CHAPTER 8 Practice Quiz — The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: CHAPTER 8
What wakes Huck up at the beginning of Chapter 8?
He hears the deep booming sound of a cannon being fired from a ferryboat on the river.
Why is the ferryboat firing a cannon over the water?
The townspeople believe Huck has drowned and are firing cannon to make his body rise to the surface.
How does Huck get food while watching the search party?
He catches a loaf of quicksilver-filled bread floating on the river, removes the quicksilver, and eats the baker's bread.
Which people does Huck see on the ferryboat searching for him?
Pap, Judge Thatcher, Bessie Thatcher, Jo Harper, Tom Sawyer, Aunt Polly, Sid, and Mary, among others.
What does Huck discover on the island after three days that frightens him?
He discovers a still-smoking campfire, which means someone else is on the island.
What does Huck do after finding the campfire?
He hides his belongings in his canoe, disguises his camp to look old, and climbs a tree to watch for about two hours.
Who does Huck find sleeping by a campfire at dawn?
Miss Watson's Jim, who has also run away to Jackson's Island.
How does Jim first react when he sees Huck?
Jim thinks Huck is a ghost, drops to his knees, and begs Huck not to hurt him.
Why does Jim run away from Miss Watson?
He overhears Miss Watson planning to sell him down the river to New Orleans for eight hundred dollars.
How does Jim escape from the town?
He hides in a cooper shop, then swims out to a passing raft at night, rides it downstream, and jumps off near Jackson's Island.
What promise does Huck make to Jim, and why is it significant?
Huck promises never to tell anyone that Jim has run away, even though society would call him a "low down Abolitionist" for it.
What does Jim mean when he says "I owns mysef, en I's wuth eight hund'd dollars"?
Jim asserts self-ownership and equates his worth to the price Miss Watson could get for him, turning the logic of slavery into a declaration of personal freedom.
What theme is introduced when both Huck and Jim are fugitives on Jackson's Island?
The theme of freedom and escape—both characters are fleeing oppressive circumstances and find temporary refuge together on the island.
How does the chapter treat superstition versus religion?
Huck questions whether prayer works, while Jim's folk superstitions are presented as an equally valid knowledge system, blurring the line between "civilized" religion and folk belief.
What does Jackson's Island symbolize in the novel?
It symbolizes a pastoral refuge or temporary Eden where social hierarchies dissolve and Huck and Jim can relate as equals, free from civilized society's rules.
What dramatic irony occurs as Huck watches the ferryboat search?
Huck watches people searching for his own corpse while comfortably eating the bread meant to locate his dead body.
How does Twain use dialect in this chapter?
Jim speaks in African American Vernacular English while Huck uses Missouri colloquial speech, giving each character a distinct, authentic voice.
What satirical purpose does Jim's speculation story serve?
It lampoons the speculative economy and highlights the absurdity of a system that values Jim at eight hundred dollars yet leaves him penniless from failed investments.
What natural foods does Huck find while exploring the island?
He finds ripe strawberries, green summer grapes, green raspberries, and green blackberries just beginning to show.
What superstitions does Jim share with Huck?
Catching young birds means death, counting items for dinner brings bad luck, shaking a tablecloth after sundown is unlucky, bees must be told when their owner dies, and hairy arms and breast are a sign of future wealth.