During the pre-civil war era, racism was deeply ingrained into the minds of the white population. They believed that is was morally right for a black to be treated as a slave, that they are inferior to whites. During this time, whites were not ashamed to call blacks names, such as the n word, but they did not realize the harm that they were creating. The book, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, mirrors the time period when slavery still existed. Through Huck eyes, he sees the actions and hears the words of those around him. His world is literal. Through his adventures with Jim, and then the entrance of Tom, the theme of racism appears over and over again. Mark Twain addresses the theme of racism through the actions and words of
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Raised to be a good child, he goes to Sunday school, wears proper clothes, and follows the rules of society. When Tom comes back into the story, many readers think that he has changed his ways, that he has found the moral flaw in society, when he says that he will help Huck free Jim. He represents the society. He has conformed to the beliefs that were passed down from generation to generation. The people living in that time period would not remember how slavery started. They just follow it because it has always been in their lives ever since they were little. Being raised by Aunt Polly, Tom was taught the ways that racism is condoned. Although Huck and the reader should have suspected that Tom was not truly part of his plan, when he came up with elaborate plans to "correctly" free Jim. The truth is finally broken when Jim is caught at the end, and Tom burst out, " Why, I wanted the adventure of it; and I 'd a waded neck-deep in blood to - goodness alive AUNT POLLY!" (Twain, 260). The difference between Huck and Tom becomes more evident, Tom 's silly ways are harmful and unnecessary. Tom never wanted to help Jim, but rather he just wanted the adventure. He doesn 't care for Jim, and would let himself, Tom, and Jim to die just to have an …show more content…
Jim ran away from Miss Watson because he overheard that she was thinking about selling Jim down to New Orleans because she could get eight hundred dollars. Twain wanted to show through Jim, how cruel people were at the time, and how those feelings were condoned by society. By running away, if Jim was caught, he could have been killed without knowing the real reason why he ran, to escape being sold. Being a father, and a husband, Jim knew how to care for Huck during their journey. Jim shows the other side of slavery when he takes care of Huck. Jim 's parental instincts kick in when he is with Huck. Being the father figure, he protects Huck through their journey. On Jackson 's island, the two find a dead body, but after Jim examines the body, he tells Huck not to look because Jim knew it was his father. Although Huck 's father was abusive, Jim knew that Huck would still feel some pain of his father death. Jim is not different from any white person who cares about their family, who would protect them from pain if they could. Why should he be treated any
Raised to be a good child, he goes to Sunday school, wears proper clothes, and follows the rules of society. When Tom comes back into the story, many readers think that he has changed his ways, that he has found the moral flaw in society, when he says that he will help Huck free Jim. He represents the society. He has conformed to the beliefs that were passed down from generation to generation. The people living in that time period would not remember how slavery started. They just follow it because it has always been in their lives ever since they were little. Being raised by Aunt Polly, Tom was taught the ways that racism is condoned. Although Huck and the reader should have suspected that Tom was not truly part of his plan, when he came up with elaborate plans to "correctly" free Jim. The truth is finally broken when Jim is caught at the end, and Tom burst out, " Why, I wanted the adventure of it; and I 'd a waded neck-deep in blood to - goodness alive AUNT POLLY!" (Twain, 260). The difference between Huck and Tom becomes more evident, Tom 's silly ways are harmful and unnecessary. Tom never wanted to help Jim, but rather he just wanted the adventure. He doesn 't care for Jim, and would let himself, Tom, and Jim to die just to have an …show more content…
Jim ran away from Miss Watson because he overheard that she was thinking about selling Jim down to New Orleans because she could get eight hundred dollars. Twain wanted to show through Jim, how cruel people were at the time, and how those feelings were condoned by society. By running away, if Jim was caught, he could have been killed without knowing the real reason why he ran, to escape being sold. Being a father, and a husband, Jim knew how to care for Huck during their journey. Jim shows the other side of slavery when he takes care of Huck. Jim 's parental instincts kick in when he is with Huck. Being the father figure, he protects Huck through their journey. On Jackson 's island, the two find a dead body, but after Jim examines the body, he tells Huck not to look because Jim knew it was his father. Although Huck 's father was abusive, Jim knew that Huck would still feel some pain of his father death. Jim is not different from any white person who cares about their family, who would protect them from pain if they could. Why should he be treated any