Preview

The relationship between Huckleberry Finn and Jim in Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn".

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2017 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The relationship between Huckleberry Finn and Jim in Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn".
The relationship between Huckleberry Finn and Jim are central to Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". Huck's relationships with individual characters are unique in their own way; however, his relationship with Jim is one that is ever changing and sincere. As a poor, uneducated boy, Huck distrusts the morals and intentions of the society that treats him as an outcast and fails to protect him from abuse. The uneasiness about society, and his growing relationship with Jim, leads Huck to question many of the teachings that he has received, especially concerning race and slavery. Twain makes it evident that Huck is a young boy who comes from the lowest levels of white society. Huck's father, Pap, is a drunk who disappears for months on end, and yet the new judge allows Pap to keep custody of Huck. The judge privileges Pap with the right to his son because he is his natural father. "Pap shows[s] noisomely the meanest qualities of his class: superstitious, alcoholic, and shiftless" (Budd 473). Pap is a good example of the imbalanced perceptions of race and thoughts of that particular race can be. The community has failed to protect him. Huck's distance from society makes him question and become skeptical of the world around him and the ideas it passes on to him. Huck often knows better than the adults around him, even though he is missing the assistance that a suitable family and community can present to him. Huck's distrust of the society that surrounds him becomes increasingly clear as he travels down the river with Jim. He is able to view society for the first time in actuality. Due to the fact that, Huck is a compassionate young boy, he battles racism and the hypocrisy of society through his relationship with Jim.

Huck Finn represents the greatest capability that man encompasses, and that is turning into a sensitive, deliberating person rather than a complete product of society. Huck remains accepting of new ideas, and he refuses to completely accept
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Huckleberry Finn Racism Analysis
    • 912 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Huckleberry Finn Racism Analysis

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an important novel that shows how the two worlds of Huck and Jim collide to bring out the problems of racism and slavery before the civil war. Huck was a young, naive boy who is oblivious to the outside world. Jim was a slave with a big heart who looked at the world in a whole different perspective. Throughout the journey together Huck and Jim’s relationship was shaken by the cold reality of racism and slavery, thus slowly opening Huck's eyes to the world around him and creating a new foundation for friendship. When Jim and Huck go on their journey outside of St.Petersburg, Missouri a whole new world was opened up to them, they saw the country like never before.…

    • 912 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Free Huckleberry Finn Essays: The Fault In Our Society
    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Free Huckleberry Finn Essays: The Fault In Our Society

    To begin, Pap Finn is the embodiment of the defects within modern civilization; the purpose of his presence is to provide stark juxtaposition from the good in Huck’s life. Pap is a horrendous excuse for a father, Huck cites that he “hadn’t been seen for more than a year, and that was comfortable for [Huck]” (Twain 22). No child should be satisfied with the absence of their parent. The fact that Huck is, raises a red flag for the reader; it indicates neglect and abuse. Pap was also a thief,…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Huckleberry Finn Friendship Analysis
    • 897 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Huckleberry Finn Friendship Analysis

    Jim is the slave of the widow Douglas and Miss Watson, Huck’s guardians in the beginning of the book. A key part in Huckleberry Finn is how Huck is the only person who treats Jim like anyone else. Most see Jim as just another useless black man but to Huck, Jim is a very important man. Jim acts as the sort of father figure for Huck when they are flowing down the river. Although Huck was taught how to be friendly, Jim is friendly by nature. When Huck has “Gone Away,” Jim is genuinely concerned, saying "Goodness gracious, is dat you, Huck? En you ain' dead—you ain' drownded—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', jis de same ole Huck—de same ole Huck, thanks to goodness!" (15.19). Huck is confused but, he can see how much Jim cares for him. Huck is always very respectful towards Jim, which is a way most people did not act towards slaves at the time; Jim tells Huck that he was the only "white genlman dat ever kep' his promise to ole Jim" (16.16). Later on in the story, the two come across a boat, and on the boat was Huck’s dead father. Knowing how much this would upset Huck, Jim shielded Huck from seeing this by saying "It's a dead man. Yes, indeedy; naked, too. He's ben shot in de back. I reck'n he's ben dead two er three days. Come in, Huck, but doan' look at his face—it's too…

    • 897 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Huck's Moral Dilemma-Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
    • 1685 Words
    • 4 Pages

    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.…

    • 1685 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Jim's Nobility in Huck Finn
    • 1297 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Jim's Nobility in Huck Finn

    Mark Twain allows Jim to break racist stereotypes by showing more human qualities of him when he expresses his selfless nature. by assuming a role as a father figure to Huck, who he watches over throughout the bulk of the novel. Jim protects Huck by shielding his view from the dead body that turned out to be Huck's father Pap. "I went in en unkivered him and didn't let you…

    • 1297 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn Essay: Moral Reconciliation
    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Huck Finn Essay: Moral Reconciliation

    Early in the book, Huck is shown to have a low level of maturity and is very naïve. He relies more on the opinions of others more so than his own. Huck seems to know the rightful place of a slave, especially growing up in the American South. But this changes, in time, when he meets a runaway slave named Jim on Jackson Island. Huck knows he is defying society by not turning Jim in, but he continues to stay by Jim’s side and feels he can’t betray him as their friendship grows. This is an internal moral struggle for Huck, because he knows to society he is “wrong,” but to him their friendship made it “right.”…

    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Huckleberry Finn: the Caring Characteristics of Jim
    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Huckleberry Finn: the Caring Characteristics of Jim

    Throughout the entire novel, Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, Jim has clearly been the most loyal, honest friend to his peers. Jim shows his kindness mostly to Huck, but the most apparent instance where Jim’s loyal characteristics show is at the end of the book when he gives up his freedom to help Tom Sawyer who was shot in the leg. I am not shocked at all about Jim’s decision to do this, largely because he showed great character to everyone he met and always took care of the people he knew.…

    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Parental Influence on Huck Finn in Mark Twain's Novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
    • 1556 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Parental Influence on Huck Finn in Mark Twain's Novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    In Mark Twain 's novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the adults in Huck 's life play an important role in the development of the plot. Pap, Huck 's father, constantly abuses the boy, never allowing him to become an intelligent or decent human being. He beats and attacks Huck whenever they meet up, and tries to destroy Huck 's chances of having a normal life. This situation is balanced by several good role models and parent figures for Huck. Jim, the runaway slave, embraces Huck like a son, and shares his wide ranging knowledge with him. He also protects Huck on the journey down the river. Widow Douglas is another good role model for Huck. She tries to civilize him and make him respectable to society, while also being caring and compassionate. There is a stark contrast in the ways Huck is treated by adults, and all have an affect on him.…

    • 1556 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Huck and Pap: Relationships in Huckleberry Finn
    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Huck and Pap: Relationships in Huckleberry Finn

    Huckleberry Finn’s actions, as well as his fathers, define their relationship in a twisted, haunting way. When Huck finds his fathers tracks and runs to Judge Thatcher’s to “sell all [his] property to [him], (Twain 25) we see a certain fear that should not be instilled in a boy as young as Huck. The intense fear we sense from Huck, and the actions that Huck takes a soon as he knows that his father is in town, shows us that he and his father do not have a loving relationship. We see that Huck knows his father’s cruel ways and will take any measures to keep his father from getting what is Huck’s. Defining this even more, we see Huck still going to school even though his father beat him for doing so. Huck is determined to not let his father take the education that is rightfully his, even going so far as to say that “he’d go now to spite Pap” (Twain 31). Huck having the gun pointed at his father shows that if need be, he is willing to stand up for himself in extreme ways. Although the reader does not believe that Huck would bring himself to shoot his own father, the action of Huck shows that he will have no mercy for his father. His father, likewise, has no mercy for Huck. This is seen when Pap is chasing Huck with a knife, granted he is drunk, but none-the-less chasing Huck with a knife. We as readers believe that even if Pap was not drunk, he would still kill his son, and this is shown in the same incident by hearing Huck declare that he is indeed Huck, not someone else that Pap is trying to kill.…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn and Jim's Relationship
    • 426 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Huck Finn and Jim's Relationship

    Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain illustrates the bond formed between Huck, the young white protagonist, and Jim, Huck's black companion. While Huck and Jim travel down the river it becomes apparent that Jim is more of a father figure to Huck than his biological father. Pap teaches the virtues of a life not worth living, while Jim gives Huck the proper fatherly support, compassion, and knowledge for Huck to become a man. Although Huck and Jim come from separate racial backgrounds their time together allows them to surpass their ethnic segregation and become true friends, and family.…

    • 426 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Struggles and Morals in Huckleberry Finn
    • 1735 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Struggles and Morals in Huckleberry Finn

    Huckleberry Finn is a young boy who struggles with complex issues such as empathy, guilt, fear, and morality in Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". There are two different sides to Huck. One is the subordinate, easily influenced boy whom he becomes when under the "guide" of Tom Sawyer. His other persona surfaces when he is on his own, thinking of his friendship with Jim and agonizing over which to trust: his heart or his conscience. When Huck's ongoing inner struggle with his own duality forces him to makes difficult and controversial choices, the reader sees a boy in the throes of moral development. And it is, indeed, a struggle. Although Huck believes in the rules of the harshly racist society in which he lives, a deeper and sounder part of him keeps making decisions that break those very same rules.…

    • 1735 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Huckleberry Finn Ending Controversy
    • 1389 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Huckleberry Finn Ending Controversy

    In the first third of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the southern 13 year-old boy protagonist Huck is stuck in a very peculiar situation; he’s a runaway hiding with an african-american ex-slave, along with Tom Sawyer- Huck’s friend of the past, who joins in the last third of the book. Before Tom’s reentrance into the story, Huck was on the path to moral maturity, progressively gaining empathy and new understanding of the world. Upon becoming a runaway, Huck was fed up with his life at home and opted to fake his death to avoid his drunken father and decides not to put his trust in him any longer because Huck describes when, “Pap took the jug, and said he had enough whiskey there for two drunks and one delirium tremens [...] That was his world” (Twain 36). The life that his father was living, Huck decides, isn’t the one for him. The beginning of Huck’s moral development was his ability to distinguish the difference between good and bad, and decided that his father wasn’t one of the good ones. This gives him experience and becomes that much wiser- the most he had ever been about anything. Next on Huck’s journey, he floats farther away from home along the Mississippi River with his friend Jim, the ex-slave, as they encounter the Duke and the King. Huck gets caught up in their sneaky scams; to cheat people out of their money at fake performances they advertised and convinced people to go to. This was the second time Huck’s moral judgement was put to the test. Since the beginning, he recognized that what they were doing was in fact wrong, and felt guilty about scamming people out of their money. At this point, Huck knows enough to, “make up [his] mind that these liars warn’t no kings nor dukes at all, but just low-down humbugs and frauds” (125). In a later chapter, while the King and Duke are being publicly humiliated, Huck says that he “was so sorry for them poor pitiful rascals, it seemed like [he] couldn’t ever feel any hardness against them any more in the…

    • 1389 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Huck and Jim: Foils to Twains Trip Through the Southern Economy
    • 914 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Huck and Jim: Foils to Twains Trip Through the Southern Economy

    Both Huck and Jim are forced to flee for freedoms from oppressions caused by capitalistic society. Jim’s situation is by far the most obvious. Slavery was the product of the most extremist version of capitalism and free market trading. The markets being so free that Jim, a human being has a possibility of being sold at any moment as if he was any other type of product. When Jim hears word that he may be sold down river he is forced into flight. In the free market economy without regulations that was predominate in the South Jim is left with no freedom. Huck’s forced flight is from the oppression of his drunk and impoverished father. While Pap might seem a gruff and evil man, his unsavory characteristics are the product of lifelong poverty as a result of capitalism. Pap was illiterate and unschooled as a boy and grew up poor. When he grew older his wife died after giving birth to Huck. In no stretch of the…

    • 914 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn And Pap's Relationship
    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Huck Finn And Pap's Relationship

    In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Pap, Huckleberry’s father, doesn’t show fatherly qualities, because he doesn’t offer his son any parental guidance or support. Because of this, Huck leaves his father and finds Jim, Miss Watson’s household slave. Even though in the beginning of the novel, Huck sees Jim as nothing more than just a runaway slave who is accompanying him to embark on their journey down the Mississippi River to the town of Cairo together. As they travel, Jim becomes more apparent as a fatherly figure and a mentor to Huck in many ways throughout their journey.…

    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Pap's Relationship In Huckleberry Finn
    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Essay On Pap's Relationship In Huckleberry Finn

    Someone once said, “Your real father isn’t the person who gave life to you; it’s the man who raised you, cared for you, and looked out for you no matter what.” In Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, one can presume that, Jim is a more suitable father figure in Huck’s life when compared to his actual father. Pap treats Huck like he’s his own slave, whereas Jim treats Huck with compassion and genuinely cares for him. Throughout the beginning of the story when Pap is present all he does is uses Huck for his money, labor, and even just someone to beat when he gets drunk. On the other hand Jim takes Huck under his wing and does the best he can to help him grow in life while shielding him from danger whenever possible. The difference between the two is very evident and shows that Jim is really the one who steps up and takes the father role in…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics