Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Is Mark Twain's setting a character?
I believe that Mark Twain's setting in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has the detail and importance of any character. This importance gives true nature and life to the story. Not only is it a factor to the story's plot, but it effects all the characters that are involved. An example of the characteristic sense in the story is seen on page 83. The paragraph reads "It was a monsterous big river here, with the tallest and thickest kind of timber on both banks; just a solid wall, as well as I could see by the stars. I looked away downstream, and seen a black speck on the water. I took after it; but when I got to it it warn't nothing but a couple of saw-logs made fast together". Without the visual details and context, we would find this paragraph far less intriguing. Reading multiple passages over other examples of the setting can really set an image in your head. This image can help you not only connect to the setting and story, but also connect with other characters mentioned in this book. When you really think about it, Mark Twain wrote the specifics for his benefits and for your own.
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I agree, the setting is a lot like a character in this book. The way it describes everything and the detail of the river, the setting itself creates it's own character. I think that's what makes this book so interesting, is reading about how Huck Finn and the other characters interact with everything around them and how every detail in the paragraph gives you a remarkable image of the adventures they have. Without the imagery the setting gives us, this book would be much less interesting than it is now.
ReplyDeleteI would have to respectfully disagree with your statement. I believe that the setting is not a character in this book. The auother is only giving details to describe how the river looks and the feeling it gives off. The river itself is just a river it has no charcteization in this story. Therefore the river cant be a charecter in this story.
ReplyDeleteI agree. There is a lot of detail about the setting in Huck Finn. I believe that the setting, the river, is a character. Mark Twain has given the setting almost as much attention as the actual characters in the novel. Mark Twain does an awesome jobb with descibing where they are at all times, and how it affects everyone else involved.
ReplyDelete@ wonderwoman- You do a good job of explaining the quality of the imagery and the importance of its use, but you don't really address the prompt of explaining whether and how the setting can be considered a character. Does the setting have personality? Do the characters have a relationship with that setting? Etc. Your answer is well-written, but a bit off topic.
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