HANNAH #20

Down the Mississippi River, We Go

“You can’t pray a lie” leads us to some confessions

Wow! It’s about the only word that comes to mind when I consider our discussion of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn last night. I could also add “revealing and odd,” but aren’t all families odd anyway?

I tried to get us in the right mood for a thoughtful conversation. Brownies would play a key role because everyone is happier when eating chocolate. I followed Lucy’s tutorial on how to make award-winning brownies. You let 2 eggs sit at room temperature. You patiently melt the chocolate so that it won’t “seize” — a word that’s as bad as it sounds. Once the brownies are out of the oven, you immediately plunge the pan into an ice bath to ensure gooeyness.

My brownies were extra, extra gooey, making them hard to pick up. Lucy was encouraging despite all odds of easy-eating.

“No one ever disliked a brownie because it was too gooey. We’ll add some ice cream, and it will be great.”

For the most part, she was right. No one complained though the texture drew comments. My dad gave me praise for “showing some initiative in the kitchen.”

Ben used the moment in a way that I could have predicted.

“Yay, Hannah. I like that you can’t nail everything, but you still did pretty good, and I’ll second dad’s comment that I appreciate the effort — I mean the brownies.”

Finally, after dinner and dessert, we got to discuss Huckleberry Finn. Everyone seemed to have one part of the book that made no sense to them.

I’ll start with Ben. Ben couldn’t believe that Huck and Jim were duped by the duke and dauphin. The duke and dauphin were repugnant (love that word!)and around for too long in the story. They stole from too many, falsely portrayed themselves as grieving mourners in line for family money, and even at one point tried to profit from selling Jim.

As Ben saw it,

“No one in their right mind would be taken in by these scam artists, and they continued to lie and steal for quite some time.”

Ben was correct, and of course, today, we are super aware that things aren’t what they seem and that there are dishonest people trying to take advantage of the weak and vulnerable.

Ben’s observation generated conversation about where we are today as a society, cybersecurity, and the crimes we can’t see. It was all good, but I was ready to move on.

My dad couldn’t get over the story of the waring Grangerford and Shepardson families. These families couldn’t remember why their fight had started, but everyone continued to shoot and kill each other.

This was one of my least favorite parts of the book. For my dad, he couldn’t understand why the adults didn’t take control and create a safer environment.

“We have processes to deal with conflict. If you’re old enough, you have maturity on your side. You understand consequences. I mean, Buck is shot, and he’s all of Huckleberry Finn’s age. How is that ok?”

My dad was right too. However, it sounded funny to inject 21st-century behaviors — “processes to deal with conflict” — into this story which was written in 1883. Lucy pointed out that even today, there are many places in our world where “processes” don’t help. Score one for Lucy.

Lucy was next. She was troubled by the immoral behavior in how the world saw Jim.

“Hannah, I know this is a classic, but where is the humanity? The decency? There is so much lying, and treating Jim horribly, and not seeing Jim as a whole person. Tell me why you like this book so much.”

I asked myself the same question. I mean, Huck actually places a rattlesnake near Jim, which then bites Jim. Huck then manipulates Jim into believing that it was a dream Huck had been away. Poor Jim had been worried sick about Huck’s safety. Add to that Huck’s thoughts about turning Jim in, or even the ending where Jim is safely stowed away in a shed, which has spiders that Jim is terrified by. The world is not right.

This is what bothered Lucy which led her to say, very loudly,

“I just wanted to go and clean up that damn shed. Jim shouldn’t have had to put up with that.”

Again, Lucy was right. She really did have the moral compass my dad said I would find when I got to know her.

Now came my turn. I needed to address Lucy’s thoughts because they were also mine.

“Lucy, my favorite line in the book is when Huck says, ‘You can’t pray a lie.’ Do any of you remember that moment?”

They remembered what I believe is the best line in the book. Huck was getting ready to write a letter to Miss Watson to purge his sins about helping Jim. But Huck couldn’t because, despite all odds, his conscience wouldn’t let him.

Huck’s internal conflict generated a lot of conversation. My dad said that as long as we were speaking truth, he had to admit that he still felt guilty about not wanting us to come for the summer.

“I see now that would have been the biggest mistake of my life — as big as if Huck had turned in Jim. Instead of praying a lie, I pray that you’ll return next summer.”

Ben decided he needed to add his true confessions.

“I didn’t want to come either, but I’m glad I did. Also, Hannah, I didn’t want to begin writing, but it was easier to say yes to you. I’m not sure I’m glad I said yes, but I’m still writing. And Lucy, I was shocked that you have so much tennis game. I think I underestimated you. So those are my lies, and I pray that we win again in our doubles rematch.”

Well, Lucy wasn’t going to let that go.

“Ben, I know that you underestimated me, but I’m ok with it. My lie is that I told your dad it was fine you guys were coming, but then you came, and it didn’t feel fine for a long time. And about tennis, all I can say is that your dad and I eagerly await our next match. No lie here — I AM GOING ALL OUT!”

We laughed though it was a nervous kind of laugh.

And because the book club was my end-of-summer wish, I got the last word.

“I picked this book because Huck and Jim change for the good when they’re on the raft together. But then Huck goes backwards when he returns to his community. All the progress he had made in seeing Jim as a person seems to vanish. Or so you think, but I believe Huck holds his gains — at least mostly. So why did I pick this book for us?”

Ben must have thought he was back in school because he had his hand up right away and shouted, “I know.”

“Ok, Ben, why?”

“Because you learned something this summer. You learned how to relax, how to play tennis, how to be more than a straight-A student carrying a list. When we head back home, you are worried that you won’t hold your gains.”

Talk about “fricken’ smart.” Lucy called me that once, but really it is Ben who in the most unlikely of ways, seems to get everything and with total ease, too. With his answer, I went right over and hugged him.

Ben understood that like my language arts teacher, Ms. Baker, says, “We can be transformed by our experiences.” Reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and being in Terre Haute felt equivalent.

We all prayed some lies this summer, but then we learned something important that won’t be undone.

This is part of a series, “Hannah’s Journey to be Happy.” The last piece is listed below: