The Adventures of Huck Finn

Through this scene, the reader learns that Jim is sincere, trustworthy, and mature—though stubborn as well. On the contrary, Huck behaves in a childish manner, which makes the reader unsure if he will help Jim attain freedom. The pre-Civil War setting of the novel clearly emphasizes the difference between Huck and Jim, in color and class.

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Huck’s loyalty is tested when two white men searching for runaway slaves confront him. He lies to the white men by saying, “pap’s sick—and so is mam and Mary Ann,” so that the men do not search the boat where Jim is hiding (87). Clearly, Huck did not intend on hurting Jim’s feelings, but because he did, Huck learns an important lesson in life: to not harm others in any way—especially those one cares about. Jim shows that he is a man of courage, while Huck proves to be a man of compassion and reliability. In the next chapter, Huck debates whether he should turn Jim in or help him. This mutual integrity resolves Jim’s fate, which is freedom from inhumanity. After Jim rebukes him, Huck says, “It made me feel so mean I could almost kissed his foot to get him to take it back. Jim literally calls Huck trash, which was something very unusual for a black man to say to a white man in the pre-Civil War time period. Jim knows that they need to help each other through their future adventures. Jim says to Huck, “Dah you goes, de ole true Huck; de on’y white genlman dat ever kep’ his promise to old Jim” (87). After hearing this reminder, Huck realizes that he must be a man of his word, which demonstrates his sincerity, even towards people who he sees as being in a lower class than he. Dat truck dah is trash; en trash is what people is dat puts dirt on de head er dey fren’s en makes ‘em ashamed” (84). If he got a notion in his head once, there warn’t no getting it out again” (76). This side of Jim is shown by his arguments with Huck about King Solomon and the Frenchman and also his attitude towards adventures. The reader can conclude that Jim and Huck’s friendship has grown and will continue to grow after this incident.

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Approximate Word count = 1286
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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