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What bad luck does Huck attribute to tipping over the saltcellar at breakfast?
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Huck attributes his bad luck to tipping over the saltcellar at breakfast, a superstitious act he believes led to his father's return. Despite Miss Watson's intervention, Huck is convinced the bad luck persists. The spilled salt incident causes him anxiety, prompting him to consult Jim's "magic" hair-ball for guidance and to sell his money to Judge Thatcher to avoid his father's grasp. His fears are confirmed when he finds his father's footprints, leading to further troubles.
Towards the beginning of the novel, Huck mentions that one morning he accidentally tipped over the salt-cellar at breakfast. Huck, who is extremely superstitious, attempts to throw the spilled salt over his shoulder but is stopped by Miss Watson. Huck then mentions that even though she put in a good word for him, it wasn't enough to keep off the bad luck. Huck believes that his bad luck from not being able to throw the spilled salt over his shoulder is the reason why his father has returned to take him away from Miss Watson. He then consults Jim and his "magic" hair-ball to learn more about his future. After Huck pays Jim, Jim listens to the hair-ball and tells Huck that his father is not sure what to do yet. Jim says that it is best to rest easy and let pap go his own way. Huck then finds...
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his father's footprints in the snow and goes directly to Judge Thatcher and tells him to take his money.
In "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," what bad luck does Huck blame on spilling salt?
At first, Huck isn't quite sure what kind of bad luck will happen, but since he's a superstitious type, apparently spilling salt brings bad luck. So in chapter 4 after he tipped it over, he went about "feeling all worried and shaky, and wondering where [the bad luck] was going to fall on" him. It is right after this that he discovers his pap's shoeprint in the snow. Being the rather smart kid that he is, he is a bit worried that Pap is there, and will cause trouble, so he goes straight over to Judge Thatcher's to sell all of his money to him. He knows that if he has that money, his Pap will come after it, and get it. So Thatcher buys the money from him for $1, and then Huck goes to get a fortune told from Jim's oxen hairball. He is worried about Pap and "what he was going to do, and was he going to stay"? The "hairball" doesn't mention anything about his pap, but sure enough, in chapter 5, Pap shows up. This is the bad luck that resulted from the salt-spilling, and from then on out, it's just trouble and heartache for Huck, until he manages to escape the clutches of his drunken pap.