The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

From the cabin, a voice demands to know who is there. Huck replies that his name is George Jackson and that he was capsized by the riverboat. The suspicious cabin dweller calls for his family to arm themselves and tells Huck to freeze. He asks if Huck knows of the Shepardson family. Upon confirming that he doesn’t, the family invites him in and becomes friendly.

The Grangerford family sets a table for Huck immediately. They consist of three large men, a boy Huck’s age named Buck, an older woman, two young girls, and their servant Betsy. They help Huck out of his wet clothes, and Buck immediately engages Huck with riddles and stories. Buck tells Huck, “you got to stay always. We can have just booming times” (103-04).

The Grangerfords feed Huck, and Huck invents a tale of dead parents and general tragedy to account for himself.

Huck is impressed by the objects in the Grangerfords’ home, including several books and patriotic paintings. Much of the art and poetry in the Grangerford home was produced by the teenaged Emmeline, who died before she reached adulthood. Emmeline’s exclusive subject was death, especially the untimely death of teenagers, about which she drew pictures, composed poetry, and kept a scrapbook.