Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - Analysis of Chapter 1-15

Chapter 1-15 - Analysis

In the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck’s relationship with Jim becomes increasingly close and respected as these chapters unwind. In the beginning of the book, both Huck and Jim are only briefly acquitted due to Jim working for Miss Watson as a slave, who happens to be Huck’s legal guardian at the time. Even though both characters live under the same roof, neither of them pay much attention to one another due to the fact that slaves in the 1800s, degraded by the term “niggers”, would not be accepted into the white community as anything more. However, despite Huck barely knowing him, he had noticed “Miss Watson’s big nigger, named Jim”(pg. 6) was physically large, very superstitious but capable of interpreting signs that could provide useful information. We know this since Huck mentions that “Jim, had a hair-ball as big as your fist, which had been took out of the fourth stomach of an ox, and he used to do magic with it. He said there was a spirit inside of it, and it knowed everything. So I went to him that night and told him pap was here again, for I found his tracks in the snow. What I wanted to know, was, what he was going to do, and was he going to stay?”. Once Huck’s journey starts by sailing down the Mississippi River he eventually comes across an island where he meets Jim once again. As both characters have a common ground as to why they had ran away from their previous destinations, they decided to stick together and camp out for a couple of days. During this time, Huck pulled a childish prank on Jim which resulted in Jim’s leg swelling from a very poisonous snake bite. Even though Huck had caused Jim great pain, he decided to ignore it and “judged he was all right;”(pg. 55); however, he “slid out quiet and throwed the snakes clear away amongst the bushes; for I warn’t going to let Jim find out it was all my fault, not if I could help it”(pg.55) which shows that he had little remorse for his actions and had no means to apologize. Later in Chapter. 15, Huck and Jim are separated by fog while going down the river. Eventually Huck finds the boat and is reunited with a rather drowsy Jim. Once Jim awakens he immediately shows his sincerest happiness to Huck’s survival. Unfortunately, for Jim, Huck’s childish behaviour brings him to say “Gone away? Why, what in the nation do you mean? I hain’t been gone anywheres. Where would I go to?”(pg.87). However, Jim knows it was no dream of his and figures out that Huck had been lying and teasing him the entire time. We know that Jim is extremely offended by Huck’s behaviour as he says “When I got all wore out wid work, en wid de callin’ dor you, en went to sleep, my heart wuz broke bekase you wuz los’, en I didn’ k’yer no mo’ what become er me en de raf’. En when I wake up en fine you back agin’, all safe en soun’, de tears come en I could a got down on my knees en kiss’ yo’ foot I’s so thankful. En all you wuz thinkin bout’ wuz how you could make a fool uv ole Jim wid a lie. Dat truck dah is trash; en trash is what people is date dat puts dirt on de head er dey fren’s en makes ‘em ashamed.”(pg.89) meaning that he couldn’t have been more worried when he had lost Huck and couldn’t have been any happier when they were united, but could not understand why he would ever treat him in that way. Huck responds by saying “It made me feel so means I could almost kissed his foot to get him to take it back.”(pg. 89) and this is the first time he actually feels guilt for his actions towards Jim, so guilty in fact, that Huck brings himself to apologize. This is a revolutionary moment in the book as both a white man and a slave are on moral ground of respect and resembles how close these two characters have become throughout these chapters.