Week 7: post a link to the essay on your blog here!

August 4-August 10: Read Chapters 32-43—do a short essay about your concept on your own blog; post a link on my blog to yours. Respond to each others’ essays.

Where does that short essay material come from? As you read Huckleberry Finn, I am going to ask you to notice that the four following ideas keep cropping up: freedom, religion/superstition, education and nature. Please choose one concept to pursue throughout the book. As we read through Huckleberry Finn, I would ask you to keep a list of references to one of the above mentioned concepts. Each time you come across a reference to that concept, jot down the page, and give a brief summary of the reference. By brief, I mean a sentence or two at the most. If you own the book, you could just put “stickies” on those pages. Meanwhile, keep your ear open to the news. As you get attuned to looking for that particular concept, see if any of those concepts are in the news, or if you hear them talked about. You should post this second week about how you see that same concept addressed in today's society. What concepts, issues, concerns crop up today in connection to these same themes? By “short,” I mean a couple of well-developed paragraphs.

Nature in Huckleberry Finn: What does the attitude of Americans toward nature seem to be in Huckleberry Finn, or how does Huck (or any other character) seem to percieve or relate to nature? What knowledge of nature does Twain portay in this book?