Huck's Moral Dilemma-Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Hucks Moral DilemmaMark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the story, taking place prior to the Civil War, of a young boy, Huck Finn, who fakes his own death and runs away from home in order to escape his abusive father, Pap. Accompanying Huck on his adventure down the Mississippi River is Jim, a runaway slave. In the beginning, Jim is depicted as a stereotypical and naïve slave, and Huck and Jims relationship, at times, loosely resembles a master-slave relationship; though Huck is not truly Jims master, he tries to act in a superior manner toward Jim, likely because society has taught him to act this way. As the story progresses, however, Huck and Jims relationship appears to change and Huck struggles with an internal battle of what is right: his conscience, which is controlled by the values of society, or what he feels in his heart. Hucks heart wins this battle a few times during his adventure, and Huck and Jims relationship continues to grow; however, because Huck is only an impressionable young boy, it is impossible for him to completely turn against the values of society. Though Twain appears, himself, to be intentionally racist, he uses Hucks character, and his interactions with society, in an ironic manner to negatively critique the racist culture of the old South, and to show how poorly blacks were treated. His purpose in writing this novel was to comment on how little had changed, even after the Civil War.
When first introduced in the novel, Jims ignorant nature and preoccupation with superstition allow him to become an easy target for Tom and Hucks trickery. At this point in the novel Jim is seen as nothing more than Miss Watsons nigger who was most ruined, for a servant, because he got so stuck up on account of having seen the devil and been rode by witches (112). Later, while on Jacksons Island with Huck, Jim displays that profound knowledge of nature underlies his superstitious exterior. Huck narrated, Some young birds come along, flying a
When first introduced in the novel, Jims ignorant nature and preoccupation with superstition allow him to become an easy target for Tom and Hucks trickery. At this point in the novel Jim is seen as nothing more than Miss Watsons nigger who was most ruined, for a servant, because he got so stuck up on account of having seen the devil and been rode by witches (112). Later, while on Jacksons Island with Huck, Jim displays that profound knowledge of nature underlies his superstitious exterior. Huck narrated, Some young birds come along, flying a