CHAPTER 4 Practice Quiz — The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: CHAPTER 4
How much time has passed at the beginning of Chapter 4?
Three or four months have passed since the beginning of the novel, and it is now well into winter.
What academic progress has Huck made by Chapter 4?
He can spell, read, and write a little, and can say the multiplication table up to six times seven (which he incorrectly says is thirty-five).
How does Huck feel about school and the Widow Douglas's household by Chapter 4?
He has grown accustomed to both. He initially hated school but can now stand it, and he is getting used to the widow's ways, even liking them a little bit.
What superstitious incident occurs at breakfast?
Huck accidentally turns over the salt cellar. He tries to throw salt over his left shoulder to ward off bad luck, but Miss Watson stops him.
What does Huck discover in the snow outside the house?
He finds a set of footprints in the fresh snow that come up from the quarry, stand around the stile, circle the garden fence, but never enter the yard.
How does Huck identify the footprints as his father's?
He notices a cross made with big nails in the left boot heel, which is a folk charm to keep off the devil — a mark he associates with Pap.
What does Huck do immediately after recognizing Pap's footprints?
He runs down the hill to Judge Thatcher's house as quickly as he can.
How much money does Huck have with Judge Thatcher?
Six thousand dollars plus a half-yearly interest payment of over one hundred and fifty dollars.
How does Judge Thatcher handle Huck's request to take his money?
He draws up a paper stating the property was sold "for a consideration," pays Huck one dollar, and has Huck sign the document.
What is Jim's hair-ball and where did it come from?
It is a hair-ball as big as a fist, taken from the fourth stomach of an ox. Jim uses it for fortune telling, claiming a spirit inside it knows everything.
Why does the hair-ball initially refuse to talk?
Jim says the hair-ball sometimes will not talk without money. Huck offers a counterfeit quarter, and Jim uses a potato trick to make it appear genuine.
What is the potato trick Jim uses on the counterfeit quarter?
Jim says to split open a raw Irish potato, stick the quarter inside, and keep it there all night. By morning the brass will not show and it will not feel greasy.
What does Jim's prophecy say about Pap's two angels?
Pap has two angels hovering around him — one white and shiny that leads him right, and one black that busts it all up. No one knows which one will prevail.
What does Jim's fortune predict about Huck's future?
Considerable trouble and considerable joy, two women (one light and rich, one dark and poor), and a warning to stay away from water because he is destined to be hung.
What shocking discovery does Huck make at the end of Chapter 4?
When Huck goes up to his room that night, he finds Pap — his own father — sitting there waiting for him.
What role does superstition play in Chapter 4?
Superstition drives the plot: the spilled salt creates dread, the cross in the boot heel identifies Pap, and the hair-ball divination provides foreshadowing for the rest of the novel.
How does Twain use foreshadowing in Chapter 4?
Jim's prophecy foreshadows the river journey (the warning about water), Huck's moral struggles (two angels), and the encounters with various women throughout the novel.
What is ironic about Huck's self-assessment of his education?
Huck claims six times seven is thirty-five and proudly states he does not take stock in mathematics, creating dramatic irony as the reader recognizes his education remains superficial.
What does Huck's attempt to give away his fortune reveal about his character?
It shows his practical intelligence and resourcefulness — he understands that Pap is after the money and tries to remove the incentive. It also reveals how little he values material wealth.
How does Huck's relationship with Jim begin to develop in Chapter 4?
Huck seeks Jim out for guidance and trusts his spiritual authority with the hair-ball. This establishes Jim as a confidant and advisor, foreshadowing their deeper bond on the river.
What literary device does Twain use in the final sentence of Chapter 4?
A cliffhanger — Twain withholds the revelation that Pap is in Huck's room until the very last sentence, creating shock and propelling the reader into the next chapter.