Huckleberry Finn Social Commentary

Alik Shahadah once explained that “the legacy of slavery has promoted and nursed the direct association between being African and being inferior, being African and being unequal, incapable and less worthy. It also promotes ways of thinking which continue to impede growth and development”(www.africanholocaust.net). Even though there were changes on paper, and new laws made people “equal,” the racism that separated the white man from the black persisted. The changes that were the most important were the ones that remained unchanged. Almost twenty years after, every black man, woman, and child had been legally freed, but not exactly in practice, from the atrocity of slavery. Twain shows that many of those stereotypes that the whites believed about slaves had not been broken. In Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain utilizes Jim to make social commentary on the oppression of colored people in the nation. Mark Twain comments on the racism in the country by exposing the language used by Jim differently, the racist words used towards Jim, and challenging America’s societal norms by making Huck and Jim friends.
To begin, in society grammar and speech say a lot about a person.
Particularly how educated and intelligent a person is. Social rank can usually be determined by how educated one is, with the people on top typically being the most intelligent. Education was inaccessible for slaves, making them seem mindless and dull-witted, because of their improper grammar. Twain noticeably makes Jim’s language different from the speech of the white characters to comment on society’s beliefs about slaves. There are many different stereotypical styles of speech used by characters in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but one difference that is noticed with frequency is that of “the Missouri negro” (Twain) which reflects the speech patterns of Jim and the other slaves in the book, compared to Huck and the other white characters. Carkeet supports this by explaining Jim’s speech
patterns:
Phonologically, Jim shows widespread loss of r ( do’ “door,” heah ‘here,’ thoo ‘through’), palatalization (i.e., the insertion of the palatal glide-the initial sound of yes in certain environments: k’yer ‘care,’ dish-yer ‘this here'), (a) gwyne as the present participle to go, and substitution of voiceless th with f ( mouf ‘mouth), of voiced th with d ( dese ‘these), and of the negative prefix un- with on- (oneasy). (Carkeet 317)
When compared to correct grammar Jim's dialect is difficult to understand, although not unintelligible. Twain uses it to his advantage, especially in Jim's most important moments to bring the character alive with his speech patterns: “Well, it’s a blame’ ridicklous way, en I doan’ want to hear no mo’ ‘bout it. Dey ain’ no sense in it” (Twain 60). When Jim questions Huck on why Frenchmen do not speak English, he is also referring to slavery, and just as language, color should not make a difference in people. This is better understood when Twain utilizes the stereotypical dialect of a slave. It makes the reader feel more compassion towards Jim: “De bes’ way is to res’ easy en let de ole man take his own way” (Twain 13). Mark Twain uses Jim’s butchered English dialect to reflects that of a Missouri negro in the time period and marks him as an obvious uneducated slave. The language used by Jim is noted just as much as the words used towards him. The inhuman labels that are attached to Jim throughout the book show the power of white supremacy that was held over slaves in America. Through these disturbing labels Twain shows us how bigoted societal beliefs were. Twain knew that even though negroes had been freed from slavery they were still not freed from the racism and prejudice that existed in most of America's states and territories, even after gaining their freedom: “The character Jim, to whom racial epithets are most often attached, remains a ‘n*****’ at the end of the novel but not a slave” (Smith 183). Twain makes the word n***** represent the racism that still existed in the minds of Americans even after slaves like Jim had gained their freedom. The obscenity of the word “n*****” is used without consideration through the book representing the racism that has endured in the culture, not only by Huck, but by almost every other white character. Tom explains, “Besides, Jim’s a n***** and wouldn’t understand the reasons for it” (Twain 181), he tries to explain Jim's “ignorance” by relating it to his race. In addition, Jim is not the only negro who is degraded with this term by Huck and the other white characters. In explaining his lie to Aunt Sally, she asks him if anyone was hurt in the fire, Huck tells her, “no’m. Killed a n*****” (Twain 167). He does not recognize this black man to be a real person because of the social norms impressioned on him: “Huck and the other characters maintain their racist mentalities that manifest in ways beyond labels they attach to Jim” (Smith 184). Twain shows this to us by expressing how little the characters think of Jim when this horrific word is used to describe him. Twain ends the book giving Jim his freedom in America, but not giving him his freedom from racism in America, just like every other slave in the nation.
Subsequently the social morals of the time taught Huck that he was superior to Jim, and their relationship could mean no more than business. Twain allows societal morals influence the thoughts of Huck; they become the idea that negroes are not like white people because of the color difference: “I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their’n. It don’t seem natural, but i reckon it’s so” (Twain 117), but even through the racism brought upon their friendship, Twain makes Huck realize that Jim is a person even if Jim’s complexion does not reflect his own. Huck forgets social morals and realizes that Jim is a person because just like him he has emotions.“Goodness gracious is dat you, Huck? En you ain’ dead-you ain’ drowded- you’s back agin? It’s too good for true, honey, it’s too good for true. Lemme look at you chile, lemme feel o’ you. No, you ain dead! You’s back agin, live en soun’, Jim de same ole Huck- de same ole Huck, thanks to goodness” (Twain 63). A slave caring for a white boy in a friendship might have been controversial at the time because black people were not believed to have feelings, and if they did care for a white boy would be ludicrous. But a young white boy caring about a grown slave could have been described as psychotic: “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a n*****; but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didn’t do him no more mean tricks and wouldn't done that one if I’d knowed it would make him feel that way” (Twain 65). Huck develops enormously leaving his prejudice towards Jim behind when he realizes that Jim is just as humane as him, and in a a true friendship you would never hurt each other. Twain's attacks on American norms might have been a direct result of his personal experiences with slaves. Twain utilizes Jim and Huck to prove to America that a true friendship has no color: “Twain [had a] beloved butler during his residence in Hartford. Over the course of their many years together in Hartford, the two formed an enduring friendship that went beyond the boundaries of their professional relationship” (Jung H. Lee 108). Influenced by his own experiences and realisations of how wrong American social norms were and how they were accepted, Twain made sure that one of the most important and fundamental friendships in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was of a young white boy and a grow black man.
In conclusion in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses Jim to comment on the injustice that is brought upon black people in America. Twain uses language to show the stereotypes of negroes, and the inhumane labels to Jim, and challenges American beliefs by making the most contrasting characters friends. Twain realized that the mentality of America had not changed, the racism still existed even after our country had realized their mistakes and freed the black people. Even though the law took a turn in a different direction the minds of most Americans did not. Many changes were made since then, but the ones that should have really happened still have not. The racism that follows the African Americans will take a lot more than paper to fix.