The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Chapters1-3

Chapters 16-18

Chapters 31-33

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 19-21

Chapters 34-36

Chapters 7-9

Chapters 22-24

Chapters 37-39

Chapters 10-12

Chapters 25-27

Chapters 40-42

Chapters 13-15

Chapters 28-30

Chapter 43

Chapter 22: The description of the mob scene continues, though it turns out that no one is lynched because the mob is full of cowards.

The Shakespeare show also takes place this night, but with only a meager turnout, the king and duke change their plan for the next night and put up signs around the town for a show called "The Royal Nonesuch."  The real appeal of the show is the fact that women and children are prohibited from coming.  This will surely cause some excitement, the duke proudly exclaims.

Chapter 23: The first two nights of the Royal Nonesuch performance takes place in this chapter.  What the show really amounts to is simply the duke walking onto stage and telling everyone that they have been duped and asks them to mention the show for the following two evenings to their friends.  The people, who have each been conned into paying 50 cents for the "show," are enraged and start to rush stage when one among them calls for them to stop, saying that they will be the "laughing-stock" of the town if they don't con their fellow citizens into buying tickets for the following two nights.  Everyone agrees, and no violence is done to the king or duke at this time.  The following two nights follow the same pattern, except on the third night the duke doesn't dare to enter the stage, knowing that the people plan to get their revenge on him this time.  So instead, he and Huck run back to the raft, getting away with over four hundred dollars for the three "performances."   

The most important part of the chapter, however, is a conversation between Huck and Jim, when Huck realizes that Jim severely misses his family.  This causes Huck to admit, "I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their'n."  Thus, Huck continues to realize that Jim is as much a person as anyone else.

Chapter 24: Meeting a fellow traveler, the king starts up a conversation with the man, finding out that the town is anticipating the arrival of the English brothers of Peter Wilks, a wealthy landowner who has recently died and thus has quite a sizable inheritance to give to his relatives.  The king and duke jump on this opportunity, and after leaving the man who possessed such valuable information, ask for directions to the Wilks' home.