8. how does pap feel about huck’s education, and the fact that he can read and write? pap does not like the school huck is attending, and thinks he could do a better job educating his son. pap feels that huck has enough money at judge thatcher’s house, so he does not need to learn to read and write. pap believes that education is important, and that huck should keep attending school. pap believes that, by going to school, huck is trying to prove he is better than his father. 9.huck and jim are both prone to superstitious beliefs. what commentary is mark twain making about superstition in chapter 4? twain is satirizing superstitious beliefs, and pointing out the flaw in relying too heavily on superstition. twain is showing the reader how superstition can be real, as huck’s pap comes home right after jim sees him. twain is trying to convince his readers of the truth behind his personal superstitious ideas. twain is showing the reader that huck’s feelings about his pap are based on superstition, rather than reality.

For the first question, the correct answer is: Pap believes that, by going to school, Huck is trying to prove he is better than his father.

Indeed, being the illiterate, violent, abusive town’s drunk; Huck’s father is envious of his education and feels inferior to the son he has battered and brutalized for so long. Huck’s ability to read and write is the one thing that escapes his brutal power over his son. This is proved by the following dialogue:

“Well, I'll learn her how to meddle. And looky here—you drop that school, you hear? I'll learn people to bring up a boy to put on airs over his own father and let on to be better'n what HE is.”

For the second question, the correct answer is: Twain is satirizing superstitious beliefs, and pointing out the flaw in relying too heavily on superstition.

Indeed, Twain is using superstition to kind of foreshadow pap’s arrival. He also used Jim’s superstitions to show the cultural porosity between African animistic beliefs and European American ones. However, when Twain draws a parallel between Huck’s superstition and the Christian religion he is clearly showing that none of them “but that warn’t going to keep off the bad luck”.

beginner

government is strong when they have the ability to persuade those they govern to believe government has enough power to force them or should be forcing them to do government’s will.

when enough of the citizenry do not believe government can force them or should force them to do its bidding, government has lost or will lose its strength and power to coerce.

when enough of the citizenry do believe government can force or should force them to do its bidding, they become passive at the least or actively pro-government and repeat government’s own rhetoric to pass on what they have been persuaded by government’s propaganda.

a true majority isn’t always needed to govern or to stop government. many times all that is needed is a strong minority. if a determined 30% of the population rises up against government in a concerted effort to bring it down, this size minority usually will succeed as long as those actively opposing the minority are less in force than the minority. so if 41% of the population sits at home watching tv rooting for one side or the other, they don’t matter. it’s the active parties who make a difference.

today we'd use social media to quickly spread a controversial idea, but in the eighteenth century, the printed pamphlet was highly effective. and thomas paine took full advantage of it. on january 9, 1776, when paine published his pamphlet, "common sense," he wanted to push the american people toward independence from britain. it ultimately ignite the american revolution. thomas paine argued that the monarchy was evil and should be rejected as a form of government. to underscore his point, he cited the bible to argue his case -- in judges 8: 22-23: "the israelites said to gideon, 'rule over us, you and your son and your ' gideon told them, 'i will not rule over you. the lord will rule over you'" (nrsv).