Chapter+24

Tim Woolard, Yeonjung Park, Shereen Baig, and Jessica Eller ** Character list: __** · Huck · Jim · The King · The Duke · The ‘Young fellow’ · Steam boaters In Chapter 24, it became obvious to the group that having Jim tied down all day was not going to be able to last, since Jim was becoming pretty bored and they had to tie him down every day. Duke came up with the idea of changing Jim’s clothing, into King Lear’s outfit, and painting his face, hands, ears, and neck blue. They somehow passed him off as a sick Arab, and were able to go out in the day without worrying about Jim. The King and Huck set off by themselves, leaving the Duke behind, and decided to go check out the steamboat. They meet a young man and begin to talk to him about how he had gotten there. (The King using a false identity, again. This time he was “Reverend Elxander Blodgett”). The young man told the pair about Mr. Wilks. Mr. Wilks was planning to meet his ill brother, who, we learn from the young man, is dead but, this Mr. Wilks had never shown up. They take the young man to the steamboat like they had promised, and return to the Duke. After telling the Duke all about the young man, it seems both the King and the Duke have the same idea. The King, the Duke, and Huck take the steamboat to the village where the brother of Mr. Wilks had lived, and convince the people of the town that they were the long lost brothers of Mr. Wilks. The dead brother had never written a will, so his money was just left to any family member who claimed it.
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One point made by Twain in this chapter is about the Duke. He seems smarter than the others, but it is really his charisma that allows him to excel in what he has been doing. This chapter demonstrates that although he is smart, but he is ignorant like all the others. “He was uncommon bright, the duke was, and he soon struck it” (118). Huck is under his spell like all the others. But … His disguise for Jim made no sense at all. How many Blue Arabs are there? Even if they are sick! Even so, he is able to convince the others that it would work. It is also possible that it would fool some of the people that came across Jim after that. The Duke didn’t have to be ultimately knowledgeable to fool these people. He just had to be a little bit smarter than them, and he would be able to use that as an advantage. What stood out in this chapter is how lucky these people are. The King and Huck had no idea that this young man was out there. They just decided to go see the steamboat. They had no idea the young man’s story would give them the opportunity to deceive the town. They didn’t even know that nobody in the town would notice that they aren’t the brothers of the Wilks. But somehow, it all worked out perfectly for them. Although! It would make sense, because they hadn’t gotten any bad luck from Jim’s superstitions lately. In Chapter 24 there is a quote, “Oh, yes, pretty well off. He had houses and land, and it’s reckoned he left three or four thousand in cash hid up som’ers” (121). This chapter shows that the King and the Duke would go to more extremes to get money. Before the chapter, all they really did was steal. They stole the donations. They scammed money from farmers seeking advertisement. They lied to gain hype for their theater show. But, in this chapter, they take it to a whole new level. Not only are they stealing the people’s money, but toying with their emotions. They are welcomed into the village with sympathy and kindness. Huck says at the end of the chapter “It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race” (123). · __ Twisted Civilization __ - In this chapter, the duke and king are looking for ways to make money. They plan to steal money from a dead person who supposedly has four thousand dollars at his house. They steal the identity of the dead man’s brothers and mess with their emotions. This shows how twisted civilization is because the duke and the king are so desperate in making money that they are willing to steal money from the dead. · __ Irony __ - The rest of the group looks up to the Duke for his ideas. They need him to tell them where they are going, and what their next adventure will be. He is able to charm the townspeople and outsmart the people he attempts to scam. But it seems that he, like the others, has not been properly educated. It is ironic that he leads them in this way, while he has not been educated himself. · __ Satire __ - The duke ignorantly paints Jim blue and labels him a “Sick Arab”. This to us is funny because obviously arabs aren’t blue. Either it was exaggerated or just shows readers how stupid the duke really is.
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