No Color Barrier in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a Mark Twain classic, wonderfully demonstrates pre-Civil War attitudes about blacks held by whites. Twain demonstrates these attitudes through the actions and the speech of Huckleberry Finn, the narrator, and Jim, Miss Watson's slave. These two main characters share a relationship that progresses from an acquaintance to a friendship throughout the novel. It is through this relationship that Mark Twain gives his readers the realization of just how different people's attitudes were before the Civil War. Twain also reveals the negative attitudes of whites toward blacks by the cruel manner in which Jim is treated with such inferiority.

In addition to Jim's superstitious nature, throughout the novel he also demonstrates gullibility. A good example of this

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

Huck not only realizes that Jim is a human being, but he also comes to terms with the fact that Jim is a good person, and has an extremely good heart.

During this time period, runaway slaves were very easy to spot and were captured by slave hunters. Jim was very brave and held a lot of hope by traveling down the Mississippi River with Huck. Jim takes on the role as a father figure towards Huck when they are on their expedition. In the novel, Huck and Jim pass many groups of slave hunters and have to come up with several excuses as to why they shouldn't capture Jim: such as having the pox, painting him blue, and many other bizarre cases. "He's sick-and so is mam and Mary Ann." (93). In chapter thirteen, Huck lies to the slave hunters along the river and tells them that Jim has the smallpox, which drives the men away because they don't want to catch the disease. "I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their'n." (153). In chapter twenty-three Twain portrays Jim being white on the inside because of his love and passion for his family that has been taken from him. Jim struggles to get back to his family on his journey to

2. What does Jim think has happened to him as a result of the trick that Tom plays on him?

Similarities appear in both Huck's and Jim's view of freedom. First of all, One important similarity is both, Huck and Jim’s, visions of freedom are joined with their escaping from society. Mrs. Watson's attempts at civilizing Huck are expressed when she orders Huck, "Don't put your feet up there, Huckleberry; and don't scrunch up like that, Huckleberry, set up straight" (2). Becoming one with society makes bad experiences for Huck, causing his strong feeling for an unrestricted life. In addition, Jim's bad experiences from society also outcome to Jim's portrayal of freedom. As a slave, Jim is not treated as equally as white people are. Jims unequal treatment from society

     In the beginning of the novel, Huck’s views on slavery had been skewed by society and by the civilized Miss Watson’s righteous and moral views. Huck finds it all fun and games when he and his comrade, Tom Sawyer, play a trick on Jim; Tom Sawyer and Huck remove Jim’s hat from his head and place it on the branch above him. When Jim wakes up, he believes he has been bewitched, adding to his dim-witted and brainless appearance. Only later on in the novel does Huck realize what Jim really means to him.

“The Negro, too, for his part, has idols of the tribe to smash. If on the one hand the white man has erred in making the Negro appear to be that which would excuse or extenuate his treatment of him, the Negro, in turn, has too often unnecessarily excused himself because of the way he has been treated. The

The author allows us to infer that he is among those from the African-American heritage by the specific language used to describe the various types of people. The author is careful to use neutral wording; however, when referring to the Negro, the use of oppressive terminology suggests that the listener responding is especially sympathetic to the plight of the blacks. It is phrases such as, "I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars" (20) and "torn from Black Africa's strand I came" (49), which enable us to perceive the speaker's special affinity with the African people. By using a more specific designation when referring to the Negro, it is natural to assume that the speaker is also a Negro. 'The speaker subtly interjects the continuing oppression of the African American and establishes a hierarchy

Jim’s words had a big affect on Huck, who realizes that Jim is a person, and that his feelings can be hurt.

“If you teach the Negro that he has accomplished as much good as any other race he will aspire to equality and justice without regard to race. Such an effort would upset the program of the oppressor in Africa and America. Play up before the Negro, then, his crimes and shortcomings. Let him learn to admire the Hebrew, the Greek, the Latin and the Teuton. Lead the Negro to detest the man of African blood--to hate

Jim still being a youngster was left in the care of a neighbor. Even though Jim and his mother were separated frequently they still kept close ties with each other.

After a long raft-ride, Huck and Jim are finally about to reach Cairo, which on their arrival would make Jim free. With the smell of freedom, Jim rambles on about how he would buy his wife and then steal his children. This sets off a spark in Huck, igniting his conscience and making him very uneasy. Huck couldn't believe that Jim would steal property from a man that hadn't done him any harm. Huck then begins feeling guilty about helping Jim escape from Miss Watson, since she had never done anything to him and didn't deserve for Jim to be stolen from her. At his departure for the town, on a mission to turn Jim in, Jim leaves Huck with these words. " Pooty soon I'll be a shout'n' for joy, en I'll say say, it's all on accounts o' Huck; I's a free man, en I couldn't ever ben free ef it hadn't it ben for Huck; Huck done it. Jim won't ever forgit you, Huck; you's de bes' fren' Jim's ever had; en you's de only fren' ole Jim's got now". (pg.86-87) Hearing these words, Huck realizes how much Jim's friendship means to him and decides not to turn in Jim. Finally, the last test of Huck's conscience comes when he finds out that the "king" and the "duke" have sold Jim. Huck gets to thinking about how wrong he was to help Jim escape, and decides he should write a letter to Miss Watson. He then changes his mind, seeing that Jim would be worse off as a runaway slave because he would be treated horribly, and Huck

Jim is also a relatively flat character. He goes through the novel with very little change in his character. He is always superstitious, but also is very accepting of people. One example of his superstitions is, “And [Jim] said that handling a snake-skin was such awful bad luck that maybe we hadn’t got to the end of it yet.” (Twain, 64.) Jim always adheres to his superstitions, and in a way they govern his life. Even when Tom and Huck are attempting to set Jim free near the end of the book, Jim goes along with all their crazy machinations. This is similar to his superstitions, because he is willing to do silly things, since he believes they are essential to gaining freedom.