Huckleberry Finn And Jim's Relationship

Mark Twain, the father of American literature, was a prestigious humorist and satirist in late 19th century. His thorough understanding of American society and familiarity with children’s physiology left a deep imprint on the history of American literature. As one of the his most representative works, the Adventure of Huckleberry Finn depicts the experience of Huck, a southern boy, and Jim, a runaway slave, on the Mississippi River and the relationships and conflicts between them. Those conflicts originate from the inherited racial differences between Huck and Jim including their life experience and educational background. Furthermore, the conflicts also significantly contribute to the theme of the novel such as the confrontation between freedom and enslavement, the conflict between social convention and conscience, the hypocrisy of civilized society and the moral progress of a adolescent. Although there was no kinship between Huck and Jim and the latter was not even considered as a human being by society at that time, their parental relationship could still be observed. Although Jim was …show more content…
Huck disbelieved in Jim’s superstition about handling the snakeskin and asserted that his action might actually bring good luck. Huck’s naughtiness and childish nature eventually caused Jim to be bit by a rattlesnake. Playing the prank on Jim showed that Huck still differentiated Jim from normal white people and did not considered Jim as his companion. However, the relationship between Huck and Jim altered significantly after this conflict. Jim attributed all his misfortune to bad luck instead of suspecting Huck of his shortsighted prank. Jim’s liberality and forgiveness made Huck feel remorseful about his inconsiderate behaviors and induced more sense of equality between them in Huck’s mind. Thereafter, Huck and Jim treated each other more like companions without differences in