Huckleberry Finn Literary Analysis

Mark Twain’s controversial Adventures of Huckleberry Finn follows a young boy, Huckleberry Finn, and a slave, Jim, who escape their town in Missouri and begin a journey together down the Mississippi River. The novel is set in 1830’s America, when slavery was present in many states. The book’s central theme of racism creates a strong divide between critics, many of whom argue whether Twain’s work is a satire of white society in pre-Civil War times, or whether there is racism in the novel that undermines and damages the image of black society. One such critic, Carmen Subryan, analyzes Twain’s past and his other works, revealing that Twain was a “man who travelled so far from his Southern roots” to the point where he came to the “realization not
Subryan argues that, in the first few chapters, Jim is “fighting for his dignity as a human being, yet Twain still portrays him as a buffoon who is the butt of Huck’s jokes” (97). Twain finally gives Jim this dignity when Huck and Jim are temporarily separated by a thick fog. Huck’s reappearance on the raft relieves the anguish Jim felt at the thought of losing his friend, and he exclaims, “it’s too good for true, honey, it’s too good for true” (93). However, Huck’s cruel prank cuts Jim’s ecstasy short. Huck pretends that Jim dreamt the events of the fog, sending Jim into confusion. Upon realization of Huck’s prank, Jim reprimands Huck, telling him, “my heart wuz mos’ broke bekase you wuz los’, en I didn’ k’yer no mo’ what become er me” and that “dat truck dah is trash; en trash is what people is dat puts dirt on de head er dey fren’s en makes ‘em ashamed” (95). Jim’s revelation of his raw emotions, as well as labeling Huck as ‘trash’, wakes the thirteen-year-old up to the immorality of his actions. Huck says, “it was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger – but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards, neither” (95). Although Huck’s reprehensible use of the n-word is certainly disrespectful towards Jim, it is a product of the white society that has raised Huck and is not indicatory of his opinion on Jim. Huck’s true feelings towards his companion are shown when he makes an apology to Jim. By apologizing, Huck is repelling the racist beliefs engrained in him by white society through his acknowledgment of Jim’s emotions, marking a “turning point in [Twain’s] portrayal of Jim, who at last has evolved from a stereotypical buffoon into a sensitive human being”, as Subryan argues (97). By allowing Jim to voice his emotions, Twain introduces a new side of Jim to Huck: his emotional side. This new aspect of Jim changes Huck’s perspective on