When the Grangerfords are showing Huck around, he makes a humorous aside about Emmeline and lightens the mood. He says, "I reckoned, that with her disposition, she was having a better time in the graveyard". Of course, it's not something he would have said aloud, as the Grangerfords are 'Sivilized' people. Huck is the kind of person who finds humor everywhere.

Another funny thing Mark Twain adds in the novel is the church scene in chapter 18. Both the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons go to the same church, and when they go in to pray, both families leave their guns on the back wall, and when they are finished in church, both families go outside and get back to fighting. It is humorous to watch the two families come together strictly because of religion, but aside from that, they are mortal enemies.

I think Joe's exactly right.  The funniest part was the church scene because both the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons are in the middle of a feud.  The not only go to the exact same church with their guns, but listen to a sermon about brotherly love and forgiveness.  "It was pretty ornery preaching-all about brotherly love, and such-like tiresomeness; but everybody said it was a good sermon,"

I also found this part as an example of Twain's humor.  Twain uses satire to express his belief that "civilized" society is not truly civlized or ethical.  In the family feud among the Gangerfords and Sheperdsons, Twain uses irony to portray this belief.  "Next Sunday we all went to church, about three mile everybody a-horseback.  The men took their guns along...and kept them between their knees or stood them handy against the wall...It was pretty ornery preching-all about brotherly love..."  This situation shows the hypocrisy of a civilized society.

I agree with Stephanie, this scene adds to Twain's subtle satire of religion in the novel because of the irony displayed with the sermon on "brotherly love" surrounded by scenes of the two families fighting.

I agree with everyone that the satire of religion is ironic to the extent of being humorous. Irony is an important element that is expressed through the fued between the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons. Even though Christianity stresses the importance of "brotherly love", the two families turn a blind eye and even bring guns, a tool of violence, to Church. This reveals the hypocrisy of society and even mocks the traditonal views of southern religion. What is morally right generally is overshadowed by the prideful nature of the families. Although this example is exaggerated it is true like a paradox. Therefore, the irony in the situation creates humor because of the truth in the message.

Familial pride was a very common, and often dangerous part of life "back in the day".  If anyone remembers the short Poe story we read in ninth grade, "The Cask of Amontillado", Montresor murders Fortunado for that exact reason- to keep his pride.  I don't really understand why pride was so extremely important for hundreds of years, when just recently, in about the past 100 years, it has dwindled on our priority list ever so slightly.

I thoroughly enjoyed the satirical humor of these chapters with the Grangerford’s and the Sheperdson’s.  I also especially liked the church scene that depicted the two feuding families joining in a church service about brotherly love and promptly upon leaving they resume their fight.  I think that this irony still holds true today, with many people in today’s society going to church and listening to sermon’s about how to live a Christian life and then leaving to continue their life of sin.  It’s as if the Grangerford’s and Sheperdson’s attend church to merely live up to their social expectations.

The Grangerfords and the Sheperdsons go to Church to feel like they are fulfilling their religious obligations.  They do not seem to care much for what the Church preaches as long as they go and as long as they return home to fight each other. Twain here makes a good play on the American culture

Their church-going habits are more competitive than they are spiritually meaningful.  I agree that the butt of this joke is society as a whole, as everyone seems to be more caught up in who has the whitest picket fence.  In this case, it's who's putting more time into something that neither family really cares about.  It's really incredible to think about the longevity of Twain's message.

I agree, its almost as if hes making fun of our culture as well. People preach the gospel everyday and people's religious beliefs continue togrow, but people are hypocritical about it and Twain created the fued between these two families and brought them together through religion to show how we do the exact same thing in American culture.

I agree with Stephanie here.  The  Grangerfords and the Sheperdsons represent a society that is civilized but yet not completely.   The feud between the two families stop only for church.  But to add humor, Twain makes the men take their guns with them.  And even in the service, the men are listening to the sermons about brotherly love.  They are taking in the information, but at the same time, they are not performing the actions.

I agree with you on the Church. It is so funny how the feud pauses for church. But the men bring there guns into church just in case there is a fight. You made a good point on them taking in the informaition but not doing as they preach.

I agree with you that the sermon on brotherly love and the two families fighting represents an uncivilized society. I also think it is interesting how Twain spells "sivilized." It shows how he thinks that society really isn't civilized at all and by spelling it wrong, he is making fun of it.

The Gangerfords and Sheperdsons feud portrays a sarcastic and ironic look to the civilized society in Huck's world. Twain brings out again how people don't follow religion as much as they preach it and also how rich people have feuds over things that happened years ago which i think is quite funny. For example when Buck is explaining Huck what a feud is and how the feud between his family and the Sheperdsons got started.

Ya, that was funny. It's ironic that after acknowledging it was a good sermon, they never actually listened to it. Maybe Twain was trying to do more than make a joke though. I think he's commenting on religion in southern plantation societies. I think he finds the southern christians hypocritical, and uses this as an example. He also uses it to comment on slavery. Huck says that each Grangerfold has "their own n* to wait on them" (109) , yet they "had a powerful lot to say about faith, and good works, , and free grace"(112)

I agree that Twain was trying to make a point that extends beyond a satirical joke and that he was trying to show the hypocrisy that dwells in the southern christian culture. "but everybody said it was a good sermon, and they all talked it over going home, and had such a powerful lot to say about faith, and good works, and free grace, and preforeordestination and I dont know what all, that it did seem to me to be one of the roughest Sundays I had run across yet."(112). It seem very hypocritical and a little humorous that the Grangerford's and the Shepherdsons' sit in church with guns while listening to a sermon about brotherly-love.

I think both of  the families attend church, thus resulting in their hypocrascy as a side effect, to extend their feud into a different arena. I think they bring guns just in case a fight does break out during the sermon, which is humurous in itself, and attend every sunday because of their petty obssesions over one-upping one another. The Grangerfords and the Shepherdson's make appearances in the church to instill their place in society against the other family, and to fight for a chance at the upper hand if the other family didnt make it to one particular sitting, which can also be viewed as humourous in light of how mindless, simple, and petty the whole conflict is that has consumed two whole families and warped them.

twain's humor in the church scene origninates from the hypocracy of the sermon and society. the two families attend church and accept the sermon, yet it is proven that religious preachings do not carry into regular life as they do not stop and forgive with "brotherly love".

I think it is ironic as well. The Grangerfords and the Shepardsons are considered exteremely civilized because they have old money and go to church. They go to church and listen to the sermon but still hate eachother and kill one another for some reason neither of them remember.  Not very civilized behavior. Ironic.

I agree with you, Joe is exactly right. Twain describes the Grangerfords and Sheperdsons as families of high aristocracy who do not “know now what the row was about in the first place” but they still feud over the matter like silly children" (144). However, this description pales in comparison to the account of the two families bringing guns along to their shared church. They listen to religion which speaks of forgiveness and loving neighbors and yet are ready to kill each other even in the house of religion. The irony and counter-intuitiveness of their actions are not only baffling but hilarious as well, just as you said.

The individual descriptions too of members of the Grangerfords are funny. "Col. Grangerford" had "the blackest kind of eyes, sunk so deep back that they seemed like they was looking out of caverns at you, as you may say (107-108)." It also goes on to describe how he sits, straight like a "liberty-pole."

It's ironic that the Grangerfords have so much "brotherly love" for a complete and total stranger, Huck, yet they despise the Shepherdsons.  The Grangerfords don't even know why they despise the Shepherdsons (152-153 Buck explains that no one knows how the feud begun etc. and on 142 the Grangerfords tell Huck that he could have a home there as long as he wanted to).  I also find it ironic that Col. Grangerford says to Buck " 'I don't like that shooting from behind a bush. Why didn't you step into the road, my boy?' "  It's interesting that the Col. wants his son to be honorable/brave when the whole feud is silly and undignified.   

That is a great point. Buck's response to Col. Grangerford is funny and ironic. Buck replies "The Sheperdson's don't, father. They always take advantage." Ironically, Buck will throw out his honor just to match the Sheperdson's.

they sound like a bunch of hypocrites to me. as Melissa said, it's ironic and completely hypocritical that the Grangerfords show polite and wonderful hospitality to a complete stranger as Huck but when it comes to the Shepherdsons they hate their guts because of something they can't even remember. not only that but the whole scene with going to church on sunday was completely hypocritical! quite ironic that the sermon was "all about brotherly love, and such-like tiresomeness" (165). and not only did the Grangerfords bring their guns to church but so did the Shepherdsons and everyone else in the church seemed to act like it was a normal occurrance. funny. but the funniest thing about it is the relationship to "romeo and juliet." "Miss Sophia's run off! 'deed she has. She run off in de night sometime--nobody don't know jis' when--run off to git married to dat young Harney Shepherdson..." (170).

The grangerfords really have no point to hate the sherpardsons as Melissa said. The hate is passed down in the family. They are taught at a young age to hate their enemy. All their hate is focused at one family letting them be nice to others. They are actually nice people, but they just got into a bad situation

This is similar to the fake crying at Peter Wilks's funeral. Twain is trying to show how shallow people are, and yet how hard they try to appear to have good morals.

The thing that Twain points out in this scene is that fact that society is controlled by the church.  If not for the church and God, the two families would've never stopped fighting.  Ironically, Huck is anti-church and doesn't think much of it. 

Also, Twain is attempting to point out his view of society which includes the fact that people will mindlessly fight each other, even if there is no reason other than dislike.  Even little silly things turn into all out wars.  This is slightly controlled  in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by God and the church in a church-like setting.  But once God and the church exit the minds of the dissatisfied, the mindless fighting starts up again.

As Vasiliy states, Twain includes the Church scence in description to show that religion will keep the families 'together'. I also believe the Church scene is included to show Huck's view of religion. Another reason for Twain to introduce this is because during the time in history when the book was written, religion was a large part of society. At this time, authors were not allowed to write or publish anything against religion. Therefore, in a novel where Twain introduces the corruption of this time, he must include some sort of evidence of support towards the Church.

This is another example of Twain using humor to point out the hypocritical nature of society. Here we see two apparently religious families, but instead of overcoming their differences, they started an ongoing feud that really doesn't have a point. Their whole situation is funny and I like that Twain makes the two families' fight completely outrageous because it makes a better point about the hypocrisy of the families.

Although both the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons are both aristocratic familes, Twain adds a bit of humor as he plays with words in the 18th chapter. "There was another CLAN of aristocracy around there- five or six families- mostly of the name of Shepherdson. They was as high-toned, and well born, and rich and grand, as the TRIBE of Grangerfords". Twain humorously labels the families as savage, yet noble people.

When Buck took a long time to get up when Huck first arrived at the Grangerford's house one of his brothers said "Why, Buck, they (Shepherdsons) might have scalped us all, you've been so long in coming."  That adds to Twain's portrayal of the two families as savage.

I also believe that the scene with Buck and Huck the first time at the Grangerfords, is adding to the portrayal of the Grangerfords and Sheperdsons as being savage by alluding to the Native Americans, who were often regarded as savage.

This is a great observation.  I never noticed that, but it is very clever.  Twain uses these subtle "tricks" in his diction and structure to really hint at the active, analytical reader.

These "noble savages" were how Twain was describing to readers almost all aristocratic families of the time.

It's also funny in a way how the two families behave like clans and tribes while still remaining oblivious to the fact that they could be shown in a savage light. Here they are trying desperately to uphold some kind of aristocatic stamina and social extravagance, while behaving savagely. Through assuaging their petty indifferences with various techniques to bring one another down, they are actually bringing themselves down to remain a simple groupd of people brought toghether by violence and a basic anscestral connection.

This is a good observation. By Twain describing the families as a "clan" or a "tribe" it adds humor and sort of pokes fun at the families. It is contradicting almost because when you think of clans and tribes you think of a bunch of people shouting and dancing and stuff but Twain also describes the family as "high-toned and rich and grand". These two descriptions of the families in the same sentence contradict each other and adds humor to the novel.

I agree with Meredith's idea of the dispute between the Grangerfords and the Sheperdsons is pointless.  In the end, the arguments add humor to the story and show readers the deceitfulness in the families.

I don't think that he was supporting the church.  I do think that he put this reference in because of the time period tho.  When religion is a large part of society, those who do not go to church are considered evil and uncivilized so i think it goes to the character developement of the Grangerfords as an important part and civilized people of that society. This furthers the contrast between thier civilized appearance and their actual savage activity.

i agree with vasiliy. without the church there would be constant fighting but religion is the only thing that the stops the two families from fighting.

i thought it was also ironic how the grangerfords were so nice and warming to Huck nad they offered him a place to stay in their country home and they seem like the perfect little family but then you find out abotut his huge fued with the Shepherdsons. They go from one extreme to the next.

Which is also ironic to me how Twain decides that one of the most controversial issue, Religion, brings the two fighting families together.

Vasily makes a great point above about the irony of the whole fued and Huck's religious views.  In the beginning of the novel the Widow Douglas tries to teach Huck about the Bible and God but Huck just shrugs off the information.  Twain uses the church to emphasize Huck's disbelief in something so powerful as to stop an everlasting family feud.

Well, noting Twain's famous contempt for organized religion, this vignette seems to be a full-on indictment of religion and Southern honor.  By saying that the families are able to put aside their differences in church, he implies that the reason for the feud cannot be serious in any meaningful way, and by noting that they bring their guns to church so as to continue fighting the minute they leave, Twain accuses the families of rank hypocrisy.

i agree with Jeff. Huck sees the two families as a bit of idiots.  He believes if religion has so much of an effect on the families, then why don't they stop fighting?

Although I think the bit about "brotherly love" is amusingly ironic, I think the main point Twain is trying to make is that fundamentally, the two families are exactly the same.  The fact that they attend the same church and "Amen" in unison shows the utter futility of fueding of that nature, and also the essentially self-destructive nature of people in our society.  An example of social Darwinism at its finest.

i agree, the feud is completely pointless as the people in the current generation had nothing to do with the original arguement and are very similar in character. the same things happen today when people fight for no reason other than because they think that they have to.

i agree, the feud is completely pointless as the people in the current generation had nothing to do with the original arguement and are very similar in character. the same things happen today when people fight for no reason other than because they think that they have to.

i agree, the feud is completely pointless as the people in the current generation had nothing to do with the original arguement and are very similar in character. the same things happen today when people fight for no reason other than because they think that they have to.

The church senario contains is really ironic. It allows Twain to really poke fun at the South and their way of life. Especially that the sermon was "all about brotherly love" and "had such a powerful lot to say about faith, and good works, and free grace." Huck even goes on to say that it was "one of the roughest Sundays I had run across yet." The two families are completely defying everything they loved about the sermon.

I thought that everything that had to do with the Grangerfords was very funny.  My favorite part was when Huck described Emmeline and her poetry and art.  The poem about Stephen Bots was particularly humorous, and it reminded me of the book in Mr. Kent's classroom, "Very Bad Poetry".  Emmeline was obsessed with death, and then she died.  Huck felt bad that no one had written a tribute to her, so he tried, but wasn't able to.  Her strange behavior was captured very well by Huck in this quote:  "This young girl kept a scrap-book when she was alive, and used to paste obituaries and accidents and cases of patient suffering in it out of the Presbyterian Observer, and write poetry after them out of her own head." (137)

"Every time a man died, or a woman died, or a child died, she would be on hand with her 'tribute' before he was cold."
(138)

She was so obsessed with death, it was her life's work.

I agree with Lindsay, I also found Emmeline's poetry funny and ironic. The way she spent her whole life writing about death was really ironic.

I find Huck's reaction to her death one of the funniest things. After seeing all her art and discovering she had died, Huck thinks, "Everybody was sorry she died, because she had laid out a lot more of these pictures to do, and a body could see by what she had done what they had lost." It's hard for Huck to find actual value in a family member, unless they have something to offer. He only found her death to be worth mourning because of the potential pictures she could have drawn, not because she was a young girl. It's ironic to see Huck's warped views of value.

I agree with this as well. Huck doesn't feel right about the fact that no one was there to right a "tribute" to her, so he tries to write one for her, which doesn't go over well. Here his innocence is shown, kind of a sweet side about him that Twain shows for the first time in the story.

Huck's innocence is one of the most important aspects of his character and I liked that Twain brought out that side of him in this chapter. Although he always shows the humorous side to the darkness of life ( in this case, death), Twain manages to capture the pureness of Hucks nature and the unique way he looks at life allows him to get through his strange living situation.

Huck is more focused on what Emmeline did, rather then who she was. But isnt what someone does, especially in a free artistic sence,  a reflection of thier innerself. Like we have talked about in class authors rarley write without a purpose.

I thought that it was interesting that you pointed out Huck’s appreciation for only people who he can benefit from.  I think this in itself is a humorous characteristic that sort of reflects a young person’s mindset.  This also goes back to the beginning where at first Huck loves hearing the stories about Moses but as soon as he find’s out Moses has been dead for hundreds of years he ceases to care, saying that he, “don’t take no stock in dead people.”

Huck, i believe, just wants to do something to remember her. what he doesn't understand, due to his youth and ignorance, is that you cant really do something physically to remember some one and that doesnt sit well with the Grangerfords.

I didn't really know what to make of this at first, as Huck is being shown in a pretty superficial light.  But my analysis of these events pretty much boils down to how even though Huck's interpretations of society are innovative, he still hasn't learned how to feel about certain things.  He just hasn't really been quite as "house-broken" as his mental innovativeness would lead us to believe.

The way Huck described her was funny to me.  I think he was in awe of her abilities.  "If Emmeline Grangerford could make poetry like that before she was fourteen, there ain't no telling what she could a done by-and-by.... She didn't have to stop to think."  Then his emotions came into play as well, which was actually funny to me coming from Huck, but I did really like it.  "Poor Emmeline made poetry about all the dead people when she was alive, and id didn't seem right that there warn't nobody to make somee about her, now she was gone, so I tried to sweat out a verse or two my self."  (106-107) 

I think she wrote about death because she was a sensitive person who had only known death.  She grew up with the feud and people getting killed all over the place.  She had three other brothers that were killed. -Chapter 18

Yea all she knew was death to her family and the Shepardsons.  To top it off the boy she loved was trying to be killed by her own family.  It was a life full of anguish and turmoil.

I agree that she only wrote about death because she was constantly exposed to it. Also, I think her poetry forshadows her dying in a way.

Yes, that is true. I find it funny that Twain finds a way to mock society all the time. Once again, he mocks society related to reglion by including the information about Emmeline and her art.

Well she grew up around death and the man  she loved was trying to be killed by her own family.  It wasn't really ironic that she wrote about death when it was all around her.

I also find Emmeline's obsession with poetry and death ironic and humorous. Huck feels sympathetic towards her and thinks, "Poor Emmeline made poetry about all the dead people when she was alive, and it didn't seem right that there warn't nobody to make some about her now she was gone..." (107). When Huck is in her room, he comes across a poem about a boy that feel down a well and was drowned: "His soul did from this cold world fly / By falling down a well." It is humorous to the reader to realize that Emmeline's obsession during life was about death and how she wasted away from it. Irony again, is portrayed through the Grangerfords, and has the effect of humor.

While at the Grangerfords, Huck realizes the jealousy of the King and the rest of the family. "Then Mary Jane she fetched the letter her father left behind, and the king he read it out loud and cried over it.  It give the dwelling-house and three thousand dollars, gold, to the girls...and told where the six thousand cash was hid, down cellar...(168)

THe boys are introduced to the family fights, and the humor is seen in this quote. THe kings depression from loss of money.

I also agree that Huck does seem to find humor anywhere he goes.  While he stays at the Grangerfords he has little side thoughts like that.  But one interesting thing about this is that he has the wits and respect to "sivilized" people to hold his tounge about saying things like that, otherwise we would notice it in the dialogue. 

I think Twain's humor is shown through Huck's narration. He makes many immature or young comments through out his journey which adds humor to the text. However, he is mature enough to know when to stop. This is an important point which you bring up, Alyx- that Huck knows when to hold his tongue. This is another character trait which is exhibited in chapters 11-20.

I admire the humor surrounding the riddle that Buck asked Huck . "'Well, guess,' he says. 'How'm I going to guess,' says I, 'when I never heard tell of it before?' 'But you can guess, can't you? It's just as easy.' 'Which candle?' I says. 'Why, any candle,' he says. 'I don't know where he was,' says I; 'where was he?' 'Why, he was in the dark!  That's where he was!' 'Well, if you knowed where he was, what did you ask me for?'" A riddle is something that someone informed about the rules of society would know.

 

When Huck first arrives at the Grangerfords, he is introduced to the overtly suspious men. Huck says, "Then the old man said he hoped I wouldn't mind being searched for arms, because he didn't mean no harm by it-it was only to make sure." I find it humorous that Twain words it that way, as if searching someone for arms isn't offensive, and the old man "hoped he wouldn't mind"; as if Huck would admit to minding such a thing from the violent Grangerfords.

That is a great point, that Huck finds humour everywhere.  It's really true, you can see through his language. 

The entire situation of the fued is humorous.  The families are fighting over the stupidest things and are even afraid when Huck is first spotted by the Grangerfords, "'Now, George Jackson, do you know the Shepherdsons?' 'No, sir - I never heard of them.' 'Well, that may be so, and it mayn't.  Now, all ready.  Step forward, George Jackson. And mind, don't you hurry - come mighty slow.  If there's anybody with you, let him keep back - if he shows himself he'll be shot.  Come along, now.  Come slow; push the door open, yourself - just enough to squeeze in, d'you hear?'" (109).  I will first like to compliment Huck's wit to come up with a random name that suited him well.  Also the fear that the Grangerfords experience towards Huck is humorous.  The fued witht the Shepherdsons is all they care about.

I also found that scene humorous. I think it's funny how cautious and protective they are. "as soon as was in, the old gentleman he locked the door and barred it and bolted it, and told the young men to come in with their guns..." (99).  I found it humorous that they don't even know who Huck is but they know that if he is a Sheperdson they don't like him.

Also when Buck shoots at Harney, Huck says, "'Did you want to kill him, Buck?' 'Well, I bet I did.' 'What did he do to you?' 'Him?  He never done nothing to me.' 'Well, then, what did you want to kill him for?'" (120).  It funny how the two families just kill each other and don't even know why they're fighting.

The section right after your quote was also humorous. Huck says, "What was the trouble about, Buck?--land?".
"I reckon maybe--I don't know.". "Well, who done the shooting? Was it a Grangerford or a Shepherdson?". "Laws, how do I know? It was so long ago."
"Don't anybody know?"
Nobody knows what they're are fighting for- they are fighting because they've always fought. Nobody knows what started it.

This quote stuck out to me too.  Its funny how this feud between the families isn't over anything really.  Just because Harney was a Shepardson, Buck wanted to shoot and kill him even though Harney hadn't done anything to him.

Yeah, that's the point I think Twain is trying to make with that segment as well as the observation about the church.  Maybe in the distant past there was some reason for antagonism, but whatever it was, it's long past.

This allusion is also to the Montagues and the Capulets of "Romeo and Juliet", because their feud was no more than a fight for political control and nothing to do with harm done unto either side of the feud.  But it is funny because in both stories, incredible greif is bestowed upon both families due to their intense hatred of each other.

As Huck enters the Grangerford's house, he is petrified by their hostile response toward a stranger. "The the old man said he hoped I wouldn't mind being searched for arms, because he didn't mean do harm by it- it was only to make sure". This manner of welcoming epitomizes the lethal intent of the feud. However the gravity of the situation almost effortlessly transitions to a warmer side. "He told me to make myself easy and at home, and tell all about myself". It's humorous that the air could change so rapidly as if nothing had taken place.

I agree, these kind of illogical precautions are funny. If you look at situation, to the Grangerfords, Huck is a boy who had been washed onto their land by the river, in search of shelter, a vey innocent and infact desperate postition, and yet the family still pulls negative potential out of their own hospitality. They derived a plot of their own destruction because of their obsession with the feud to the point where they could see it when a child arrives at their feet from the river, wounded, tired, and homeless.

I think the irony Miles is discussing is essential to Twain's humor.  Huck's situation is a way to show to what extent the Grangerfords have taken their feud.  They have turned against everyone and trust no one.  They are in a state where they cannot think logically.  Twain is stating that society is also in this state of illogical thinking.

I think that Mark Twain is not only being humorous, but making a connection to the present society. People at this time period assumed that African Americans were inferior to whites, and, during the Civil War, that the North and South were opposites, despite both being American. Mark Twain is questioning as to why people are taught to hate their fellow man for no true reason besides tradition, politics, or sometimes just because they can. 

I hadn't thought about that connection before but i totally agree. I think this feud between the two families ties in to the civil war exactly. The two families are really only fighting because they know they are supposed too which is why a lot of people had anti south or north feelings. I agree that Mark Twain is almost picking at this "tradition"

I really like the connection that Joe made. Altough the chapters with the Grangerfords are funny and Twain makes their situation seem extreme, these chapters also show a darker side to living in this constant feud. At the end of chapter 18 Buck is killed and it really hurts Huck because during his short stay at the Grangerfords, Buck had become his best friend. I think Twain wants to point out that not all parts of life can be funny. This mindles feud has some major consequences. Even Huck ,the master of turning a bad situation into a good one, cries when he sees his dead friend.

This shows that people often don't stop until they have gone too far, and still may not stop then. The children can't really even remember why they are feuding with each other. To them its almost like a game and they do it just because their parents do it. And while it is fun for them and funny for the reader, it ultimately leads to a death. And even then, the families still don't learn their lesson.

Actually, I think this takes place well before the civil war  as seen with Jim and all of the other slaves still in Arkansas.  I can understand exactly where you are coming with this, but the setting refutes the idea

Twain uses humor to sublely show a sad fact about human nature. People can hold grudges for long after they have forgotten the reason they were mad. It is easier to be hostile to someone then to set actually try to figure out what is wrong or seek forgiveness. This fear leads to loss of friendships and even loss of lives in this case.

When Huck first comes across the Grangerfords in the beginning of chapter 17, they just seem like a strange group of people obsessed with their feud not interested in really anything else. Huck's first conversation with Buck on page 101 is humorous because Buck pretends like he is interested in Huck, but really isn't at all, and the first thing they do is argue about a riddle that doesn't even really matter. This has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the story, but Twain puts it in there anyway to develope the humor of the novel.

I also agree that the Grangerfords are obsessed with their feud against the Sheperdsons. It is ironic that the families do not even know why they continue to fight.  "Well, who done the shooting?-was it a Grangerford or a Sheperdson?"  "Laws, how do I know? it was so long ago."  Ironically, the civilized Grangerfords are obsessed with death, a reocurring element throughout the novel.  This shows the hypocrisy of the civilized society.

This was really funny to me!  The feuding and nobody knew what it w as about.  Emmeline was obsessed with writing about death, as you pointed out the Grangerfords were. 

Huck later goes into deep description of his observatons about some of the family. Huck's description of Colonel Grangerford was funny because he noticed his mouth, lips, nostrils, nose and eyebrows.  he really studied and paid attention to the Grangerford family, whether to Emmeline or Col. Grangerford.  Filled with kindness, the colonel was sunshine to his company, Huck said.  (beginning of chp. 18)

Well, it's not developed so much for the humor aspect as to contribute to a point Twain makes throughout the book. This is that people are very petty and shallow despite trying to come off as polite and morally upstanding.

I found it pretty funny how Twain staged a Romeo/Juliet setting between Miss Sophia  and the other Shepherdson boy with Huck as the mediator. Additionally, this is one of his first encounters with the opposite sex.  This further exacerbates the situation for Huck, however, keeps the mood entertaining and amusing for readers as Huck is being seduced. "Says I to myself something's up- it ain't natural for a girl to be in such a sweat about a Testament".

The connection between "Romeo and Juliet" and the fight between the Shepherdsons and the Grangerfords is a very interesting point.  It is plausible that Mark Twain might have known about the story of the Montagues and the Capulets, and made a parody of it.  Certainly the battle between the two families is a bit violent, but in Twain's descriptions of the families are humorous twists, such as the church scene where at church "the men took their guns along, so did Buck, and kept them between their knees or stood them handy against the wall.  The Shepherdsons done the same."  Another funny twist on this scene was how the preacher spoke of "brotherly love, and such-like tiresomenes," and yet the families then proceed to fight. 

I agree. It is somewhat like a tragedy because everybody dies in the end over nothing. Just like the Capulets and Montagues, the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons didn't even know what they were fighting over, just a little old family rivalry. It was also humorous how all the men of the families took their guns with them to church and how the sermon was about brotherly love. Even though the two families hear this sermon, they ignore it and place their own beliefs over what society believes. Twain was trying to show that pride is stronger then everything else.

another way twain uses humor is how he has huck dress up like a girl to fool mrs. judith. it is ironic because mrs. judith is actually the one who fools huck.

Twain shows how much the head of a "Southern aristocracy" is looked up to, but feared at the same time. Huck spends a great portion describing Mr.Grangerford as the kindest man in the world. This is ironic because he goes around killing off a family for a lame reason. Huck writes, "When he turned into a cloud-bank it was awful dark for half a minute, and that was enough; there wouldn't nothing go wrong again for a week." The reader doesn't know exactly what happened, but we can assume his kindly nature wasn't always intact, showing another side to the typical "southern gentleman."

Twain's use of humor is expressed through the Grangerfords. He mocks their fiery passion that fuels the rivalry between another aristocratic family, the Shepherdsons. The result of the fued between the two families were a number of deaths from both sides. It is ironic how these high class, gentlemanly people can be so blinded by an old family fued. Twain uses mocking exaggeration to express the foolish chivalry and pride of the southern family. He uses old humor by mocking the romantic nature of family honor to an extreme. Buck Grangerford proudly talks about the deaths and injuries suffered by the family: "Bob's been carved up some with a bowie, and Tom's been hurt one or twice.. Yes, we got one (death)." (111). The reader feels that Buck's casual attitude towards the death is exhibited through exaggerated southern pride.

I agree that the fight between the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons is an example of exaggerated southern pride. The two families believe that they must protect their family honor at any cost, and the way they act is so over the top it is comical, as if they are really going to war. Mr. Grangerford gets his family together as if he is gathering his troops together to give directions : "Snatch that light away, Betsy, you old fool - ain't you got any sense? Put it on the floor behind the front door. Bob, if you and Tom are ready, take your places." (129).

One interesting thing that I found was how Twain constantly points out the things of our culture. It seems obvious Twain is trying to show something within our culture, but I like the way he does it here. Constantly we find Twain starting our dialouge sentences with "Poor Devil" when refering to the slaves, but not only the slaves but typically anyone that seems to be lower in class. I find that humerous the way Twain points that out.

I agree that Twain's humor is expressed through his use of hyperboles. It is comical how the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons turn a small family matter into a feud so big it almost resembles a war. Through this, Twain expresses the foolishness of small issues that evolves into larger matters. Nothing was resolved in this feud except tragedy.

I agree that Twain's use of humor  when describing the fued between the Grangerford's and the Shepherdsons express exaggerated southern pride. It seem as though the fued controls their entire existance. Even the young children like Buck are so enthralled with the fighting between the families simply becuase it has always been a part of their lives. "Buck began to cry and rip, and 'lowed that him and his cousin Joe (that was the other young chap) would make up for this day, yet"(117). Buck and his family are so passionate about wining a fued that they do not even remember how it began. It seems to be such an exaggerated form of pride in the southern culture.  

The Grangerfords seem to be a very educated family, with the late Emmeline producing poetry, so I thought it was funny when Buck spelled Huck's alias George Jackson "George Jaxon" after bragging that he was good at spelling.

Emmeline was a brilliant child, even Huck, says "If Emmeline Grangerfold could make poetry like that before she was fourteen, there ain't no tellin' what she could a done by-and-by" (106), but Emeline isn't representative of the intelligence of all the Grangerfolds. She was the oddball of the family. When describing the good traits of the family, Twain never touches on intelligence, only on kindness manners, and good looks. For example Col. Grangerfold "was a gentleman"(107), "as kind as could be" (108), and "well-born" (107). Never does it mention his intellect. The other men, and the sisters, are only described as "beautiful" and "proud".

I agree with Grayson. Twain uses humor here to portray the sheltered lives of the aristocratic south. That they think they know a lot when they actually know very little.

The entire situation between the Grangerfords and the Sheperdsons is ironic and thus humerous. When Huck talks to Buck after he has just killed a Sherperdson it sums up the situation: "’Did you want to kill him, Buck?’/ ‘Well, I bet I did.’/ ‘’What did he do to you?’/ ‘Him? He never did anything to me.’” Pg 139

I found that hilarious and ironic as well. The counter-intuitiveness of the family's actions all contribute to Twain's overall humor. Twain also creates allusions to Native Americans an classifies them in a way that many would find comical and almost child-like.

You can see Twain's attack on these plantation arristocracies through his portrayal of Buck. When Huck goes with buck to get clean clothes, first Buck asks Huck's name, but doesn't wait for a response, and segways into a story about him catching animals in the woods that day, and then onto a half-witted joke about Moses being in the dark. Then, when asked if he can spell George Jackson, a common name, he replies "I bet you dare I can... G-O-R-G-E J-A-X-S-O-N" (p.102) Buck stands for the youngest male in a family of southern "aristocrats", he is the best that their gene pool can offer. Twian uses Bucks character to satire southern aristocaracy.

I agree that Twain attacks these civilized people when Huck informs Buck that his name is George Jackson.  Ironically, Buck does not have suspicions about the name George Jackson, but whether or not Huck had heard of the Sheperdsons. This shows the Grangerfords obsession with the feud.  Twain also satrizes this family when Huck enters the home.  He is in awe that these wealthy and elegant people have an obsession with a feud.

I also see the subtle attack on the plantation aristocracy not only with the spelling of "G-O-R-G-E J-A-X-S-O-N" but with the feud as well.  It shows that the even the ruling class of the south, have little to no education, but can't compromise over an affair that started before most family members were born.  The part with the marriage also reminded me of Romeo and Juliet.

Huck's description of Col. Grangerford is comically vivid. Huck depicts his eyes, complexion, even his nostrils. And then demonstrates col. grangerford's impact on others. "sometimes he smiled, and it was good to see; but when he straightened himself up like a liberty-pole, and the lightning begum to flicker out from under his eyebrows you wanted to climb a tree first, and find out what the matter was afterwards (117).

I agree with Kristen.  Aside from the obvious humor in the fight between the two families, the initial introduction of the characters has hints of humor included.  Col. Grangerford inparticular, is introduced with several humerous comments.  "He was well born, as the saying is, and that's worth as much in a man as it is in a horse..."  "...every day of his life he put on a clean shirt and a full suit from head to foot made out of linen so white it hurt your eyes to look at it"

The Grangerfords were all described in the same way. They all stood tall and proud. The only exception was Sophia. She is described as "She was sweet and gentle like a dove." The author uses a lot of similes while giving descriptions of the grangerfords. He describes Col. grangerford as a liberty-pole. The similes produce imagery that the normal descriptions didn't.

huck's descriptions relay back to what huck knows adn admires, nature. col. granger "was sunshine most always- i mean he made it seem like good weather" and miss charlotte's "nostrils spread and eyes snapped" (119) almost like a wild horse.

In the beginning of chapter 18, Col. Grangerford is described as "well born" and a symbol of southern aristocracy.  By having the Grangerford's be citizens of the most elite, Twain is satirizing society.  Their silly feud with the Shepherdson's is egotistical and illogical, and because the Grangerford's represent the "elite", the audience can infer that society is egotistical and illogical as well.

The dialogue between the two families is humorous. The Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons do not know what they are even fighting about and their feud is not progressing anywhere. Huck's ignorance is also humorous. He questions a lot of things, for example, when he questions what a feud is.

I agree that Huck's ignorance about fueds and also Buck's description of a fued add humor to the relationship depicted between the Grangerfords and the Sheperdsons. When Huck and Buck are discussing the relationship between the two families Huck asks Buck what a fued is and Buck replies, "Why where was you raised? Don't you know what a fued is?" and Huck replies, "Never heard of it before-tell me about it." (110) Twain seems to be making an underlying point here about southerners and fueding in Bucks response to Huck not knowing what a fued is. He is so suprised that Huck has never encountered a fued or doesn't know what it is. Twain seems to be expressing the violent side of aristocratic southern families. Buck response to one man killing another because he didn't win a lawsuit, "so he up and shot the man that won the suit- which he would naturally do, of course. Anbody would" (111), shows the instant response to kill for not getting your way shows an ugly side of the aristocratic families.

ITs funny how the conversation between Huck and Buck goes.  Huck asks if Buck if he wanted to kill the shepardson and he says yea, on account of the fued.  He says that the boy never did anything to him but he still wants to kill him anyways and Huck is astonished.

The next line is one that I also find humerous. "'Well,' says Buck, 'a feud is this way: A man has a quarrel with another man, and kills him; then that other man's brother kills him; then the other brothers, on both sides, goes for one another; then the cousins chip in- and by and by everbody's killed off, and there ain't no more feud. But it's kind of slow, and it takes a long time." He is mocking meaningless traditions that seemed to be common during his era.

I liked that quote too.  Twain's makes his point here by showing the absurd events through the eyes of a kid, and on the surface it appears to be an oversimplified, childish representation of complex adult events.  But really, what Twain is saying is that it really is that stupid!  Buck isn't even surprisingly astute about the whole thing.

Huck essentially serves as an outside observer who can make all the sarcastic observations Twain would have made in parentheses--he doesn't participate in the vignette as much as make fun of it.

Yes, Huck is the ironic form of Twain.  Huck serces as the ironic observer that Twain would be as a character, except that Huck participates in the story and has the same moral capacities as Twain.

 

I agree with Joe. The fighting between the Sheperdsons and Grangerfords is very similar to the Capulets and Montagues of  "Romeo and Juliet". I also agree with the claim that Twain is attacking the aristocratic south and critizing their behavior.

I liked how you compared the Grangerfords and the Shepherdson to "Romeo and Juliet". That never really crossed my mind the comparison. I mean it is in the romance and the feud between families. Sophie and Harney were like forbidden lovers which kinda puts a spin to the feud between families.

Absolutely True, I think that the allusion to Romeo and Juliet definitely adds to the humor by twain in the novel. However I think that the difference between the Shepherdsons and Grangerfords, and the MOntagues and Capulets is that; the Southern form of the rivalry is somewhat less based on morals and religion, and more on economy, where the MOntagues and Capulets feud is mainly beginning from political terms.

In these chapters Twain uses humor to show question various aspects of the slave holding society. This humor usually takes the form of irony and the humor in this section is one of the key aspects of the novel that makes it a satire. For instance, Huck feels better demands by telling the steam ship operator about the robbers trapped on the Walter Scott. While Huck feels better because he fulfilled society’s expectations but later on he sees the wreck floating down stream and realizes that the robbers were probably not saved. Thus his conformation to society’s means nothing in this situational irony.

In the midst of chapters 17 and 18, Huck really has a fun time with his new found friends, The Grangerfords. It's not because he particularly likes them, but because hey are such interesting and odd people to him. "It didn't have an iron latch on the door, nor a wooden one with a buckskin string, but a brass knob to turn..." creates a mysterious and tacky element shared by all of the Grangerfords. Twain uses passive humor to develop all of these characters through Huck's eyes. Buck never has a shirt on, the family always carry guns and are very secretive, and they display the art work of Emmiline, a deceased family member who had a "deathly aura". Satire is most deffinately a major part of Twain's humor developing these chapter.

When Huck first meets Buck, Buck is actually wearing nothing except a shirt which makes things even odder and funnier.

I noticed that in ch. 17, when Huck is telling the Grangerfords about his family and how he came to be at their place (which of course is all lies), he mentions that his sister ran off and got married>> ironic because it turns out that Sophia Grangerford does the same thing.

Twain uses the Shepherdsons and the Grangerfords to mock the exaggerated ideals of family honor. It is interesting that they would be so nice to Jim and Huck while they are engaged in such a violent feud. They get them involved with this.

Twain also seems to be attacking the southern lifestyle when he says on page 92 or shortly after Huck meets the Grangerfords. "It was a mighty nice family, and a mighty nice house too. I hadn't seen...any money from her." Huck admires this tacky furniture, saying that he has never seen anthing like it before, further empahasizing whet Joe said.

Twain also makes fun of the southern aristoracy where at the beginning of Chapter 18 where he says that Col. Grangerford is a gentleman. This seems kind of ironic because of the way that Twain wrote about the family in the previous chapter.

That is true. The part of the story that contain the Grangerfolds and the Sheperdsons can be a parody of "Romeo and Juliet".

I agree with Joe, the family is definitely a southern aristocracy.  Also, the fighting between the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons could be a personal strike by Twain towards the south.  It could even have been a common stereotype when the book was written, which was after the Civil war.  This attack might not just be towards the common people but the South itself.

The Grangerfords are also an example of Southern hospitality, but Twain builds humor into the part where the Grangerfords first invite Huck into their home.  Hearing something outside the Grangerfords immediately grab their guns incase it is one fo the Shepherdsons, but once they see Huck is no harm they welcome him with open arms.

that is funny that they are so jumpy about it being one of the Shepherdsons because of the feud between them, but they don't even remember what the feud is about.  "'What was the trouble about, Buck?--land?'    'I reckon maybe--I don't know.'    'Well, who done the shooting?--was it a Grangerford or a Shepherdson?'    'Laws, how do I know? it was so long ago.'    'Don't anybody know?'    'Oh, yes, pa knows, I reckon, and some of the other old folks; but they don't know, now, what the row was about in the first place'" (13). apparently "it started thirty year ago, or som'ers along there" (163) so no one can really remember the reason for it starting in the first place. thats funny, isn't it usually logical to know what you're fighting for instead of just doing it because you're told to because of some feud? hmm. i agree that it sounds like Twain is making fun of the south in general.

they are so two sided that its commical how extreme they are.

It's also funny how the Grangerfords are fighting with the Shepherdsons like the battle in "Romeio and Juliet" but yet people like Emmeline Grangerford are described as completely different. On page  106, Huck says, "If Emmeline Grangerford could make poetry like that before she was fourteen, there ain't no telling what she could a done by-and-by."

The parallelism to Romeo and Juliet in itself is funny to me just because the two families who hate each other were linked through their children who got married.

I think the humor in the fight between the Grangerfors and the Shephersons comes from how Twain attacks the cultures the two families represent. Like Joe says, Twain specifically attacks the 'common people' and the people of wealth and fortune.

Twain uses the feud between these to families to, like Joe said, represent the Southern code of aristocracy. Twain is poking fun at the south and their values through use of the two families. Every member of the family has some oddity about them yet the family seems relatively normal to southern culture.

I also think he is poking fun of society.  He makes the argument that society, like the Grangerfords, is blind to what really matters.  They can no longer see what is right and what is wrong. 

Twain use of humor lightens the darker themes of the novel.   Twain is obviously making fun of this ridiculous family, but also in doing so , is making fun of society as a whole.  Many Americans during this time where engaged in childish fights much like the Grangerfords.  Twain is pointing out, in a funny way, that there are more important fights to fight.  It provides comic relief for the audience as a way to effectively portray his commentary on society in an entertaining way.

The relationship between the grangerfields and shepardsons is identical to that of the capulets and montagues. The names of both families foreshadow their jobs. When you read the name you automatically assume that they are going to be farmers. The assumption that they are farmers leads to having a bias view of them. When you think of farmers you think to uneducated, bad manners, and brash. These all contribute to the view of both families.

I also enjoyed this scene, especially the irony occuring when Huck attempts to trick Mrs. Judith into thinking he is a girl when in turn, she ends up fooling him into revealing his true identity as a male.  I thought that maybe by including this passage, Twain was attempting to highlight the falsities of the idea that men are smarter than women.  By having Mrs. Judith outsmart Huck, Twain illustrates his beliefs that women have the control over men.

I think that may be reading a bit too much into the scene - Mark Twain may be one of the greatest American satirists ever, but this scene (at least in my reading of it) was just humor.  It served to develop Huck's lovable if awkward persona, and did a darn good job.

Yea I agree with Kate.  This part in ch. 11 was a humorous way for Huck to learn of what talk the townspeople were having concerning his "death" and Jim's escape.

This can go with both discussion 1 and 2, but primarily discussion 2. The language that Huck and Jim use, and the phrases they use are very humerous. "We's doin' blame' well, en we better let blame' well alone, as de good book says." (Ch. 12) Then Huck responds with, "Watchman your grandmother." The phrases that Twain uses are very humerous.

Iagree with kate, there may not be that much that this scene is trying to convey, but  i find it funny that the girl he tried to portray was from "Hookerville," just a little ironic. 

This is also humerous because I think that Huck thinks that if he could throw the piece of lead and hit the rat that would help her think that he was not a boy, but in fact, a girl. However, he does throw and almost hits the rat, confirming Judith's suspicions that he is a boy.

This part of the novel was humerous to me also.  The fact that Huck takes things to such extremes and in this case is willing to dress up as a girl to find out information.  However, he gets caught when Mrs. Judith finds out his true idenity which makes all of his scheming unneccesary.  One of the funniest parts to me was when he said his own fake name wrong.  "'M-Mary Williams.'  Somehow it didn't seem to me that I said it was Mary before, so I didn't look up; seemed to me I said it was Sarah; so i felt sort of corneres, and i was afeared maybe I was looking it, too."

I agree I thought this part was funny as well. Huck thinking he could get away with dresing up like a girl, infront of another girl is esspecially funny

I agree with Brittany, this scene was especially funny.  As soon as Huck enters Mrs. Judith's house she knows that Huck is a male, not a girl.  Twain makes this knowledge fairly obvious to the reader, so it is funny that Huck is still acting like a girl when both the reader and Mrs. Judith know his true identity.

actually mrs. judith doesn't realize that huck is not a girl until he tries to thread the needle and from there on the little things that huck does prove to her that he is just pretending to be a girl. "You do a girl tolerable poor, but you might fool men, maybe. Bless you, child, when you set out to thread a needle, don't hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it--that's the way  woman most always does; but a man always does 'tother way.... And mind you, when a girl tries to catch anything in her lap, she throws her knees apart; she don't clap them together, the way you did when you catched the lump of lead. Why, I spotted you for a boy when you was threading the needle; and I contrived the other things just to make certain" (95). it is humorous that Huck would try and convince a woman that he is a girl because he knows nothing of how to act like a girl when Mrs. Judith has obviously been a female all her life (duh).

I don't think so.  I think she wants him to think that he may have been fooling her, and doesn't want to ruin his fun completely.  It would be pretty obvious from the start. 

I agree with Matt. This is a representation of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". I like that he said that it was betweeen two bored families. The members of the family who actually had the dispute are not alive anymore, but the next generation decided that they did want to carry on the honor of carrying on thier family legacy and winning the dispute. When Buck tells Huck that Colonel Grangerford owned over 100 slaves, he is establishing that the family is very wealthy, and also, very southern.

I also feel like twain uses them to add to the effect of realism.  Here are these wealthy family that twain can simply poke fun at.  He doesn't convey glamour and extravegance, but more of how the mid level class can be better.

Huck also uses his ability to come up with lies to stay with the Grangerford's and when he is trying to find out from Mrs.Loftus what happened on the night he escaped. And like Tacy said above this scene is really quite humorous.

I agree with Tacy, Huck's ability to think on his feet and create convincing lies is a very important factor in the book.  Also, during this particular scene Huck uses his "street smart" by telling the men that his father has small pox, which is a contagious and deadly disease.  By using this, Huck is able to get the men to leave.

This scene ith the two men on the skiff brings humor to the serious situation Jim and Huck have gotten themselves into.  Huck, a dead man walking, helped a slave, falsely accused of Huck's murder, escape and are now running from the search party.  But Twain brings humor by Huck 's quick thinking portraying the event as a joke and game to Huck.  Despite the law on their tales Huck is still a young boy who sees life as a game full of obstacles thrown at him testing his wit.

I agree, this particular part is a good example of Huck's smarts and shows humor at the same time. Along with humor I also think Twain is making fun of people during this time. The men are so afraid of the disease that they put everything else aside including their thoughts about the man being Jim.

i think his intellect and his miscevious...ness (?) relates back to the introduction of him in the tom sawyer book. he creates humor through the disease that they dont want.

The truly unique and funny style of writing Twain uses really catches the reader's attention. Even though we may not be concerned with the significance of the time that Huck hid Jim in a canoe and lied to the skiff workers, Twain uses these scenarios to really bring out Hucks' comical side. The reader learns to love Huck and all of the crazy things he does, as well as Twains' portrayal of Huck.

That is a funny part. It was just Mark Twain's humor showing through his writing and it gives us a glimpse of what he feels is funny.

I foudn it quite humorous in chapter 15 when huck tricks jim.  Not just because it was a dirty trick that leaves huck feeling bad, and jim feeling mad, but the fact that huck did it.  He wanted to have a little fun and stir a little something up.  I guess i like mroe the fact that twain put this little part in.  It shows how he always has a little fun.

I feel the same way about Twain. I feels like he puts a little bit of himself of what he would do and find humorous if he were Huck's character in the novel. As you see a pattern of humorous things that Huck does and sees, you begin to think how Twain also plays a big role in the humorous society that he created for the characters.