How Does Race Affect The Transformation Of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain takes place along the Mississippi River during the 19th century before the Civil War. The story follows Huckleberry Finn and a runaway slave named Jim in their adventures while running away from their respective situations; Huck is running away from his drunken father and Jim is running away from his owner in order to avoid being sold and separated from his family. Race is an overarching theme throughout this story, and I believe that Twain effectively portrays this theme through the actions and opinions of the characters.
Jim’s blackness and how it affects his life is shown well through the opinions of others. For example, Pap says, “... when they told me there was a State in this country where they’d let that nigger vote, I drawed out. I says I’ll never vote again” (Chapter 6). This statement shows how white viewed black people at the time. Pap sees black people as below white people, so much to the point that he does not want to do anything they are able to do in order to avoid feeling associated with them. Twain’s use of characters like Pap who express

For instance, Huck decides, “All right, then, I’ll GO to hell…” (Chapter 31). This happens while Huck is deciding whether or not to turn Jim in as a runaway slave. On one hand, Jim is Miss Watson’s property, but on the other, Jim is Huck’s friend. Huck deciding that he would rather go to hell than turn Jim into Miss Watson effectively shows his transformation from racist to actually seeing Jim as a human being. Twain uses this time to show how Huck has grown fond of Jim because Jim would “do everything he could think of for [Huck]...” (Chapter 31). Twain’s use of action and showing the reader Huck’s thoughts leading up to the action proves that he successfully conveyed Huck’s character