Essay On Huck Finn Selflessness
In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck, a young thirteen-year-old boy, meets a runaway slave named, Jim. The two create such a unique friendship in the literary world. As these two characters build their relationship they learn much about respect, selflessness, and family, Huck most of all.
Huck was brought up in a society that devalued slaves, so when Huck and Jim meet, Huck immediately thinks Jim is just a piece of property and a nobody. At one point he thinks to himself, "It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger," (86). Later Huck feels very bad about saying this. Huck had a difficult time humbling himself to apologize. Eventually, he does and Jim forgives him. Thankful for Jim's forgiveness, Huck learns to …show more content…
If Huck was too tired to take his night shifts, Jim would take over Huck's shift. Through this act of kindness, Jim showed himself to be a selfless person. When Jim was captured, Huck did everything he could to free Jim. In this, Huck revealed himself as loyal and a self-sacrificing companion to Jim.
Due to the loss of his mother and having to run from an abusive father, Huck longed for kindness and support. Jim was the only character in this novel to do just that. For instance, when Huck and Jim come upon a floating cabin, Jim tells Huck not to look at the dead man inside the house. Jim protectively tells Huck, "Come in, Huck, but doan' look at his face—it’s too gashly" (50). The dead man turned out to be Huck’s father. Jim, however, did not want Huck to see his dead father. This is just one example of how Jim was like a father to Huck, or in fact, an even better father than Huck’s birth father.
Huck and Jim's father-son relationship was truly unique. However, Huck was more affected in the relationship than Jim. Huck learned to respect Jim. He learned to look for the best in others. And he finally learned what it was like to have a
Huck was brought up in a society that devalued slaves, so when Huck and Jim meet, Huck immediately thinks Jim is just a piece of property and a nobody. At one point he thinks to himself, "It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger," (86). Later Huck feels very bad about saying this. Huck had a difficult time humbling himself to apologize. Eventually, he does and Jim forgives him. Thankful for Jim's forgiveness, Huck learns to …show more content…
If Huck was too tired to take his night shifts, Jim would take over Huck's shift. Through this act of kindness, Jim showed himself to be a selfless person. When Jim was captured, Huck did everything he could to free Jim. In this, Huck revealed himself as loyal and a self-sacrificing companion to Jim.
Due to the loss of his mother and having to run from an abusive father, Huck longed for kindness and support. Jim was the only character in this novel to do just that. For instance, when Huck and Jim come upon a floating cabin, Jim tells Huck not to look at the dead man inside the house. Jim protectively tells Huck, "Come in, Huck, but doan' look at his face—it’s too gashly" (50). The dead man turned out to be Huck’s father. Jim, however, did not want Huck to see his dead father. This is just one example of how Jim was like a father to Huck, or in fact, an even better father than Huck’s birth father.
Huck and Jim's father-son relationship was truly unique. However, Huck was more affected in the relationship than Jim. Huck learned to respect Jim. He learned to look for the best in others. And he finally learned what it was like to have a