An introduction to 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' by Mark Twain for school students.
The story of Huckleberry Finn tells the tale of the journey of Jim and Huck down the Mississippi River from St Petersburg to Pikesville. Augustine Martin sets the scene for the beginning of the journey, Huck's dissolution with the world in which he lives and the theme of loneliness.
Some critics have argued that the hero of this great novel is, in fact, the great river Mississippi itself.
While it is a geographical journey, it is also a spiritual journey for Huck Finn. Travelling down the river, Huck learns a great deal about himself, other people and the society that he and Jim are trying to escape. At the beginning of the novel, Huck is unhappy with a corrupt civilisation in which he lives. He disagrees with Miss Watson's notion of what religion should be and how Judge Thatcher conceives law and justice to be.
Huck feels extremely lonely in St Petersburgh.
He's totally by himself. He sees no meaning to his life and this loneliness is very sternly stressed in the first chapter of the book.
This episode of 'Telefís Scoile' was broadcast on 7 December 1970. The presenter is Augustine Martin.
'Telefís Scoile' was an educational television programme that gave school lessons in maths, science and literature.
