Revered by all of the town's children and dreaded by all of its mothers, Huckleberry Finn is indisputably the most appealing child-hero in American literature.
Unlike the tall-tale, idyllic world of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn is firmly grounded in early reality. From the abusive drunkard who serves as Huckleberry's father to Huck's first tentative grappling with issues of personal liberty and the unknown, Huckleberry Finn endeavors to delve quite a bit deeper into the complexities-both joyful and tragic of life.
'American Literature began with Huckleberry Finn.' - Ernest Hemingway.
'This required standard of American literature is brought to life for students. A wonderful selection for school libraries.' - School Library Journal
Thomas Becker is a Shakespearean actor and High School teacher.
One of the greatest treats in all world literature, this masterpiece from Mark Twain is revolutionary. It offers both brilliant humor and tragedy as Huck and Jim explore moral dilemmas of slavery and freedom. Huck, the narrator, is shrewd, ingenious, and literal--he reports on everything he sees, which allows the listener to experience the hypocrisy of "civilization." This superb reading by Patrick Fraley is rich in the color and adventurous spirit of the Mississippi River. It captures the world and people that Mark Twain knew and loved.
The sun shines on Tom Sawyer. The idealized childhood of this fictional hero, based on Mark Twain's own early life along the banks of the Mississippi, is filled with robust good humor and high-spirited adventures. Yet there is also an in-depth experience of the central South of the 1840s'its dialects, superstitions, and social values. While romping through fun-filled fantasy, Tom Sawyer shows how morally complicated real life can be.
The book is told from the standpoint of a loyal household pet, a dog self-described by the first sentence of the story; "My father was a St. Bernard, my mother was a collie, but I am a Presbyterian." The story begins with a description of the dog's life as a puppy and her separation from her mother, which to her was inexplicable. Her puppy and her owner's new child were soon added to her new home. When a fire breaks out in the nursery, the dog risks her life to drag the baby to safety. In the process, her motives are misunderstood and she is cruelly beaten by the father of the family with a cane, resulting in her leg getting broken. Soon, however, the truth of the situation is discovered and she receives no end of praise. Later in the story, her puppy dies, killed by the father of the family to prove his opinion on optics to his scientist peers. Only a servant seems to realize the irony of this, exclaiming, "Poor little doggie, you saved HIS child!" In the end, the dog (who does not realize her puppy is dead until her own hour is upon her) pines inconsolable over the grave of the puppy with the clear implication that she will do so until death.
The irrepressible Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, always looking for trouble, find it again in Tom Sawyer Abroad, Twain's once-celebrated but now little-known sequel to his classics The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Tom and Huck have both ranged the length of the Mississippi, but, as Huck declares, "Do you reckon Tom Sawyer was satisfied after all them adventures?….No, he wasn't. It only just pisoned him for more." So the two boys head off to see the unveiling of a futuristic airship-only to be kidnapped by its mad inventor! But when the inventor goes overboard in a storm, it's up to Tom and Huck to take control of the airship as it heads out over the seething ocean toward the unknown. Yonder they will encounter robbers, lions, Bedouins, and the perils of the Sahara in their very own Arabian adventure.
They look alike, but they live in very different worlds. Tom Canty, impoverished and abused by his father, is fascinated with royalty. Edward Tudor, heir to the throne of England, is kind and generous but wants to run free and play in the river-just once. How insubstantial their differences truly are becomes clear when a chance encounter leads to an exchange of clothing-and roles. The pauper finds himself caught up in the pomp and folly of the royal court, a role which is further complicated when the king dies soon after the switch; and the prince wanders horror-stricken through the lower strata of English society.
Out of the theme of switched identities, Mark Twain fashioned both a fiery assault upon social hypocrisy and injustice and a riotous comedy filled with high-spirited play.
"Twain was…enough of a genius to build his morality into his books, with humor and wit and-in the case of The Prince and the Pauper-wonderful plotting."-E. L. Doctorow, award-winning American novelist
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, originally published in 1876, was the first novel written on a typewriter. Mark Twain's lively tale of the scrapes and adventures of boyhood is set in St. Petersburg, Missouri, where Tom Sawyer and his friend Huckleberry Finn have the kinds of adventures many boys can imagine: racing bugs during class, impressing girls, especially Becky Thatcher, with fights and stunts in the schoolyard, getting lost in a cave, and playing pirates on the Mississippi River.
Two of Twain's great classics are combined here, adding to Naxos AudioBooks' now well-established collection of box sets. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is the story of a boy's adventures growing up in a small town on the banks of the Mississippi river over a hundred years ago. The cheerful, adventurous hero plays truant to form a pirate band and, together with his best friend, Huckleberry Finn, finds fun, excitement, and buried treasure, along the shores of the great river. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, floating down the Mississippi on their raft, Huckleberry Finn and Jim, a runaway slave, find life filled with excitement and the spirit of adventure. Join Huck and Jim and their old friend Tom Sawyer as they come up against low-down thieves and murderers whilst being chased by Huck's evil, drunken father who is after Huck's treasure. It is a trip you that you'll never tire of.
One of the most enduring American novels of all time, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn follows the adventures of Huck Finn and a runaway slave named Jim as they travel down the Mississippi river on a raft--all in order to help Jim win his freedom from slavery. Told in Twain's unique style, Huck Finn's story is one of the greatest tales of love, respect, and human decency, told through the eyes of an unlearned, but big-hearted, boy.
With his uniquely expressive voice, three-time Academy Award® winner Paul Newman vividly brings to life the exciting tale of one of America's favorite heroes. Young Tom Sawyer, full of guts and determination, takes us on amazing adventures that are both touching and humorous, and at their most compelling in Newman's warm and charismatic performance.
Produced in a simple manner that allows imaginations to soar, Mark Twain's marvelous enduring wit will charm the entire family. Destined to become an instant classic, this audiobook will help introduce your family to the unique pleasure of classic literature.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is the story of a boy's adventures growing up in a small town on the banks of the Mississippi river over a hundred years ago. The cheerful, adventurous hero plays truant to form a pirate band and, together with his best friend, Huckleberry Finn, finds fun and excitement, and buried treasure, along the shores of the great river.
Mark Twain's engaging novel about Tom Sawyer, a young, mischievous boy with a nose for trouble and a heart of gold. One of the most enduring American novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a jaunty, free-wheeling story that exemplifies the life of a young boy on the frontier in the mid 1800s.
