Huck Meets Jim’s World
Racism has been a prolonged controversy throughout America. The use of racism in America in the 1840s is drawn in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain showing a young boy, Huck, who is growing into society’s morals of racism. These morals has brought Huck to be internally confused whether to help a runaway slave named Jim . Thus leading into Huck’s ever changing relationship with Jim. The novel is mainly about the friendship between Huck and Jim; without their contradicting backgrounds, readers would not be able to cognize their internal struggles and characteristics that has made this novel a masterpiece of American literature. Huck 's perspective towards Jim changes from him thinking that Jim is just property …show more content…
A young boy riding a black man is used as humor to show readers the difference in American society morals of how white Americans perceived blacks. Twain shows slavery represents the social bondage and injustice of African Americans in the early 1900s. Huck and Jim both have had to run into several crisis such as slave hunters, con artists that had put Jim’s freedom and life in danger. As Huck and Jim return to the shore, Huck says, “We all got home safe...hadn’t no accidents, and didn’t see nobody” (Twain, 1997, p. 62) shows that being “safe” was not being uninjured. Huck meant safe in a way the encompasses the particularities of jim’s situation as well as his own. Not having any accidents is Huck’s own individual criterion for safety but not seeing anyone and not being seen is Jim’s criterion. Since Jim remains free as long as he remains unseen by others who could not enslave him such as the slave hunters and con artists, the king and Duke. Huck infers “we” to show that if Jim is in danger than Huck is in danger. Huck could also be in danger for being caught of helping a runaway slave. The social bondage that Twain shows through slavery is the sympathy Miss Watson and Huck show when Jim escaped from slavery. Before Miss Watson died, she wrote in her will to free Jim since she felt remorse for Jim escaping slavery. Huck feels a sense of loyalty …show more content…
He is seen as an innocent character since he is only fourteen years old and is easily influenced by adventure. He is unfearful about his adventures such as going to an abandon house and stealing useful things, going on a ship which had robbers in them, and meeting different people from around the states. Huck does not realize the fear Jim has everyday from being caught as a runaway slave. He is corrupted by social influences such as Miss Watson owning slaves even though she teaches Jim about religion and the right and wrongs of life. Another person Huck was corrupted by with his morals is his Pap, “They said he could VOTE when he was at home. Well, that let me out. Thinks I, what is the country a-coming to? It was ’election day, and I was just about to go and vote myself if I warn’t too drunk to get there; but when they told me there was a State in this country where they’d let that nigger vote, I drawed out. I says I’ll never vote again….And to see the cool way of that nigger.” (Twain, 1997, p. 38) Pap is seen as a believer in slavery who looks down upon blacks. Many Americans in the early 1900s felt the same way Pap had felt about a free black man. It seems that Pap has seen blacks as slaves for too long that he believes that the only use for a black is labor. Seeing that Huck went to school frustrated Pap because he was going to be smarter than his own father, is similar to the black man
Racism has been a prolonged controversy throughout America. The use of racism in America in the 1840s is drawn in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain showing a young boy, Huck, who is growing into society’s morals of racism. These morals has brought Huck to be internally confused whether to help a runaway slave named Jim . Thus leading into Huck’s ever changing relationship with Jim. The novel is mainly about the friendship between Huck and Jim; without their contradicting backgrounds, readers would not be able to cognize their internal struggles and characteristics that has made this novel a masterpiece of American literature. Huck 's perspective towards Jim changes from him thinking that Jim is just property …show more content…
A young boy riding a black man is used as humor to show readers the difference in American society morals of how white Americans perceived blacks. Twain shows slavery represents the social bondage and injustice of African Americans in the early 1900s. Huck and Jim both have had to run into several crisis such as slave hunters, con artists that had put Jim’s freedom and life in danger. As Huck and Jim return to the shore, Huck says, “We all got home safe...hadn’t no accidents, and didn’t see nobody” (Twain, 1997, p. 62) shows that being “safe” was not being uninjured. Huck meant safe in a way the encompasses the particularities of jim’s situation as well as his own. Not having any accidents is Huck’s own individual criterion for safety but not seeing anyone and not being seen is Jim’s criterion. Since Jim remains free as long as he remains unseen by others who could not enslave him such as the slave hunters and con artists, the king and Duke. Huck infers “we” to show that if Jim is in danger than Huck is in danger. Huck could also be in danger for being caught of helping a runaway slave. The social bondage that Twain shows through slavery is the sympathy Miss Watson and Huck show when Jim escaped from slavery. Before Miss Watson died, she wrote in her will to free Jim since she felt remorse for Jim escaping slavery. Huck feels a sense of loyalty …show more content…
He is seen as an innocent character since he is only fourteen years old and is easily influenced by adventure. He is unfearful about his adventures such as going to an abandon house and stealing useful things, going on a ship which had robbers in them, and meeting different people from around the states. Huck does not realize the fear Jim has everyday from being caught as a runaway slave. He is corrupted by social influences such as Miss Watson owning slaves even though she teaches Jim about religion and the right and wrongs of life. Another person Huck was corrupted by with his morals is his Pap, “They said he could VOTE when he was at home. Well, that let me out. Thinks I, what is the country a-coming to? It was ’election day, and I was just about to go and vote myself if I warn’t too drunk to get there; but when they told me there was a State in this country where they’d let that nigger vote, I drawed out. I says I’ll never vote again….And to see the cool way of that nigger.” (Twain, 1997, p. 38) Pap is seen as a believer in slavery who looks down upon blacks. Many Americans in the early 1900s felt the same way Pap had felt about a free black man. It seems that Pap has seen blacks as slaves for too long that he believes that the only use for a black is labor. Seeing that Huck went to school frustrated Pap because he was going to be smarter than his own father, is similar to the black man