Școala Gimnazială „Aurel Sebeșan” Felnac

An școlar 2017-2018, semestrul al II-lea

Referat pentru Comisia Metodică,
Responsabil, Prof. Anghel Olimpia
Prof. Limba Engleză Fereșteanu Bogdan

GETTING TO KNOW MARK TWAIN THROUGH READING AND PLAY

"Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies
that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives
have already become."

C.S Lewis

Last year I discussed with my students about Mark Twain and his work, especially The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. There was a lot of
information so we felt the need to play a little and we solved a few puzzles together. I present
here two examples of puzzles we solved that are related to the topic and that, I think, helped
children get to know Twain and his work better through game.

PUZZLES

1. CHARACTERS IN TWAIN’S NOVELS

BECKY DAUPHIN D U K E C E P I DUKE HUCK INJUN JOE
JIM PAP POLLY SID A R A C S X O N TOM
U H J Q I I L J
P O Z I D V L U
H A T O M T Y N
I H U C K E X J
N C N A P A P O
G C B E C K Y E

1. HUCK – THE PROTAGONIST AND NARRATOR OF “THE

ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN”
2. TOM – HUCK’S FRIEND AND THE PROTAGONIST OF “TOM
SAWYER”
3. POLLY – TOM SAWYER’S AUNT
4. BECKY – TOM’S GIRLFRIEND
5. (THE) DAUPHIN – A CON MAN RESCUED BY HUCK AND JIM,
TRAVELS WITH THE DUKE

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 6. (THE) DUKE – THE OTHER CON MAN RESCUED BY HUCK
AND JIM
7. JIM – HUCK’S TRAVEL COMPANION, A MAJOR CHARACTER
8. SID – TOM’S HALF-BROTHER
9. INJUN JOE – TOM SAWYER’S VILLAIN
10. PAP – HUCK’S FATHER

2. PLACES (RELATED TO MARK TWAIN AND HIS NOVELS)

S T L O U I S V P F H ARKANSAS
X D A N O R J L X L A CAIRO
O Z B I E U N S B O N FLORIDA
C E I Q A O X Q E R N FREE STATES
A R K A N S A S F I I HANNIBAL
I N N N T S C Q J D B MISSOURI
R T H E R I V E R A A ST.LOUIS
O M H D Y M H R G U L
F R E E S T A T E S N
M I S S I S S I P P I
A R N D B T A R U I K
THE CAVE

THE RIVER

1. ARKANSAS – IN “HUCK FINN” TWAIN CHARACTERIZES THE

ARKANSAS TOWNSPEOPLE
2. CAIRO – A CITY WHERE THE OHIO RIVER “EMPTIES INTO”
THE MISSISSIPPI
3. FLORIDA, MISSOURI – PLACE OF TWAIN’S BIRTH
4. HANNIBAL, MISSOURI – PLACE WHERE THE WRITER GREW
UP
5. MISSISSIPPI – “THE FATHER OF WATERS”, WHERE HUCK
AND JIM HAVE THEIR ADVENTURES

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 6. MISSOURI – STATE OF TWAIN’S BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
7. ST. LOUIS – AN IMPORTANT PORT ON THE MISSISSIPPI
8. THE RIVER – ALMOST A CHARACTER IN “HUCK FINN”
9. THE CAVE – A SYMBOL, PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN
“TOM SAWYER”
10. (THE) FREE STATES – HUCK AND JIM’S “PROMISE LAND”,
WHERE THEY WOULD BE FREE
And because we talked about children and their souls, one of the students, and a very
talented and sensitive one indeed, wrote a short essay on the subject.

The soul of a child

Being a child is an essential step in every man’s becoming.

We have all been there and maybe we still are! While we are alive and as long as we have
parents, we will be somebody’s children. But also, there will always be a child within us. He
often lurks from within and sometimes he comes out of his hiding place and makes us remember
how priceless childhood was! The soul of a child is full of kindness, it is naive, forgiving and
joyful for the simple things!

The world of a child is safe! He enjoys all surrounding things and he does not know the
notion of evil or insecurity because he knows that his parents will always be there beside him
and they will catch him whenever he falls!

The soul of a child is the purest and the cleanest thing in this world!

Corbei Amalia

Tom Sawyer did not have parents, but he had his aunt, who loved him like a mother and
this was important. It is essential for every one of us to feel loved and accepted, sometimes
unconditionally. Having this in mind I asked the children to talk about their families. Here is a
part of the composition written by Monea Alexandra.

My Family

Hi! My name is Alexandra and I am 12 years old.

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 My parents are Nedeliu and Carmen. My mother is a housewife and my father is very
skilled in agriculture. I have a brother whose name is Alexandru. I also have a pet. It’s a kitten
and I love him. My mom has brown eyes, curly hair, she is medium height and fat. My dad has
green eyes, short hair and he is tall and fat. My brother has blue eyes, short hair and he is tall and
skinny.

Well, this is my family and I love it!

My family is perfect for me because they accept me as I am and they will love me forever
even if sometimes I make mistakes.

Monea Alexandra

In Tom Sawyer we have an example of a child growing up in a nice home, surrounded by

the love and care of his Aunt Polly, who loves him like a mother. In Huckleberry Finn on the
other hand, we have an example of a dysfunctional family, where the father is an alcoholic and
violent man who comes around only when he knows there are some money for him to take.

So I asked the children to write a story about a case like this. Cărăneanț Andrada is a
student who likes to read a lot and I think her story shows that.

Cry Baby

847 kilometers to go

When I ran home, my dad was drunk, very drunk.

I’m Oliver, I am 15 years old and I was a happy child before my mother died and I had to
move in with my father. Now I live in Nashville, Tennessee. I have to get to Cleveland, Ohio to
be far enough.

My father has problems with the law. Drug trafficking. He’s violent, very violent, both
physical and verbal. My body is full of bruises and scars. I’m very afraid of him.

447 kilometers to go

I’m hungry, but this is not something new, I was always hungry at home. Cannabis
everywhere. I did not have any friends because no one understood me. The bus stopped. I had
stolen some money from my dad. I was going to buy me some water.

401 kilometers to go

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 I’ll tell you something. One day I got home from school. There were empty “Jack”
bottles all over the place. Dad was having some friends over. They were smoking cannabis. All
my fathers’ friends were traffickers: marijuana, opium, LSD, crack, cocaine and heroin. Of
course I was humiliated. After the “party” I had to clean up the mess they had made. Everybody
criticizes me, but no one knows or understands me, all that matters to them are the appearances.

98 kilometers to go

Once upon a time…nothing. I’m bored. Soon I’ll get there. I will live with my mother’s
sister. After my mother’s death, my father did not let me talk to my aunt. He doesn’t know I’m
on my way to her. He would definitely not agree with me living with her.

1524 away from home

I have arrived. I’m safe. I’m with my aunt. I’m a survivor of violence.

Oliver was an abused child. The story wants to be a contemporary one. The father is
probably unaware of the harm his actions are causing. His heart seems to be filled with evil.

Oliver,

Your tears fall, out of the dark and everyone can see them.

You cannot explain, they just laugh. I look at you and I see myself. I know you better
than anyone else.

They call: “Cry baby, cry baby.”

Cărăneanț Andrada

In the end I gave the students some sheets of paper on which they could draw or write
different messages for their parents. Here are some examples, with the mention that:

The first drawing was made by Bănățan Valentin,

the ”Best Father” Diploma by Monea Alexandra,

the Father Acrostic by Brânză-Toduț Adalian

and the letter to grandma by Nemțov Roxana.

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