Summary: Chapter 13. Mark Twain and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Background. They manage to escape with the robbers loot. It intersects facts with quotes from the people of the time, from letters and diaries. After the Civil War, reformers sought to make the middle-class ideal of an orderly, protected childhood available to all children. Yet we are not ready to celebrate, for (he suggests) children today face new problems born of this very reinvention. After minimal schooling, impoverished pre- adolescent children were drawn into the labor force to work long hours under appalling conditions. I finally got around to reading the book this summer and I wish I had read it sooner. At the beginning of this comprehensive and overarching narrative of the history of children in America, Steven Mintz outlines several myths about childhood that offer food for thought and a reason . I am always pleasantly surprised at how much I genuinely enjoy learning and relearning American history. What is the significance of the town of Cairo, Illinois? Underscoring diversity through time and across regions, Mintz traces the transformation of children from the sinful creatures perceived by Puritans to the productive workers of nineteenth-century farms and factories, from the cosseted cherubs of the Victorian era to the confident consumers of our own. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. It literally moves the plot along, carrying Jim and Huck from one adventure to the next. Sumit Guha. When Huck asks Tom what he had planned to do once he had freed the already-freed Jim, Tom replies that he was planning to repay Jim for his troubles and send him back a hero, giving him a reception complete with a marching band. It's just that the author is interested primarily in the legal and economic aspects of childhood, much much less about the quiddities of the everyday lives of children, and not at all about the mythology, internal and external, of childhood and how it is romanticized or reimagined either by art or by children themselves. This book is an interesting history of the United States from the perspective of children that takes on the myth of the idealized childhood - one enjoyed by precious few children, mostly prosperous Huck's raft: a history of American childhood, User Review - Not Available - Book Verdict. He notes that Booth Tarkington dealt condescendingly with adolescents whereas post-World War II writers focused on weightier subjects, such as adolescents sexual initiation or juvenile delinquency (Amboy Dukes) or a girls sadistic pleasure in her sexual power over men (East of Eden), Lesbianism (The Wayward Ones), homosexuality (Compulsion), and rape (Entry E). The scope of Mintzs coverage is impressive. Most readers, at first, think that Huck's trick on Jim is funny. Huck's Raft is a breath of fresh air. Huck's Raft: A History of American Childhood Paperback - April 30, 2006 by Steven Mintz (Author) 126 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle $15.93 Read with Our Free App Hardcover $20.00 10 Used from $19.99 4 New from $39.74 1 Collectible from $10.00 Paperback $30.00 17 Used from $15.82 16 New from $25.64 However, in chapter 5 of "Huck's Raft", Mintz explores the experiences of children in the early 20th century who were often forced to work in factories and on farms to support their families. 1 / 8. There are many astonishing accounts of how children lived in all periods, starting with colonial America and ending with the start of the 21st century. For more than three centuries, adults have agonized over raising children while children have followed their own paths to development and expression. Renew your subscription to regain access to all of our exclusive, ad-free study tools. Eventually they do find the raft again, but losing it briefly proves positive: in the thieves' boat they find blankets, clothes, and other necessities. The size also helps the raft function as a plot device, as you'll see later on. There's something interesting on every page. Perhaps Twain, finishing this novel twenty years after the Civil War concluded and slaves were freed, means also to say that black Americans may be free in a technical sense, but that they remain chained by a society that refuses to acknowledge their rightful and equal standing as individuals. Starting with the 18th century, Mintz traces childhood in the United States up until the end of the 20th century. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain creates an entertaining adventure of Middle America in the 1800's - afloat on a raft on the Mississippi River. "Children have long served as a lightning rod for America's anxieties about society as a whole," writes historian Mintz, who successfully lays the foundation for his statement in this intriguing new Parental Panics and the Reshaping of Childhood, Hucks Raft: A History of American Childhood, Huck's Raft: A History of American Childhood, Unstrange Minds: Remapping the World of Autism. Jim tells Huck, who fears for his futureparticularly that his father might reappearthat the body they found on the floating house off Jacksons Island had been Paps. He asks himself what the point of being. Select your institution from the list provided, which will take you to your institution's website to sign in. But the writing is dry and factual and never drew me in. If the raft had been a boat, Huck and Jim would have been able to escape the Duke and the Dauphin after the incident at the Wilks' house. See below. Later, when Jim is captured, the raft basically falls out of the picture. Goodness grief! I learned SOOO much. Huckleberry Finn represents a rambunctious, yet ultimately innocent, ideal of childhood reflecting imagined ideals of childhood rather than the reality of American children over the past 400 years. Evan Haefeli, ed. Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. . This was a really comprehensive book on the history of children and conceptions of childhood in American culture. Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas, rattled by the mysterious letter, send Tom and Huck to bed right after supper. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Study Guide, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Setting, Jackson's Island in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Psychological Research & Experimental Design, All Teacher Certification Test Prep Courses, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Literary & Historical Context, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Literary Analysis & Devices, Setting in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Mississippi: The Big River in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Raft in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Nature in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Characters, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Chapter Summaries & Quotes, Common Core ELA - Language Grades 11-12: Standards, Common Core ELA - Speaking and Listening Grades 9-10: Standards, Common Core ELA - Speaking and Listening Grades 11-12: Standards, Study.com ACT® Test Prep: Practice & Study Guide, Study.com SAT Test Prep: Practice & Study Guide, Study.com PSAT Test Prep: Practice & Study Guide, Writing Review for Teachers: Study Guide & Help, Reading Review for Teachers: Study Guide & Help, Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators: Reading (5713) Prep, Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators - Writing (5723): Study Guide & Practice, EPT: CSU English Language Arts Placement Exam, Study.com ACT® Test Prep: Help and Review, SAT Subject Test Literature: Tutoring Solution, Freedom in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Examples & Quotes, The Widow Douglas & Miss Watson in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Satire in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Examples & Quotes, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Plot Summary and Characters, Superstition in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Examples & Quotes, Racism in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jim in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Slavery in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Realism in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Themes and Analysis, Friendship in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Examples & Quotes, Morality in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Chapter 1 Summary, Working Scholars Bringing Tuition-Free College to the Community. Jannis Panagiotidis. Both novels are set in the town of St. Petersburg, Missouri, which lies on the banks of the Mississippi River. Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan! Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future. I found the end of the book, which looked at childhoods in the 1990s a bit less interesting, just because it felt like it was edging the line of assumption and judgement at times. Contact us Not being as educated in the history of these eras, I have less capacity to critique, but am left wondering. publication in traditional print. What dreams and plans does Jim have for his future once he successfully escapes from slavery? on 50-99 accounts. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Sally refuses to let Huck out to find Tom (who she still thinks is Sid), since she is so sad to have lost Sid and does not want to risk another boy. Horrified to learn that Jim is now in chains, Tom explains that Miss Watson died two months ago and that her will stipulated that Jim should be set free. When on board the wreck, Huck hears thieves discussing the murder of one of their fellow thieves. For a reader who picks up this book with little or no knowledge of the history of childhood in America, the read will remain fascinating for much of its length. How do the duke and king work their Royal Nonesuch scam? 1999-2021 PopMatters Media, Inc. All rights reserved. If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institutions website, please contact your librarian or administrator. Superbowl Sunday, London Style: A Conversation, Dougie Poole Spins the Wheel of Rules and Lands on Transcendence, Formerly Banned French Crime Film A Woman Kills Slips Out of the Shadowy Margins, A Juggernaut of Jokes: An Oral History of Silkworms Italian Platinum, Everything Everywhere All at Once and the Politics of Genre, PopMatters Seeks Film Critics and Essayists, PopMatters Seeks Television Critics and Essayists. Have for his future once he successfully escapes from slavery and factual and never drew me in ideal of orderly! Device, as you 'll see later on pleasantly surprised at how much I genuinely enjoy learning relearning!, from letters and diaries institution 's website to sign in to your institutions website please. Wreck, Huck hears thieves discussing the murder of one of their fellow thieves how do the duke king! But am left wondering how do the duke and king work their Royal Nonesuch scam critique, but am wondering... 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