Lesson Title: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the Quest for Freedom
By: Linda Dursteleler
Burning Questions:
How and why does the quest for freedom in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn create a symbiotic relationship for Jim and Huck? How can parallel quests for freedom be mutually beneficial or detrimental: what does one gain or lose as a result of another’s freedom? What freedoms are truly important today? Why? What price can freedom extract from those who seek it? From those who grant it?
For Teachers: How can we teach students to recognize their freedoms and to seek freedoms effectively for everyone?
Introduction: From the beginning of the novel, the quest for freedom is theme that permeates the entire novel: Huck is seeking to escape civilization and Jim is escaping slavery. Huck prefers the freedom of the wilderness to the restrictions of society. Jim is running from Miss Watson, who threatened to sell him. Jim wants to reunite with his wife and family. He wants to buy her and to free his children. On the other hand, while Huck and Jim do seem to have found freedom on the raft, they are confined to the raft, which also becomes a prison of sorts.
Objectives:
After completing this lesson, students will be able to:
· Consider the theme of freedom as it applies to the novel and to their own lives and the lives of those around them.
· Formulate questions that explore issues of freedom and expose problems concerning the quest for freedom as it applies to the novel, and in relationship to their own society/culture and lives. They will gather, evaluate, and analyze information, and organize it in a format that presents a logical supporting argument or discussion of their research.
Context:
A high school class reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
The study of Huckleberry Finn is most effectively tied to the study of social studies/American history because the issues of community rights and individual freedom are social issues created through historical events and decisions. Therefore, important materials and resources should come from the history and social science classes – using other content teachers in a collaborative effort, if possible.
Materials:
· Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Puffin Classics). London: Puffin, 2008.
· Access to Pioneer and other secure/reliable internet research sources, as well as newspapers, news magazines, historical reviews, primary sources (e.g., interviews, journals, court cases/records/decisions), library and media reference materials, etc.
Time Span:
Time to read the novel, to research, and to report. Research and reporting time may take two weeks.
Procedures:
(Prior to reading the novel, present the lesson on Censorship.)
· During the reading of the novel, students will break into groups to discuss Huck’s quest for freedom and those who influenced that quest. They will also consider Jim’s quest for freedom and Huck’s role in Jim’s quest. Students will keep freedom journals of the journey, including noting parallels to their own lives. They should also make connections to the issue of freedom(s) in current affairs.
· After reading sections in the novel (or reading and discussing the novel in its entirety), in group discussions, students will identify and analyze assumptions made by characters in the novel about freedom. They will examine the connections concerning the quests for freedom that exist within the novel and those that affect the students and the world today. These discussions should allow students to explore new ideas and philosophies.
· Once students have identified issues concerning a quest for freedom that impacts their lives as in the lives of Huckleberry Finn and Jim, students will gather information to deepen their understanding of it. They will develop an argument in support of their quest for freedom (or the quest for freedom they have discovered through inquiry/research). They will support arguments with personal experience, detailed evidence, examples, and reasoning. Students will not be expected to come to a consensus, but should be prepared to defend their opinions based on solid research and documentation.
· Using this evidence, students will do one of the following.
a. Write an essay presenting their opinions and documentation.
b. Prepare an argument for debate on an issue regarding freedom as identified in class discussions. Present the argument or debate the issue for the class.
c. Craft an exposé on an issue regarding a freedom.
d. Write a documented paper that explores “what if” scenarios.
· Students will support their arguments, using persuasive strategies that appeal to logic, emotion and ethics.
Extension:
The challenge or danger in pursuing a freedom is in not recognizing that a freedom or right for one person may be a loss of freedom and/or infringement upon a right of another. This extension directly responds to the burning questions of the lesson.
In 1905, outraged by American military intervention in the Philippines, Mark Twain wrote "The War Prayer" and submitted it to Harper's Bazar (spelled so then) in late 1905. The magazine rejected it for being too radical; it wasn't published until after Twain's death, by which time World War I had made the piece even more timely.
§ Read “The War Prayer.” http://www.ntua.gr/lurk/making/warprayer.html (also available in audio and some interpretations in video on the internet.)
o In groups, students discuss what this means to them. How can parallel quests for freedom be mutually beneficial or detrimental: what does one gain or lose as a result of another’s freedom?
o In collaborative efforts, students create collages of news articles (magazines, papers, even viable internet articles) in response to the burning question.
o Students, as groups, write a conclusion of what is gained and lost in a quest for freedom.
o Individually, students write one page on what they personally have gained or lost in another’s quest for freedom.
Rationale:
The quest for freedom is one upon which the nation was built – the quest for freedom is one of the major themes in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Freedom is not a one-time achievement, but is to be sought continually.
Resources:
§ From Time, Inc is an essay by Minnie Phillips: “Teaching ‘Huck Finn,’ Twain’s novel, is not so much about race as it about freedom.” http://www.time.com/time/reports/mississippi/phillips.html
§ From a 2004 blog by Jessica Zelenak is “Freedom in Huckleberry Finn.” http://blogs.setonhill.edu/JessicaZelenak/005422.html
§ From the Library of Congress are materials related to Twain’s growing opposition to United States expansion in the Pacific: http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/twain.html
§ American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. Censorship and First Amendment Rights: A Primer. Tarrytown, NY: American Booksellers Foundation, 1992. A how-to book about dealing with censorship issues.
§ Blanchard, Margaret. Revolutionary Sparks: Freedom of Expression in Modern America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. A comprehensive history of freedom of speech from after the Civil War to the 1990s.
§ Intellectual Freedom Committee 2005-200, Association for Library Service to Children, a Division of the American Library Association. “Kids, Know Your Rights!: A Young Person’s Guide to Intellectual Freedom.” (Weber County Library)
§ Myers, Walter Dean. Now is Your Time! The African-American Struggle for Freedom. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. A history of African Americans and their fight for rights, geared to middle and high school students.
§ Zeinert, Karen. Issues in Focus: Free Speech, From Newspapers to Music Lyrics. Springfield, N.J: Enslow Publishers, 1995. An overview of free speech issues aimed at young people.
§ Zwick, Jim. Confronting Imperialism: Essays on Mark Twain and the Anti-Imperialist League. Infinity Publishing, November 2007.
§ Zwick, Jim, ed. Mark Twain's Weapons of Satire: Anti-Imperialist Writings on the Philippine-American War. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1992. Zwick discusses "The War Prayer.”
§ On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
§ From the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt institution are Q & A about human rights: http://www.udhr.org/history/question.htm
Again: This study is most effectively tied to the study of social studies/American history because these are social issues created through history. Therefore, important materials and resources should come from the history and social science classes – other teachers in a collaborative effort.