Huck Finn Attitude

In the beginning of the story, Huck treats Jim like any other slave would’ve been treated. Huck was raised in a society that dehumanized slaves as if they were below everyone else because of their skin color. The start of Huck and Jim’s friendship was put on display when Huck and Jim got separated, and Huck tried to convince Jim that he was only dreaming. However, upon catching onto his scheme, Jim became very unamused by Huck. “Then he got up slow, and walked to the wigwam, and went in there, without saying anything...It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger-but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didn’t do him no more mean tricks,” (Twain 95). This is a turning point because Huck finally starts to understand that Jim is a human and just like him, he has feelings.

During the book, Huck hasn’t really experienced what life really was and what you might encounter during times that just come out of anything. Jim is someone that you might call strange and unexpected. When Huck

Jim, who becomes Huck's friend as he travels down the Mississippi river, is a man of intelligence and consideration. "An understanding of Jim's character is by no means a simple matter; he is a highly complex and original creation, although he appears at first sight very simple" (Hansen, 388). Jim has one of the few well functioning families in the novel. Although he has been estranged from his wife and children, he misses them dreadfully, and it is only the thought of a lasting separation from them that motivates his unlawful act of running away from Miss Watson. Jim is rational about his situation and must find ways of accomplishing his goals without provoking the fury of those who could turn him in. Regardless of the restrictions and constant fear Jim possesses he consistently acts as a gracious human being and a devoted friend. In fact, Jim could be described as the only existent adult in the novel, and the only one who provides an encouraging, decent example for Huck to follow. The people that surround Huck who are supposed to be teaching him of morals, and not to fall into the down falls of society are the exact people who need to be taught the lessons of life by Jim. Jim conveys an honesty that makes the dissimilarity between him and the characters around him evident.

In chapter eight Huck is delighted to find Jim camping on the island he’d been hiding on, only to be shocked when he finds out Jim had run away. Jim tells Huck how he overheard Miss Watson discussing selling him for $800 to a slave trader up in New Orleans (75) and instead of going back to town and turning Jim in, Huck invites Jim to run away with him. At first, refusing to turn Jim in could have been Huck ignoring societies laws for the sake of not outing himself as not dead like everyone believes he is, but when he makes the offer of letting Jim on the journey with him it’s him showing courage to help someone who had been kind to him in his time of staying with Miss Watson.

The novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, covers the situations and people Huckleberry Finn encounters after he runs away. Huck prevents his alcoholic father from getting his fortune and is able to run away after his father, Pap, kidnaps him and leaves town. It has many colorful characters that exhibit several facets of society at that time in history. It is anti-racist although it uses the word "nigger" frequently. Huck seems to struggle throughout the book with what he has been taught and what is morally right. His main and most consistent interaction is with Jim, a runaway slave. Although he had been taught differently throughout his entire life, he eventually makes the choice to go against what society deems to be right and be Jim's

Throughout the book nearly everyone Huck and Jim encounter treats Jim as if he is inferior and not worthy of respect or equal treatment. As the story progresses, Huck

Because blacks are uneducated, he sees them as stupid and stubborn. He frequently tells stories to Jim, mainly about foreign kings and history. When Jim disagrees with Huck, Jim becomes very stubborn and refuses to listen to explanations. Huck eventually concludes, "You can't learn a nigger to argue". Jim also seems to accept that whites are naturally superior to blacks. He knows that Huck is far smarter than he is. When Tom Sawyer and Huck are planning an elaborate breakout for Jim, he allows their outrageous plan to continue because they "was white folks and knowed better than him". This mutual acceptance of whites as superior to blacks shows how deeply rooted slavery was in Southern culture. This made it very difficult for Huck to help Jim. When Tom Sawyer says he will help free Jim, Huck is very disappointed. He had never thought that Tom Sawyer, of all people, would be a "nigger stealer". Huck had always considered Tom respectable and educated, and yet Tom was prepared to condemn himself to damnation by freeing a runaway slave. This confuses Huck greatly, who no longer knows what to think about his situation with Jim. When Huck is forced to make a decision regarding slavery, he invariably sides with his emotions. Huck does not turn Jim in, despite having several chances. His best chance to do what he believes is right comes as they are rafting towards Cairo, Illinois. Huck finally

Jim was the only person Huck had for the majority of their adventure and always had to be dependable on him. In Document F, this is the part where Huck comes up with the plan on how to save Jim from the Phelps’ farm. This primarily shows how Huck saw Jim as his friend, “‘Here’s the ticket. This hole’s big enough for Jim to get through, if we wrench off the board,” (Document F). This shows Huck’s plan to help set Jim free and he wouldn’t be going through this trouble if he thought Jim was worthless. He views Jim more as an equal since he believes that he should be free. In Document B, we see how frightened Jim is that Huck is going to tell where Jim is, however, Huck is thinking the complete opposite. Huck believes that it is right to not tell on Jim, “‘I ain’t agoing to tell, and I ain’t agoing back there anyways.’” (Document B). Since Huck won’t say anything about where Jim is, it shows how he sees Jim more as a friend and trusts him enough to go on an adventure together. Jim and Huck truly get to know each other on their adventure together. They get to share many laughs, smiles and talks. With these talks is where Huck gets to also view Jim as someone to look up

     On Huck and Jim’s journey to Cairo, Jim begins to speak about when he is free he will go and find his children and take them from the slave owner. This rubbed Huck the wrong way; his standards of Jim had been lowered because, from Huck’s point of view, why would Jim steal his children away from a man who has done nothing to him? Huck’s conscience began to come into play and he had made up his mind: He was going to turn Jim in when they reach shore. He was sure of it until Jim began to sweet talk Huck, telling him that Huck was the only white man that had ever kept a promise to him. This comment went directly to Huck’s heart; he could not possibly

He struggles for a bit with the idea of Jim being in slavery and tried to write a letter explaining where Jim was, but ended up ripping it up and says: “All right, then, I’ll go to hell... (217).” This a major turning point in Huck’s ideals. He finally comes to terms with the fact that he does not agree with Jim being a slave. Huck decides to go try to free Jim, which shows that he is going against the social norm to rescue someone he holds dear. This speaks to how he has developed as well as how Jim and Huck have grown closer through the

In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck is seen as a nobler person when not exposed to the hypocrisy of civilization. Huck does what he believes is right, even if this means going against common practices in the society around him. This is seen through Huck’s actions when helping his slave friend, Jim. Throughout the novel, Huck shows his friendship for Jim, especially when everyone is trying to capture him. This was also shown when Huck apologizes to Jim, and sees them both as equals and also freeing Jim after being sold.

Huck’s relationship with Jim evolves through out the first chapters in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Before their relationship evolved into a friendship, Huck saw Jim as an inferior, and Jim saw himself as one as well. Evolving into the end of Chapter 16, Huck has thoughts of apologizing for a trick he played on Jim, showing that Huck saw him as an equal, and a friend. The first time Huck speaks to Jim is on Jackson’s Island, when they are both runaways. “‘Well, I b’lieve you, Huck. I—I run off.’ ‘Jim!’ But mind, you said you wouldn’t tell—you know you said you wouldn’t tell, Huck.’ ‘Well, I did. I said I wouldn’t, and I’ll stick to it” (45). When Jim tells Huck the reason why he is out on Jackson’s Island, Huck is surprised, as Jim became nervous and tried to use Huck’s word against his own. Clearly there still is not a lot

A major theme in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is slavery and our evolvement towards the institution. “In fact, Twain’s novel is often taught as the text that epitomizes this tradition, with Huck held up as its exemplar: a boy courageous enough to stand against the moral conventions of his society. . .” (Bollinger, 32 – Say It Jim) In the beginning of Huckleberry Finn’s relationship with Jim, he has little respect for him and as their journey progresses he

In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain presents the problem of slavery in America in the 19th Century. Twain poses this problem in the form of a character named Huckleberry Finn, a white boy raised in the antebellum South. Huck starts to question his view regarding slavery when he acquaints himself more intimately with a runaway slave while he himself tries to run away. Huck’s development as a character is affected by society’s influence on his experiences while growing up in the South, running away with Jim, and trying to save Jim. Although Huck decides to free Jim, Huck’s deformed conscience convinces him that he is doing the wrong thing.

Novelists often express their opinions about arguable issues in society through their writings. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is written to have taken place before the period known as Reconstruction. Huck fakes his death and while in hiding encounters a runaway slave named Jim. The story is wrote in first person, through the eyes of Huck who is a young boy raised by an uneducated drunk. Considering this perspective, how does Huck see Jim? Huck changes his view on Jim from different stages throughout each document. Even though, Huck often refers to Jim as a slave, ultimately he comes to the conclusion that Jim is not only a father-figure, but mostly his friend.