SUMMARY
Huck enters the house as "Sarah Williams" pretending to have come looking for her uncle because her mother is unwell. The lady tells him that he is in the wrong town and then she goes on telling him all about her family's woes and troubles. This bores Huck as he has come to gather information about himself and Jim.
Huck succeeds in getting the woman to talk. She tells him about his murder and reveals that initially they had suspected that Pap had killed the boy to get his money. Now however Jim is suspected as the murderer The lady, then, apprises Huck of the reward of three hundred and two hundred dollars that Jim and Huck, respectively, carry on their head. The lady is almost certain that Jim is hiding somewhere on Jackson's island because, despite being a deserted place, she noticed smoke coming from there, a couple of days back. This information makes Huck feel extremely edgy and he tries to hide his consternation by sewing. His hands are trembling and invites the lady's suspicion. On being asked his name, Huck commits another faux pas by saying it is "Mary Williams (not "Sarah Williams", as he had said earlier). Huck notices that the place is infested with them and pose quite a menace. She then asks him to throw a piece of lead at the rats to keep them at bay.
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| The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Chapter 11 |
The way Huck does things fortifies her suspicion. She looks straight into his eyes and asks him to tell her his real name. Huck manages the situation well by saying that he is a runaway apprentice. He goes on to tell her a co*ck and bull story about his life and how he has run away because he has been treated badly. He says that he had lost his parents and was legally bound to a mean old farmer who treated him in a callous manner. He tells her that when the farmer had gone out for a couple of days, he had seized the chance. He had stolen some of his daughter's clothes and run away. Mrs. Judith Loftus believes him and gives him some tips on how to add credibility to his disguise as a girl. She tells him the nuances of threading a needle and sewing more like a girl, so as to add credibility to his pretence in front of other people.
Huck finally gets away from the woman and rushes to the cavern where Jim is sleeping. They hurriedly leave their hideout and escape.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The chapter reveals Huck's presence of mind by the way he cooks up a story to fool the lady. On being cornered because he says his name 15 Mary Williams instead of "Sarah Williams", he is quick to say something and restore the lady's confidence. "Sarah Mary Williams. Sarah's my first name. Some calls me Sarah, some calls me Mary." It is laudable how 'a fourteen-year can have such mental agility. The suppleness and quickness that he displays speak volumes of the fact that lack of education does, in no way, retard his astuteness.
Ironically, when he is in disguise, Huck can interact with society much better than when he is his 'natural' self.
At the end of the chapter, when Huck rushes back to where Jim is, he lights a fire on the site of their earlier camp. "I shoved right into the timber where my old camp used to be, and started a good fire there on a high and dry spot". This he does to use it as bait to hoodwink the lady's husband who is expected to raid Jackson's island that night. Huck demonstrates his good judgment once again. While Mrs. Loftus is kind towards Huck, she betrays her underlying racist attitude. She condones Huck's act of escaping from the despicable farmer and offers all her help. "I'll help you. So'll my old man if you want him to. You see, you're a runaway prentice, that's all. It ain't anything. There ain't no harm in it. You've been treated bad, and you made up your mind to cut. Bless you, child, I wouldn't tell on you". Hasn't Jim been governed by a similar instinct - that of running away from the uncaring Miss Watson? If "there ain't no harm in it" for Huck, why are there stricter measures to judge Jim with? Is it just because Jim is a nigg*r and does not have the privilege of reasonable treatment? In view of the fact that he is a slave, his human instinct (of seeking freedom) is unpardonable while Mrs. Judith Loftus is more tolerant towards Huck's behaviour.
FAQs
Summary and Analysis Chapter 11
Huck becomes nervous when he learns that the woman's husband and another man are heading for Jackson's Island to search for Jim. Before Huck can leave, the woman figures out that he is not a girl, and Huck makes up yet another wild tale for explanation.
What does the woman in town tell Huck about what has happened to Pap? ›
She reveals that Pap was a suspect and that some townspeople nearly lynched him. Then, people began to suspect Jim because he ran away the same day Huck was killed.
What is the name of the woman that Huck goes to see in order to get information about the town? ›
Judith Loftus, the woman he is visiting. But in his short time in town, he discovers three vital and increasingly important pieces of information: Pap is missing and is a suspect in Huck's murder. Jim is also a suspect and has a bounty on his head.
What does Huck learn while he is talking to the town woman? ›
While speaking with a woman, Huck learns that some people in town have seen the fire he and Jim made and will go there that night to hunt Jim.
In what chapter did Huck pretend to be a girl? ›
Summary: Chapter 10
Jim's leg swells but gets better after several days. A while later, Huck decides to go ashore to get information. Jim agrees, but has Huck disguise himself as a girl, using one of the dresses they took from the houseboat.
Did Pap kidnap Huck? ›
Pap finds Huck and threatens him, enraged that he has learned to read and write. Eventually, when the widow tells Pap to stay away from the house and from Huck, Pap kidnaps Huck and brings him to his cabin across the river from St. Petersburg.
How did Huck know Pap wasn't drowned? ›
They said that the body was floating on its back in the water. I knew that the body couldn't have been Pap because a drowned man doesn't float on his back; he floats on his face.
Why is Pap jealous of Huck? ›
He is jealous of Huck's money and tries to legally claim it for himself, promising Judge Thatcher that he is a better man, but he soon proves that to be untrue by multiple drunken tirades and arrests. Pap has no redeeming qualities, and exhibits no real efforts to change for the better during this book.
Who does Huck lie to? ›
For example, Huck lies to prevent needless trouble. We see this when he lies to his father, Pap, about what he did while he was drunk.
Who betrayed Huck? ›
Meg Mitchell
They got closer and they started seeing each other until Meg betrayed him and tricked him about wanting to see her best friend Jennifer, whom she thought was dead. When Huck took her to see Jennifer, she shot Jennifer in the chest and the head. She then shot Huck as she was ordered to.
In the novel, Huck and Jim find the body of Huck's father in a floating house on the river, shot in the back, but the identity of his murderer is never revealed.
Why does Huck smear pig blood in the cabin where he stayed? ›
He takes all the cabin's supplies and puts them in the canoe; he then shoots a wild hog and uses its blood to make it look as if he were murdered. By staging his own murder, Huck thinks he can escape without the threat of being followed.
What did Huck Finn do after wearing a girls dress? ›
Answer. Huck needs information from the woman about the status of Jim and himself. He wants to know what the town thinks has happened to them. He can't go as a male because this would most certainly scare her and give his identity away as well.
Why does Jim run away? ›
Jim had run away because he had overheard Miss Watson considering selling him to a plantation in the South, which would force him to be separated from his family. Thus, the pair continue down the Mississippi river, avoiding other people because a reward has been offered for Jim's capture.
What happens to the raft in chapter 12? ›
When Jim tries to untie the men's skiff and trap them on the wreck, he discovers the raft has broken loose and floated away.
What happened in Chapter 12 of Tom Sawyer? ›
Summary and Analysis Chapter 12
When Tom finds out that Becky Thatcher is ill, he puts aside all of his interests and involvements, as well as his fear of Injun Joe. Aunt Polly notices this drastic change in his behavior and, thinking him ill, gives him a dose from one of her favorite cures.
When did Huck go barefoot? ›
He slept on doorsteps in fine weather and in empty hogsheads in wet; he did not have to go to school or to church, or call any being master or obey anybody; he could go fishing or swimming when and where he chose, and stay as long as it suited him; nobody forbade him to fight; he could sit up as late as he pleased; he ...
