“The San Francisco Chronicle” pronounced Mark Twain’s Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn his most notable and well written books. The Mississippi region
is far better depicted in this novel than in his earlier Life on the
Mississippi. An accurate account is made of the lifestyle and times of the
Southwest nearly fifty years prior to the construction of the novel. Twain does
a remarkable job enticing the reader into the adventures of two boys, Huck and
Tom, and a runaway Negro, Jim, while also covertly implanting his messages and
morals in the text. The most pleasing parts of the story are those Twain
describes in detail. Detail is also exceptionally displayed in the illustrations
he paints of the characters. Pap, Huck’s father, is one of the prime examples.
Twain has the ability to create a portrait in short sketches as well as long. It
is this ability that pulls the reader into the great American story. Along with
detail and concise character depiction, Twain intertwines humor. The Duke and
the King contribute to some of the most amusing humor throughout the course of
their “work” trying to imitate heirs of the late Peter Wilks. It is
“fertility and luck” that salvage them from exposure. It is all the close
calls of near discovery from each character’s fraud that moves the story
along. With out the suspense the plot would be dull. Every person who endulges
in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will commend the story as exceptional
literature. The humor and precise depiction of the time, life, place, and people
will all contribute to this conclusion. The story is “well gotten up” and
“fun.”