Who is colonel sherburn brief sum up

A performer, pretending to be a drunk, forces himself into the ring and tries to ride a horse, apparently hanging on for dear life. The crowd roars in amusement, except for Huck, who cannot bear to watch the poor man in danger. Although these chapters involving the duke and the dauphin appear purely comic on the surface, a dark commentary undercuts the comedy in virtually every episode.

On the surface, the duke and the dauphin seem to be just two bumbling con artists, but they present an immediate threat to Huck and Jim. Moreover, the fact that the duke and the dauphin run their first scam at a sacred event—a religious meeting—demonstrates their incredible malice. Continuing the pattern that we have seen throughout Huckleberry Finn , nearly everyone Huck and Jim encounter on the river is an unsavory character or a fake in one way or another.

Furthermore, much of what he has to say about cowardice applies directly to the townspeople's deplorable behavior, which has put Huck and Jim in peril in the first place. All the while, however, we are aware that this thoughtful speech comes from the mouth of a man who has just shot a defenseless drunk. Like Huck, we are confused and disoriented. In a world like the one Twain depicts in the novel, one can no longer distinguish between reality and fakery, doom and deliverance.

Ace your assignments with our guide to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn! As one of the townspeople says, "He don't mean nothing; he's always a-carryin' on like that when he's drunk. He's the best naturedest old fool in Arkansaw—never hurt nobody, drunk nor sober" Evidently he rumbles into town every once in a while and picks somebody to threaten. On this particular trip he's chosen Colonel Sherburn—oops. Sherburn doesn't entertain Boggs' drunken lectures, and ends up shooting Boggs dead.

The bystanders form a mob and migrate over to Sherburn's house, in attempt to lynch him. But Sherburn calmly faces them, and delivers the most articulate speech of the novel. Sign Up. Already have an account? Sign in. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better.

Literature Poetry Lit Terms Shakescleare. Download this LitChart! Teachers and parents! Struggling with distance learning? Themes All Themes.

Symbols All Symbols. Over the course of the novel, Huck asks questions and confronts moral dilemmas that enable him to see the basic injustice of slavery, if only as it pertains to Jim. Although Huck never explicitly realizes that the larger institution of slavery is morally deplorable, the novel on a whole functions as a moral argument for emancipation. Early on, Huck tries to explain to Jim why some people speak French.

Ace your assignments with our guide to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn! SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook.