Huck Finn Racism Analysis

Although Huck remained racist throughout the adventure, arguments could be made that Huck went through a different type of change, the most common type of change being his transition from a follower to a leader. Huck Finn was undoubtedly a follower before he escaped from his abusive father. Growing up in the south, Huck has always been taught that slaves were inferior to white people. However, because Huck was also brought up by his dad, who was the town drunkard, he not only compared himself to slaves, but also compared himself to other white children. Because of this, he subconsciously classified himself as above slaves but below other white children of privilege. This classification ends up explaining most of the false notions of leadership …show more content…
When Huck was with Tom Sawyer, he would always assume an inferior position, always conceding to him when there was a difference in opinions or ideas. This was the result of their two completely different upbringings, as Tom Sawyer grew up in a civilized household, as opposed to Huck, who grew up alone with a drunk and abusive father. Despite being polar opposites of one another, Huck ends up following Tom, insofar as to even dream the same things Tom does: he hopes to go on an adventure just like the ones described by Tom Sawyer. That is why when Huck was alone with Jim, he would naturally assume the position of Tom. Just like how he would be subservient to Tom, Jim was in no position to question Huck, someone who was “superior” to him in every aspect. This led to a false view of Huck maturing and evolving into a leader, as Huck would make decisions such as boarding the shipwreck when Jim was in obvious disapproval. All this would unravel when he meets Tom Sawyer again while trying to free Jim from Aunt Sally. While he realized that he wanted to free Jim, he was unable to assert any of the “leadership” he gained from his journey with Jim; in fact, he “never said nothing, because I warn’t expecting nothing different; but I knowed mighty well that whenever he got his plan ready it wouldn’t have none of them objections to it” (242). Although Huck knew that following Tom’s plan would lead to complications and excessive risks, he reverts back to the follower that he is, stating that when Tom set his mind to a plan, he would not be able to offer any objections toward it. This further proves the point that Huck did not experience any real change through his journey with