What really caught my attention about this novel was the fact that is was the first American novel to be written in vernacular, that is, the spoken language of the pre-Civil War, slave-owning South. The novel gave a fantastic description of how life and culture was during that time period through Twain's lush imagery and colloquialism in dialogue. I am in an American Literature class this semester and reading this book really helped me understand the mindset that people had about life and about slaves. Though this isn't one of my favorite books that I've ever read, or even one of the best books I've read this semester, it has definitely been a helpful one in rightly understanding literature as it has developed in our great country.
I'd recommend reading this American Classic to anyone curious or interested in an authoritative novel of the American Lit canon. If you've read it, tell me what you think!
