What is the deal with the Grangerford and Shepherdson episode?

Yesterday in class students asked what the deal was with Emmeline in the Grangerford and Sheperdson epidsode in The Adventures in Huckleberry Finn.It’s a good question and I’m glad they asked it; it indicates to me that they’re wondering about the book in ways that will lend them insight. Simply asking why a writer includes something in a book admits that the writer has crafted the work intentionally and that the book has a purpose deeper than just to narrate a series of events.

Our main way of approaching the text for an answer is to explore the crazy cycle of the feud. We need to notice how Huck, our ever adaptable straight man, wants to adapt to his new setting and fit in with the Grangerford family. He admires them all but admires Colonel Grangerford in particular, as he is a “gentleman” who is “well born, as the…