Teaching Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huck Finn in an English or ESL Classroom

There are many cultural ideologies present in this Twain's The Adventures Of Huck Finn. Cultural ideologies include values, beliefs and attitudes. The most significant of these is the need for freedom, which is a predominant theme in this novel This is shown in the two contrasting characters, Huck and Jim. Huck, young, white, and wealthy; and Jim, older, black, and enslaved both share this need. Other characters who emphasize this need include the King and the Duke, who wander from one town to another taking advantage of the residents, even if they have to lie, cheat, and steal to do it.

Huck's father also values his freedom. When the film begins, the only reason he has returned to Jackson Island and his son is because he is interested in the money that Huck's mother left Huck in her will. In the event of Huck's death, Huck's alcoholic and abusive father gets the money. Huck escapes his threats by disguising his own death and traveling on a raft far away from his father. Freedom is also emphasized in a later scene in which the daughter of one clan escapes with the son of another. This act results in the death of many characters who are enraged at the young couple daring to inter-marry.

Another value is that of money. The King and the Duke value it to the point of stealing it from a family of girls who are left on their own following the death of their grandfather. They are willing to risk their own lives, as well as the lives of others for money. Huck's father clearly values money even more than he values his son. Huck's aunt values money in order to keep the plantation going, even when it involves selling slaves and separating them from their families.

Jim, the escaped slave values money; without it, even if he were free, he would be unable to buy back his wife and children. Huck seems to be one of the only characters not guided my money, and he ironically has more than even he realizes. In one version of the end of the novel, he gives it all to Jim to buy back his family. Huck, who feels he has no need for money, runs off, again.

Another cultural ideology is the emphasis on religious beliefs. Huck struggles with the religious beliefs he has been taught as opposed to those he is personally "creating" based on his experiences. This is a coming-of-age story and Huck comes to realize that his feelings concerning slavery, and Jim's fate conflict with all he has been taught about "right and wrong" from his aunts, who are highly, "outwardly" religious, but clearly misguided.

At one point in the story, Huck envies two people, the "King" and the "Duke" because they are involved in robbery, forgery, and burglary. Huck, sighing, exclaims, "I wish I had a trade." The need for a "trade" or meaningful work is also a cultural ideology. Jim's meaningful work is to make it up to the free states so that he can find work and eventually buy back his family. Jim's work becomes even more meaningful because it is not an end in itself, it is a means to a considerably touching end - being reunited with his family. Huck, although a child, desires a "purpose" and helping both Billy during the feud, as well as helping Jim obtain his freedom seem to qualify as meaningful work. When Huck lived with his aunts, his "job" of doing well in school was never the type of "work" Huck seemed to value.

Family loyalty is another cultural ideology emphasized through a number of plots and sub-plots. Huck fears and escapes his father; however, he admits to Jim that if he were to discover that his father were dead, he would return to Jackson's Island because it's "the right thing to do." Huck also remains loyal to his deceased mother, defending her memory when his father criticizes her and her religious beliefs. Family loyalty is clearly seen in the character of Jim who is fully dedicated to his plan to eventually buy his wife and children out of slavery.

Family loyalty is perhaps best seen; however, in the two southern "genteel" families who are involved in a bloody feud. On one level, Huck wishes to be a part of the close relationship Billy clearly shares with his father, and it is for this reason that Huck stays at this place. He seems willing to give up his freedom in order to have a chance at a "father" he never had. Ironically, Huck's decision ends Jim's freedom as well, only for Jim, he finds himself again enslaved. The families, when they discover that one of the daughters of one has escaped with one of the sons of the other, fight to the death, and in a particularly poignant scene, little Billy is shot defending what he feels is his sister's honor.

Attitudes regarding slavery are presented throughout. Huck struggles with the conflict between what he has always been taught (that slavery is right), and what he comes to believe though his friendship with Jim, (that it is not right at all). Making his decision to go against what he has been taught becomes more significant as the viewers realize that Huck, a child, truly feels that by helping Jim rather than turning him in, he (Huck) is surely going to hell, emphasizing the value of friendship.

Supernatural beliefs are also conveyed throughout through the character of Jim, who makes money by telling fortunes. As black slaves, many of the slaves "used" the white people's fears of "black magic" as a creative form of some semblance of control and power. The practice of "sitting up with the dead" also reveals an historical practice grounded in both religious as well as supernatural beliefs.

The value and the beauty of the American landscape is also revealed in this classic. Scenes depicting Huck and Jim, free on the raft, are beautifully detailed. These scenes contrast the ugliness of many of the attitudes, values, and beliefs of many of the characters that both Huck and Jim encounter.

This classic American work can spark unlimited discussions in an English or ESL classroom regarding similarities and differences between American values and the values of other cultures.