Tom Sawyer
Tom Sawyer is a much better book than Huck Finn. Tom's character shines through the book on numerous occasions: taking the licking for his girl, coming back to his aunt to say that he was just playing pirate so not to worry her, testifying against Injun Joe to save the life of a drunkard even though Injun Joe would probably kill him, sticking up for Huck Finn and helping to make him rich with finding the buried treasure, helping his girlfriend stay alive in the caves when they were lost, etc.,
Tom is an orphan who is raised by his Aunt. He gets into all kinds of mischief. It's an interesting book that takes place in the middle 1800s. The book was published in 1876.
The book captures the seeming naiveté of a 12 year old, similar to Peter Pan, the twilight hour of childhood before the reality of the world takes hold on the mind into adulthood.
Huck Finn
This book followed Tom Sawyer. To me, it read more like a parody than a novel. While there was a certain sense of believable realism to Tom Sawyer, the story of Huck was full of frauds, people that loved to lie. So much so the book became a bit ridiculous. Huck loved to tell lies, The King and the Duke told the craziest lies, and the whole time the slave, Jim, was just trying to get to safety.
The modern framing of this book tends to weigh the friendship of Huck and the slave, Jim, as the focal of the story, but this is absurd once you read it. This book is almost nothing about Jim, except for him being a side story as an observer to Huck's misadventures. Huck is torn wether or not to help Jim free himself, and when it comes down to it, is nearly beside himself when he learns that if Jim frees himself, then Jim is going back for his wife, and god forbid, his children.
"Here was this nigger which I had as good as helped to run away, coming right out flat-footed and saying he would steal his children-children that belonged to a man I didn't even know, a man that hadn't ever done me no harm. I was sorry to hear Jim say that, it was such a lowering of him."
Unlike in Tom Sawyer, the word 'nigger' is used throughout the book, while in Tom Sawyer, maybe a couple of times. It would be very uncomfortable reading Huck Finn with African-Americans in the classroom. In fact, the book is much more racist than Tom Sawyer. It's hard to believe people think this book is about the friendship between Huck and Jim. Have they ever read the book?
For instance, here a line from the book showing the language throughout the book: "Sold him? I says, and begun to cry; 'why, he was my nigger, and that was my money. Where is he? I want my nigger.'
Both of these books are good reads, but I feel quite a let down to think these works are the tops of American Literature. If that's actually the case, this is a pretty sad grand oeuvre for America.
