In Mark Twain’s era, people generally agreed that both a good-for-nothing kid and a slave were worthless. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is from the perspective of a good-for-nothing kid, Huck, that attempts help a runaway slave named Jim escape to the North. These two worthless characters went against the stereotypes the South had given them. Huck was able to prove these stereotypes wrong and force people to listen to him, all while having an adventure. By shifting the point of view from Huck to Jim, Twain would have left out important stories, dived into the mind of a slave, and lost the ability to force his readers to think. Huck was in the shadows for a large portion of the book. Huck was always there and saw
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There were many times that Jim was alone and to himself. While Huck was out having the adventure, Jim was forced to stay by the raft, stay hidden, or stay locked up as a slave. That is, one morning, after Jim had stayed up all night to stay watch, Huck saw that, “he was setting there with his head down betwixt his knees, moaning and mourning to himself” (180). Jim was crying about his children and his wife. Jim still felt guilty about slapping his deaf daughter and surely if the story would have been told in Jim’s perspective that would have come up multiple times. Jim was not supposed to be able to feel emotions as a slave. While a reader could read this, it has no meaning because Jim is not a human being in the eyes of those of the South. Only when someone white (Huck) acknowledges and understands this, it scares the reader into considering the possibility that slaves are human …show more content…
In fact, Jim’s value would have been lost if he narrated the story rather than Huck. Huck values himself as a good-for-nothing kid and throughout the story Jim shows him differently. If Jim were to narrate the story, Jim would have been presented as a good-for-nothing human being since he is a slave and Huck would be the one to show Jim his value, but the story’s value would have been lost. Huck may have seen Jim’s value as a human being, but the rest of the world would disregard this coming from a slave’s perspective. Furthermore, one of Huck’s inner thoughts is, “I knowed he was white inside, and I reckoned he’d say what he did say- so it was all right, now” (305). Huck is acknowledging the fact that Jim is a real human being. Without Huck’s perspective, no one would have heard that thought. No reader would have been forced to agree or disagree with Huck’s opinion if the story was told from Jim’s point of view. In short, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written in Huck’s point of view because he completed the story, he gave meaning to, and he forced readers to think differently. Through his narration, Huck gives value to Jim, but Jim could never gain that value without Huck. Huck was always in the middle of the story, without necessarily having to be the center of attention. This left Jim to himself on the outskirts. While Jim was with his own self, Huck used the
There were many times that Jim was alone and to himself. While Huck was out having the adventure, Jim was forced to stay by the raft, stay hidden, or stay locked up as a slave. That is, one morning, after Jim had stayed up all night to stay watch, Huck saw that, “he was setting there with his head down betwixt his knees, moaning and mourning to himself” (180). Jim was crying about his children and his wife. Jim still felt guilty about slapping his deaf daughter and surely if the story would have been told in Jim’s perspective that would have come up multiple times. Jim was not supposed to be able to feel emotions as a slave. While a reader could read this, it has no meaning because Jim is not a human being in the eyes of those of the South. Only when someone white (Huck) acknowledges and understands this, it scares the reader into considering the possibility that slaves are human …show more content…
In fact, Jim’s value would have been lost if he narrated the story rather than Huck. Huck values himself as a good-for-nothing kid and throughout the story Jim shows him differently. If Jim were to narrate the story, Jim would have been presented as a good-for-nothing human being since he is a slave and Huck would be the one to show Jim his value, but the story’s value would have been lost. Huck may have seen Jim’s value as a human being, but the rest of the world would disregard this coming from a slave’s perspective. Furthermore, one of Huck’s inner thoughts is, “I knowed he was white inside, and I reckoned he’d say what he did say- so it was all right, now” (305). Huck is acknowledging the fact that Jim is a real human being. Without Huck’s perspective, no one would have heard that thought. No reader would have been forced to agree or disagree with Huck’s opinion if the story was told from Jim’s point of view. In short, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written in Huck’s point of view because he completed the story, he gave meaning to, and he forced readers to think differently. Through his narration, Huck gives value to Jim, but Jim could never gain that value without Huck. Huck was always in the middle of the story, without necessarily having to be the center of attention. This left Jim to himself on the outskirts. While Jim was with his own self, Huck used the