Chapter 8

Summary: The duke and dauphin arrive in the next town, pretending to be the brothers of a man who has recently died, who has left a large amount of money. Huck is ashamed that they are doing this but he goes along with it. The duke and dauphin fool the townspeople and are given $6,000 to invest as they see fit. Doctor Robinson claims the two men are frauds, but nobody believes him. Huck feels guilty for letting the duke and dauphin trick the sisters. He vows to get them their money back and hides in the duke's room. The two enter and Huck overhears them talking about getting all the Wilks' property. Then Huck steals the money. Huck hides the money in Peter Wilks' coffin. The coffin is sealed at the funeral and Huck doesn't know whether or not the duke got the money back or if it's still there. He says he will write Mary when he leaves town to let her know where it is. The duke and the dauphin sell the family's estate and slaves, breaking up a family. Huck is relieved in knowing the family will be reunited as soon as the fraud is discovered. Huck finds Mary Jane crying over the separation of the slave family. Huck tells her the truth about the duke and instructs her to go to a friend's house. Later that day, two men (the actual Wilks brothers) interrupt the auctioning of the family's estate.  The real Wilks brothers and the fake Wilks brothers are brought to a tavern and asked to sign a piece of paper to compare signatures. The duke and dauphin temporarily talk their way out of the situation. The real Harvey Wilks comments on the deceased's tattoo. To resolve the conflict, Peter Wilks’s coffin is opened. The crowd is shocked to see the $6,000 in the coffin. In the uproar, Huck escapes to the raft. He and Jim celebrate until they notice the duke and the dauphin are about to overtake them on their own boat. After nearly strangling Huck for deserting them, the duke and the dauphin blame each other for losing the money.

Characters:

Levi Bell

Tim Collins

Doctor Robinson

Harvey Wilks

Joanna Wilks

Mary Jane Wilks

Susan Wilks

William Wilks

Undertaker

Hines

Personas:

The Duke: William Wilks

The King: Harvey Wilks and Rev. Elexander Blodgett

Jim: A sick Arab

Huck: Adolphus

Themes:

Realism Vs. Romanticism

Gullibility

Littarary elements:

Allusion: That Arabs are harmless when not out of their head

Symbols: The money symbolizes human characteristics by showing greed.

Irony: That because Joanna is ugly she eats where the slaves do.

How Huck Changes: In most of the lies he does it to save his own skin but some of the time it was so he wouldn't hurt people like when he lied to the two other girls it was to not get them mad at their "uncles".