Huck Finn and Slavery
Mark Twain addresses many themes, especially slavery, in The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn. The setting takes place before the Civil War, which resulted in the abolition of slavery, so slavery plays an important role in the story. Huck Finn, the novel's main character, contemplates supporting and denouncing slavery. Huck's heart tells him that slavery is wrong, but having grown up around it, Huck never knew to oppose it. Huck's internal struggle between listening to his head and following his heart makes a major impact in The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn. Huck Finn's soul could never be contained. Sick of living in society and behaving in a civilized manor, Huck escapes to Jackson's Island. Huck soon discovers that Jim, Ms. Watson's runaway slave, ran away to the island as well. The two soon become friends, and discover that members of their
Huck differs from society in this way. When their adventure ends, Huck chooses his heart and uses his head at the same time. Huck's view of Jim changes from "give a n****r an inch, and he'll take an ell" (88; ch. To many people, slavery feels wrong in their heart, yet no one rebels or tries to stop it. Further along in Huck and Jim's adventure, slave hunters capture Jim and hold him as a prisoner. Although this statement seems racial, it makes Jim and Huck's relationship better. Huck knows that he should turn in a runaway slave, but soon, Jim begins to talk about the life he will lead once he makes it to freedom: "the first thing he would do when he got to a free state he would go to saving up money, he would buy his wife; and then they would both work to buy the Hipp 2two children, and if their master wouldn't sell them, they'd get an Ab'litionist to go and steal them" (88; ch. Huck no longer sees Jim as a slave or a black man, but views him as a friend. This shows that Huck cares for Jim and he does not care about the consequences of getting caught: "You'll say it's [stealing Jim] dirty, low-down business; but what if it is? I'm low-down; and I'm a-going to steal him" (226; ch.
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