactly ideal. Twain reveals the pain of Huck’s life through his lies; even though Huck’s made up life is somewhat of a sob story in the end, but at least in that, he can think back to a better time- he can feel good feelings toward an experience he had before. His reality is much harsher. When I read this excerpt, I feel for Huck. I appreciate the family I have, the life I’ve had, and I realize that this kid isn’t only physically homeless, but he’s mentally homeless. He didn’t belong with his dad. He didn’t belong with the Widow. He doesn’t know where he fits, and his longing to find that place is magnified in his lies and stories.

Chapter 22-28 Carolyn Lo Coco

Twain appeals to pathos when referring to Emmeline’s room and how they kept it in tact and “the way she liked to have them when she was alive”(117). Emmeline was so young and innocent, and people who are much worse than her get to live. When someone in a society passes away, it affects everybody who knew them, loved them, or even lived near them. This is the same for Emmeline and her society, because Huck learned about Emmeline through some strangers.

Chapter 29-35 Trinity Gomez

Who’s Cutting the Onions

Huck grew a strong friendship with Jim so when he was gone, it affected him deeply, “Jim was gone! I set up a shout...but it was no use---old Jim was gone. Then I sat down and cried; I couldn’t help it.”(235) The relationship developed between Huck and Jim throughout the novel is an amazing. Huck goes from contemplating turning Jim in (because it was what society believed was right), to not doing it because Jim was one of the only people he could trust. When Jim is gone, you feel the emotional pain that Huck is feeling, because it was like Jim became a friend of the audience’s. This makes the audience want to cry, it is like watching Marley and Me. The relationship between Jim and Huck tugs at the heartstrings because the audience can just imagine losing one of their best friends.

Chapter 36-the last Kristen Allan