Near the end of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer reveals that the convoluted escape plan that he drew up for Jim was entirely unnecessary, because Jim was freed two months ago in Miss Watson’s will when she passed away. Many scholars have criticized this plot twist, claiming that it turns the novel into a mere boyish romp through the Deep South. If we take a closer look, however, we can find in the novel’s ending a harsh criticism of white people’s apathy toward African-Americans’ suffering.
Jim endures all sorts of obstacles in his journey to freedom, and in each precarious situation must prove himself to be braver, cleverer, and more resourceful than the people he is outrunning. In the end, though, none of his efforts matter. His …show more content…
The first time Tom Sawyer makes an appearance, he is playing a prank on Jim. Tom “slipped Jim’s hat off of his head and hung it on a limb right over him […] Afterwards Jim said the witches bewitched him and put him in a trance” (Twain, 134). Already we see Tom’s disrespect for Jim—he finds Jim’s superstitious beliefs hilarious, and he encourages Huck to join in on poking fun at him. It is crucial to note that Tom is not playing pranks on Jim because he hates him. Nowhere does Tom express any feelings, positive or negative, toward Jim. Jim, being a black slave, is simply an easy target, a fact which Tom exploits for his own …show more content…
Huck dislikes her, but the worst thing she does to him is scold him, saying things like, “Don’t put your feet up there, Huckleberry” (132). Soon, though, we find out she has broken her promise to Jim never to sell him away from his family. “I hear ole missus tell de widder she gwyne to sell me down to Orleans, but she didn’ want to, but she could git eight hund’d dollars for me, en it ‘uz sich a big stack o’ money she couldn’ resis’” (157). This betrayal is felt keenly by Jim, no matter how sympathetically he tries to view Miss Watson. Later in the novel he says to Huck, “Dah you goes, de ole true Huck; de on’y white genlman dat ever kep’ his promise to ole Jim” (185). We never see or hear of Miss Watson again until Tom’s big reveal. He notes, “Old Miss Watson died two months ago, and she was ashamed she ever was going to sell him down the river, and said so” (307). Readers must question the truth of this statement. Jim is a runaway slave who, for the past two months, has been suspected of murdering Huck Finn. Is it likely that Miss Watson would set a slave and potential murderer free, and feel “ashamed” that she had ever planned to sell him? It seems more plausible that Miss Watson’s will was simply her way of admitting defeat: Jim had run off and would probably never be found, and therefore could not be passed down to anyone anyway. Without recognizing this point, we risk viewing Miss Watson as a
Jim endures all sorts of obstacles in his journey to freedom, and in each precarious situation must prove himself to be braver, cleverer, and more resourceful than the people he is outrunning. In the end, though, none of his efforts matter. His …show more content…
The first time Tom Sawyer makes an appearance, he is playing a prank on Jim. Tom “slipped Jim’s hat off of his head and hung it on a limb right over him […] Afterwards Jim said the witches bewitched him and put him in a trance” (Twain, 134). Already we see Tom’s disrespect for Jim—he finds Jim’s superstitious beliefs hilarious, and he encourages Huck to join in on poking fun at him. It is crucial to note that Tom is not playing pranks on Jim because he hates him. Nowhere does Tom express any feelings, positive or negative, toward Jim. Jim, being a black slave, is simply an easy target, a fact which Tom exploits for his own …show more content…
Huck dislikes her, but the worst thing she does to him is scold him, saying things like, “Don’t put your feet up there, Huckleberry” (132). Soon, though, we find out she has broken her promise to Jim never to sell him away from his family. “I hear ole missus tell de widder she gwyne to sell me down to Orleans, but she didn’ want to, but she could git eight hund’d dollars for me, en it ‘uz sich a big stack o’ money she couldn’ resis’” (157). This betrayal is felt keenly by Jim, no matter how sympathetically he tries to view Miss Watson. Later in the novel he says to Huck, “Dah you goes, de ole true Huck; de on’y white genlman dat ever kep’ his promise to ole Jim” (185). We never see or hear of Miss Watson again until Tom’s big reveal. He notes, “Old Miss Watson died two months ago, and she was ashamed she ever was going to sell him down the river, and said so” (307). Readers must question the truth of this statement. Jim is a runaway slave who, for the past two months, has been suspected of murdering Huck Finn. Is it likely that Miss Watson would set a slave and potential murderer free, and feel “ashamed” that she had ever planned to sell him? It seems more plausible that Miss Watson’s will was simply her way of admitting defeat: Jim had run off and would probably never be found, and therefore could not be passed down to anyone anyway. Without recognizing this point, we risk viewing Miss Watson as a