Joyce Banda,former president of Malawi, once said “I learned that leadership is about falling in love with the people and the people falling in love with you. It is about serving the people with selflessness, with sacrifice, and with the need to put the common good ahead of personal interests.” A quote that perfectly depicts the heart of many, and how Mark Twain depicts Jim in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Jim,a runaway slave, demonstrates selflessness, loyalty, and morality. Despite all the turn in events his character remains unchanged. 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, …show more content…
Jim not only demonstrates loyalty towards Huck but also extends that loyalty towards Huck’s friends as well. In the novel Jim states,"white genlman dat ever kep' his promise to ole Jim", and with this quote Jim expresses how he is eternally grateful. Since Huck keeps his promise to Jim, he repays Huck by remaining loyal to him. Jim also shelters Huck from the fact that his father is
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Show MoreIf Jim had been rude, careless or cold towards him, Huck would’ve never made the decision to save him. Instead, remembering all their times together forces him to make a moral decision which is against his society’s laws and morals. Huck knows that leaving Jim in captivity would be immoral behavior on his part because Jim had done so much for him. Jim’s positive and good nature character is the thing that forces Huck to make a moral decision to save
Huck starts to seriously consider turning Jim in. While he does not believe in slavery, he is deeply disturbed by the idea of Jim stealing his children away from their owner. Despite the paternal bond between Jim and his children, Huck does not believe he should have the right to them, since they are owned by someone else. Huck literally states that he thinks lower of Jim for this, saying, “I was sorry to hear Jim say that, it was such a lowering of him,” (Twain). This is ironic, since Huck’s father was given rights to him purely based on blood but he believes Jim should not be allowed custody of his children based purely off of his social standing.
In the book, Jim has to be careful not to make any bold decisions that will make white people get upset with him and punish him or get someone else to punish him. Therefore, in order to stay on the good side of people, he is many times very submissive. Jim also loved his family very much. Even after he runs away from his master, Jim misses his family bitterly and hopes that they are okay, which reveals his great love for them. And finally Jim is very much fascinated with the idea of the supernatural world.
In Chapter 16, when Huck sees Jim’s reaction to being near freedom, Huck describes his feeling as, “miserable”, “abusing”, “scorched”, and “die”. Although Jim is happy to face his future, Huck becomes burdened by societal beliefs and more importantly, his own moral values. For Huck, bestowing freedom to a slave is shameful and unethical; no different from one’s “property”. This also implies that Huck values the societies view more than his relationship with Jim. Later on, Huck’s view of the past changes as he separates his own conscience from the societal values.
Tom also doesn't know how this could be hindering Jim from staying a free man. **The author describes the image of Huck and Tom trying to tell Jim everything is okay, "But Tom he showed him how unregular it would be, and set down and told him all about our plans, . . . and not be the least afraid, because we would see he got away. So Jim he said it was all right," (Twain 224) Trying to looking from Jim perceptive. He was alright with all that is happening to him because he trusted them so much.
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.
All along his society and upbringings have told him that slavery is rift and stealing is wrong. Huck begins to love Jim because he taught him how to be a better human being, and they soon become inseparable. Huck finally views him or as a slave but equal to everyone else in
No matter what happened, Jim was always there for Huck, and Huck was always there for Jim. Even though in the beginning of the novel Huck started questioning what he was doing. Jim showed Huck that you don’t have to be the same skin color or ethnicity, or anything to be friends and care about one
Jim’s ability to oversee what he was, shows how deep and sophisticated Jim’s character is. Jim’s move to maturity is also signifyingly evident, Jim’s nature of being a man before his time is shown through his way of viewing the war after his involvement in the Great War. “The world when you looked from both sides was quite other than a placid, slow-moving dream, without change of climate or colour and a time and place for all.” (pg. 103). Jim’s character has grown up from his innocence, his has lost his vison of a beautiful world, and has shown that all the beauty of nature has no place in a war.
This transition is the result of the extended period of time that the two spend together, which allows Huck to look past the differences that he has been taught to observe for his entire life and view Jim for what he is; a fellow man. By the end of this passage, Huck’s resolve to do right by Jim is so strong that he is willing to suffer eternal damnation rather than betray Jim. Perhaps Huck’s most important statement in this passage is “Alright then, I’ll go to hell”; here he decides he’s willing to go to hell for eternity rather than causing Jim to return to his life as a slave. At first Huck just thought of Jim the property of another person, a good to be bought and sold regardless of any evidence that he was a human being. As they travel together, this viewpoint is gradually weakened by examples of Jim’s humanity, culminating in a model shift that goes against everything Huck has been taught about the societal status of a
Although there are numerous instances where Huck’s moral growth can be seen, the individuals around such as Jim, will influence his moral growth greatly. 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).
The Light of Friendship born on the Mississippi River Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the relationship between Huck and Jim are the main topic of the whole book. They all had their own personality and characteristics. The relationship between Huck and Jim changes as the story goes on. In the very beginning, it was clear that Huck considers Jim as a slave, on the other hand, Huck did not regard Jim as a normal human like himself.
Huck has been burned with the idea that he is to blame for Jim’s escape. Huck ultimately feels guilty because he knows he has not done wrong but he has no reason not to believe what society thinks because he was only taught one way. Huck imagines an alternate scenario, thinking “s’pose [he]’d’ a’ done right and give Jim up, would [he] felt better... No…[he'd] feel bad” (91). Huck is aware that the right decision based on society is to give up Jim.
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.
Naturally, as his bond with Jim cultivates, Huck unknowingly treats him as a human. Through Huck’s sensibility, he states, “It didn’t take me long to make up my mind that these liars warn’t no kings nor dukes at all … I hadn’t no objections, ‘long as it would keep peace in the family; and it warn’t no use to tell Jim, so I didn’t tell him” (Twain 125). Correspondingly, Huck gains a consideration for Jim and his personal feelings, which he expresses nonchalantly through motley aspects of their journey.