Elizabethtown College English Department

Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn often appears on the American Library Association’s “Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books” list.  Not only that, but this nineteenth-century classic is known for being one of the most difficult novels to teach.

This spring semester, Dr. John Rohrkemper, instructor of American Literature: Realism, rose to the challenge.

Addressing Misconceptions

Rohrkemper told his class of 19 students to reject popular perceptions associated with the infamous literary work. Instead, he coached them to analyze the novel while keeping in mind the context of nineteenth-century culture.

He went on to explain that the individual and their relationship to society, nature, or him/herself enveloped the central theme of American literature.

Interpreting the Truth

The courses introduces Realism, a popularized literary genre in the emerging post-Civil War era.  This is an objective representation of truth, based on the author’s perception of reality.

Rohrkemper posed the following questions for his students: “Can we transcend the culture in which we live?” and “Are we no more than products of our environment?”

Student Interpretation

Many of the students seemed to respond to this outlook with an open mind.

It seems as though American literature does not only appeal to English majors, but also to students of all backgrounds.

Ashley Reeb, a senior Business Administration major, echoed this sentiment. “I only read Mark Twain once before in high school, and don’t remember having such interesting conversations about Twain and his work. In class, we are pushed to think about how Twain was writing…what he was really seeing and experiencing in America. I really like thinking of Twain that way. Instead of just a writer, he was painting a picture of what it was like.”

Students enjoyed debating Twain’s ending.  Would Huck change or not?  Take American Lit to find out!

Author bio:

Jennifer Simoncelli is a member of Elizabethtown College’s class of 2018. As a senior, she is currently working towards completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, and a minor in International Studies.

In the fall of 2018, she completed a senior thesis for her International Studies minor using elements from her secondary concentration in Professional Writing. After graduating in May 2018, Jennifer plans to pursue a career within the advertising/public relations sector.