Skip to Main Content

Mark Twain: Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn

A reading list of works by and about Mark Twain.

Research & Reference

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Part 1: Crash Course Literature

 

In which John Green teaches you about Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This week, we'll talk a little bit about Samuel Langhorne Clemens, who wrote under the name Mark Twain, and how he mined his early life for decades to produce his pretty well-loved body of work. By far the best of Twain's novels, Huckleberry Finn has a lot to say about life in America around the Civil War, and it resonates today with its messages on race, class, and what exactly freedom is.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXKgBIiP8IA

The Raft, the River, and The Weird Ending of Huckleberry Finn: Crash Course Literature

 

This week, we're continuing our discussion of Mark Twain's 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.' This is part two of our talk about Huck Finn, and this time we're looking at the metaphors in the book, a little bit about what the metaphors like the Island and the River and the Raft might mean, and why you should pay attention to said metaphors. We'll also look at the ending of the book, which a lot of people (including us) believe isn't up to the standards of the rest of the novel.

Source: https://youtu.be/ak8gydUl9gM

Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Seems like a simple enough storyline, considering it became one of the most significant, beloved, acclaimed, and studied novels ever written. This classic motion picture is the definitive adaptation of Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—splendidly filmed, lovingly produced for PBS’s American Playhouse, with an acclaimed all-star cast, and presented in an unedited, full-length version. With this boy, on his raft, along this river flows the story of a country, a people, and a friendship. And in the wondrous adventures, one finds the joy, the lessons, and the spirit that is America itself. (213 minutes)

Source: Films on Demand

Books, Film, & Commentary

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Tom Sawyer's Comrade

This 125th Anniversary edition of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is expanded with thoroughly updated notes and references, and a selection of original documents--letters, advertisements, playbills--some never before published, from Twain's first book tour.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

`You don't know about me, without you have read a book by the name of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", but that ain't no matter.'So begins, in characteristic fashion, one of the greatest American novels. Narrated by a poor, illiterate white boy living in America's deep South before the Civil War, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the story of Huck's escape from his brutal father and the relationship that grows between himand Jim, the slave who is fleeing from an even more brutal oppression. As they journey down the Mississippi their adventures address some of the most profound human conundrums: the prejudices of class, age, and colour are pitted against the qualities of hope, courage, and moral character.Enormously influential in the development of American literature, Huckleberry Finn remains a controversial novel at the centre of impassioned critical debate. This edition discusses all the current issues and the evolution of Mark Twain's penetrating genius.

Race in Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

A classic of American realism for its realistic portrayal of boyhood and of the pre-Civil War South, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn follows a boy escaping an abusive father and a runaway slave, Jim, as they journey down the Mississippi river. This incisive volume looks at race in Mark Twain's classic story, with an eye toward discussing race and racism. Essays discuss the life of the author, the river culture of Twain's time, the language used within the book, and racism in 21st century America. Essays from Toni Morrison, Barack Obama, and Larry Lipman.

The Adventures of Huck Finn

Huck Finn, a 19th-century boy floating down the Mississippi River on a raft with Jim, a runaway slave, becomes involved with a feuding family, two scoundrels pretending to be royalty, and Tom Sawyer's aunt, who mistakes him for Tom.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Huck Finn: The Manga Edition will be a hit with both manga readers and in the classroom. A four-page essay at the beginning ties the novel and manga together; the rest of the book is taken up with the manga novel itself. So, there should be strong carryover between those people who are manga readers and those teachers/students who want a new and unique way to read the plays. Our Huck Finn manga is true to the original context of the play--we don't take Huck, Jim, and the rest of the characters and set them in a setting/time that's not relevant to Twain's original and intended time/setting. Also, we don't shy away frm the controversial language that you find in Twain's original work. You could say that ours is "true" to the novel.

The Annotated Huckleberry Finn

A sumptuous new edition of the great American novel. "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn," Ernest Hemingway once declared. First published in 1885, the book has delighted millions of readers, while simultaneously riling contemporary sensibilities, and is still banned in many schools and libraries. Now, Michael Patrick Hearn, author of the best-selling The Annotated Wizard of Oz, thoroughly reexamines the 116-year heritage of that archetypal American boy, Huck Finn, and follows his adventures along every bend of the mighty Mississippi River. Hearn's copious annotations draw on primary sources including the original manuscript, Twain's revisions and letters, and period accounts. Reproducing the original E. W. Kemble illustrations from the first edition, as well as countless archival photographs and drawings, some of them previously unpublished, The Annotated Huckleberry Finn is a book no family's library can do without; it may well prove to be the classic edition of the great American novel. 274 illustrations, two-color throughout.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Understanding a Classic

Few works in American literature address issues as timeless as those explored in Mark Twain’s controversial novel, Huckleberry Finn. In this program, three scholars, including noted Twain biographer Justin Kaplan, examine the work and its various themes—race, cruelty, consequences of greed, meaning of civilization, and the nature of freedom. The author’s life is traced from his days as a printer’s apprentice, riverboat pilot, and journalist, to renowned author. Twain scholars Shelley Fisher Fishkin and David Lionel Smith discuss African-American influences from Twain’s childhood that are reflected in the work, and suggest that these references, misinterpreted by readers, form the basis for charges that Twain was a racist. Incidents from his life, including his vehement antislavery and antiracist articles couched in irony, provide convincing counterpoint to the charges. (34 minutes)

Source: Films on Demand

The Twain Legacy - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Twain Legacy offers students and teachers an insight into the life and writings of Mark Twain, a significant 19th century American literary icon. 'The Twain Legacy' is divided into five chapters intended for class and individual learning and discussion. Knowledgeable scholars explore themes, ideas and narrative style in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. By examining and exploring why his historical and moral concerns were important, the presenters weave Twain's themes of slavery, prejudice and class into a coherent awareness. 

Source: Kanopy