Huck Finn, Chapters 7 - 11

My family and I went on a long hike yesterday, and I found myself reading Huck Finn beside Siouxon (rhymes with Tucson) Creek. I highly recommend reading this book next to rushing water.

1. What do we learn about Huck in Chapter VII?
2. What sorts of survival skills does Huck demonstrate in Chapter VIII? Would you be able to survive on Jackson's Island on your own? Do you think Huck is an ordinary teenager from the antebellum era or is Huck exceptional? Either way, would would Twain make those choices?
3. What does the last paragraph on page 34 reveal about Twain's attitude towards religion?
4. Jim's dialect causes problems for many readers. It's more important to understand the general idea of what Jim says than to understand every word, though it's easier to understand the ideas if you know the words. Try summarizing Jim's story on pages 38 and 39. Why did he run away?
5. On pages38 and 39, define the following: poorty, awluz, oneasy, do', de widder, dey'd, sho, b'fo', whah, bymeby.
6. On page 42, what is the target of Twain's satire?
7. At the close of Chapter 8, Jim says "... I's rich now, come to look at it. I owns myself, en I's wuth eight hund'd dollars" (Twain 43). What's the purpose of that statement?
8. On page 45, Jim won't let Huck see the dead man, and on Page 47, Jim doesn't want to talk about him. What does this reveal about Jim's character and his relationship to Huck?
9. On pages 41, 47, and 48, we hear a lot more about superstition and bad luck. Do you believe in bad luck? Does Twain?
10. In Chapter 11, what is Twain's attitude about lying? How do you know?