内容简介
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," by Mark Twain, is part ofthe "Barnes and Noble Classics" series, which offers qualityeditions at affordable prices to the student and the generalreader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages ofcarefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable featuresof "Barnes and Noble Classics": New introductions commissioned fromtoday's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authorsChronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and culturalevents Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations,parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, andfilms inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Studyquestions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectationsBibliographies for further reading Indices and Glossaries, whenappropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed tosuperior specifications; some include illustrations of historicalinterest. "Barnes and Noble Classics "pulls together aconstellation of influences--biographical, historical, andliterary--to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduringworks. ""Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is the only one of MarkTwain's various books which can be called a masterpiece. I do notsuggest that it is his only book of permanent interest; but it isthe only one in which his genius is completely realized, and theonly one which creates its own category." "T. S. Eliot" HuckleberryFinn, rebel against school and church, casual inheritor of goldtreasure, rafter of the Mississippi, and savior of Jim the runawayslave, is the archetypical American maverick. Fleeing therespectable society that wants to"sivilize" him, Huck Finn shovesoff with Jim on a rhapsodic raft journey down the MississippiRiver. The two bind themselves to one another, becoming intimatefriends and agreeing "there warn't no home like a raft, after all.Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don't.You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft." As Hucklearns about love, responsibility, and morality, the trip becomes ametaphoric voyage through his own soul, culminating in the gloriousmoment when he decides to "go to hell" rather than return Jim toslavery. Mark Twain defined classic as "a book which people praiseand don't read"; Huckleberry Finn is a happy exception to his ownrule. Twain's mastery of dialect, coupled with his famous wit, hasmade "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn "one of the most loved anddistinctly American classics ever written. Nominated for a Grammyfor his work as co-producer of the five-CD box set "The JazzSingers" (1998), Robert O'Meally is Zora Neale Hurston Professor ofLiterature at Columbia University and Director of ColumbiaUniversity's Center for Jazz Studies. He is the principal writer of"Seeing Jazz" (1997), the catalogue for the Smithsonian's exhibiton jazz and literature, and the co-editor of "The Norton Anthologyof African American Literature" (1996).