novel. The evolving bond between them is forged through the various ordeals they are met with during their escape. Huck and Jim seemingly start off with a very master to slave type of relationship, but that relationship clearly changes throughout the duration of the novel. Huck begins to subconsciously learn the concept of friendship and trust. He was unable to have such a relationship due to the way he was raised by Pap. Jim then enters Huck’s life and shares irreplaceable experiences and memories with Huck throughout their journey with the goal of freeing Jim. Although their relationship seemed as if it were a swift and headstrong arrow, there were also times where their bond showed instances of wavering. Huck and Jim’s relationship is under constant change and continues to evolve because it is repeatedly challenged by various hardships such as the instance where Huck begins to doubt himself for helping Jim, Huck and Jim continue to learn from one another’s values and morals, and both ultimately gain mutual feelings of loyalty and trust between each other. Bonds are extremely fragile if time is not dedicated to strengthening them. A so called “friendship” is subconsciously generated between them after the time they spent with each other after their confrontation with one another. Of course, this “friendship” between them was trivial at first. This is easily seen in various instances where Huck fails to realize that Jim also has feelings that should be considered: “ Huck
Although Huck is a bit racist to Jim at the beginning of their journey, the negative attitude held by Huck begins to fizzle as their adventure continues on. The more Huck and Jim go through together, the closer the two become. Huck begins to see Jim as a friend and vice versa. By the end of their journey, Huck disagrees with society's idea that blacks are inferior. One example of this is evident when Huck doesn't tell anyone of Jim's whereabouts. Huck doesn't tell anyone because he knows that if he does, Jim will be forced to return to slavery. Instead, Huck chooses to "go to Hell" for his decision. He has shied away from society's acceptance of slavery.
In this section, insight into the character of Jim is portrayed. Jim comes across as sincere and trustworthy. The loyalty of Jim and Huck to each other begins to be seen. An example of Jim’s loyalty is seen when Jim is overjoyed to find Huck is still alive after they are separated in the fog. During this section, it begins to be apparent that Jim would be willing to sacrifice to be sure that Huck is safe but Huck does not yet return those feelings. During this section, Huck’s moral dilemma about helping a slave escape begins to surface. The fact that the relationship is strengthening is revealed when Huck lies about having smallpox on their raft in order to prevent Jim from being caught as a slave. Huck again assumes several identities during this section, which reveal much about him. On the raft, Huck is very mature and responsible. He becomes the son of a
Throughout the book Jim acts as the most caring character, especially towards Huck. Luckily, the two men, devote everything they can to surviving this adventure and it shows that they care for one-another very much.
Huck Finn and Jim have a very interesting and close relationship. Both of the characters abandoned their former life in search of a better one. This gives both characters a common trait that they can use to connect with each other. It is ironic that those in the town think Jim killed Huck, when in reality they both just ran away at the same time and became friends due to their mutual situation. Huck and Jim have a very good relationship and trust each other. They also care about what happens to one another. They work together in order to survive, which is shown when Jim says "No! W'y, what has you lived on? But you got a gun. Oh, yes, you got a gun. Dat's good. Now you kill sumfn en I'll make up de fire"(39). This shows an example of how both characters are reliant on each other. Jim has the necessary skills to make a fire, while Huck has a weapon that he can use to hunt. Without
In the beginning Huck never really knew what a true friend was, and then he went on a journey with Jim, a runaway slave. For a while, Huck has thoughts about turning in Jim and having him sent back to Miss Watson. However, he always remembers how nice Jim is to him. Huck said that he would not tell anyone that Jim had runaway and in return Jim was willing to protect and help Huck. Jim would even give up his sleep just because he wanted to let Huck continue to sleep. That was not the only thing Jim did for Huck either. When the house floated by and the two saw a body laying inside it dead, Jim went in to see what was in the house and found that it was Huck's father that was dead. Jim covered the body so Huck did not realize that his father had been killed. Through just these two actions made by Jim, Huck learns one of the most valuable life lessons: true friendship.
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.
As a team completely isolated from society, Huck and Jim are an unlikely pair formed perfect; the king and the duke, who are exceptionally similar in terms of their personalities and pursuits, are seemingly natural partners, but are more individual than joined. Huck and Jim are of entirely different social standings, yet both are able to form an unbreakable bond. Huck is a young, white male who is seemingly above Jim on the social ladder, though much younger, and Jim is a runaway slave who Huck could have turned in for his own benefit. During the river/raft scene, Huck discovers how much he needs Jim as a moral companion for his own happiness and protection. Huck solely uses “we” to refer to himself and to Jim, thus suggesting that Huck does not see himself and Jim as two individual people, but rather one pair. Huck and Jim’s dedication to each other also breaks down all social and racial walls built by society that they have chosen to leave. The two speak to and treat each other as equals, and no judgment of racial inferiority is imposed by Huck to Jim, despite that Huck was brought up with racism and cynicism. Huck says that he and Jim “was always naked, day and night” (178); nakedness is the most vulnerable state of all humans, as one’s
While away from outside influences, Huck starts to consider Jim a friend rather than a slave.
Jim’s words had a big affect on Huck, who realizes that Jim is a person, and that his feelings can be hurt.
I also find the relationship between Huck and Jim to be an interesting one. There are definitely many elements going on in this relationship. They have grown so close due to all the hardships the two have gone through. One interesting aspect of this relationship is that I feel Huck wants to make Jim more adventurous. When Jim and Huck find the wrecked ship in Chapter 12 Huck states several times that he wants Tom Sawyer. I think that Tom Sawyer will always be Huck Finn’s best friend. Every friend Huck has will be compared to Tom Sawyer at some point, or at least that is what I believe. Huck seems like the person who wants someone to create elaborate plans that they can execute together. Huck wants that innocent playmate so he can feel like
Huck’s relationship with Jim changes dramatically throughout this book. At first he thinks he is just a runaway slave. He plays tricks on him. He puts a snakeskin in his bed and he gets bit. He feels bad for it. Then he plays another trick when a fog separates them. He tells Jim that it was all a dream. Huck feels bad again and tells him the truth in under 15 minutes. Jim is sad that Huck would lie to him. Huck becomes attached to him after spending valuable time with Jim.
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
This can be clearly shown when Jim gets bit by a snake after Huck makes the mistake of not getting a rid the one that he killed. “Then I slid out quiet and throwed the snakes clear away amongst the bushes; for I warn’t going to let Jim find out it was all my fault, not if I could help it” (40). When he says this he is beginning to it sort out in his head that it was his fault that Jim had gotten bitten by the snake and that he feels bad about it. Although he feels bad about it at the same time he is also doing it so that Jim doesn’t get mad or upset with him. This shows an improvement in his sense of morality for Huck while he is with Jim. When with Jim he starts to see that he isn't that different from him and that he should be nicer to Jim. Another good example of this is when Huck learns that people are heading over to the island to search for him and Jim and he took the chance to go back and get Jim when he knew people were on their way. He easily could have just left but after spending time with Jim and seeing him as a friend he goes back to get him. “Git up and hump yourself, Jim! There ain’t a moment to lose. They’re after us!” (47) This shows a big moral leap with Huck as he could have left Jim to fend for himself when he had his own boat and could easily have fled and escaped. As a friend of JIm you see him feel for someone who isn't the same race which is unheard of and looked down upon at this time. This varies vary much from earlier
Throughout all these situations that Huck goes through, Jim has supported him, even when Jim was not with Huck at every time. Jim first met up with Huck on the island. Jim escaped Widow Douglas’s home because he was to be sold down south, which would separate Jim from his family forever. Jim is hands down the most important person to Huck throughout the novel, putting himself in a category as one of Huck’s new family members. Jim has been associated as Huck’s father figure. During their time together, Jim and Huck make up a sort of alternative family in an alternative place, apart from society. Huck escaped from society for adventure and a new life, while Jim has escaped from society so that he wouldn’t be separated from his family by being sold down south. Jim is based off of his love, whether it’s for his family or his growing love for Huck. Jim was thought of by Huck as a stupid, ignorant slave in the beginning of the novel, but as Huck spends more time with Jim, Huck realizes that Jim has a different kind of knowledge based off of his years as well as his experiences with love. In the incidents of the floating house and Jim’s snakebite, Jim uses his knowledge to benefit both of them but also seeks to protect Huck. Jim is less imprisoned by conventional wisdom than Huck,
A flat character is one that stays the same throughout a book or story, and a round character is one that changes throughout the book due to challenges they face and resolve. While Huck and Jim are two very important characters throughout the book, it could be argued that they are flat or round. Neither change very much, but each have small discoveries.