Notes on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay Example for Free

Notes on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay Though the novel is entitled The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the story is told by Huck, the key character in the novel is Jim The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has two key characters, one is the slave Jim, the other; the protagonist Huck. Jim and Huck could each be considered the key characters for different reasons, Jim as he is the main representative of the typical slave (slavery being the most important theme of this novel) and Huck for he is the main storyteller. Jim is an important character in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and without him the novel would be ineffectual. However The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel about the adventures of the protagonist Huck, and it is more likely that the key character of this novel is Huck because we see everything from his view. In a novel which is written as a satiric social comment upon the southern states of America Jims role as the manifestation of slavery must be a key one. Incidents in which Jim interacts with other characters and their reactions to him are meant to symbolise the wider societys opinions on slaves and the practice of slavery. Jim, is a heroic figure in a book whose main characters consist of liars, cheats and scoundrels. Jim always does the right thing if he can, he always feels empathy for others even if those people show no such emotions for him. The incident at the end of the novel when he saves Tom and risks what he believes to be his own freedom is a case in point. We empathise with Jim because even though other characters suggest that his feelings are least important, whose life is lesser, whose existence is trivial, he manages to stay cheerful, and even kind to those who treat him in this manner. This quality makes him even more heroic, for he is a figure who turns the other cheek, and is kind to others no matter what. Jim doesnt lie or cheat, or steal or gamble and looks down on these activities. Jim is never bitter, he never complains, and never expects Huck to return or even notice what he does for him. However this is no to say that Huck is not heroic himself, his support for Jim, a black man, who Huck has been taught is inferior and as important as a pack horse is astounding, and displays that Huck is strong enough and heroic enough to make the harder choice and choose his heart over his conscience. An example of Huck choosing his heart occurs just after Jim has been sold by the King and the Duke for forty dollars, Huck believes he has been forced to make a choice between Jim and heaven. He chooses Jim with the words All right then, Ill go to hell. It is Jims escape and the subsequent threat of his re-capture that provides the reason for himself and Huck to leave the island and travel down the river where most of their adventures occur. Without Jim Twain would lack a reason for Huck to travel down the river and experience what he experiences, without Jim this would be little more than a story about a boy who fakes his own death, and then lives on an island. Add to this the fact that Jim is the leader during the travel down the river. He is the one who knows all the signs of weather, either good or bad, it is he who makes their journey its success and ensures their lives. Jim is the maturest out of himself and Huck. Hucks immaturity is shown when he puts the rattlesnake in Jims sleeping bag, or when he plays a trick on Jim during the fog. Jims maturity is displayed by his reaction to the incident when Huck plays a trick on him during the fog. Without Jim the novel would be innefectual because Hucks development would be stunted without him. One prime example of Jims importance occurs when Huck comes closer to fully realising that Jim is a real person too and the colour of his skin does not diminish his humanity. Huck has realised that Jim is a human and that he should not play tricks on him or regard him as stupid, around the end of the novel Huck says I knowed he was white inside, Huck is expresing his realisation that Jim is a human in the only way he knows through making Jim white. Hucks realisation is well brought across to us just after he has hidden in the fog, and returned to Jim, Jim works out that Huck is trying to trick him and reacts very badly to Hucks prank. Huck then says. it was fifteen minutes before I could work myself to humble to a nigger- but I done it, and I warnt ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didnt do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldnt done that one if Id knowed it would make him feel that way. Huck and Jim have a symbiotic relationship, they need each other Huck needs Jim to remain dynamic and keep our attention, and Jim needs Huck to justify his presence in the novel. Jims effect on Huck is huge it is through Jim that Huck begins to learn about how the colour of skin does not alter the person inside. An example of this occurs when Huck says and I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for theirn . Huck justifies Jims existence as a character of substance in this novel, for through helping Huck and caring for him, Jim is makes an impact on the reader, and hence makes his position in the novel as one of its main characters more tenable. However while it is obviously true that Jim teaches Huck he is not Hucks only teacher, several other characters such as Pap and Tom also teach Huck valuable lessons. One example of Huck being taught by someone other than Jim occurs when Huck says If I never learnt nothin else out of pap, I learnt that the best way to get along with his kind of people is to let them have their own way. It is through Huck and his reactions to various events that Twain passes on his opinions to the reader. Huck is a character through which the author, in Twain puts across his point of view, for example Hucks realisation that Jim is also a human and also important. Twain is trying to get this message across to the public. Huck is a representation of the common person at the beginning of the novel. He is white, uneducated, simple, and not willing to think about what he is told just willing to accept it. Hucks realisations about right and wrong, and importantly his own ability to determine this for himself are drawn out and argued logically inside a story which will hold the readers attention. Through Huck Twain frames all the key issues of freedom, racism and slavery, personal integrity and social rebellion against social attitudes of the period. This occurs when Huck interacts with key characters who are representative of a theme or an idea being presented by Twain. For example his interaction with Tom who represents conventional social attitudes, as the novel progresses Huck is less inclined to accept what Tom says or does as correct. One example of this occurs when Huck quits Tom Sawyers band of thieves, he no longer agrees with Tom, and many of Toms imagined incidents such as that of rading the summer school picnic no longer hold any credence with Huck. This moving away from Tom and what he represents, is an indication of Twains rejection of conventional social values. Jim is the symbolic representation of only one of these points of discussion, slavery. Jim is only a part of that whole because he represents only one of the themes that Twain is discussing in this novel. Unlike Huck, Jim is not the one who reveals the authors opinions through his actions and reactions he is merely representative of one of these ideas. Without Hucks presence the novel lacks a unifying element. Jim is unable to fill the void in this regard as he is a relatively static character who does not change. This is unlike the dynamic Huck who changes some of his opinions and learns about many things ranging from serious issues such as slavery to simpler things such as to how to discern what the weather will be. The most important factor that leads me to argue that Huck is the protagonist comes from the fact that the whole novel is told in first person. It is Hucks views not Jims that we get, it is his outlook that colours our opinion, and most importantly his vernacular we read. In fact Jim himself is seen through Hucks eyes, with Hucks opinion colouring our own. Huck is omnipresent, this is not so with Jim he continuously disappears when it does not serve Twain to have him in the episode. Debates inside Hucks mind, the incident when Huck plays a trick on Jim during the fog, and even the whole Shepardson, Grangerford incident are lacking the presence of Jim. When Huck meets the Shepardsons and the Grangerfords, for example Jim magically disappears into the bushes to repair the raft. Huck is in every moment of the novel, and other characters are merely there because they interact with Huck, Jim is no exception. Jim is an extremely important character in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Jim represents slavery the major theme of the novel, is forgiving, and kind, however this makes him a heroic character, not the key character. Huck on the other hand is the key character by virtue of his predominance throughout the book, he is on every page, and every line and unlike Jim he is the character who reveals and in effect discusses issues through his reactions, action and interaction with other characters. Hence it is fair and logical to conclude that although important Jim is not the key character of the novel, that honour must go to Huck.

Personal Essay: Prejudice -- Personal Narrative

I. BACKGROUND   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The location was a moderate to large size city near the east coast of Massachusetts. The city has a mix of all races and is diverse in its racial distribution. It is a city where most of the people are middle class working folks. While it is a moderate size city, it has few city problems such as homelessness, poverty and violence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The year was 1992 and it was the summertime. It was very hot and humid at about 11:30 at night and I was in a car driving around looking for something to do. It was a boring Tuesday night so I decided to go to a big video arcade hangout called Funworld. There is a number of video games as well as young people. The establishment is a large building with a large parking lot.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I was with three other people in the parking lot when we were approached by a group of three other gentlemen. I myself am a caucasian male under 21 years of age. Two of the people I was with were upperclass caucasian males also under the age of 21. The last person was also under 21 and male, but he was African-American. One of the caucasians was a close friend and another was an acquaintance. The African-American was also a friend of mine. Of the three gentlemen that approached us, two were hispanic males that appeared to be over 21 and the other was a caucasian male that appeared over 21, although I couldn't be sure. Although I didn't want to make any judgements about them, they looked as if they were poorly dressed and over 21. So I deduced that they were in a gang or they were drug dealers, high school dropouts, etc.;. II.ACTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At first it appeared as if both groups would just pass by each other unnoticed but the caucasian male in the other group made a racist remark about my African-American friend. He said "Look at those dumb dudes walking with that fucking spade". My African-American Dave turned around suddenly and said "What the fuck did you say?" The caucasian male retorted "None of your fucking business dick!" At this point both groups approached each other and then my friend Dave said "You wanna go", in response the other kid said "Let's go!" and shoved him in the chest. The other two of the caucasian male's friends jumped on top of Dave and then we all kind of got into a fight. We were mostly just pushing and shoving each other at first.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After about a minute of pushing... ...his fight alone was a melting pot of individuals. I think in my mind that the fat that Dan was white affected his decisions, not in a big way, but in some sort of way. I don't really know about the other three, but as for Chris and I, race affected us in terms of white and hispanic because that's who we were mad at the most. I don't know why this would be the case, but it just was.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe that African-American viewing this would have felt the most strongly. The event they would have sen unfolding in front of them would have hurt a lot. They would have jumped in to help not only my friend Dave but also all of us because we were all trying to fight for the same thing out there. African-American's also would have been puzzled as to why one white man would help out a black man but not two. The way events unfolded would have made them think twice.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In an odd way I feel another thing that would have made people jump in to help was the fact that a caucasian and an African-American were fighting for each other . As much as we hate to admit it that is not a scene we see nearly enough of in this day and age. Something has got to be done about it immediately.

Speech on the Importance of Co-curricular Activities in School by R Jain

It happens more than sometimes that a student who has consistently shown in studies does less well later on in life than a student who has always been academically mediocre. The reason is not, necessarily, that the former has not lived up to expectations, or that the latter has all the connections that count. Often it is just a case of the mediocre rising to excellence because he has had the good luck of finding himself. Albert Einstein, Leo Tolstoy and Rabindranath Tagore were not considered particularly bright prospects in school, but nevertheless took the world by storm. Obviously, academics is only one yardstick of a student’s ability.At the school level, it is presently the most important yardstick and will probably continue to be so in the foreseeable future. It is generally agreed that an educated person is required to have grounding in certain specified areas of knowledge that may be termed as ‘basic subjects’. Over and above that, though, a good school wi ll offer a wide variety of supplementary or co-curricular activities involving games, music, art, literature, photography, the computer, and what have you. The more varied and better organised these activities are, the greater are the chances of a student succeeding in discovering himself.What does that mean? It means finding out what one likes doing, what one is good at and what one would like to develop one’s skills in. It is not impossible for this to turn out to be a fairly long drawn-out trial-and-error process. A student may begin by trying his hand at painting and find himself lacking; he may then move on to debating and discover he is worse at it; he may then have a shot at acting, but in vain; finally, he may find his metier in creative writing. He starts writing stories and poems and getting appreciation for and feedback on them. It makes him a happier, more motivated, and more energetic person.He may have been an indifferent student, but now, because his self-estee m has risen and he is more confident of himself, he attains a higher rank in class as well. It is not necessary that he should go on to become a famous writer. The very fact that he has confidence in himself now will make a world of difference to how he goes about life and what he does with it. It is up to him to seek out suitable avenues for the expression of his creativity, but once that is done, that initial act of self-discovery in school will prove to be one of the most positive turning-points in his life.What today is called ‘co-curricular’ was yesterday known as ‘extra-curricular’. The change in wording is significant and reveals recognition of the worth of non-academic pursuits in education. That one does not need to sit in ‘examinations’ in most co-curricular activities is a factor that makes them more enjoyable than classroom study; however, that may also be the very reason why a section of students don’t take them seriously en ough.More and more colleges and organisations have begun to look beyond the school-leaving and graduation and post-graduation certificates while deciding whom to take in and whom to leave out during admission or employment, and a good co-curricular track record may well give one an edge over a rival candidate who has no such background. This development, also, should further the worthy cause of co-curricular activities.

Everything You Need to Know About Kenya Essay

Kenya is a country in the continent of Africa, on the Indian Ocean coast of East Africa. This country has land on both sides of the equator. This report is going to tell you all about this fascinating country. Jambo (Hello), and we can begin our safari (journey). â€Å"Jambo† and â€Å"safari† are Kiswahili words, one of the languages of Kenya. Kenya is about two times the size of Nevada. It’s slightly smaller than Texas and slightly larger than California, our 2nd and 3rd largest states respectively. The countries that border Kenya are Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda. Kenya is not landlocked because the Indian Ocean borders Kenya to its right. Kenya is in both the northern and eastern hemispheres. Some major landforms in Kenya include the Kenyan Highlands, Mt. Kenya, the Great Rift Valley, Mau Escarpment, and Mt. Marsabit. The highest elevation is Mount Kenya at 17,057 feet, which is also one of the tallest in Africa. The capital of Kenya is Nairobi. The distance from Nairobi (the capital of Kenya) to Washington D.C. is 7,548 miles. The geography of Kenya supplies some advantages. One area that displays this is the highlands. The highlands provide Kenya with one of the best agricultural regions in Africa. There is rich soil and fertile ground. There is plentiful rainfall and mild climate perfect for farming. High altitude is also great for growing coffee and tea. Kenya is the 4th largest tea producer in the world. Farming provides jobs to the people that live there. Exporting crops such as coffee and tea help provide money in the country. The one and only type of natural vegetation in Kenya is tropical grassland. They have no active volcanoes, but a few centuries ago Mt. Kenya was a volcano. The distance from Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, to the equator is approximately 216 miles. The climate of Kenya is varied. However, overall, the one-month it rains the  most in Kenya is in April when they get 6.3 inches. The average temperature in January is about 68 degrees while in July it’s 63 degrees. The many climates in Kenya include tropical wet, tropical wet and dry, arid, and semiarid. Arid is a dry region and receives approximately 5 inches of rain per year. In the summer Kenya gets .6 inches of rain and in the winter receives .1 inches. The temperature in the summer is 81 degrees Fahrenheit and the winter about 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Semiarid is considered a dry climate type. Summers average 79 degrees Fahrenheit and in the winter averages 51 degrees Fahrenheit. The yearly rainfall is 10 inches in the summer 3.4 and .2 in the winter. Tropical wet and dry is considered a tropical climate. It’s hot all year, averaging 79 degrees all year. It receives about 50 inches of rainfall per year with 10 inches in the summer and .2 inches in the winter. I will now tell you about the history of Kenya before European exploration. Early tribal groups have started to settle in Kenya as far back as 2000 BC. The main reason tribes came here was for the rich, fertile ground, which would be good for farming. Both the highlands and the Rift Valley provided this in southern Kenya. The first migrants to arrive were pastoral nomads from Ethiopia who were in search of fertile ground, which they could use to graze their flocks. They were soon forced to leave and go into central Tanzania because of the climate changes over the centuries and water had begun to be scarce. The Yaaku, or Eastern Cushites, came 1,000 years later and settled in central Kenya. It seems that the Yaaku had been the leader and many more tribes came as the followers and by 100 AD there has been nearly 1,400 pastoral communities in the Rift Valley region. Next, I will tell you about the people of Kenya. The population of Kenya is 31,138,735 people. There are 2,310,000 people living in Nairobi. The population  density is 139 people per square miles in Kenya. Kenya is rural in most  areas, but urban in the capital. The official language of Kenya is English and Kiswahili (Swahili). The major ethnic group of Kenya is Kikuyu, which makes up 22% of the population. The major religion of Kenya is Protestant. 45% of the people follow the Protestant religion. The literacy rate in Kenya is 78.1% overall. Males are 86.3% literate, and women are 70% literate. Many areas lack good education. The life expectancy for women is 48 while the men are expected to life to 46. The population trend is growing greatly at 1.15% per year. One major illness that Kenyans suffer greatly from is HIV/AIDS. I will now tell you about the economy. The major type of economic activity is agriculture including herding and farming. Approximately 75-80% of the working population are in agriculture. It is a primary activity. The main agricultural product is tea. Kenya relies on coffee, tea, and flowers as their limited amount of cash crops. Although they have areas for farming, due to the large population and climate and weather problems, Kenya suffers with both starvation and famine. Some of their leading exports include coffee, tea, and flowers. They have a trade deficit with 3.1 million dollars imported and 1.8 million dollars exported. The major trading partners with Kenya are UK, Tanzania, and Uganda. The major imports Kenya receives are machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins, and plastics. The per capita GDP is $1,000 per person. The major natural resource is hydroelectric power. Other natural resources include gold, limestone, s oda ash, salt barites, garnets, and rubies. The currency is called a Kenyan Schilling. A US dollar is worth 77 Kenyan Schillings. I will now tell you about the politics and government of Kenya. The type of government in Kenya is a republic. Recently, the government has not changed. The current leader of Kenya is President Mwal Kibaki. The date Kenya was granted its independence was on December 12th, 1963. The country got its name when Europeans mispronounced the name Kikuyu (what Kenya was then called) for Kenya. The same occurred with the name for Mt. Kenya. There have been no recent civil wars. The ambassador to the US is Yusuf Abdulraham. The name of the major political party is the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy also known as FORD. The international organizations Kenya is a  part of include the UN (The United Nations), IMF (International Monetary Fund), WB (World Bank), OAU (Organization of African Unity), and ISO (International Organization of Standardization). The flag of Kenya has many meanings. The shield represents the pride and tradition of Kenya. The black represents the people. The red represents the blood. Green represents the fertile ground. Finally, the white represents peace. I feel that Kenya is still in the developing stage. Much of the area is rural, with an increasing population, particularly in and around the capital. They have many citizens with HIV AIDS, and have many more suffering from starvation. One strength that Kenya has is that they get 40 inches of rainfall per year. That makes it good for farming, in the areas that they can farm. Another strength is the high altitude and Great Rift Valley that not only allows tea and coffee to grow, but it offers more jobs, which is important with a high population density country like Kenya to have. I think that Kenya will not improve in the future unless they reduce the incidence of Aids and eliminate starvation. Due to limited education, lack of a cure for Aids, and weather conditions that cannot be controlled, the future does not look very promising for Kenya.

Book Report Essay Example

Book Report Essay Example Book Report Essay Book Report Essay I have been reading the book Boost by Kathy Mackel. The book is about the main character and narrator, Savannah Christopher, Savvy for short, and her older sister, Callie. Savvy and Callie are both athletic girls, but conflicts with their sport make them want to boost their game. In the book, Savvnvy is trying out for a 180 team, Fire, at the age of 13 with her friend, Nina Gonzalez. Meanwhile her sister Callie is a freshmen trying out for the varsity cheerleading team. I predict that because Savvnvy is a really good player, the older players will push her around. I also think her sister will get troubled with heerleading on her size because it is mentioned how she sits on her iPod to listen to music all day and eat Junk food. I think that since both sisters are very serious in their sports, they want to be as best as they can, they will do anything to improve their game. I predict that they will most likely incorporate drugs to their game. Most likely they will take steroids. I say steroids because athletes that take drugs usually take steroids because it makes them stronger and be their best at their game temporarily. I believe that Savvnvy and Callie using drugs to enhance their game will eave them ending up to be sick and eventually hospitalized since they are very young and will proboable become addicted from taking drugs. Because of the previous contradictions on the use of the internet, the book points out the need for further research on the study. This book gives the psychologists a chance to research on the different forms of learning. It gives them a chance to research how the internet has affected learning among various sectors. One of the factors that affect brain plasticity is age. Carr writes the book based on his experience and the experiences of other adults. It is possible that adults and children lose concentration in different ways. Children and adults are interested in different things, and this can determine their level of concentration. This book fits in a psychological study, especially in the issue of cognition and brain development.

International Business Finance Issues in IBF Supplies Plc and Joe Research Paper

International Business Finance Issues in IBF Supplies Plc and Joe Company - Research Paper Example Multinational vs. domestic capital budgeting project: consideration of additional factors 9 Characteristics of multinational companies (MNCs) affecting the cost of capital 10 Ram plc and Pram plc: Benefits from economies of scale 10 Theory of Comparative Advantage as a motive for international trade: Usefulness 11 Reference 13 1. IBF Supplies Plc: Financial and non-financial factors influencing the proposal of establishing subsidiaries in Eastern Europe, Africa as well as Asia IBF Supplies Plc is one of the leading companies in the UK market in supplying office items to its clients. The company holds a competitive edge over its competitors as it supplies the office items at a competitive price and also the time of delivery of IBF Supplies Plc is comparatively low. The management of the company has assessed that there would be a decrease in demand in the domestic markets in future for which the Director has envisaged the expansion of the company into foreign markets. IBF Supplies Plc found there is an increasing demand for the supply of its products in the markets of Eastern Europe, Africa as well as Asia. The financial factors to be considered in the proposal of establishing foreign subsidiaries of IBF Supplies Plc in Eastern Europe, Africa as well as Asia includes assessment of the economy of the respective local markets, the costs involved in the foreign investments which ranges from the cost of raising of capital, cost for working capital, financing costs, etc. The financial factors also include assessment of financial risks, benefits and disadvantages associated with the foreign investments of IBF Supplies Plc. The non-financial factors to be considered which influences the foreign investment proposal of IBF Supplies Plc are the social factors, political factors, technological factors and the legal factors of the foreign land that has an impact on the business of IBF Supplies Plc.  

Critically evaluate Direct payments in relation to Personalisation Essay

Critically evaluate Direct payments in relation to Personalisation - Essay Example When one has the power of choosing and the power of control, it will hence lead to the life of a person to be in the best state (Barron 2010, p.57). Moreover, due to pay down assists in the privatisation policy, many other critical factors are brought into the light. Factors such as trying to ensure a proper and global proximity to both the societal and services that are termed as free by the government are considered (Bornat 2008, p.67). Others such as the intervening and also the early processes of intervening, the growth and also the continuous producing of services in social societies, and also the sector that does involve social care, trying to improve the levels of access to vital information, and also the guidance of all persons, who do utilise this primary social care amenities. This is irrespective of how they are planned to get their funding, and achieving recognition and other supportive aspects of this field (Hazel 2011, p.34). Direct payments which in short form are termed as DPs, are payments in cash form, that are paid to a person, for which they are now able to manage and also make designs of customized help so as to be able to obtain their various needs that are pertain able to social care (Glasby 2009, p.23). Therefore, the channel that submits funds for direct payments, originates from the authorities locally. Even though direct payments have always been present since the year 1996, they are currently one of the many choices that persons who are hence availed for a personal budget (Rogowski 2010, p.87). It is hence evident and without argument that, the number of persons who utilise direct payments as a want, has with time grown constantly from 50 to 3373, from the years 2002 to the year 2008. It is also observable that, the numbers of persons who utilise direct payments, from the year 2007 to 2008, have increased in terms of per cent, roughly rising by 61%. This is indeed one of the largest