Huck's Yarns

Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck lies his (and Jim's) way through.  Some of his lies are bought, and sometimes he is caught, but Huck is still quick on his feet. 

"Sarah Mary Williams" and Mrs. Loftus

-Huck pretends to be a girl to get information from Mrs. Loftus.  "Her" name is Sarah Mary Williams.  Mrs. Loftus figures out that he is actually a boy, but Huck covers and says that his name is George Peters.  "George" is an orphan that ran away from a mean farmer.  Huck (after all this trouble) learns that Mrs. Loftus's husband and another man are planning to search Jackson's Island, where Huck and Jim are hiding.

-Huck tells a ferryboat pilot/owner/watchman/captain that his family is trapped on the wreck of the Walter Scott to save the lives of the three murderers.

-After being separated from Jim in the fog and finding him, Huck tells Jim that the separation was a dream and that he was there the whole time.  Jim believes him, then realizes that Huck is playing a prank on him. Huck apologizes to Jim, which is a major turning point in the novel.

-After a steamboat wrecks part of the raft, Huck and Jim get separated.  Huck stumbles across the Grangerfords' cabin and claims to be George Jaxon.  "George" fell off a steamboat.

-Huck tells the king and duke that Jim is his slave (not a runaway) and that his family died (most) and went bankrupt and .  After a steamboat hit the raft, Huck's "brother," Ike (4 years old) and Pap drowned (drunk).  He and Jim were going to go to "Uncle Ben's" farm below New Orleans.

Re-Assuring Joanna

-During the Wilks scam, Huck pretends to be the king's servant.  He tells Joanna a bunch of lies about England (he keeps forgetting his own stories).  She gets suspicious, but Huck eases her fears by putting his hand on the dictionary.  When the real Harvey and William show up and the townspeople are trying to figure out who's real, Huck tries to lie, but gets caught pretty badly by the town lawyer.

-Huck pretends to be Tom Sawyer at the Phelps farm.  He and "Sid" tell a couple stretchers during the preparation for the escape.  Eventually, they are both caught, especially by Aunt Polly.

Huck constantly resorts to deceit to solve his problems and does not feel remorseful for it.  He almost sees it as a necessary tool for survival.

Pictures:

First picture courtesy of: http://www.learning-english-online.net/skills/listening-comprehension/audio-books/adventures-of-huckleberry-finn/chapters-9-12/

Second picture courtesy of: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/76/old/orig76-h/p6.htm