Injun Joe Analysis

After witnessing the murder of Dr. Robinson, Tom and Huck decide not to confess what they witnessed and took an oath. Although, Tom’s conscience is wanting him to tell the police Injun Joe is the murder and not Muff Potter he made a promise to his friend not to tell. Tom should not tell the police what happened because he made a promise, he’s just a boy, and he has no evidence.

Many risks have happened throughout the novel and Huck grows to make the right decisions. In the beginning, Huck is a child and is always looking for the easy way out by lying or cheating. "…No ma'am, I wasn't doin' nuthin'." P.233. At this situation, Huck is caught being mischievous and instead of telling the truth, he lies inorder to get out of trouble. Eventually, Huck grows up and sees that he should take responsibility for his actions. "...I told Tom I was going for a doctor." P.276. Huck does the responsible thing, and by doing this, he may have saved his best friends life.

comes up with a plan, and Huck is surprised that Tom would risk his reputation for a slave. But

In chapter 11 everyone finds out about the murder that happened. The whole town is at the graveyard and Injun Joe told everyone that Muff Poder was the murder but, in reality Injun Joe was the murder. Muff Poder believes that he is the murder, along with everyone else. Muff Poder got knocked out by Dr. Robison, and Injun Joe had stabbed Dr. Robinson. When Muff Poder woke up he saw his pocket knife, all covered with blood, laying next to the dead Dr. Robinson, he thought that he did it. When he asked Injun Joe who had done it, Injun Joe said that Muff had done it. Injun Joe told the same lying story, that he had told Muff Poder, to the entire town. Then everyone believed that Muff Poder was the murder, and it wasn’t tp hard to believe anyway.

Lying is known as a bad thing, but sometimes it can be used for good. Dishonesty just depends on how you utilize it. In the story, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain you will see lying happening very often. When Huckleberry Finn lies it is usually for a good purpose. While the king and duke use it for more greedy reasons.

to him and decides not to turn in Jim. Finally, the last test of Huck’s

I know that if something weighs on your conscience and bothers you then you have to do something about it. Tom and Huck both were witnesses to a murder right in front of their faces. After witnessing this murder Tom and Huck both promise to “keep mum” about what happened and that if they tell “they may drop down dead in their tracks and rot” (71-72). Tom and Huck are both friends and made a promise, but Tom should tell the shariff so that Tom can ease his conscience. The reasons why Tom should tell the sheriff about what he witnessed is because he can save innocent Muff Potter’s life and Tom can get rid of a merciless killer roaming the streets.

Despite Huck’s initial intention to write to Tom Sawyer convey him of Jim’s location; therefore allowing Miss Watson to retrieve her “property”, Huck decides to follow his increasing sense of his conscience. Huck does expresses some worries that are selfish, such as the shame and isolation he would experience if anyone found out that he followed his moral compass and helped Jim reach freedom. Although Huck questions his conscience with these selfish thoughts, Huck worries equally as much for Jim in the fact that he may be condemned a slave forever. Huck decides to follow his moral compass and plans to free Jim from his confinement. This experience proves that Huck doesn’t follow the rules of society, but rather follows what he knows is the right thing to

This is another example of a situation where Huck finally has a light bulb moment. Huck has been traveling with the scoundrels, The Duke and The King, for a while and he has helped them to steal money from many different people. This time however, Huck begins to see the total horror of what the men are about to do to the young women. Tom is unable to turn a blind eye as he has in the past. He feels the weight of his portion of the actions and strives to set things right. In this case he has been doing things that are morally wrong and now takes action to make that right. This situation forces Huck to look for the moral right

When Huck stops Tom’s carriage, Tom believes Huck to be a ghost, but once Huck explains the situation, Tom agrees to help Huck. Once Huck and Tom arrive at Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas’ home, Aunt Sally welcomes Huck, whom she had met earlier in the day and believes to be Tom Sawyer, and offers Tom a meal and ride down to Mr. Archibald Nichols’ home. During dinner, “[Huck is] getting a little nervous, and wondering how this was going to help [him] out of [his] scrape, and at last, still talking to along, [Tom] reached over and kissed Aunt Sally right on the mouth” (190). Aunt Sally outraged by this action from a person she believes she does not know as friend or family. Tom continues on to say that people told him that Aunt Sally likes kissing. Aunt Sally, still mad, is confused as to why a stranger kissed her on the mouth. Tom turns to Silas then to Huck, ‘Tom, didn’t you think Aunt Sally’d open out her arms and say, “Sid Sawyer–“’ (191). Tom’s effort to keep Huck safe and to help rescue Jim demonstrates how bold Tom acts, and how, for Huck, Tom would do nearly anything. The fact that Tom willingly lies to his own family proves that even as a follower of society, Tom still has some form of a moral compass. Though much less bold than lying to his own family, Tom participates in the planning of and freeing Jim. To Tom, loyalty is extremely important, so helping Jim is, in Tom’s own standards, less bold. Huck makes a simple plan to free Jim, while the boys use Tom’s plan. According to Huck’s statement, “Well, one thing was dead sure; and that was, that Tom Sawyer was in earnest and was actuily going to help steal that n– out of slavery” (195), Tom dedicated himself fully to help Huck, once again. Tom does write the Phelpses a letter as to warn of the escape plan. This goes against the boldness that Tom presents to Huck in helping to free Jim, but as previously mentioned,

Huck is having a difficult time trying to keep the secret because he says, “Jim! … Well, I did. I said I wouldn’t, and I’ll stick to it. Honest injun, I will. People would call me a low-down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum—but that don't make no difference” (Twain 42-43).

Huck hits the peak of his immorality when he offers for the gang Tom started to kill Mrs. Watson. At this point in the story Huck is able to begin his moral progression. Huck faces a situation where he lives three criminals stranded to die. Huck questions that decision to decide whether it was right or wrong. Huck leans to the wrong side because he doesn't believe that they deserved to die and he especially believed that his wasn't the one to decide their fate.

While Huck travels with the Duke and the King, Hucks never seems too bothered by their cons to a point where he feels as though he must step in. However, this changes when the Duke and the King are attempting to steal the family’s inheritance, as Huck says, “this is another one that I’m letting him rob her of her money… I felt so ornery and low down and mean that I says to myself, my mind’s made up; I’ll hive that money for them or bust”(Twain 177). Huck finds the courage within himself to “up and tell the truth this time” to Mary Jane, although he states that it would be like “setting down on a kag of powder and touching it off just to see where you’ll go to” (Twain 189). A sort of shift in Huck’s character occurs here, from laying back to keep everyone content to stepping forward and stopping what is clearly wrong.

I think that after this paragraph Tom will change at least a little bit. Before this happened he lied without knowing what damage, lying can do. Now that he saw this injustice situation, he probably understands what damage lying can do. Injun Joe mad it look as if Muff Potter was the murderer putting Muff’s life in danger for something he didn’t

Huck and Tom both witnessed a murder and they both took an oath, they swore to never tell anyone about what they saw. They should have gone to the police and told them what they had seen. One reason is because they have nothing to lose. The second reason is because Injin Joe is not going to know if they tell or not so they are in danger either way. The third reason is because there is an innocent man in jail and the murder is still out on the streets.