In this novel, Jim symbolizes all enslaved blacks of the South in this time period. He was very under-educated, was illiterate, and hadn’t been out in the world. He is also thought of as not being privileged with the same rights as white people. This part of the symbol of Jim is shown through his discussion with Huck about running away, “Well, I b 'lieve you, Huck. I—I RUN OFF.” In this portion of the story, Huck and Jim admit to each other their plans of running away with one another, yet at the initial thought of this, Huck is astounded. He doesn’t believe it is okay for Jim to leave an abusive situation, yet he sees no problem with himself leaving for the same reason. This shows how people in this time period thought of the black population as lesser than the white population. Jim clearly symbolizes the idea of slavery at the time in which the story takes
In this novel, Jim symbolizes all enslaved blacks of the South in this time period. He was very under-educated, was illiterate, and hadn’t been out in the world. He is also thought of as not being privileged with the same rights as white people. This part of the symbol of Jim is shown through his discussion with Huck about running away, “Well, I b 'lieve you, Huck. I—I RUN OFF.” In this portion of the story, Huck and Jim admit to each other their plans of running away with one another, yet at the initial thought of this, Huck is astounded. He doesn’t believe it is okay for Jim to leave an abusive situation, yet he sees no problem with himself leaving for the same reason. This shows how people in this time period thought of the black population as lesser than the white population. Jim clearly symbolizes the idea of slavery at the time in which the story takes