Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Chapter 17 Summary & Analysis

A man, speaking out of a window into the darkness, commands the dogs to hush and asks, “Who’s there?” Huck says that he’s George Jackson, only a boy. The man asks if Huck knows the Shepherdsons. Huck says that he does not, but the man remains skeptical. Nevertheless, he invites Huck into the house, but tells him that, if anybody is with him, Huck better tell them to stay back lest they be shot. Huck slowly approaches and enters the house, greeted by a family, the Grangerfords, some of whom are armed. All of them agree, though, that Huck is not a Shepherdson.

The Grangerfords are welcoming and friendly and provide Huck with a meal, clothes, and a place to stay. The boy who lends Huck clothes, Buck, is about as old as Huck is. He boasts that if there had really been Shepherdsons outside, he would have killed one. His father tells Buck that he’ll get his chance to do just that, but all in good time. After changing into dry clothes and speaking with Buck, Huck goes down into the parlor to find the Grangerfords smoking and talking. He eats and talks with them. The family assures Huck that he can stay with them for as long as he likes.

Huck admires the Grangerford’s home, many of the features of which, like the brass doorknob and the brick-bottomed fireplace, are more characteristic of a house in town than in the country. Huck also admires the family’s collection of books, which includes classics like Pilgrim’s Progress, which Huck finds “interesting” but “tough.” Hanging on the parlor walls are pictures depicting people and scenes from Revolutionary America, like George Washington and the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Also hanging on the walls are pictures painted by a member of the Grangerford family, Emmeline, a little girl who died young, all of which are dark in theme and color. Her masterpiece is of a woman preparing to jump from a bridge, but Huck thinks the woman looks too “spidery.” Emmeline also wrote poetry about the deaths of men, women, and children; for example, a ballad for a boy who drowned in a well. Huck likes Emmeline’s art, and even tries to pay tribute to her with a poem of his own, but he proves unable to write one. Emmeline’s room, Huck says, is kept the same as it was on the day she died.