It's been years since I've read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I also read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer around the same time, so I tend to mix the plots when trying to recall what each book was about. So coming into Huck with a somewhat lost memory of what I had read before, there were a few things that kind of caught me by surprise.
Firstly: the dialect. I'm currently taking a language and grammar class, so I had to put the this-is-an-incorrect-form-of-grammar thoughts while reading Huck. However, as I read on, Huck's "version of English" is what makes Huck...Huck. He is that hobo-like kid with no education who used to live in the "wild" so to speak. He is independent and care-free, able to live alone and provide for himself.
Secondly, I thought it was cute that Huck, Tom, and their fellow friends created a gang. I could just picture my younger brothers making their own little gang with their neighborhood friends, carefully planning the rules. But no! The condition of killing one's family if they revealed the secret of the gang was a little...disturbing. Innocent as it started, I cannot picture my brothers and their friends coming up with a condition like that. Of course they might not act on it, but the thought is unhealthy. Are young boys aware of the morality of their intentions?
Lastly, Huck's thought process of Biblical elements taught by Miss Watson. For example, Miss Watson told Huck that if he prayed for something every day, he would receive it. And indeed, he did as she said, but unfortunately, did not receive anything. Whether he believed it or not is not a big deal--being only a child--but the fact that he was thinking, contemplating could be uncommon for a boy like Huck. When Miss Watson talked about spiritual gifts, Huck said, "I went out in the woods and turned it over in my mind a long time, but I couldn't see no advantage about it--except for the other people--so last I reckoned I wouldn't worry about it any more, but just let it go" (112-113). His curiosity, at times, is not a bad thing because he is willing to learn and to try new things...sometimes.
As you already know I am also in the grammar class. When I first started reading Huck Finn I also had a problem focusing because I was busy shaking my finger at the "bad grammar". However, the dialogue is what makes the story. Huck is the typical dirty, ratty,and carefree kid that hasn't been to school that often so he speaks the way he does because of the lack of school and from his pride. We talked in grammar class last Thursday about stylistic preferences. For me, personally, I did not enjoy Huck Finn from a stylistic grammar view because I am not used to it and it sounds wrong to me. On the other hand, I think the dialogue does add the character of Huck and the audience can see a clearly picture of his identity.
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