In the beginning of chapter 12 of Huckleberry Finn, Huck describes and explains the changes that he and Jim made to the raft during the night. In this project, I was told to recreate the raft and build the modifications Jim added. As I constructed my model raft, I analyzed the changes they made. I realized that although the changes brought about by Jim did provide some comfort, the modifications that were made were not for luxury at all. They were made so that the two of them had shelter, heat, and protection. These changes were defiantly not extra. They were a necessity for their survival.…
Chapter 14: Jim and Huck go through the items salvaged from the robbers' boat. Huck tells Jim stories about kings and queens. Jim expresses his dislike for adventures, pointing out that they could get him killed or captured.…
From chapters 14 to 16, Jim’s most notable qualities such as his gullibility as well as his loyalty to Huck come to light. The effects of his enslavement and his lack of a formal education also become evident, as most of his thoughts and actions from these chapters stem from a sort of innate practicality in thinking that Huck seems to lack. For example, in chapter 14, when the two are talking about how King Solomon threatened to cut a baby in half, Jim thinks that the king really is not so wise, saying, “En what use is half a chile?” (88). Jim, not hearing the whole story about why the King was actually wise, views the Solomon’s threats as just plain useless, and not beneficial to anybody. This practicality, although it sometimes makes Jim…
The first time that the reader is exposed to Huck’s inner turmoil is when he and Jim leave Jake and Bill, the murderers, on the sinking steamship. In chapter thirteen, Huck starts to think about “how dreadful it was, even for…
Chapters seven through thirteen depict Mark Twain’s clear hatred for romanticism through the adventures Huck and Jim partake in these chapters. In chapter eight, Huck finds Jim and they spend a few days hunting fish, smoking pipes, watching the river, and taking the canoe out. This comes to a halt when Huck goes into town for news and talks to new citizen named Mrs. Loftus. Mrs. Loftus tells Huck that her husband will be hunting Jim down by searching the island Huck and Jim inhibit. This is when Huck realizes that they cannot keep living on their dreamlike island anymore and they both had to quickly leave their new home. In chapter twelve, Huck finds a wrecked ship and despite Jim’s pleading, Huck goes onto the wreck and tries to loot it like…
While Huck and Jim struggle to rid themselves of the sordid King and Duke, the King and Duke themselves concoct a crooked plan of their own; they lure Huck away and then sell Jim for a measly forty dollars. Missing his companion, Huck is at a loss. This forces Huck to sit down and reflect hard on the situation. At first, Huck decides to write to write a letter to Miss Watson so his conscience is clear to pray and Jim may be returned to where he belongs. But this does not sit right with Huck as he remembers all the compassion that Jim has shown him.…
Jim then warns Huck not to look at the man's face, which allows Huck to have the motivation to continue his adventure thinking that his father is not dead. Jim continues to stay with Huck and provide him with moral support on the river, serving to develop Huck’s moral development along the way. An example of this moral support is where in Chapter 16, Huck makes up a story to preserve Jim's freedom and then Jim remarks he will never forget Huck's kindness. Huck later experiences a coming of age when he is faced with the ultimate moral dilemma of reporting Jim at the Phelps Farm to Miss Watson. Feeling conflicted about stealing “property” from Miss Watson, he writes a letter which he then crumples up after fully understanding that his letter would harm Jim, who he then realizes is a human being. This incident evokes feelings of regret in Huck, and shows that Huck is the one good person in the novel.…
In chapter 8 on page 41, Huck and Jim seem to grow a bond, a bond that society wouldn’t accept, when Huck later finds out that Jim ran away and were wondering in the woods they seem to develop a close friendship. Huck could have told someone that Jim ran away but instead Huck accepted Jim and took part in an adventure along with Jim.…
Huck’s need for an authority figure is also satisfied when he encounters Jim. They meet on Jackson Island after Huck fakes his own death and Jim runs away from Miss Watson, both doing those things in order to achieve freedom. Their coalition can be seen as the catalyst for Huck’s moral growth, as Huck begins to change his perspective towards Jim from that point on. Right when the two meet, Jim asks Huck to not tell others about him being a runaway slave. Without hesitation, Huck honors Jim and says “I’ll stick to it. Honest injun I will. People would call me a low down Ablitionist and despise me for keeping mum, but that don’t make no difference” (32). This shows that Huck is willing to take criticism for Jim despite it not benefiting him in any way. More importantly, this is the first time that Huck shows indifference towards societal standards. Then, Huck feels concern for Jim for the first time when Huck causes Jim to get bit by a snake by placing a dead rattlesnake on Jim’s bed. Huck acknowledges that the bite was all his fault, and makes up his mind to not play tricks like that again, knowing what he did was wrong. One of the most significant escalations in Huck’s view of Jim occurs when he lies to Jim about his disappearance. When Jim finds out that Huck was lying to him, Jim expresses his disappointment in Huck. Seeing that Jim cares for him engenders Huck to feel sympathetic towards Jim and put himself down to apologize to Jim. This is also the first time that Huck sees Jim as an equal human being, proving that Huck and Jim have a mutually respecting relationship. As T.S. Eliot said, “Huck in fact would be incomplete without Jim, who is almost as notable a creation as Huck himself. Huck is the passive observer of men and events, Jim the submissive sufferer from them; and they are equal in dignity”. In this way, Huck experiences significant growth to his…
Huck learns a variety lessons from the various figures in his childhood, some good and some bad. From his Pap, he learns how to fend for himself and to reject formal society, but he also learns about racism, alcoholism and has to suffer years of abuse. From the Widow and Miss Watson Huck learns about generosity and kindness but also about religious indoctrination and the boundaries of what deemed is acceptable in society. From Jim, Huck learns about love and compassion, trust and honesty as well as the difference between right and wrong. Floating down the Mississippi River Huck learns to challenge social norms and constructs when he decides to help Jim to freedom. The contrasting characters of Pap and The Widow mirror their contrasting beliefs systems. And yet with the help of Jim, one of the only constant characters in the novel huck learns the truth about the world. Huck’s new world image is tested when the King and the Duke, two “rapscallions”, sell Jim to Mr. and Mrs. Felps. Once again attempting to use his own judgment, but erring on the side of his upbringing Huck decides that Jim would be…
Most of the development of their relationship to each other comes in the beginning of the book. During the second half of the book, the character of Jim takes somewhat of a back seat to the rest of the story. Jim is either left behind on the raft, or confined to a cell for most of the chapters after Chapter 19. Despite his infrequent appearances, it is in the last half of the book that the bond of trust is solidified in Huck’s heart. When Huck decides that he will free Jim and declares, "All right, then, I’ll go to hell," (pg. 206) he bases that decision on events that have brought the two closer during the trip, such as the foggy night and the time Huck saved Jim by saying he had smallpox. These are probably two of the key events in the story as it relates to the relationship between Huck and Jim. It is the first event, the foggy night, which brings about a major change in Huck. He risks his life trying to navigate the river in the fog in order to be reunited with Jim. When the raft first drifts off, Huck could have stayed on the shore and been safe, but he does not even think of not following Jim because he knows Jim would be caught if Huck was not with him because they were in the south and slavery was still going on and people would take Jim and put him back into slavery and undo what Huck was trying to do. When he…
Subsequently, Huck helps others, gaining experience. Huck says, “At last I struck the time I saved him by telling the men we had smallpox aboard, and he was so grateful; and said I was the best friend old Jim ever had in the world (Twain 228).” Huck risked quite a bit when he helped Jim, especially helping an escaped slave. He risked going to jail and even had a conscience breakdown but he still decides to help Jim become a free man, even though he risks his own life. The king and duke were con men and Huck would defend the money they were after to help Mary Jane’s family. Huck feels the moral obligation to help the people that the king and duke are going to swindle of money (“The Adventures of…” 4). Huck defends Mary Jane and her family’s…
While staying with Huck and Jim, the “king” and “duke” let them in on a number of scams which they play to rob the uneducated of their money, exposing Huck once again to the evil side of civilization. Through their recitation of classic plays and somewhat advanced knowledge of the world, the King and Duke trick unassuming people into trusting them and paying for fake newspapers, plays, and many other scams. Huck goes along with this, but he is impacted by the malicious behavior of the King and Duke. Huck can see that the King and the Duke are using their education, or civilization, for evil, once again suggesting to Huck malicious behavior is the direct result of civilization. At the end of Huck's time on the raft, the two con men decide to make a quick buck again, and sell Jim for $40 without telling Huck. When Huck learns of their trick, he sits down and cries, thinking to himself how these “scoundrels” could have done such a thing. Jim was Huck’s best friend, and they sold him away like it was nothing. This final impression the King and the Duke made on Huck was an everlasting one, and undoubtedly impressed a feeling of disdain for high society within…
Huck and Jim find themselves both trying to escape to freedom. When Huck is kidnapped by pap he learns to enjoy his time because he no longer has any responsibilities. Huck thinks to himself that, “It was kind of lazy and jolly, laying off comfortable all day, smoking and fishing,…
1. PG 5 Mark Twain was notorious for stretching the truth, such truth stretching is hyperbole.…