Discuss the use of the river as a symbol in the novel?

Twain used dialect to portray characters realistically and to enhance mood.  What effect does dialect have on you as you read?

Describe the relationship between Huck and Jim.  Does their relationship change over time? In what way?

Ernest Hemingway has said that all modern American literature comes from this book.  Do you agree or disagree? How is this book modern? What features makes this book American?

Describe some of the models for families that appear in the novel.  What is the importance of family structures?  What is their place in society?  When does society intervene in the family?

How does Twain convey social satire in the Grangerford episode, Chapters 17 and 18?  What is he satirizing?  How can this section also be seen as tragic?

Should this novel be a part of the high school curriculum?

What are some themes in the novel?  How do they relate to the plot and characters?

How is this book representative of Mark Twain, both his life and purpose for writing?

It is 2012 and the world is essentially the same as it always was, except for one thing: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was never published.  What would the world be without this novel?