CHAPTER 20 Practice Quiz — The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: CHAPTER 20
What cover story does Huck tell the duke and king about why they travel at night?
Huck says his family died in river accidents and people kept trying to take Jim, believing he was a runaway slave, so they stopped traveling during the day.
What does the duke promise to figure out at the start of Chapter 20?
He promises to invent a plan so they can run the raft in the daytime without it being dangerous for Jim.
Who takes the better bed on the raft, and why?
The king takes Huck's straw-tick bed, claiming that the "difference in rank" means a corn-shuck bed is not fit for royalty. The duke yields dramatically.
How does the duke react when the king takes the better bed?
He melodramatically declares it is his fate to be "ground into the mire under the iron heel of oppression" and says he yields and submits.
What natural event does Huck describe in vivid detail during the night on the river?
A violent thunderstorm with screaming wind, lightning that lights up the whitecaps for half a mile, and crashing thunder.
What selfless act does Jim perform during the storm?
Jim volunteers to stand the first half of Huck's middle watch so Huck can sleep.
What are some of the duke's past identities revealed by his printed bills?
Dr. Armand de Montalban (phrenologist), Garrick the Younger (Shakespearean tragedian), a divining-rod water and gold finder, and a dissipator of witch-spells.
What Shakespeare performances does the duke propose they put on?
The sword fight from Richard III and the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet.
Which role does the duke assign to the king, and what concern does the king raise?
The duke assigns the king the role of Juliet. The king worries his bald head and white whiskers will look odd on a young girl.
Why is the small town deserted when Huck, the duke, and the king arrive?
Nearly everyone has gone to a camp meeting about two miles back in the woods.
What false identity does the king assume at the camp meeting?
He claims to be a reformed pirate who spent thirty years in the Indian Ocean and now wants to return to convert other pirates to Christianity.
How much money does the king collect at the camp meeting?
Eighty-seven dollars and seventy-five cents, plus a three-gallon jug of whisky he stole from under a wagon.
What does the duke do at the printing office while the king is at the camp meeting?
He prints horse bills for farmers, sells newspaper advertisements and subscriptions, sets up a poem he wrote, and prints a fake runaway-slave handbill for Jim.
How much money does the duke earn from the printing office?
Nine dollars and fifty cents total from horse bills, advertisements, and subscriptions.
What does the fake handbill the duke prints say about Jim?
It describes Jim, says he ran away from St. Jacques' plantation forty miles below New Orleans, went north, and offers a 00 reward.
How does the fake handbill protect Jim during daytime travel?
They can tie Jim up, show the handbill, and claim they captured him upriver and are taking him south to collect the reward.
What is ironic about the duke's fake handbill for Jim?
It uses the system of slavery to protect Jim while simultaneously reducing him to a piece of property described on paper.
How does Twain satirize religious revivalism in this chapter?
The camp-meeting crowd is whipped into uncritical emotional frenzy by the preacher, making them easy prey for the king's transparent con as a reformed pirate.
What literary device does Twain use in the phrase "h-wack! bum! bum! bumble-umble-um-bum-bum-bum-bum"?
Onomatopoeia, imitating the sounds of thunder rolling and rumbling across the sky.
What does Jim say about the king and duke at the end of Chapter 20?
Jim says he doesn't mind one or two kings but "dat's enough," adding that the king is "powerful drunk" and the duke isn't much better.
What does Jim's attempt to get the king to speak French reveal?
It reveals Jim's quiet skepticism about the king's claims to royalty. The king excuses himself by saying he has been in the country so long he forgot French.
What does the camp meeting scene reveal about the theme of deception vs. gullibility?
It shows how emotional manipulation and the desire to believe in redemption make people vulnerable to con artists who exploit their faith and generosity.
What is the significance of the raft vs. shore contrast in Chapter 20?
The raft represents genuine loyalty between Huck and Jim, while the shore brings fraud, exploitation, and the corrupting influence of the duke and king.