Comments on: Mark Twain and the Law of the Raft http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2010/09/mark-twain-and-the-law-of-the-raft/ Frederik Pohl Mon, 20 May 2013 21:23:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Andy Baird http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2010/09/mark-twain-and-the-law-of-the-raft/#comment-34379 Andy Baird Sat, 18 Sep 2010 15:00:29 +0000 http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/?p=2679#comment-34379 It's interesting that nobody here has mentioned Greg Matthews' 1985 book "The Further Adventures of Huckleberry Finn": http://tinyurl.com/26hxlgw This ambitious work by a young Australian is very much the spiritual heir to "Huck and Tom Among the Indians"... but it's much more outspoken in its satire of contemporary society. For example, Huck's adventures with a combined traveling gospel show and mobile whorehouse are among the passages that Livy would certainly never have permitted Mark Twain to publish in his lifetime. "Further Adventures" is funny, suspenseful, moving and all in all a damn good read. I think Twain would have liked it. Matthews doesn't *quite* nail the regional dialects--something for which Twain was a stickler--but one can overlook that minor flaw and just enjoy a tale well told. It’s interesting that nobody here has mentioned Greg Matthews’ 1985 book “The Further Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”:

http://tinyurl.com/26hxlgw

This ambitious work by a young Australian is very much the spiritual heir to “Huck and Tom Among the Indians”… but it’s much more outspoken in its satire of contemporary society. For example, Huck’s adventures with a combined traveling gospel show and mobile whorehouse are among the passages that Livy would certainly never have permitted Mark Twain to publish in his lifetime.

“Further Adventures” is funny, suspenseful, moving and all in all a damn good read. I think Twain would have liked it. Matthews doesn’t *quite* nail the regional dialects–something for which Twain was a stickler–but one can overlook that minor flaw and just enjoy a tale well told.

]]> By: wishnevsky http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2010/09/mark-twain-and-the-law-of-the-raft/#comment-33924 wishnevsky Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:10:12 +0000 http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/?p=2679#comment-33924 Not to get too metaphorical, but, there is an early scene where Huck and Jim miss the Ohio River in a fog, and lose Jim's chance for freedom going up the Ohio. I think it was Huck's fault. (?) So then they are inexorably carried down river, deeper and deeper into the Slavery and stupidity, much as the Nation was carried down into the Civil War. It's all about fantasy and reality.. There is a passage about the fog making things so unreal, isn't there? But here is my exercise. If posting this is considered rude, please forgive. I'm not really "an author" http://www.scribd.com/doc/35699856/Habakkuk-Finn I think this is the free version, if not it is on there some place. Obviously an unsaleable book, im not even trying to find a publisher. Not to get too metaphorical, but, there is an early scene where Huck and Jim miss the Ohio River in a fog, and lose Jim’s chance for freedom going up the Ohio. I think it was Huck’s fault. (?) So then they are inexorably carried down river, deeper and deeper into the Slavery and stupidity, much as the Nation was carried down into the Civil War.

It’s all about fantasy and reality.. There is a passage about the fog making things so unreal, isn’t there?

But here is my exercise. If posting this is considered rude, please forgive. I’m not really “an author”

http://www.scribd.com/doc/35699856/Habakkuk-Finn

I think this is the free version, if not it is on there some place. Obviously an unsaleable book, im not even trying to find a publisher.

]]> By: bruce http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2010/09/mark-twain-and-the-law-of-the-raft/#comment-33865 bruce Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:50:19 +0000 http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/?p=2679#comment-33865 Those guns in the '1812 Overture' don't belong in any standard orchestra. And Faulkner wasn't going to solve the American dilemma- why'd he ruin a good hunting yarn by stuffing that interminable race crap into 'The Bear'? He spoiled the whole tone of the story. You can learn a lot from a good hunting story- 'sometimes the dog has to go after the bear just to prove he's the dog' Those guns in the ’1812 Overture’ don’t belong in any standard orchestra. And Faulkner wasn’t going to solve the American dilemma- why’d he ruin a good hunting yarn by stuffing that interminable race crap into ‘The Bear’? He spoiled the whole tone of the story. You can learn a lot from a good hunting story- ‘sometimes the dog has to go after the bear just to prove he’s the dog’

]]> By: Jim Janney http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2010/09/mark-twain-and-the-law-of-the-raft/#comment-33833 Jim Janney Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:10:42 +0000 http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/?p=2679#comment-33833 And even in Twain's time, the Mississippi wasn't what it used to be, after the Army Corp of Engineers had its way with it. And even in Twain’s time, the Mississippi wasn’t what it used to be, after the Army Corp of Engineers had its way with it.

]]> By: JRB http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2010/09/mark-twain-and-the-law-of-the-raft/#comment-33806 JRB Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:00:48 +0000 http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/?p=2679#comment-33806 A more honest and realistic ending might have been that Jim was never freed and simply returned to his previous status as a slave. Might even have worked, but would probably have killed a lot of the joy we get from the tale and alienated much of his younger audience. By making this a sequel to 'Sawyer' (and what else could it be?) MK placed limits on what he could do. It's amazing he managed to cram so much subversion into a book aimed at least in part at kids as he did. 'Among the Indians' had to be abandoned due to those same audience expectations, as the story as it stood was leading inevitably into the subject of rape. Rather liked 'Abroad', fwiw, but agree that 'Detective' was dire stuff. A more honest and realistic ending might have been that Jim was never freed and simply returned to his previous status as a slave. Might even have worked, but would probably have killed a lot of the joy we get from the tale and alienated much of his younger audience. By making this a sequel to ‘Sawyer’ (and what else could it be?) MK placed limits on what he could do. It’s amazing he managed to cram so much subversion into a book aimed at least in part at kids as he did.
‘Among the Indians’ had to be abandoned due to those same audience expectations, as the story as it stood was leading inevitably into the subject of rape.
Rather liked ‘Abroad’, fwiw, but agree that ‘Detective’ was dire stuff.

]]> By: Bruce http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2010/09/mark-twain-and-the-law-of-the-raft/#comment-33801 Bruce Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:39:15 +0000 http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/?p=2679#comment-33801 I'll have to go back and re-read Huck. Based on your synopsis I take a different view of the ending: it sounds like Twain is reiterating that Jim was made a free man by his maker and only civilization can rob anyone (Huck as well as Jim) of their freedom. Part and parcel of the main theme of the book and "symmetric" as Eliot describes. I’ll have to go back and re-read Huck. Based on your synopsis I take a different view of the ending: it sounds like Twain is reiterating that Jim was made a free man by his maker and only civilization can rob anyone (Huck as well as Jim) of their freedom. Part and parcel of the main theme of the book and “symmetric” as Eliot describes.

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