First, throughout the book it becomes evident to the reader how selfless Jim is. Jim risks everything he has to save and protect not only the ones he loves but also puts everyone else's needs above his own. In the novel Huck States “He was saying how the first thing he would do when he got to a free state he would go to saving up money and never spend a single cent, and when he got enough he would buy his wife...then they would both work to buy the two children, and if their master wouldn't sell them, they'd get an Ab'litionist to go and steal them.” This quote is evidence of Jim's selflessness because it allows us to see that he risks recapture and torture in order to save his family. He is not only willing to spend so much time away from his family but also risking his life in order to save them. Everything that Jim is going to do for his family, is strictly for their benefit, and not his. Jim also displays selfness when he risks his life to save Tom,
Everybody has someone in his or her life who teaches him or her how to be a better person. Throughout the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses Jim, a slave, as a source of symbolism for Huck’s maturity. First, Jim teaches Huck about what it truly means to be civilized. Next, Jim shows Huck about the value of family. Lastly, Jim teaches Huck about racial inequality and how to accept people. In Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jim teaches Huck about civilization, family, and racial inequality.
Jim, a runaway slave and one of society’s outcast members in Huckleberry Finn, portrays the admirable characteristic of self-sacrifice. Jim is a father himself and when Huck and Jim are switching shifts for watch on the raft at night, Jim lets Huck sleep through his shift often. This simple act of kindness greatly illustrates the type of self-sacrifice that Twain would want in his ideal person. Huck considers, “I went to sleep, and Jim didn’t call me when it was my turn. He often done that.”(Twain, Huckleberry Finn 153). Huck does not fully realize the caring actions of Jim, yet, Twain still depicts his admiration of self-sacrifice. The simple thought of “He often done that.” shows that Jim is willing to persistently lose sleep for Huck just
He does not think it is right to help take away slaves from people that he doesn't even know. To turn Jim in for these reasons would be the influence of society on Huck. Huck's decision on this marks another major step in Huck's moral maturation, because he decides not to turn in Jim on his own and adds another moral that he made and no one told him. This is the first time he makes a decision all on his own. Both this incident and the Wilkes Scheme represent Huck's ultimate realization and rejection of society. Huck states, "I'll go to hell" (207) to see Jim into freedom decision to help Jim. Also Huck matures through situations full of guilt. In Chapter 28 Huck encounters this type of situation when the King and the Duke are ruining lives of the Wilkes and their slaves. “Miss Mary Jane, I have a new plan. This plan won’t require you to stay at the Lothrops for four days. I want you to leave immediately and stay the day there. At nine o’clock tonight, tell them that you have forgotten something and must return home. If you arrive here before eleven o’clock, put a lighted candle in the window. If I see the candle, I’ll come to you. If I don’t come to you, you will know that I am on my raft and have gone away. Only then should you tell the men of this town that the king and the duke are not really your uncles.” “I’ll do that,”(104-105). This situation really illustrated how
Jim tells Huck he hit her for not listening to get to work, but he then finds out she has been recently made dea when she did not react to the door slamming shut from the wind. He realizes he hit her when she never even heard Jim to begin with. Jim was so distraught begging for forgiveness from the Lord and his daughter, because he would never forgive himself for his mistake. This shows Jim’s deep rooted connection with love of others and his humanity. Not only that, but Huck realizes he cares deeply for his family and is capable of emotions that otherwise racist ideologies have told him are not possible. Huck now believes that this cannot be the case since he sees Jim having strong familial ties with his own eyes. This example of Jim’s release of the minstrel mask makes Huck gain a higher opinion of him.
These qualities tend to lead people in the direction of taking advantage of him. In chapter 2, as Huck and Tom are sneaking off Huck alerts Jim. Jim tries to find what made the noise and almost discovers the boys, but falls asleep. While Jim is sleeping, Tom takes Jim's hat and hangs it on a tree-limb. Afterwards, Jim tells everyone that witches were after him (05). Throughout the beginning these qualities of Jim become more apparent and eventually help him out in many instances. While on Jackson Island Jim’s instincts warn Huckleberry Finn and himself of a brewing storm. His simplistic instincts led to him noticing the flock of birds swarming the sky, and in many cases the right path for Huck and himself. As the novel progresses, Jim’s gullible nature is completely revealed as true faith and trust in people, especially Huck. Their trust is put to the test in Chapter 16, while they pass Cairo on their journey to the Ohio river. While passing the town, Huck preserves Jim's freedom by saying his family has smallpox to the patrol and to not come near the raft (68). Jim remarks that he will never forget Huck’s kindness. Jim’s love for Huck, however, extends past their friendship to the relationship of father and
After Huck finds out that Jim is captive, Huck “set down and cried. [He] couldn’t help it” (210). After returning to the raft and not finding Jim there, Huck is overcome with emotion. The fear of Jim not being around causes Huck to realize how important Jim is to him. The friendship they developed on the river and through their adventure causes Huck to be more concerned for Jim’s safety than society’s need to keep Jim captive. Huck, therefore, sees Jim as his friend and ignores society’s expectations to treat him less than human. After tearing up the letter he writes to Miss Watson, Huck “... studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: ‘All right, then, I’ll go to hell’” (214). Huck realizes that Jim is in need of assistance so he decides to do what is morally correct, which is to help Jim escape. Huck decides to act on his morals rather than be held captive by society; Huck believes that he has to act in the best interest of Jim and does not consider what society believes is acceptable behavior. By stating that he will “go to hell,” Huck reiterates what he promises Jim in the beginning- that he rather be a “low down abolitionist”; these statements combined supports his feelings to protect Jim from society. When Huck and Tom get back to the house, Huck states, “...it don’t make no difference whether you do right or wrong, a person’s conscience ain’t got no
Since the beginning of time, it has been commonly agreed on that lying is wrong. Think about the beginning of the Bible, the serpent lied to Eve about the tree of good and evil and through this lie mankind now must live with sin. The Bible itself begins with talking about lying at the literal beginning of time. Parents, teachers, friends and religious organizations state that lying is wrong and a sin. Is lying always bad? The real truth is that sometimes lying is the only answer to fix what life throws at people. The lies that Huckleberry Finn told with the intent of saving Jim are justifiable. While on the other hand, the duke and the dauphin angered the readers every time these con men opened their mouths. What makes a lie good or bad? Is
Huckleberry Finn 's journey is far more than a journey up the Mississippi - it is a journey from boyhood to adulthood. How did the decisions he had to make during the journey help him to mature, and what were the two or three most important lessons he learned during the journey?
In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck and Jim bond closely to one another, regardless of the fact that they belong to different ethnic groups. Huck, a coming-of-age teenage boy, lives in the Southern antebellum society which favors slavery. At the beginning of the book, Twain claims that “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; and persons attempting to find a plot will be shot” (Twain 2). Ironically, through his experiences with Jim, the uncivilized Huck gradually establishes his own moral beliefs, although sometimes struggling against the influence of society.
Judging someone for their race, ethnicity, or skin color is never portrayed as the right thing to do. However, these are some of the main themes in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This was taken place before the Civil War, when slavery was still legal. When Huck Finn and Jim meet, even though Jim is a slave, they connect immediately. Their friendship grows stronger and stronger as the novel continues, it got to the point where Jim was not only a friend, but a father figure to Huck. There was a couple of times where Huck realized that what he was doing was not only wrong, but illegal, and wondered if he should do the right thing, but decided against it. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck sees Jim as a slave, friend, and a father
Jim, a runaway slave, is the most influential individual when it comes to Huck’s moral development. During the beginning of the novel, Huck’s morals are primarily based on what he has learned from Miss Watson. Huck begins to become wary of such ideals that Miss Watson has imposed on him, and decided all he wanted “…was a change” (Twain 10). As Huck escapes from society by running away he had the chance of running into Jim on Jackson Island. During this time Huck displays his moral growth after playing a trick on Jim. Huck displays his moral growth because after placing a snake skin under Jim’s blanket, which eventually causes Jim to be bitten by a snake, he
This is the climax of the novel, in which many of the underlying themes are made clear. Huck’s morals overcome his fear for punishment, and he is determined to help Jim even if he has to go to hell for it. Furthermore, Jim is a runaway slave, and in the context of the story, helping a runaway slave, albeit one that was sold and has a new owner, would be almost traitorous to Huck’s community.
In order to get some drinking money the men sell of Jim for forty dollars. Huck is deeply upset at the news and tries to think of a way to get Jim back. Once Huck realises writing to Jim’s original owner isn’t an option he becomes distressed. He thinks that God put him in this situation for stealing Jim and that he should ask for forgiveness so he makes an attempt at prayer. He asks God to help get Jim back home to his owner. Huck quickly realises that this isn’t what he wishes. He decides that instead of doing the “right” thing and turning in Jim he will face the consequences of helping him escape, even if that means going to hell for
In the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the reader gauges morality through the misadventures of Huck and Jim. Notably, Huck morally matures as his perspective on society evolves into a spectrum of right and wrong. Though he is still a child, his growth yields the previous notions of immaturity and innocence. Likewise, Mark Twain emphasizes compelling matters and issues in society, such as religion, racism, and greed. During the span of Huck’s journey, he evolves morally and ethically through his critique of societal normalities.