Journal entry# 11 Mark Twain

Siu Faat Jimmy Wong
English 48b
January 25, 2008
Professor Lankford

Quote:

“Pretty soon I wanted to smoke, and asked the widow to let me. But she wouldn’t. She said it was a mean practice and wasn’t clean, and I must try to not do it any more… And she took snuff too; of course that was all right”.

Summary:

This quote is found in the “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” of Mark Twain. It mentions that Huckleberry Finn asks the Widow Douglas for permission to smoke.

Response:

In this quote, I realize that the Widow Douglas is a very straight woman who holds authority in the family. She did not allow Huckleberry Finn to smoke because Tobacco “wasn’t clean” and smoking “was a mean practice”. When you first study the first part of the quote, you may think that this woman cares about Huckleberry Finn a lot. Yet, if you read the last part of the quote, the Window Douglas “took snuff too”. On one hand, she asked the boy not to smoke. On the other hand, she smoked actually. It was quite ridiculous. She didn’t act as a role model to the boy. From my point of view, this lady indirectly causes Huckleberry Finn to be so rebellious.

Moreover, I want to point out an interesting point. Mark Twain said that “that was all right” for the Widow to smoke. When I am reading this part, I don’t know if he really said it faithfully or ironically. I discussed this part with my friends. We all agree that on one hand, Mark Twain was afraid of the Widow Douglas and understood that smoking was bad. Therefore, he didn’t smoke in front of her. On the other hand, he though that the Widow Douglas was not fair. She said it was mean to smoke. So she shouldn’t smoke at all. Yet, since she held the power, she could do whatever she wanted to.