Huckleberry Finn: Movie Version

By Gigi Mack

Study Guide compares the novel Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain to the movie version The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993) starring Elijah Wood, Courtney B. Vance, and Jason Robards. A Disney Picture. Even though this Disney movie omits 24 chapters of the book, it still covers the main plot lines and characters fairly accurately. Too bad the movie left out Tom Sawyer who dominates most of the omitted chapters.

- A Teacher Time-Saver - Perfect For CCSS - Distance Learning or Homeschooling -
 

The Common Core Standards call for comparing the novel text to a different version, especially a film version. Movie Version study guides provide reliable information about the comparison to know if student responses are accurate. Movie Version study guides compare the movie of a book to the book itself. The study guides cover both the plot and characters in the movie and the book.
 

Each study guide contains:

The Movie:  A scene-by-scene comparison with chapters in the book, including errors and omissions in the movie. 

The Book:  Complete chapter-by-chapter summaries of the book.

How Accurate is the Movie?  Each study guide rates the movie's accuracy according to Plot, Characters, Setting, Structure, Symbols, and Theme and reveals what's in the movie that's NOT in the book and what's in the book that's NOT in the movie.
 

Digitally download the movie version study guide today to find out how the movie is not like the book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: MovieVersion.com LLC
• Release date: Oct 17, 2013
• ISBN: 9781937714093

Book preview

THE MOVIE VERSION OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN IS NOT LIKE THE BOOK by Mark Twain

Recommended movie: The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993) starring Elijah Wood, Courtney B. Vance, and Jason Robards. A Disney Picture. Even though this Disney movie omits 24 chapters of the book, it still covers the main plot lines and characters fairly accurately. Too bad the movie left out Tom Sawyer who dominates most of the omitted chapters.

HOW ACCURATE IS THE MOVIE VERSION OF THE BOOK?

WHAT’S IN THE BOOK THAT’S NOT IN THE MOVIE?

Tom Sawyer, Judge Thatcher, Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas, Aunt Polly, Emmeline Grangerford, Tom Sawyer’s band of robbers, Jim’s rattlesnake bite, the search for Huck’s body, the flood, the floating house, The Royal Nonesuch, the circus, Colonel Sherburn, Jim as a sick Arab, Tom and Huck’s rescue of Jim, Tom’s gunshot wound...

WHAT’S IN THE MOVIE THAT’S NOT IN THE BOOK?

The fight with the bully, the wanted poster, Jim as a Grangerford slave, Pap’s body on the steamboat, Jim’s whipping, Jim as a Swahili, the attempted lynching of Jim, Mary Jane Wilks firing a gun, Jim’s arrest, Huck’s gunshot wound...

WHAT’S THE SAME?

Widow Douglas and Miss Watson try to civilize Huck, Pap kidnaps Huck, Huck stages his own murder, Huck and Jim’s raft trip on the Mississippi River, Huck dressed as a girl, the Grangerford and Shepherdson feud, the king and the duke try to swindle the Wilks family, Huck runs away at the end...

THE MOVIE: SUMMARY

The following is a scene-by-scene comparison of the movie to the corresponding chapters in the book.

THE MOVIE: CHAPTER 1

Opening scene: The voice of Huck Finn introduces himself as the narrator. (ACCURATE) He says this is the story of himself and a slave named Jim. (ERROR: Not in the book) Huck says that the story is mostly the truth. (ACCURATE)

OMISSION: In the book Huck reminds the reader that he is the same boy who was in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Huck retells the story of how he and Tom Sawyer found gold hidden by robbers in a cave. Judge Thatcher awarded each boy $6,000 apiece. The Judge invested each boy’s money so that with interest, the investments earn each boy a dollar a day. Widow Douglas adopted Huck and is now trying to civilize him. The widow’s sister Miss Watson lives with her. At midnight Huck hears Tom Sawyer’s meow. Huck sneaks out the window, slides down the drain pipe and joins Tom.

THE MOVIE: CHAPTER 2

OMISSION: This chapter is omitted from the movie. In the book Huck and Tom sneak out of the yard. Huck trips and wakes up Miss Watson’s slave Jim who is sitting at the kitchen door. Jim goes back to sleep. The boys slip in the kitchen and take three candles. Tom leaves five cents on the table to pay for them. Tom can’t resist playing a trick on Jim by taking the sleeping man’s hat off his head and hanging it in a tree. Afterwards Jim claims witches took his hat. Huck and Tom join other boys in the woods including Joe Harper and Ben Rogers. Tom announces that he is starting a gang of robbers called Tom Sawyer’s Gang. If any boy tells the gang’s secrets his family will be killed. Since Huck does not have a family except for his drunk father who hasn’t been seen in a year, Huck offers up Miss Watson to kill instead of a family member. Huck sneaks back in his room. His new clothes are covered in grease and clay.

THE MOVIE: CHAPTER 3

OMISSION: This chapter is omitted from the movie. In the book Miss Watson scolds Huck for getting dirty, but Widow Douglas doesn’t say a word. Miss Watson takes Huck into a closet to pray. Huck does not want to see his father because Pap beats Huck. Huck plays robbers for about a month with Tom Sawyer’s gang. Huck resigns from the gang because they never rob or kill anyone. They only pretend. The gang rushed out of the woods and scared children at a Sunday School picnic.

THE MOVIE: CHAPTER 4

Huck is having a fist fight with a bully. (ERROR: Not in the book) Just as Huck is wining the fight ad preparing to punch the bully in the face, he suddenly stops. (ERROR: Not in the book) Huck sees a footprint in the mud and recognizes it as his father’s. (ERROR: In the book Huck sees the footprint in the snow) The footprint has a cross on the left heel. (ACCURATE. Pap puts nails in the shape of a cross on the bottom of his boot to keep the devil away) Huck sees Pap’s boat nearby. (ERROR: Not in the book) Huck is frightened and runs away to find Jim. (ERROR: In the book Huck runs to Judge Thatcher)

Jim is in his shack telling fortunes to a crowd of men. (ERROR: Not in the book) Huck tells Jim that Pap is back and asks Jim to consult his hair ball from an ox to find out if Pap is staying and what he’s going to do. (ACCURATE) Huck says he has seen Pap’s footprint with a cross made of nails on the left heel to ward off the devil. (ACCURATE)  Huck pays Jim in marbles. (ERROR: In the book Huck pays Jim with a counterfeit quarter) Jim consults the hairball and tells Huck that Pap has a good spirit and a bad spirit hovering over him. (ACCURATE, but in the book Jim says a white angel and a black angel) Jim says that Huck’s future is drifting like the river. (ERROR: Not in the book) Jim says he knows that when Pap is around he beats Huck. (ERROR: In the book Jim does not say this) Huck says, Yeah, when he can catch me. (ACCURATE) Jim advises Huck to get away until Pap disappears again. (ERROR: In the book Jim tells Huck to let Pap go his own way)

Huck’s voice is heard explaining that Jim belongs to Miss Watson, the sister of the Widow Douglas with whom Huck lives. (ACCURATE, but this information is from Chapter 1) The two women are trying to civilize Huck. (ACCURATE) Huck admits that attempts to civilize him are not working out well. (ACCURATE)

The Widow Douglas and Miss Watson are playing cards when Huck gets home. (ERROR: This scene is not in the book) They tell him he missed dinner and won’t be getting any food. (ERROR: Not in the book) They ask him how he got his black eye. (ERROR: Not in the book) Huck makes up a story about rescuing a blind man who was attacked by a gang of thieves. (ERROR: Not in the book) They notice Huck is dressing in rags instead of his school clothes and accuse him of playing hooky. (ERROR: Not in the book) Huck says he went to school but gave his clothes away to a woman with ten children. (ERROR: Not in the book) Miss Watson tries to catch Huck in a lie, but Widow Douglas believes him, calls him a sweet child, and hugs him. Widow Douglas says she is going to clean Huck up, dress him in new clothes, and feed him before evening prayers. (ERROR: This scene is not in the book)

Huck enters his room dressed