
The Historian's Huck Finn
Reading Mark Twain's Masterpiece as Social and Economic History
Ranjit S. Dighe(Author)
Praeger Publishers Inc
Published on 25. April 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-1-61069-941-9 (ISBN)
Description
Putting Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in historical context, connecting it to pivotal issues like slavery, class, money, and American economic expansion, this book engages readers by presenting American history through the lens of a great novel.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is widely regarded as a classic American novel-a groundbreaking one in which the author attempts to accurately portray society through the use of at-times coarse vernacular English. In this book, readers can experience the full text of Twain's Huckleberry Finn accompanied by annotations in footnote form throughout. As a result, this classic is transformed into a fascinating historical documentation of 19th-century American life and society that touches on topics like slavery, the transportation revolution, race, class, and confidence men.
Bringing the perspective of a social and economic historian, Ranjit S. Dighe offers more than 150 annotations as well as supporting essays that put the characters, incidents, and settings of the book into their historical context. First-time readers get to experience a great American novel with memorable characters, vivid imagery, and a great narrative voice while simultaneously learning about American history; teachers and students who have read Huckleberry Finn before will enjoy re-reading it, especially with insightful annotations that connect the story to the historical timeline. This book exposes the subtle lessons Twain's tale has to teach us about America's growth, development, conflicts, and mass movements in the nation's first century.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is widely regarded as a classic American novel-a groundbreaking one in which the author attempts to accurately portray society through the use of at-times coarse vernacular English. In this book, readers can experience the full text of Twain's Huckleberry Finn accompanied by annotations in footnote form throughout. As a result, this classic is transformed into a fascinating historical documentation of 19th-century American life and society that touches on topics like slavery, the transportation revolution, race, class, and confidence men.
Bringing the perspective of a social and economic historian, Ranjit S. Dighe offers more than 150 annotations as well as supporting essays that put the characters, incidents, and settings of the book into their historical context. First-time readers get to experience a great American novel with memorable characters, vivid imagery, and a great narrative voice while simultaneously learning about American history; teachers and students who have read Huckleberry Finn before will enjoy re-reading it, especially with insightful annotations that connect the story to the historical timeline. This book exposes the subtle lessons Twain's tale has to teach us about America's growth, development, conflicts, and mass movements in the nation's first century.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
22 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
573 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-61069-941-9 (9781610699419)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Ranjit S. Dighe, PhD, is professor of economics at the State University of New York at Oswego.