CHAPTER 32 Practice Quiz — The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: CHAPTER 32
What kind of plantation is the Phelps farm?
A small, one-horse cotton plantation in Arkansas.
What mood does Huck feel when he first arrives at the Phelps plantation?
Deep loneliness and a wish to be dead, created by the stillness, heat, and the droning of insects.
What sound does Huck hear that intensifies his feeling of loneliness?
The dim hum of a spinning wheel, which he calls "the lonesomest sound in the whole world."
What does Huck say he trusts instead of making a plan before approaching the Phelps house?
He trusts Providence to put the right words in his mouth when the time comes.
What happens when the hounds surround Huck in the yard?
About fifteen dogs circle him, barking and howling, until an enslaved woman drives them off with a rolling pin.
Who does Aunt Sally Phelps believe Huck to be?
Her nephew, Tom Sawyer, whom she has been expecting for several days.
What excuse does Huck give for arriving late at the Phelps farm?
He says the steamboat blew out a cylinder-head, delaying the journey.
What is the significance of the exchange about the cylinder-head explosion?
It exposes the casual racism of Southern society: Aunt Sally expresses relief that no one was "hurt" after Huck says a Black person was killed, treating a Black death as inconsequential.
How does Aunt Sally respond when Huck says a Black person was killed in the explosion?
"Well, it's lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt."
What story does Aunt Sally tell about Uncle Silas and the steamboat Lally Rook?
She tells how Uncle Silas was on the Lally Rook when it blew a cylinder-head and crippled a Baptist man who later died of mortification (gangrene).
Where does Aunt Sally hide Huck when Uncle Silas returns home?
Behind the bed, so she can surprise Uncle Silas with the visitor.
What name does Aunt Sally announce when she reveals Huck to Uncle Silas?
"It's Tom Sawyer!"
How does Huck feel when he learns he is being mistaken for Tom Sawyer?
Overjoyed and relieved — he says "it was like being born again" because he finally knows who he is supposed to be and can play the role convincingly.
How long does Huck spend answering questions about the Sawyer family?
Two hours, during which he tells them more about the Sawyer family "than ever happened to any six Sawyer families."
Why does Huck decide to leave the Phelps farm at the end of the chapter?
He hears a steamboat approaching and worries that the real Tom Sawyer might arrive and expose his deception.
What excuse does Huck give the Phelpses for leaving?
He says he needs to go to town to fetch his baggage from the wharf-boat.
What literary device does Twain use when Aunt Sally mistakes Huck for Tom?
Dramatic irony — the reader understands the misidentification before Huck does, and knows the complications it will cause.
What does Twain's detailed description of the Phelps plantation serve to establish?
It creates a representative portrait of a typical small Southern plantation and establishes a mood of desolation and spiritual emptiness.
What does Huck mean when he says "Being Tom Sawyer was easy and comfortable"?
He knows Tom's family and background so well that he can answer questions convincingly, unlike the other identities he has assumed during the novel.
What motif does the chapter introduce that dominates the rest of the novel?
Disguise and assumed identity — Huck taking on Tom Sawyer's identity sets the stage for the elaborate role-playing schemes of the final chapters.