What do you think of this intro?

Question

This is my intro for a paper on morality in Huck Finn. What do you think? Does it make sense? Coherent?

The turn of events that take place in the final chapters of Huckleberry Finn is infamous within American literary criticism. Much criticism of the novel finds fault with Huck’s participation in the slapstick at Phelps farm, which is perceived as a sign that the delicate moral issues of earlier chapters have been abandoned. After declaring his willingness to “go to hell” in order to help slave Jim become free, Huck falls back into Tom Sawyer’s high jinks with barely a flinch. Tom’s elaborate plot to free Jim—despite knowing that he’s been legally freed already—reduces Jim’s plight to a boyhood game that is cruel and knowingly pointless. Many literary scholars find Huck’s complicity in these games to be inexplicable and indefensible, particularly because of the problematic incongruity it creates.

The changing critical landscape is now moving to defend the significance of the novel’s ending. The negation of the preceding high drama and cultural relevance exposes the absence of a moral voice and ridicules the reader’s demand for one. Audiences have thus taken to exalting Huck’s moral affirmation while discounting the ensuing finale as a literary blooper. While many critics attack it as a failure of form, a more pervasive feeling remains hidden. This sentiment arises from the post-Civil Rights exigency for mainstream society to dissolve all lingering ties to black slavery. In this context, the false glorification of Huck as an icon of “our” morals is a means to evade discussion of—or far worse, implication in—America’s historical racism.

To "Yun": you're wrong, 'hijinks' is a modern contraction. The proper phrase is 'high jinks.'

p.s. It's a 20+ page research paper

Answer 1

The word is "hijinks" not "high jinks."

This is a pretty long and in-depth intro. How big is the paper?

Normally an introduction would work in the form of a single paragraph. If what you posted above is just the intro, then you may need to cut it down and lower the level of detail in it.

The end of a paper's introduction should be the thesis statement. Is that last statement your thesis? If not, you need to find a way to end your introduction with that thesis.

EDIT

Both are acceptable according to multiple dictionaries, so I suppose you are right.

Answer 2

Honestly, though well written, does not seem to be an introduction. When I began to read it I felt as if I was in the middle of your paper. Your introduction should state what main points you want to cover in your paper and end with your thesis. Though I haven't seen the rest of your paper I am guessing you could include what you wrote here in your body and add an itro before this.

Answer 3

a little drawn out for an intro, unless you are writing a 10+ page paper. focus on the main points and use the body of the paper to go into detail.