HUCK FINN RESPONSE #7-IRONY OR SARCASM

The novel is full of examples of Irony (something happens which is the oppostite of what you would expect) and sarcasm (someone saying one thing but meaning the opposite.) Most of the examples of SARCASM come when Huck Finn (the character) says one thing, but we as the reader know that Mark Twain (the author) is joking around or meaning the opposite.
Please find at least one quote that demonstrates an example of this sarcasm, and explain Twain's intended meaning.
DO NOT REPEAT OTHERS' POSTS.

"so I went to talking about other kings, and let Solomon slide. I told about Louis Sixteeth that got his head cut off in France long time ago; and about his little boy the dolphin, that would a been a king, but they took and shut him in jail, and some say died there.(107)

Huck got his stories mixed up. He got his terms mixed up, like dolphin and dauphin. Twain uses the fact that Huck is not telling his stories correctly to create humor. Twain obviously does not agree with what Huck is saying. Even though Huck seems mature this qoute shows that he is still a kid.

Chapter 28:
"I says to myself, I reckon a body that ups and tells the truth when he is in a tight place is taking considerable many resks, though I ain't had no experience, and can't say for certain; but it looks so to me, anyway..."

Huck is being honest about dishonesty. And since Huck is a child, it kind of gives you the feeling that being honest is the right way to go(which it is).

"They went off and I got aboard the raft, feeling bad and low, because I knowed very well I had done wrong, and I see it warn't no use for me to try to learn right."(140)

Huck doesn't think that he can learn right because he has done wrong, but he would learn from his mistakes. From this the reader knows that Huck is young and doesn't understand that consept so he will have to learn about that too. Twain knows that Huck will learn something from this, but kids don't know that they are learning from a mistake and they really are.

"...I had forgot what my name was. So I laid there about an hour trying to think, and when Buck waked up I says:
"Can you spell, Buck?"
"Yes," he says.
"I bet you can't spell my name," says I.
"I bet you what you dare I can," says he.
"All right," says I, "go ahead."
"G-e-o-r-g-e J-a-x-o-n--there now," he says. (151)

Huck tricked Buck into spelling out his fake name for him because Huck had forgotten what name he choose to tell the family. Huck meant to remember his name again but Buck thought he was being tested.

"But there warn't no spainards and A-rabs, and there warn't no camels nor elephants, It warn't anything but a sunday-school picnic, and only a primer class at that. We busted it up and chased the childeren up the hollow; but we never got anything but some doughnuts and jam."

The kids think that they were this tough pirate gang but they really weren't. They are only prentend pirates and its funny to see the kids think that are so tough when in reality they are not. Although dounghnuts and jam is pretty good booty

"Watchman your grandmother..." Twain doesn't literally mean Jim's grandma but he simply means that the watchman isn't really anything to be scared about.

"Why where was you raised? Don't you know what a feud is?"(162)

Buck is confused and doesn't realize that Huck doesn't understand what a feud is. Buck assumes that everyone knows what a feud between people is and he is sarcastic towards Huck about because of his ignorance.

"You! At your age! No! You mean you're the late Charlemagne; you must be six hundred years old."

He couldn't be this old because a human being hardly lived past fifty years back then. Much less a supposed king who was around six hundred years earlier. This just shows how gulible people were back then.

"I says to myself, there ain't no telling but I might come to be a murderer myself yet, and then how would I like it?

It's ironic, how Huck states that he might be a murderer someday and he wouldn't like it if someone would kill him, but if Huck was a murderer he wouldn't save the criminals because he would be a murderer. Also the quote shows a sense of humor because its of funny way of looking at things; and what Twain is trying to say is that everyone deserves a second chance and not just be let to die.

"You! At your age! No! You mean you're the late Charlemagne; you must be six hundred years old."
No one can be 600 years old. Especially way back then.

There are examples of Irony in Chapter 18
"Well, who done the shooting? Was it Grangerford or a Shepherdson?"
"Laws how do I know? It was so long ago."
The Shepherdsons and Grangerfords are killing each other over a dispute that happened so long ago no one remember the cause of it.

“You didn’t want to come. The average man don’t like trouble and danger.” (214)

During this time most men like trouble and danger.

"But if they was joyful, it warn't nothing to what is was;for it was like being born again, I was so glad to find out who I was."

This is when Huck is pretending to be a boy that the family was expecting. When he finds out that it is Tom Sawyer who he is pretending to be, he is excited about it. It is ironic because he isn't Tom, but he is talking like he is him.

"It was pretty ornery preaching-all about brotherly love, and such-like tiresomeness; but everybody said it was a good sermon, and they all talked it over going home,"

This quote shows irony because the family are basically in war with eachother and the sermon is about how should love and be friendly to you neighbor.

"I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their'n."
Huck is very surprised that black people can care for people as much as white people can. This is just another example of Twain taking a jab at the society of the time, not that Huck is racist but it shows what the society wanted people to think.

(Pg 308 hard cover) "Go 'long now, and tell him anything you want to but mind you don't work your jaw between here and there."

Clearly he isn't going to phyicaly work his jaw by talking about a few things. The meaning is just don't be a blabber mouth and keep your words to yourself.

"...the poor girls, too; and every woman, nearly, went up to the girls, withoutsaying a word, and kissed them, solemn, on the forehead, and then put their hand on their head, and looked up towards the sky, with the tears running down, and then busted out and went off sobbing and swabbing, and give the next woman a show. I never see anything so disgusting."

Huck doesn't like hwo these girls were pulling some wort of a fake act and i don't think he has ever like people who are fakes. He doesn't like how the girls are "sobbing" and it just baffles him.

"so I went to talking about other kings, and let Solomon slide. I told about Louis Sixteeth that got his head cut off in France long time ago; and about his little boy the dolphin, that would a been a king, but they took and shut him in jail, and some say died there.(107)

Twain uses hucks screw ups to create humor/sarcasm. Huck got everything messed up like the animal dolphin and dauphine.

"Why where was you raised? Don't you know what a feud is?"

Huck doesnt understand what is going on between the two families that are fighting. Then when Buck tells him they are in a feud he does not understand what that is and gets confused.

"Did you see the king?
"Who? William Fourth> Well, I bet I have-he goes to our church." I knowed he was dead years ago, but I never let on. So when I says he goes to our church, she says:
"What-regular?"
"Yes-regular. His pew's right over opposite ourn-on t'other side the pulpit."

Twain is using a bit of sarcasm as well as humor in this passage of the book. Like Huck says, he new that William the Fourth died a long time ago but he was tricking the girl into believing that the king went to his church! He also uses sarcasm when he tells her that William goes to his church regular and sits close to him there!

"Someone asked was Jim a runaway nigger? Says I: 'Goodness sakes! would a runaway nigger run south?!'"

Huck is using sarcasm because why would a slave go south? They would probably be going north.

"When we was ready to shove off we was a quarter of a mile below the island, and it was pretty broad day; so I made Jim lay down in the canoe and cover up with a quilt, because if he set up people could tell he was a nigger a good ways off."

Huck incorrectly assumes that people can distinguish a black person from a white person from a significant distance. At this point, he still holds the belief that blacks are different from whites.

"They asked us considerable many questions; wanted to know what we covered up the raft that way for, and laid by in the daytime instead of running-was Jim a runaway nigger? Says I: 'Goodness sakes, would a runaway nigger run south?' No, they allowed he wouldn't."

Huck wasn't going South, he made a wrong turn. But he uses his mistake to cover up their plan.

'Well, I don't care if I did, I didn't do it, anyway. But you not only had it in mind to do it, but you done it.'" -Pg. 203
the duke seems like he really didnt want to do the crime that they did but the king really doesnt care that he did it.

(Way down the river)"Why who's that?"
"Who do you reckon 'tis"
"I hain't no idea. Who is it?"
"It's Tom Sawyer!"
It's ironic that even though Huck has traveled so far away from his house he still ran into someone who knew Tom which was his best friend.

In chapter 32, Huck states when he is heading to the Phelp's farm to get back Jim:

"I went right along, not fixing up any particular plan, but just trusting to Providence to put the right words in my mouth when the time come; for I'd noticed that Providence always did put the right words in my mouth if I left it alone."

This is ironic because Huck doesn't put much stock into religion or praying or anything like that. In fact, in the last chapter he states that he is going to hell because he is helping free Jim, and God doesn't want him to do that. Yet, he thinks Providence will help him find the words to help him free Jim? He is very ironic.

Way back in chapter three, Mark Twain creates a lot of sarcasm. Huck and Tom are taking about rubbing an old tin lamp and iron ring to get genies to come. Huck is skeptical of this idea, and keeps questioning Tom about how it works. Tom finally replies, “Shucks, it ain’t no use to talk to you, Huck Finn. You don’t seem to know anything, somehow – perfect saphead.” (21) It is humorous because it is actually Tom who doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Huck is thinking logically, while Tom is letting his imagination run wild.

"Out with you, Jim, and set her loose! Glory be to goodness, we're shut of them!"
At the end of chapter 29, Huck was so happy to leave the king and the duke, he was jumping up and down! But little did he know... he was actually going to be stuck with them again. This creates sarcasm because Huck was so happy to get rid of them, but they were really just going to be on the raft once again.

Twain uses Iorny on pg 211 when Aunt sally says "Good gracious, anybody hurt?" amd Huck respondes "no'm. killed a nig***"
Mark Twain is trying to point out the fact that it is really sad that people actually think just because you are black that means that they are not even a person.

way back in chapter 5. When Huck's Pap said "Well, I'll learn her how to meddle. And looky
here -- you drop that school, you hear? I'll learn
people to bring up a boy to put on airs over his own
father and let on to be better'n what HE is. You lemme
catch you fooling around that school again, you hear?
Your mother couldn't read, and she couldn't write,
nuther, before she died. None of the family couldn't
before THEY died. I can't; and here you're a-swelling
yourself up like this. I ain't the man to stand it --
you hear? Say, lemme hear you read."

we know that reading is good (or we couldn't have read this book) and pap is just being ignorant and for us that is funny because he thinks backwards.

"The idea of you lynching anybody! its amusing. The idea of you thinking you had pluck enough to lynch a man!"
Colonel Sherbourn was basically yelling at the mob of people about how they wanted to kill him. He said it was a coward thing to do. Yet, he actually killed a man just because he was drunk. He should be the one receiving the yelling. Twain could have intended that you shouldn't be hypocritical by doing something and then tell somebody not to do what you just did.