Five Books that Shaped Me—Dialogue on a Raft

DAY 075 - 26/16/3 -

When I saw the question, "What five books inspired your writing?" I instantly knew my answer. I already wrote about the first suspenseful novel, so it's time to continue with...

#2 - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

- Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens

I met Huckleberry Finn in a most bizarre way. I was getting ready to attend public school, after years of home and private schooling. I wanted my chance in the public forum of bullies and best friends. Well, a few months before school started, the faculty brought me in and gave me some news. My physical records wouldn't transfer. My portfolio wouldn't upload. I wasn't going to be able to register. So, with a few weeks left in summer, a snap decision was made: I would attend one more year of home school.

It was brilliant. I was able to design my curriculum around topics that interested me. For history, I learned about the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the first World War (1914–1918). I chose those events, because students I knew told me their teachers wouldn't go near them. This even motivated me when it came to my literature classes. I wanted to read something that public school wouldn't touch; something authentic, something—dare I say it—banned.

Oh, I was never more giddy reading a school book than when I was holding Huckleberry Finn. For me, reading a "banned" book was "living on the edge." However, this book came with some rules. By order of the author: "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot."

Thankfully, I don't need to discuss Huckleberry's morals to highlight how this book impacted me. I only need to discuss one thing: the dialogue.

Take this moment in chapter 2, when Huck and his friends are sneaking around. Jim hears them and says, "Say, who is you? Where is you? Dog my cats if I didn't hear something." Aside from the poor grammar and unfamiliar phrasing, Jim's first line is nothing special—if that was how Twain wrote it. Jim actually says: "Say, who is you? Whar is you? Dog my cats ef I didn' hear sumf'n." By writing Jim this way, it's harder to understand him.

In order to read Twain's narrative, Twain makes his audience employ their other senses. Beyond just seeing the words, readers must also 'hear' them. This extra effort causes the reader to create a strong mental image of how Jim speaks. He and Huck have to be heard to be understood, and once you get those two talkin', nothin' is gonna stop 'em.

One of my fave'rit parts is in chapter 14, when Huck and Jim talk about king Solomon. Jim argues that Solomon wasn't wise, saying, "He had some er de dad-fetchedes' ways I ever see. Does you know 'bout dat chile dat he 'uz gwyne to chop in two?" Jim talks more about that child, saying, "What use is a half a chile? I wouldn' give a dern for a million un um." Then, Huck says, "Hang it, Jim, you've clean missed the point—blame it, you've missed it a thousand mile," but Jim retorts, "Blame de point! I reck'n I knows what I knows." After I read that scene, I laughed 'til my lungs were sore. I could hear the frustration in their voices; the chitter chatter of their bickering. It starts with Jim speaking in a plain manner, but then Huck jumps on, shocked at Jim. Then, Jim fires back, hoping to put that boy down for being so foolish. It's hilarious, and the tone of all that humor is kept entirely within the dialogue. 

Twain gave depth to his characters, by writing them how they sound. Because of that, Huckleberry Finn has stuck with me as a novel and as a radio drama in my mind. It challenged me to create authentic characters, especially with unique forms of speech. But, I try not to write any accents so thick tat it'dbe imp'sibul to reem dem.

So, if'n I got your attention, then come back to see my next post, where I'll look at the first book I made sure to read before I watched the movie.