8. Ch 1 of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885)

Summary: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ended when Tom and Huck came across $6000 in gold, which the town judge put into a trust that gains a dollar of interest per day. Huck is adopted by the Widow Douglas, who attempts to educate him, which Huck cannot stand so he runs away, but comes back when Tom offers him a spot in his new band of robbers if he is respectful to the widow. later that night, he flicks a spider toward a candle flame, and believes it to be a bad sign. Tom shows up outside his window and he sneaks out.

Commentary: I didn't want to start reading Huckleberry Finn until I finished reading Tom Sawyer, even if Huck did assure me that it "ain't no matter." I read anyway, mostly because his first-person narrative is just so entertaining. I see Huck as a tall, wiry boy, with often-dirty sandy blond hair and equally as sandy freckles. Also, I was curious as to Huck's age, and apparently it's thirteen or fourteen. For some reason, I was under the impression that Huck was older than Tom, but they are the same age. When I first met Huck in Tom Sawyer, he came across as extremely superstitious. I am glad to say that my first impression of him was completely reinforced. In Sawyer, Huck discusses various charms to get rid of warts with Tom, things that should in no way make any difference toward the development or decay of these warts. I wonder if all the boys are as superstitious as Huck, or if he is the only one who takes them seriously.