SAMUEL LANGHORNE CLEMENS(1835-1910)

HUCKLEBERRY FINN
WATCH & READ
Huckleberry Finn (Huck), a white 13-year-old boy, and Jim, a fugitive black slave, are on a raft
that is taking them down the Mississippi River. Jim is surprised to hear the French don't speak like them.
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“Why, Huck, doan’ de French people talk de same way we does?”
“No, Jim; you couldn’t understand a word they said - not a single word.”
“Well, now, I be ding-busted1! How do dat come?”
“I don't know; but it’s so. I got some of their jabber2 out of a book. Spose a man was to come to
you and say Polly-voo-franzy – what would you think?”
“I wouldn’ think nuff’n; I’d take en bust him over de head. Dat is, if he warn’t white. I wouldn’t
‘low no nigger to call me dat.”
“Shucks3,” it ain’t calling you anything. It’s only saying do you know how to talk French.”
“Well, den, why couldn’t he say it?"
“Why, he is a-saying it. That’s a Frenchman's way of saying it.”
“Well, it's a blame’ ridicklous4 way, en I doan’ want to hear no mo’ ‘bout it. Dey ain’ no sense in
it.”
“Looky here, Jim; does a cat talk like we do?”
“No, a cat don’t.”
“Well, does a cow?”
“No, a cow don’t, nuther.”
“Does a cat talk like a cow, or a cow talk like a cat?”
“No, dey don’t.”
“It’s natural an right for a cat and a cow to talk different from each other, ain’t it?”
“’Course.”
“And ain’t it natural and right for a cat and a cow to talk different from us?”
“Why, mos’ sholy it is.”
“Well, then, why ain’t it natural and right for a Frenchman to talk different from us? You answer
me that.”
“Is a cat a man, Huck?”
“No.”
“Well, den, dey ain't no sense in a cat talkin’ like a man. Is a cow a man? – er is a cow a cat?”
“No, she ain't either of them.”
“Well, den, she ain’ got no business to talk like either one er the yuther of ‘em. Is a Frenchman a
man?”
“Yes.”
“Well, den! Dad blame it, why doan’ he talk like a man? You answer me dat!”
“I see it warn't no use wasting words […] So I quit.”
From The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain, 1885
1
To be ding-busted: expression familière, ici exprime l'étonnement: ça, alors! J'y crois pas, etc., ça m'assomme (voir bust, l. 7
= cogner)
2
jabber: charabia
3
shucks!: zut!
4
blame’ ridiculous: sacrément ridicule
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HUCKLEBERRY FINN
MARK TWAIN
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910), better known under his pen name Mark Twain, was born and
lived in the South (Missouri). However, he was strongly opposed to slavery. His Adventures of Tom
Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are famous worldwide and are by no means children's books.
BUILDING UP YOUR VOCABULARY
Mark Twain was the first to try and write dialect as it was spoken.
1. Spot the dialect in Jim and Huck's words.
Here are words used by Jim and Huck spelt in Standard English. Find their equivalents in the text.
don't - that - suppose - nothing - and - the - wasn't - allow - then - more - about - there - isn't – lookneither - they - of course - most - surely - talking - hasn't - other - them
2. Spot the dialect in Huck and Jim's grammar.
a. Huck uses an adjective instead of an adverb three times in the text: find it.
Which adverb should he have used in Standard English?
b. Jim doesn't use the "do/does" auxiliaries in the usual way.
Find examples in the passage and change them.
c. Jim uses double negatives, which is not Standard English.
Rewrite the following sentences in Standard English:
• I wouldn' think nuff'n.
• I doan’ want to hear no mo’ ‘bout it.
• Dey ain' no sense in a cat talkin' like a man.
OVERALL COMPREHENSION
1. Is the excerpt a narrative, a dialogue or a monologue?
2. Give the number of characters and their names.
DETAILED COMPREHENSION
1.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Are the following statements true or false? Support your answers with the text.
Huck knows about the existence of the French language because he heard a Frenchman speak.
Polly-voo-franzy is the title of the book Huck read.
Jim thinks that Polly-voo-franzy sounds like an insult.
If someone spoke to Jim in French, he would react violently, even with a white man.
2.
a.
Huck's logic
Does Huck use the examples of the cat and the cow to convince Jim that:
• cats and cows speak differently?
• French and English are different languages?
Is Jim convinced by Huck's logic? Why / why not?
Who appears as the most logical of the two?
Can you find a weak point in Jim's argument?
How do you understand Jim's last sentence? What does it reveal about his definition of a man?
b.
c.
d.
e.
3.
Choose the best title for this excerpt.
• Polly-voo-franzy?
• Down the Mississippi River
• Cats and Cows
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HUCKLEBERRY FINN
WORK ON WORDS
Choose the correct meaning according to the context.
• not a single word (l. 2): pas un mot facile / pas un seul mot
• nigger (l. 8): un nègre / un habitant du Niger
• it warn't no use (l. 34): il était inutile / il était d’usage
• wasting words (l. 34): se fatiguer à parler / utiliser des mots
• I quit (l. 34): je quittai / j’arrêtai
LIKE / AS
“Does a cat talk like a cow or a cow talk like a cat?” (l. 18)
1. ANALYSE
•
Huck expresses himself like a black slave.
Huck s'exprime comme un esclave (alors qu'il n'en est pas un).
• Jim expresses himself as a black slave.
Jim s'exprime en tant qu'esclave. (il en est un).
Quelle est la préposition qui exprime l'identité?
Quelle est celle qui exprime la ressemblance ?
2. EXERCICES
Complétez les phrases avec like ou as.
a. Jim and Huck found a shipwreck full of treasures: it was ….….. a dream; they shared the treasure
….….. brothers.
b. Jim would rather die than be forced to work ….….. a slave again.
c. At the time, black people weren't treated ….….. human beings.
BE NO USE + V-ING / BE WORTH + V-ING
“I see it warn't no use wasting words. I saw it was no use wasting words.” (l. 34)
1. ANALYSE
Quelle traduction vous semble correspondre le mieux pour la phrase ci-dessus ?
• Ce n'est pas la peine de continuer la discussion, Jim ne comprendra jamais ce que je tente de lui
expliquer.
• Jim n'a pas l'habitude de se servir de beaucoup de mots pour argumenter.
Maintenant, observez:
Mark Twain thought it was worth writing about life in the South.
Quelle traduction vous semble correspondre le mieux ?
• Mark Twain pensait que c'était pire d'écrire à propos de la vie dans le Sud.
• Mark Twain pensait que cela valait la peine d'écrire à propos de la vie dans le Sud.
Les deux tournures (qui ont un sens opposé) se construisent de la même manière :
• be no use + V-ing,
• be worth + V-ing.
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HUCKLEBERRY FINN
2. EXERCICES
• Complétez les phrases avec worth or no use.
a. Huck knew it was ……….. asking a white person to help them.
b. Huck thought it was really ..………… trying to take Jim to a free state.
c. The boat was empty and nobody was watching: it was ..……………….. getting inside and taking all the food
they could find.
d. It was ..……………….. trying to tell white people from the South that slavery was a crime.
•
a.
b.
c.
Traduisez.
Ce n'est pas la peine d'écrire à Jim, il ne sait pas lire.
Ce n'est pas la peine que je perde mon temps, il ne veut pas comprendre.
Cela vaut la peine d'essayer, tu le convaincras peut-être.
EACH OTHER
“It's natural and right for a cat and a cow to talk different from each other.” (l. 20)
1. ANALYSE
each other exprime-t-il
- ce que chacun fait pour soi-même (pronom réfléchi) ?
- ce chacun fait envers l'autre (pronom réciproque) ?
Comparez :
They are talking to themselves.
They are talking to each other.
Ils se parlent (à eux-mêmes) = pronom réfléchi.
Ils se parlent (l'un à l'autre) = pronom réciproque.
Cette distinction n'existe pas en français qui emploie « se » dans les deux cas.
2. EXERCICES
Traduisez. Attention aux mots soulignés.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Ces deux enfants ne se comprennent pas; ils ne parlent pas la même langue.
Huck et Jim se comprennent sans se parler.
Huck et Tom se connaissent très bien mais ils ne se sont pas vus depuis longtemps.
Quand il s’est regardé dans la glace, Huck ne s’est pas reconnu tout de suite.
PRONUNCIATION
1. Which letter(s) is (are) not pronounced: talk, know, business, word
2. Find the stress: ridiculous, understand, natural
3. Spot the sound: ridiculous, blame, talk, man, call, cat, waste
EXPRESSION
About the text
1. Whose language is the most difficult to understand? How can you explain / account for it?
2. Mark Twain was famous for his humor. What makes this excerpt funny?
Beyond the text
1. What arguments would you use to convince Jim that other languages exist?
2.
Imagine someone you don't know starts speaking to you in a language you can't identify; how
would you react? Use: like / as, no use / worth + V-ing, each other.
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