← The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn · Chapters

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Chapter companions for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

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  1. Chapter 1

    Notice

    The author issues a humorous warning against readers who seek a motive, moral, or plot in the narrative, threatening prosecution, banishment, or shooting.

  2. Chapter 2

    Explanatory

    The author provides a note on the use of various dialects in the book, explaining that they are rendered accurately based on personal familiarity, and that without this explanation readers might mistakenly think the characters are all trying to talk alike.

  3. Chapter 3

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    The novel opens with a notice from the author and a brief introduction to the setting: the Mississippi Valley, forty to fifty years before the publication date. The story is told by Huckleberry Finn, who recounts his adventures with Tom Sawyer and the escaped slave Jim.

  4. Chapter 4

    I

    Huck Finn introduces himself and recounts his life with the Widow Douglas, who is trying to 'sivilize' him. He describes the discomfort of living in a clean, orderly house and his longing for freedom. After a brief escape, Tom Sawyer convinces him to return to the widow to join a robber band. Huck struggles with the strict rules, religious lessons from Miss Watson, and his own superstitious fears. The chapter ends with Tom Sawyer signaling Huck from outside, and Huck sneaking out to meet him.

  5. Chapter 5

    Chapter II

    Tom Sawyer organizes a secret band of robbers called 'Tom Sawyer's Gang' in a cave, with an elaborate oath written in blood. Huck Finn is nearly excluded for lacking a family to kill, but offers Miss Watson as a target. The boys debate the rules of ransom and robbery, drawing from Tom's bookish notions. After the meeting, Huck returns home exhausted and greasy. The chapter also includes a digression about Jim's superstitions, claiming he was ridden by witches and possesses a devil-given charm.

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  1. Chapter 6Chapter III
  2. Chapter 7Chapter IV
  3. Chapter 8V
  4. Chapter 9Chapter VI
  5. Chapter 10Chapter VII
  6. Chapter 11Chapter VIII
  7. Chapter 12Chapter IX
  8. Chapter 13Chapter X
  9. Chapter 14Chapter XI
  10. Chapter 15Chapter XII
  11. Chapter 16XIII
  12. Chapter 17XIV
  13. Chapter 18Chapter XV
  14. Chapter 19Chapter XVI
  15. Chapter 20Chapter XVII
  16. Chapter 21Chapter XVIII
  17. Chapter 22XIX
  18. Chapter 23Chapter XX
  19. Chapter 24Chapter XXI
  20. Chapter 25Chapter XXII
  21. Chapter 26Chapter XXIII
  22. Chapter 27XXIV
  23. Chapter 28Chapter XXV
  24. Chapter 29Chapter XXVI
  25. Chapter 30Chapter XXVII
  26. Chapter 31XXVIII
  27. Chapter 32Chapter XXIX
  28. Chapter 33The King and Duke's Quarrel
  29. Chapter 34Chapter XXXI
  30. Chapter 35XXXII
  31. Chapter 36Chapter XXXIII
  32. Chapter 37XXXIV
  33. Chapter 38XXXV
  34. Chapter 39XXXVI
  35. Chapter 40XXXVII
  36. Chapter 41XXXVIII
  37. Chapter 42XXXIX
  38. Chapter 43Chapter XL
  39. Chapter 44Chapter XLI
  40. Chapter 45XLII
  41. Chapter 46Chapter the Last