Huck's observation and reaction to the feud of the two families has reinforced his conscience about the chaos of white society in comparison to Negroes. Huck's reaction in regards to the King and the Duke is also an important point in Huck's development as a person. Huck, having been exposed and shown the immoral and corrupt products of society has grown strong enough to work against society in the end. This development has allowed huck go approach society in a more skeptical manner and to confront and accept that society and the world is not Widow Douglas' delusional mirage. This resulted in Huck to have more confidence in his relationship with Jim and loosened his bond with society's immoral
Less subtle are Huck’s observations of Jim as their relationship progresses. Jim at first is nothing but a source of amusement for Huck, but Huck slowly discovers the real person inside. In Chapter 23, Huck states, “…I do believe that he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for ther’n.” Later, Huck goes even further to say, “I knowed Jim was really white inside.” From Huck, this naïve statement was the highest compliment he could have given Jim, and reiterates the idea that a black man can have true emotions and real feelings, something that was not commonly believed at the
In the middle of the book, Huck starts to distinguish what is the right thing to do. He starts to think if all the things he was doing before with Jim and Tom were too mean and stupid to do. One specific example is when he decides to steal the money that the king and duke have, “I got to steal that money somehow; and I got to steal it some way that they wont suspicion I done it." (Twain 133) After Huck stole the money Huck and Jim didn’t feel bad at all, and knew that they did the right thing after all. He learns that not everyone can be scammed on, that the real life is important and that you can’t do anything stupid like that. He sees eye to eye with Jim and realizes that he cant have someone taken advantage of just because of their
In “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain, the main character Huck grows with his morals and maturity throughout the book. Huck Finn was a thirteen year old boy with a deadbeat drunk dad. Huck lived with his adoptive mother Widow Douglas, his care taker Miss. Watson, and her slave Jim. Huck shows a growth of maturity when he fakes his death to escape his father, when he helps Jim escape, and when he stands up to the king and duke. Throughout their adventure Huck Finn exemplifies a major growth of maturity and a deeper understanding of his morals.
The relationship between Huckleberry Finn and Jim are central to Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". Huck's relationships with individual characters are unique in their own way; however, his relationship with Jim is one that is ever changing and sincere. As a poor, uneducated boy, Huck distrusts the morals and intentions of the society that treats him as an outcast and fails to protect him from abuse. The uneasiness about society, and his growing relationship with Jim, leads Huck to question many of the teachings that he has received, especially concerning race and slavery. Twain makes it evident that Huck is a young boy who comes from the lowest levels of white society. Huck's father, Pap, is a drunk who disappears for
Huck, who is a child in a book, has a lot of room for development. In the beginning, he was taught to follow the rules of society like practicing Catholicism and refusing to associate with slaves. However, during Huck’s journey with Jim, he learns a valuable lesson about respecting people based on their character, despite what he was taught by Widow Douglas, Miss Watson, and Tom Sawyer. During the first few days of his journey, he pulls pranks on Jim, like attempting to trick him into thinking that getting lost in the fog was all a dream. However, later on in his journey, he refuses to follow the rules of society in order to save Jim. He even says “All right, then, I’ll go to hell” when he chooses not to tell Miss Watson Jim’s whereabouts (Twain 214). Jim in turn sees Huck as a great friend as well, thus showing how Huck is now seen as a
Freedom is demonstrated throughout the journey of the characters in the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain. “Jim said it made him all over trembly and feverish to be so close to freedom. Well, I can tell you it made me all over trembly and feverish…” (Twain 91). This quote by Mark Twain in the novel is showing how relieved Huck and Jim were to see how far they had come on their journey to freedom. Huckleberry Finn is a young boy who fakes his death to get away from his alcoholic and abusive father and Jim is a runaway slave that has been around and watched after Huck at times. Both Jim and Huck run away to gain freedom and escape their problems at home, while passing
Huck has only ever known his father as the uneducated drunk that he was in the book. Therefore, when he is out with Jim for such a long period of time, he begins to look up to Jim and his outlook on life. In Document E, in the letter Huck wants to write to Miss. Watson, we see him explain somewhat the adventure him and Jim went on. Specifically, when they were traveling down the river, “...and would always call me honey, and pet me, and do everything he could think of for me, and how good he always was;” (Document E). To me, this not only shows how Huck saw Jim as a father figure, but how Jim treated Huck as his own flesh and blood. Also in Document E, we see Huck decide to help Jim rather than telling Miss. Watson where he is. This exhibits how Huck is okay with the fact that this will always be on his conscience, “‘All right then, I’ll go to hell’--and tore it up,” (Document E). Huck deciding this on his own shows us how he didn’t want anyone to know where Jim was because he wanted him to stay in his life. He also wanted to save Jim so he would still have that father figure in his life. In spite of the fact that Jim has no rights, Huck is able to learn valuable things from this man on their adventure down the
Twain does not let the reader thing badly of Huck for very long, though, having Huck?s true voice shine out by the end of the confrontation. By page 67 Huck is almost loathing to go and turn Jim in, seeing the act as an obligation rather than a moral right. He says, "Well, I just felt sick. But I says, I got to do it-I can?t get out of it." Twain wants the reader to see Huck?s change in judgment. The reader is able to see Huck?s newfound reluctance, brought on by Jim?s words of appreciation. These words bring Huck back to the realization that Jim is a friend, not property. And
Even though Jim and Huck had a lot of good times, there was some bad times. For example, after Jim was taken back into slavery Huck mabe a plan to get him out but he said, “... it’s a dirty low-down business…” (Document F). This shows that Huck knew Jim was a slave and he knew messing with slaves a very low on the totem pole. Another example, would be when Huck was going to write a letter to Jim’s owner explaining where he was during that time, Huck says, “... everybody naturally despises an ungrateful nigger, and they’d make Jim feel it all the time… “ (Document E). This proves that by the end of the story Huck was thinking of Jim as a slave. However, a few bad moments do not define a
Huck’s first call to adventure was when he escaped the cabin where he was held hostage by his drunk father. He escaped by faking his own death and finding a boat on the river. Even though this was a brilliant idea, he was still immature for his age. In chapter 10 he plants a snake on Jim to scare him. This shows how little he cares about the situation that was, in reality, very stressful and dangerous. He also lies to jim and tells him that he dreamed up huck and jim splitting up in the fog, but because Huck is kind hearted, he did apologize after he found out how hurt jim was. Huck’s character does evolve throughout the book. The quote, “I didn’t do no more mean tricks, and i wouldn’t done that one if i’d a knowed it would make him feel that way” (Twain 87) is evidence that huck is realizing and understanding other people’s emotions and maturing himself.
Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn many characters deal with abuse, both as abusers and victims. They deal with the impact of abuse in different ways. This includes mental abuse, physical abuse, and the abuse of substances.
I do agree with Morrison that Huck doesn't want to admit that he and Jim are going to have to one day go their separate ways. Huck makes up reasons of why they don't land in Cairo just so he and Jim can stay together. But in Morrison's essay she questions whether Huck will be able to make it without Jim when he goes into new “territory” and goes on adventures without him. I do believe Huck can do it without Jim. One, because he now knows that his father is dead and won't be coming after him. Two, because he has learned a lot from being on his own even though Jim was with him. He still had a big responsibility for both himself and Jim and making sure they made it through all of their adventures. I think that Huck has grown as a boy and matured more than most boys his age, because he is living on his own and not only having to look after himself, but also Jim.
One component of these chapters that I felt was extremely prevalent was the character development of Huck. There were multiple instances when Huck had to make certain decisions that would effect him in the long run, and with most of those decisions came a moral struggle. It seemed as if within these chapters, Huck is trying to find out who he truly is as a person. One example of these moments is in chapter 16 when he is having an internal battle, trying to convince himself that helping Jim gain his freedom is in fact the right thing to do. The quote reads, “I couldn't get that out of my conscience, no how nor no way. It got to troubling me so I couldn't rest; I couldn't stay still in one place…I tried to make out to myself that I warn't to blame, because I didn't run Jim off from his rightful owner” (Pg. 87). In the quote stated above you can clearly see the internal struggle that Huck goes through, trying to find himself along the way. He looks at the situation with 2 different perspectives, one of them being that taking Jim to gain his freedom is immoral and the wrong thing to do, the other being taking Jim to gain his freedom is the right thing to do. Although Jim knows that either way he will feel guilty but he ends up choosing to take Jim's side because of his loyalty. Jim shows his appreciation to Huck by saying things like, "Dah you goes, de ole true Huck; de on'y white genlman dat ever kep' his promise to ole Jim”(Pg. 92), causing Huck
Often times Huck found himself in a moral dilemma on whether to do what society instilled in him or to do what he thinks should be done. Huck betrayed those feelings of “what society would want” him to do in order to be a good friend to Jim, putting his own self up at risk again for Jim. Jim was being held captive by Huck’s current host and Huck, abandoning his duties of his superior race and being a good Christian, as the Widow called it Huck suddenly has an epiphany “All right then, I'll go to hell!” as he goes to “steal Jim out of slavery” (212). Seeing the situation through Huck’s perspective it gives the reader every little detail that goes into his thought process in his decision making. These types of actions were considered wrong by society at that time and place but Huck sets that all aside and does what he feels is the right thing. Most of the time Huck has to think on his feet making the decision making process even more difficult, like the time when Huck was going to give Jim up as a runaway slave. “Then I thought a minute, and says to myself, hold on, s’pose you’d ‘a’ done right and give Jim up, would you feel better than what you do now? No, says I, I’d feel bad---I’d feel just the same way I do now” (91). Even through Huck’s dialect you can see him argue with himself on what the right thing to is, but he throws out what society would do and does what his heart tells him. Through Huck arguing