The first example is when Jim asks Huck a question. It goes as so: “Why, Huck, doan’ de French people talk de same way we does?” (Twain 71). When Huck and Jim go on talking about French people, Jim drops the question because he doesn’t understand the concept of another language. However, it shows the wisdom in Jim because it shows Jim’s willingness to expand what he knows, he is not afraid to ask and doesn’t pretend he knows what he is talking about. Another show of intelligence by Jim is his fortune telling secret. Near the beginning of the story, Huck asks Jim to tell a fortune with his giant hair ball which he claimed magical. The hairball wouldn’t talk, and Jim says “Sometimes it won’t talk without money” (Twain 16). What really shows intelligence or wisdom in this is that Jim is a slave. He has gotten no opportunity for education, yet he uses superstition in his advantage. Despite him swindling people like that, it still shows a great mental capacity inside Jim. The last argument for Jim’s wisdom is the lecture and argument about Solomon, and if he was wise. Jim pleads the question : “Yit dey say Sollermun de wises’ man dat ever live’. I doan take no stock in dat. Bekase why: Would a wise man want to live in de mids’ er sich a blim-blammin’ all de time?” (Twain 70). Essentially, Jim is thinking about how Solomon had so many wives, and thinking from real-life his experience, does not think Solomon would be wise to live in such a hectic environment. What shows his wisdom is that Jim seems to argue it seemingly off of his years of life and experience, and argues the point to teach Huck what he thinks. That is what shows Jim’s wisdom about what he said. Altogether, these points argue Jim’s wisdom, one of the hallmark traits of a parent, but what also reflects his role as a father figure are the moments when he passes his
The first example is when Jim asks Huck a question. It goes as so: “Why, Huck, doan’ de French people talk de same way we does?” (Twain 71). When Huck and Jim go on talking about French people, Jim drops the question because he doesn’t understand the concept of another language. However, it shows the wisdom in Jim because it shows Jim’s willingness to expand what he knows, he is not afraid to ask and doesn’t pretend he knows what he is talking about. Another show of intelligence by Jim is his fortune telling secret. Near the beginning of the story, Huck asks Jim to tell a fortune with his giant hair ball which he claimed magical. The hairball wouldn’t talk, and Jim says “Sometimes it won’t talk without money” (Twain 16). What really shows intelligence or wisdom in this is that Jim is a slave. He has gotten no opportunity for education, yet he uses superstition in his advantage. Despite him swindling people like that, it still shows a great mental capacity inside Jim. The last argument for Jim’s wisdom is the lecture and argument about Solomon, and if he was wise. Jim pleads the question : “Yit dey say Sollermun de wises’ man dat ever live’. I doan take no stock in dat. Bekase why: Would a wise man want to live in de mids’ er sich a blim-blammin’ all de time?” (Twain 70). Essentially, Jim is thinking about how Solomon had so many wives, and thinking from real-life his experience, does not think Solomon would be wise to live in such a hectic environment. What shows his wisdom is that Jim seems to argue it seemingly off of his years of life and experience, and argues the point to teach Huck what he thinks. That is what shows Jim’s wisdom about what he said. Altogether, these points argue Jim’s wisdom, one of the hallmark traits of a parent, but what also reflects his role as a father figure are the moments when he passes his