The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Part 1: Crash Course Literature 302

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Күн бұрын

In which John Green teaches you about Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This week, we'll talk a little bit about Samuel Langhorne Clemens, who wrote under the name Mark Twain, and how he mined his early life for decades to produce his pretty well-loved body of work. By far the best of Twain's novels, Huckleberry Finn has a lot to say about life in America around the Civil War, and it resonates today with its messages on race, class, and what exactly freedom is.
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Пікірлер: 562

@tjg555 8 жыл бұрын

John Green is an inspiration to people everywhere who don't want to comb their hair.

@ViRuSrooz14 8 жыл бұрын

The puff levels are high.

@MonkeyspankO 8 жыл бұрын

in 20 years he will officially morph into Sideshow Bob

@SuperExodian 8 жыл бұрын

i used to not comb my hair. but now i've got 40 cm long hair and it's become a fairly necessary action

@armvex 8 жыл бұрын

No he is not. I don't comb my hair

@ghostpeel 7 жыл бұрын

He's also an inspiration to the ones who study American literature, I can't thank him enough for easing me into the context of what has been scribbled in Freedom Land.

@smirkypants 8 жыл бұрын

Best line in all of American Literature: "All right then, I'll go to hell."

@cuckmaker5437 8 жыл бұрын

Words you must say as an American before voting for Trump

@aarondavis5386 8 жыл бұрын

aaaaand zero to political in 2.3 seconds.

@TheZyanas 8 жыл бұрын

+Aaron Davis I would argue that those words in their original context were already like, a 14 on a 1 to 10 scale of expressing political opinion. If anything, the new context would make them less political. The specific views being expressed don't really have anything to do with each other though.

@bobfisher7101 8 жыл бұрын

@jeffbaer5851 6 жыл бұрын

Yes, indeed the best line in all of American lit, but sorry John Green, the "climactic" moment where Huck says this and tears the letter is in Chapter 31, not Chapter 16.

@thatjillgirl 8 жыл бұрын

I do think the new censored versions of the book completely miss the point of the story, which is exactly as you said. Here is this boy who has been raised by an overtly racist society and has even adopted its overtly racist language. And yet throughout the story he struggles against what he has been taught and rejects it all, ultimately deciding that he'd rather literally go to hell than return Jim to slavery. That is easily on the list of most powerful moments in American literature.

@DuranmanX 8 жыл бұрын

That might as well replace all the words with a British accent

@Grizabeebles 7 жыл бұрын

I think the words should be there just so that we keep having to have this exact conversation. Having to navigate morally grey areas is a life skill. Which, ironically, is they very thing _Huck Finn_ is all about. I am really offended by racists and intolerant speech but the irony is that passing a law to ban a thing is a form of _intolerance._ I much prefer yelling at people on streetcorners and books whose entire purpose is debunking the ideas of someone else's book. You know, healthy discussion.

@sketchstevens5859 6 жыл бұрын

thatjillgirl That is exactly what I got from it when I first read that moment

@theodoretee6563 4 жыл бұрын

Yeaaaaa

@Luboman411 7 жыл бұрын

You know you've created a masterpiece when, throughout 130 some-odd years, someone always tries to ban your book for one reason or another. Back then it was because it portrayed black people as fully-realized humans. Later, because it described terrible scenes of slavery, child abuse and murder. And now, because of the "n-word". Mark Twain just hits the raw American nerve over and over and over again. This is why it's the Great American Novel--it pisses off so many Americans for so many different reasons. That and the incredible language Mark Twain utilizes.

@PoseidonXIII 8 жыл бұрын

A sound heart is stronger than a deformed conscience, that is very beautiful.

@ArrogantlyGabby 8 жыл бұрын

a young special needs boy I cared for enjoyed watching your videos (especially John greene) he was so excited for this series he sadly passed away last month I'm gonna watch for him r.i.p Dakota

@elektrikhd 8 жыл бұрын

Huck dressed as a girl... When reading this book in high school, I didn't read that section before class, and was flipping through to try and get some idea of what happened for a chance at not completely failing the quiz. I didn't read the section about Huck dressing as a girl, but I saw an illustration that was included in the book. So, on the quiz, our teacher asked, "How does Huck get $5?" My response: "Huck wins a drag contest." I received partial credit.

@mimi-hy2re 4 жыл бұрын

that means your teacher "partially" agrees

@TheNoladrummer 8 жыл бұрын

My interpretation of the Tom Sawyer section of "Huckleberry Finn" is that it symbolizes Huck's last separation. Namely, from childhood. Twain juxtaposes Tom's airy, immature shenanigans with Huck's experienced, thoughtful view of reality. Tom's playing games. Jim and Huckleberry are in a fight for their lives. After rejecting society and religion, the last tether holding Huck back from manhood is childhood. My two cents. This book changed my life as a young boy in the deep South. Editing it in any way only lessens the impact of the novel. Thank you, Crash Course. I love your channel!

@TheNoladrummer 8 жыл бұрын

"Manhood" meaning a state in which a male is solely responsible for his thoughts, words, and actions.

@amandasmith593 8 жыл бұрын

I hate it when people confuse portrayals of racism with racism on the part of the author. Huck Finn uses racial slurs not to insult or dehumanize black people, but to demonstrate the attitudes of society towards those people. Characters' use of racial slurs is meant to symbolize that, for all their claims to being civilized, they are the ones lacking in morals and education.

@jordanthomas4379 5 жыл бұрын

Amanda Smith thank you, you are smarter than 90% of the people who read this book.

@JaimeMesChiens 5 жыл бұрын

Without the original language, the novel loses much-of what we are meant to learn. I think reading Tom Sawyer is only because of Huck Finn. Had the latter not been written, the former would have been all-but a footnote in American Literature.

@mandles. 8 жыл бұрын

Ugh this brings back so many memories. When i was in high school this book was banned from being taught in English but my AP language and composition teacher had us read it anyway and im so glad she did!!

@infernaldarklord 8 жыл бұрын

I never truly realized how much I had missed crash course literature, until it was back in my life again.

@Infamous1892 8 жыл бұрын

By changing the words in the book, they are watering down the issues of the time.

@swtipie412 7 жыл бұрын

I read Huck Finn in my junior English class and before we started reading my teacher passed out passages from the book and we spent an entire class period discussing the language. This helped me appreciate the book more than anything. If she had not done that and drawn us into the book that way, I might have never even started reading it. But Huck Finn has since become a book close to my heart for its clever writing/hilarious dialouge, satire, development of the characters, and so much more. Gosh now I want to read it again.

@123guy5 8 жыл бұрын

last time I was this early Scotland wasn't part of the United Kingdom

@toffeesky6227 8 жыл бұрын

1707?

@stza16 8 жыл бұрын

huh

@rogue123987 8 жыл бұрын

I, uh, don't think you're that old dude. XD

@wafflewarble2980 8 жыл бұрын

give it a few years

@IsThisRain 8 жыл бұрын

+rogue123987 Oh really? We couldn't tell.

@xX_swagger_Xx 8 жыл бұрын

3:02 Lol my school library had The adventures of Tom Sawyer but not Huckleberry Finn, I borrowed it once because I thought it was the Huckleberry Finn book, and man I was dissapointed

@zakariyaabdullahi2350 8 жыл бұрын

Imagine when John has to do "The Fault in Our Stars" I never read it, but he might have to do it pretty soon.

@kenyagonzalez1072 8 жыл бұрын

I have never been more excited for a video in my life!!!! I chose to read Huckleberry Finn for my "free chose" book report and I was having a difficult time truly understanding the novel. This video could not have come at a better moment!

@trentonnewman9683 6 жыл бұрын

I will go to the mat for Tom Sawyer, even though it isn’t as ambitious as Huck Finn, it’s a great read and one of my favorite books. While it isn’t as great as Huck Finn I think it’s still worth reading.

@JulianWyllie 8 жыл бұрын

Love your series! Always adds a succinct perspective.

@ShibinGeorge_sg1993 8 жыл бұрын

I liked the lecture by the title even before I watched it. Never regretted it.

@lawrencecalablaster568 8 жыл бұрын

Crash Course Literature is the greatest! Thank you, John!

@victorianightshade4237 8 жыл бұрын

I've been waiting for this.

@andy4an 8 жыл бұрын

I read and enjoyed Tom Sawyer as a young kid, and was thrilled to hear that there was a sequel. I asked the librarian to help me find it, and she wouldn't. instead she gave me "the golden compass". I never forgave her for this double slight.

@lamtwentythirteen 8 жыл бұрын

bless you for bringing back crash course literature!!!!

@isabellamalagon4720 8 жыл бұрын

I'm so excited for the new literature videos!

@fromscratchauntybindy9743 8 жыл бұрын

Just picked up a copy from a Salvation Army store today - going to read it with all of this in mind, thank you John for the guiderails. Hope you're getting plenty of rest, writing and family time on your net-break! DFTBA

@brennadowd9807 8 жыл бұрын

one of my camp counselors came from key west, or as he called it: "north Cuba"

@laurifinlandia 4 жыл бұрын

this is incredibly good content for such bit sized videos.

@lindaarnoldus9612 7 жыл бұрын

Please do one of these for great expectations!!!

@specialthanks6361 8 жыл бұрын

Hehe....I love every Video you make from my heart,Mr. Greene.... I'll never forget to be awesome.

@aristidesiliopoulos7041 8 жыл бұрын

great and fun study of the work. these videos are excellent.

@akshitashreya8740 5 жыл бұрын

Very informative! Thankyou dear!

@CODYj423 6 жыл бұрын

That short Hemingway rant was manic genius!

@loza2101 8 жыл бұрын

One of my all time favourite book!!

@crimsondeadpool 8 жыл бұрын

Yes!!! You're back!!!!!

@eahere 8 жыл бұрын

Welcome back John!

@Doughnuts2105 8 жыл бұрын

Hey John I would really appreciate if you could do a crash course on Howl and A Doll's House please. Love your work, keep it up!

@ColterDewitt 8 жыл бұрын

You handled that language segment perfectly. I was nervous about the reactionaries.

@curiousshinigami6600 7 жыл бұрын

Thank you SO much for creating this video. It is really going to help me understand the feel of the time.. trying not to fail my A Levels :3 For my second literature exam this year it focuses on American literature between 1880-1940.. need to read a few books but I don't know if I'll be able really understand the era with the little amount of time This is going to be really helpful :) Thanks again

@bobblehead7002 7 жыл бұрын

I just read the book. Thank you

@mubmakes6977 8 жыл бұрын

GOOD VIDEO , MADE IT ALL CLEAR

@Giorno_Giovanni589 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for writing my book report

@daeciahylton5727 8 жыл бұрын

This video was well said, I LOVE @Crashcourse (and honestly I still watch the children's crash course channel oh well haha :)) Keep doing what you guys are doing, and if this helps, I'll continue to watch the advertisements :)

@stuartd155 8 жыл бұрын

Given that this novel was censored I was wondering if you be covering George Orwell's 1984?

@sgufanboy 8 жыл бұрын

John Green's back!! Day made :)

@gabrielle4821 Жыл бұрын

I loved The Adventures of Tom Sawyer! It was the only children’s book that I was still able to get through when I was older. I think it should be a classic too.

@futuredoc2014 6 жыл бұрын

Lovin' the laptop sticker!

@kaku55rox 8 жыл бұрын

So excited for LORD OF THE FLIES

@aperson22222 8 жыл бұрын

I oughta reread Huck Finn. Haven't touched it since I was twelve, and most of it went over my head. I enjoyed the episodic adventures, was genuinely baffled why everyone seemed to take it for granted that racism was good, and missed the rest.

@andernj08 8 жыл бұрын

thanks, thats my english assignment complete!

@artwithtristen1195 8 жыл бұрын

This came a few months to late could of used this during school

@BagelsBagelsBagels 8 жыл бұрын

also: too* late

@chrismcgowan5180 8 жыл бұрын

Seen as we are deconstructing this comment, the 'during school' should be more specific what level of school? where is it situated? without context how are we ever to know how late the video was?

@djmsong 8 жыл бұрын

+Volound Could of: Could've. People who spell it like it sounds and get it wrong.

@Volound 8 жыл бұрын

Chris McGowan specificity /= accuracy

@winkoman3 8 жыл бұрын

You could have used a lot of help in school.

@rajarshibiswas8229 8 жыл бұрын

I love the secret compartment.

@user-pv1kt7qq8d 4 жыл бұрын

+Has anyone else noticed that the gray t-shirt is the same one he wears in TKAM(To Kill A Mockingbird) and Slaughterhouse 5? And some of Us History as well.

@darkroomvampire7514 8 жыл бұрын

Great great great book !

@laurensklaassen6869 8 жыл бұрын

John, will there be another crash course history series? I totally loved these series :D

@taylorsharp2196 8 жыл бұрын

You mention that "all right, then, I'll go to hell" is in Chapter 16. There have been a lot of editions, but my copy, and a few hits from a google search, have it listed as ch. 31. I looked it up because I wanted to read the whole passage again :)

@claytonpace3698 7 жыл бұрын

John Green, I respect you immensely and truly admire your intelligence and the way you put things like literature and history in such great perspective. That being said, you lost couple points from me for inferring Aliens is better than Alien.

@the1077936128 7 жыл бұрын

3:46 Is that a typo or is simply a word I don't know yet?

@brecuethemusic03 8 жыл бұрын

Hey John/Crash course, I would love if you covered the little house on the prairie novels or novel of your choice! I think its an important part of our american literature, food for thought Thanks!

@johndowney2907 6 жыл бұрын

(not john) it's Cheetylious here this is awsome...thank you so much

@ericgrabowski1468 6 жыл бұрын

I read it a long time ago. I should read it again.

@iananderson12796 8 жыл бұрын

THIS CHANNEL NEEDS MORE HEMINGWAY PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!

@javanknox8360 8 жыл бұрын

I hope you guys might consider doing an episode on Mark Twain's Diaries of Adam and Eve in relation to Twain's views on religion and mortality. Some of Twain's most touching writing can be found in that book.

@furret1907 7 жыл бұрын

Mark Twain is my 7 times great uncle and I have a cousin named Langhorn.

@yungbisher 8 жыл бұрын

I remember reading huck Finn then being told that I had to read Tom Sawyer first and got so bored from it that I forgot to go back and finish huck Finn

@M_Chen333 8 жыл бұрын

JOHN'S BACK!!!

@rajatkamalpolisety2864 8 жыл бұрын

i like how you and me are the only ones that noticed this :)

@M_Chen333 8 жыл бұрын

I know right?!

@gaudimaxwell8643 8 жыл бұрын

Hey john! Love these crash courses, and idk if you take suggestions, but I'm going to ask anyways lol. Can you do a crash course on Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin? I'd love to hear what you think about it 😁 -Thanks oodles for the awesome

@itsMickeyR2 8 жыл бұрын

why the hell didn't you make this like 4 months ago, it would have made my english class SO MUCH EASIER TO DEAL WITH. AHHH

@GoldenCycloneGaming 8 жыл бұрын

I love you John

@iheartcandy183 8 жыл бұрын

Thank god for this video

@cckoko6304 8 жыл бұрын

Hi John! I'm student teaching this year, and the unit assigned for my own independent instruction is Huck Finn! I cannot begin to describe how happy I am that you're including this-- I'm so excited to show my 7th graders! Thanks!

@EdEddnEddyonline1 7 жыл бұрын

This is useful since we're reading this in my career ready English 11 class

@skak6980 8 жыл бұрын

I'm still waiting for a new series 'bout history, with John Greene.

@Caryn-Brooks 8 жыл бұрын

So happy to see this! We have been listening to Elijah Wood's reading (on audible) and cannot get enough of it. I keep thinking about Sherburn's speech and our online mobs. And how the mob and the people throughout the book, are so like we are, so human and familiar and distracted and distractable. I *had* to read Tom Sawyer in school and we didn't get to Huck and I would have been happy enough to skip the first. We think Tom is a wart and mean and too careless with people and greedy. We love Huck, Jim, Mrs Hotchkiss, Joanna Wilks (and her fabulous lessons in Critical thinking . . . "There's no sense in it."), the woman who devises the Achilles-like Lady test to pierce Huck's disguise and the gliding undertaker - "He had a rat!". I know it is probably enhanced by the "red car effect" but we see *everything* in this book. It's dizzying. Cannot wait for next week's video. Whatever is the matter with the ending? Why should Huck settle down in sich and sich a place on the blank day of blank? Or ever?

@dannisaurs269 8 жыл бұрын

Could the next book annotation be "the picture of Dorian grey" by Oscar Wilde? It is slightly difficult for me to truly understand the horror aspect of this Gothic literature piece. Also love the video thank you for helping me get through English class.

@warrengday 8 жыл бұрын

Read both Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn last year. Loved TS, wished I'd read it as a child, it's a captures a change in thinking as one grows up perfectly; HF I didn't enjoy anywhere near as much.

@magicoA 7 жыл бұрын

I don't know what it is,but I liked The Adventures of Tom Sawyer much more than Huck Finn,maybe it was the perspective or maybe I couldn't sense as much of a plot in Huck Finn as I did in Tom Sawyer,which Twain does warn the readers about.

@mangolux2656 7 жыл бұрын

i love crash course

@TravisSelassieSimbawafedha 8 жыл бұрын

He grew up in Michigan just down the road about 20 miles from my families ranch.

@jerryto803 8 жыл бұрын

Please do an episode about Blood Meridian after this!

@audiobookforu7865 4 жыл бұрын

thanks

@jeffreydrayton 6 жыл бұрын

John Green, you are a great host! I enjoy every episode. (Although, it wouldn't hurt to shave.)(And maybe get a decent haircut.) You're a great host!

@joshbobst1629 8 жыл бұрын

"A deformed conscience," I like that.

@apop2014 8 жыл бұрын

i never read the book because i never had the time but after watching this video, i think i will give it a try. I didn't know it was so influential

@dreesunc 8 жыл бұрын

a lot of the humor is really difficult to see if you dont know what twain is punning about. the first time i read the book, i thought the orgy thing was really weird. i didnt realize that the guy was saying he wants to hold an obsequy (oratory part of a funeral service) and that it was mocking the adults. i realized that if there was any part of the book that i didnt think was funny, i most likely just did not understand it :) it is one of the books that only gets better with rereadings. best of luck in rereading it!

@apop2014 8 жыл бұрын

dreesunc, thanks for the heads-up!

@EuropeanQoheleth 8 жыл бұрын

Yes. Empire Strikes Back is my favourite Star Wars movie. I haven't seen The Force Awakens though.

@misty9972 8 жыл бұрын

I loved Tom Sawyer when I was younger 😂 more so than Huck Finn; I believe I found him and his imagination more relatable?

@jcarter3238 6 жыл бұрын

Crazy. I can't imagine reading a censored version... What's the point? I read the unedited version, along with Tom Sawyer, with my kids at 11 and 12. Sparked a lot of nuanced conversations, felt uneasiness, laughed a lot, were saddened, felt happy... Really takes you on a journey (we loved both) and I feel like to censor it, you won't be on as much of a realistic journey. Life is painful, and full of horrible mistakes. Going through all of it as a reader is a safe way to learn and grow. To watch your kids go from laughing to realizing something turned really shitty on some occasions... sparks an acknowledgement of how complex life really is.

@upyo9 8 жыл бұрын

You guys should talk about invisible man by Ralph Ellison. It's a beautifully written novel and I more essential then ever at this point in our society.

@michikomanalang6733 8 жыл бұрын

I'm crossing my fingers for The Good Earth soon.

@betsy.-val 8 жыл бұрын

So anybody knows how could I find the source for the Hemingway's quote?

@danielcampos1715 8 жыл бұрын

0:27 I'm not a state, I'm a monster!

@polyvinylfilmz 8 жыл бұрын

I'm Idaho!!

@klonkk 8 жыл бұрын

+Polyvinyl Films I am potato

@RaphaelGasparianChinchilla 8 жыл бұрын

Hey +Crash Course, can you put the videos on a playlist? Otherwise it can get really hard to follow them. Tks

@jaredkallen4455 7 жыл бұрын

Do you have a list of the books you cover? The literature?

@jacobdrum 8 жыл бұрын

I'm curious to hear John's thoughts on the ending; I took a Twain class or two in college and didn't know it was reviled for the last third. That's how I had been taught to read the book; in thirds: pre-Civil War, Civl War, Reconstruction (also, btw, a great way to read Life and Times on the Mississippi). Maybe it's Reconstruction that was the problem. Looking forward to the next episode.

@jacobdrum 8 жыл бұрын

Awful and almost scandalous use of punctuation in the above comment. I have brought shame on my house and my family.

@gregmiller9710 8 жыл бұрын

...take it easy on yourself Jacob..i thought it a good comment with no errors...

@dreesunc 8 жыл бұрын

i am really hoping he talks about the obsequy orgy :D That is my favorite part of the whole book!

@gregmiller9710 8 жыл бұрын

dreesunc ..i read most of the book, except the very end after tom came in and was trying to help N jim escape, where is this @?

@dreesunc 8 жыл бұрын

Greg Miller there is a part where they get into it with two con men, and one is pretending to be a king. and they are travelling all together and they come up on a city where someone just died. and the conman king says we must hold an orgy! and he means obsequy. It was towards the end and I think it was once Tom was with them. But I have not read the book in 10 years.