The definition of a sterotype is, "A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. " In the interactions between Huck and Jim, I do believe that Jim is being stereotyped. Although Jim is perceived as ultimately much more of an adult than any other character in this book, intelligent, and practical, it is shown that that stereotyping is an underlying theme with this character. He is your typical black slave, who believes in all of the superstitions that he was most likely taught to believe him, being from a slave family.
Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain attacks the institution of slavery, by allowing readers to feel empathy for Jim through showing his fears and concerns about running away from Ms.Watson, and the friendship between Jim and Huck. Mark Twain uses Jim to criticize the ideas of slavery society held onto from before the Civil War by causing readers to feel sympathy for him. This can first be seen on page 45 when Jim admits to Huck why he ran away, “She always said she wouldn sell me.. I hear ole misus tel de widder she gwyne to sell me down to Orleans,” (Twain 45). Jim’s fear of being sold shows a side of the slave trade no slave owner ever recognized.
When Huck finds out who took him, he travels to his home, only to find out that the owner is Tom Sawyer’s Uncle Silas. When Huck runs into Tom’s Aunt, she mistakes him for Tom, and he decides to go along with it. Unfortunately for Huck, Tom arrives a short while after, but they devise a plan, Tom pretends to be a cousin, and together they find a way to get Jim out of custody. I think this section of the book really shows Huck’s care and compassion for Jim and that he’s willing to travel to a complete stranger’s house and pretend to be someone he’s not to save him from slavery. I also think that this relationship between Huck and Jim is Twain’s way of showing that everyone deserves to be loved and care for, no matter they’re race or ethnicity.
The book, The Adventures of Huckleberry and Finn, plays with many different controversial topics such as slavery, racism, abuse, and religion. The topic most talked about in this book is slavery/racism because of Huck’s relationship with Jim, a runaway slave. Throughout the book Huck struggles with how he should treat Jim and if he should stick to his morals and what his conscience is telling him or if he should stick to his heart and do what he personally believes is right. He can either turn Jim in back to his owners and into the slave trade, or he can continue to travel with him and help him gain his freedom. Because of this struggle, Huck’s view of Jim changes based on where he is and who he is associating himself with and these factors
This book proves that not everyone who grew up around racism was cruel, as Huck began to love Jim for who he is, despite the society he grew up in. An example of Huck maturing could come from chapter forty, "I knowed he was white inside, and I reckoned he'd say what he did say - so it was all right, now, and I told Tom I was agoing for a doctor." (Twain 301). This quote clearly shows that Huck is maturing, and seeing past the color of Jim's skin. The book shows us how hard it was to grow up in a racist society and not be racist.
Throughout adolescence we are taught that lying is not good, not even a little white lie. But what if this is not true? What if we can benefit from these lies? “A lie told often enough becomes the truth” (Lenin Brainyquote). We see white lies in our everyday lives, but some people use it for the benefit of themselves, rather than others who lie to benefit the people they care about.
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
There are a handful of books read in school that could be considered controversial, but The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn seems to take the cake. This fictional novel by Mark Twain has many lessons and great ideas on maturation, friendship, violence & cruelty in society, African-American history, and morals. Some people, though, don’t see the positives of reading this story. They see the inappropriate language, the stereotypes used against Jim, and the light treatment of the horrors of slavery towards the end of the novel.
Those who feel the novel encourages racism say that because of the stereotypes used when featuring Jim, how Huck and Tom treated Jim, and how often the N-word is brought up Twain had hoped to encourage racism. However there is still strong evidence that proves why that might be a misunderstanding. If twain was intending to encourage racism then why would he make Him seem so much of a better person than the duke, king, and Huck's father. Also when Twain illustrates the black and white symbolism he portrayed Him as white man and Huck's father, who is a white man, as dark and scary. Then throughout the story as a reader you feel empathy for Jim he begins to become one of the favorite characters in the novel.
Bob Marley once said, “Prejudice is a chain, it can hold you. If you prejudice, you can’t move, you keep prejudice for years. Never get nowhere about.” In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, two runaway meet up on the raft to escape to the free state. Huck, one of the runaways is white, running away from abuse from his father.
Huck Finn sailed down the Mississippi and left the life, people, and ideals that he grew up with. Despite what Huck was taught, his moral compass points in different directions as he faces challenges with Jim. Jim is depicted as dumb and serves as comedic relief. However, after Huck was orphaned, Jim became a father figure and best-friend to Huck. With this new role, Twain showed that enslaved African-Americans were people who felt emotions and pain like everyone.
Blacks in the novel are portrayed as superstitious and gullible and it is understandable that many readers are offended by these stereotypes. However, in contrast to these stereotypes, Twain gives us Jim the runaway slave. Jim in many ways contradicts these racial stereotypes: he is resourceful, clever, compassionate, and friend to Huck. When it comes time for Huck to consider telling Miss Watson that her slave has been captured, Huck finds himself in a dilemma. Does he do what he views as “right,” turn Jim in, or does he do the “wrong” thing: helping a slave and true friend who has sacrificed and genuinely cared about Huck’s wellbeing throughout their river raft adventure?
The black man on the back porch is afraid of the rattle snake because it is bad luck, or the innocent little slave is quick to believe everything one tells them at the drop of the hat. These are just some of the many racist stereotypes of the 1840s. A character named Jim is the star African American whom Twain bestoys the mission of being the stereotypical black man to prove a point. He along with his much more pallor companion Huck go on exciting adventures that unfold the events which expose the racist conduct of the time. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain saturates his novel with potent images of acute racism severe enough as to create a satirical mien that exposes the absurdity of prejudice.
But if you look deeper into the meanings of the stpry, Twain uses Jim as a way to talk about ideals such as racism and slavery. Because over the course of the story, Huck starts to see Jim as a person and not just a slave. And in the course of this, we begin to realize that Jim is one of nicest characters
While it is true that the book is racist in many methods, it is also true that Twain, in the novel, was supporting the integration between the two cultures. By doing this, he uses Huck Finn and Jim as the symbolization of what we as an integrated society can accomplish. I believe Betty H. Jones described the concept best in her article Huck and Jim: A Reconsideration, in which she states “Floating along together, Huck and Jim are mentor and student, father and son. Symbolically, Huck and Jim’s dynamic, evolving relationship suggests the resolution of the nation’s problems.” This shows that their friendship could stand for a better future, Until Tom Sawyer appeared and drove their bond off a cliff.
