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individuality in the adventures of huckleberry finn
character of jim in huckleberry finn
individuality in the adventures of huckleberry finn
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The novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, has many intriguing characters. One of those characters is their slave, Jim. He has many diverse qualities that portrayed through his actions, speech and appearance. These qualities include loyalty, compassion and superstition. These qualities show us how Jim is a good person.
First, Jim shows the quality of being obedient and loyal. This is shown by how Jim stays with Tom Sawyer after he was shot. The doctor that treated Tom described Jim’s actions.
"So there I had to stick plumb until daylight; and I never see a nigger that was a better nuss or faith fuller, and yet he was risking his freedom to do it, and was all tired out too, and I see plain enough he’d been worked main hard lately. I liked the nigger for that. (p. 286)
The doctor was describing what an honest, loyal man Jim was. Jim stayed with Tom out of loyalty to Huck. Tom was Huck’s best friend . He could have left and been free. Instead he sacrificed his freedom out of obedience. This shows how Jim is loyal by what others (the doctor) say about him. Another point that shows how Jim is loyal is when he wears the Arab costume.
...all along Jim was free but being the adventurous boy he is he wanted Jim to turn out and be a hero like the one’s he reads about. Tom knows Jim could have been freed multiple times if he didn’t put him up to all of the childish games. Jim had stayed by Tom’s when he almost died and would do anything for him but Tom couldn’t give Jim the same respect back. His foolishness behavior caused Jim more pain and almost didn’t get him freed. Jim was a father figure to both boys and he stood by Huck’s side since the beginning of the novel.
He risks his freedom to help the doctor save Tom’s life and help Huck successfully escape the Shepherdsons’. Jim shows his appreciation for Huck bringing him on this journey toward freedom by telling him he will never forget him for helping him and lying to protect his hope. On the other hand, Jim can be considered intelligent due to his belief in ghosts. But, he also posses great common sense in situations where he must protect others such as Huck. Just as Jesus Christ shed light on all things human, Jim put important aspects of his life on the line and when others so that for him, he shows how thankful he is through
He has "the heart to serve Jim" (Twain 222) by letting him feel "free and easy and comfortable" (Twain 119) on the raft down the Mississippi River. He shows compassion towards Jim by shutting out the evil in the outside world and giving him the feeling of freedom for once in his life. Huckleberry made Jim feel like "there warn't no home like a raft" (Twain 119). He makes Jim feel like he is actually apart of a community like everyone else no matter the color of the skin. Where Jim can find tranquility and can take a break from running and hiding all the time due to the actions of Huckleberry. The raft doesn't make him feel like a slave following every command, duty, or order for the white masters. The way Huckleberry treats a Jim is how society should be treating them to be consider a hero because the way society treats black people now, makes them the
Jim's character traits are easy to over look because of his seeming ignorance, but in reality Jim possessed some qualities that created a positive influence on Huck. He began by demonstrating to Huck how friends teach friends. His honest compassion also eventually causes Huck to resist the ideas society has placed upon him, and see Jim as an equal-- rather than property that can be owned. Huck knew he was going against society, and of the consequences that he could receive for freeing a slave. "It would get all around, that Huck Finn helped a nigger to get his freedom; and if I was to ever see anybody from that town again, I'd be ready to get down and lick his boots for shame", (269-270). Huck then claims, "All right, then, I'll go to hell…"(272) This shows that Huck was willing to put himself on the line for a slave, because he ceased to view Jim as property and recognized him as a friend. At the beginning of the story Huck would have never done this, but after the many adventures that occur, Jims unconditional love for Huck pierces the shell society placed ar...
Jim remembers a time when he told his daughter to shut a door, when she doesn’t listen Jim slaps her. Jim feels very bad for what he did when he learns that she is deaf and dumb. Jim cries and says that he will never forgive himself for the rest of his life: “...’Oh, de po’ little thing! De Lord God Amighty fogive po’ ole Jim, kaze he never gwyne to fogive hisself as long’s he live!’ Oh, she was plumb deef en dumb, Huck, plumb deef en dumb—en I’d ben a-treat’n her so!” (140). Jim knows that what he did was very wrong and he won’t ever forgive himself. This helps show that Jim has a good sense of what's wrong and what's right, which helps provide moral support for Huck throughout the whole entire
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the main character finds himself living in a society that does not suit him. Everywhere he looks there are people who value things that he sees as meaningless. Huck Finn feels trapped and begins his journey down the river in an effort to find someone or some place that will bring him happiness. Almost immediatly he finds this person in the form a run away slave. In this story, Huck and Jim are against the entire world, and every person they come in contact with has the potential to destroy their plans of happiness and freedom. Under these circumstances Huck is forced to tell many lies, but the only one he regrets is the one that he tells Jim. The biggest and most harmful lie Huck tells is when he fakes his own murder in his fathers shack. He goes through a great deal of trouble to make sure that people believe that he is dead, and it is not until the end of the novel that it becomes known to the people of his home town that he is actually alive. He had been a likable young boy, and people in the town had thought highly of him. This is evident from his relationship with adults like the widow and the judge. Jim even tells him 'I'uz powerful sorry you's killed, Huck, but I ain't no mo, now'. (1292) Based on Huck's consistent concern for others, it is likely that he would have written home to inform them that he was still alive if it had not been for his situation with Jim. However, he does not want to risk doing anything that might get Jim captured, so he writes no letter. Huck finds himself working against the world. He is not an immature boy that tells lies just for the sake of doing so, but rather he tells them in order to protect himself and also Jim. In the instance where he dresses up like a girl and speaks with the farmer's wife in an effort to find out what is being said about their situation, the information that he gets ultimately saves them from the capture of a building search party.
Because of his rolling stone like upbringings, conformity is not a part of his forte. In some ways he takes after his father, the infamous town drunk who hasn’t attempted to contact Huck in years. But despite all of the complications and seeming misery, he is a decent boy who only gets himself into a bit of mischief. Therefore, with the difficult life he’s already had at such a young age, it’s a miracle he isn’t either depressed or a delinquent. Jim also hasn’t had it easy. Being a black man living in the south during pre-Civil War times means daily persecution. He lived a life that he could never fulfill because of the metaphorical chains he never got to take off. So he was left no other choice but to run until he found freedom. Although this would be deemed as “reckless” to society, he did it out of love for his family and fear of his life. Every decision Jim made was done with the hope that he would one day be reunited with them. His intentions were pure, and the positive light that’s cast upon him gives the readers a heartfelt sympathy for what he’s going through. Both Jim and Huck had to overcome great struggle until they found solace in the
He wanted to have fun and play as if Jim was meant to be locked up merely so they could have an adventure. He wouldn’t have said anything until more family came and verified it. “And his Aunt Polly she said Tom was right about old Miss Watson setting Jim free in her will; and so, sure enough, Tom Sawyer had gone and took all that trouble and bother to set a free n***er free! and I couldn’t ever understand before, until that minute and that talk, how he could help a body set a n***er free with his bringing-up” (Twain 290). Tom didn’t care about Jim and didn’t even care that he broke his own leg in the process, he just wanted to have fun and to have a story to tell people. Everyone was confused at why Tom would do such a thing. Huck was especially confused because he was against slavery and saw Jim as an equal, so that’s when he asked Tom about it. “And he said, what he had planned in his head from the start, if we got Jim out all safe, was for us to run him down the river on the raft, and have adventures plumb to the mouth of the river, and then tell him about his being free, and take him back up home on a steamboat, in style, and pay him for his lost time, and write word ahead and get out all the n***ers around, and have them waltz him into town with a torchlight procession and a brass band and then he would be a hero, and so would we” (Twain 291-292). Tom had known about the risk in everything, and
With prior friendships being mainly those of Tom Sawyer and misguided children of a “gang”, the concept of the nature of a friendship was misconstrued. Jim’s friendship taught him the importance of unconditional love, and having a friends back no matter what. Jim refers to Huck as the “best friend that old Jim ever had in the world” (214). This resonates with Huck and when tempted to write a letter to Miss Watson to expose Jim’s whereabouts, he recalls his relationship with Jim. He remembers the level of trust that has been created between the two of them, and how close their journey to freedom has brought them. Having come to this new realization of a moral compass, he is unable to do this to his new friend and states, “‘All right then, I’ll go to hell’ and tore it up” (214). He is suddenly able to better separate differences between what is truly right, and what is societally
To compare both characters we must first view Jim in detail. Jim is a runaway slave that accompanies protagonist Huck in Huckleberry Finn throughout the entire novel. The story is set in the state of Missouri (1830’s). Jim accompanies Huck in his escapade from the clutches of his drunken father, attempting to seek salvation from slavery. The voyage of the two, one slave owning white American and the other a slave, provides a glimpse of the times when slavery was regarded as a virtue amongst white people in America rather than a sin. Mark Twain portrays Jim as a humble, kind yet audacious black American. Jim is a lovable and caring person who is highly sensitive. These qualities of Jim touches Huck deeply and that’s what leads him to save Jim when he is captured after escaping from slavery, despite knowing the consequences of the act in the southern states at the time. Huck during their escapade and adventure together comes to regard him with...
Throughout the story Jim is characterized as a mature person and more of a moral catalyst. He is a loyal person and he does not hate anyone, even though the society ignores him (Brownell 1). Even when he was a slave, he did not do anything wrong or cheated Miss Watson; rather he was very loyal to her. In any point of the story, he did not hate anyone or complained to anyone even though the society was against him. When he heard Miss Watson he is going to sell him, he was afraid he will have to leave his family and in this situation he decided to run away. He always valued his family most in his life, which clearly shows how much he loved and cared for his family. Jim has very caring and loving nature, and for Huck he is more like a father figure rather than a friend. When he is with Huck, he always worried about him. He always teaches Huck something new and loved him. When Huck lost in the river, he worried about him, which clearly shows he is more than a friend to Huck. Huck sees in him the value of love and more over his dedication towards his responsibilities, that Huck’s fathers lacks. Their relationship between them is so deep that is beyond a friendship.
In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain the main character, Huck Finn, grows and learns many lessons. Throughout my life I have learned many similar lessons. In addition, I have discovered that there is a relationship between Huck's life lessons and my life lessons. Also I have learned many different lessons that Huck was dispossessed from learning. Twain's character, Huckleberry Finn, and I can be compared and contrasted through lessons we both have learned and lessons that only I have learned. During my life I have learned that lessons are hard, complex, and above all else are universal. One lesson that Huck and I have shared in learning is that a person can choose to escape an unfair situation. Huck escaped his abusive father and was taken in by the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson. I too escaped an abusive father. When I was six years old my mother divorced my father and I decided to live with her. Another lesson that Huck learns is to be his own person. He learns this when he left Tom Sawyer and his gang for his own adventures. I learned this same lesson when some friends wanted to go to a concert on a night that I had school and a project due the next day. I did not go with them and even though my friends had fun, I was proud to be an individual. Additionally, Huck learns that friends are very important because they are always there for you. He and Jim become very close over their long trip down the river. They do things for each other that shows that they are friends. Tom helps Huck rescue their friend Jim from slavery. Huck and Tom free Jim because he is a good friend to them. I have also learned that friends are a tremendous part of my life. On various occasions, friends have helped me study for important tests. Consequently, Huck and I have learned similar important life lessons though the experiences were different. On the contrary, there are also a few lessons that I have learned that Huck has not learned. I have learned that you must deal with your problems instead of running away 12/19/98 from them.
Ransomed? Whats that???.. it means that we keep them till they're dead (10). This dialogue reflects Twains witty personality. Mark Twain, a great American novelist, exploits his humor, realism, and satire in his unique writing style in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain, born in 1835, wrote numerous books throughout his lifetime. Many of his books include humor; they also contain deep cynicism and satire on society. Mark Twain, the author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, exemplifies his aspects of writing humor, realism, and satire throughout the characters and situations in his great American novel.
Since its first publication in 1884, Mark Twain’s masterpiece The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has proven to be one of history’s most controversial novels; especially recently, the novel has often been banned by schools and censored by libraries. Characters in the book are constantly using disparaging language toward slaves, and the repeated use of the word “nigger” makes many sensitive and offended. Critics denounce the novel and Mark Twain as racist for this word being insulting and politically incorrect and for its depiction of black people and how they are treated. However, Twain was not attempting to perpetuate racism; on the contrary, he used satire to expose the ignorance and paradoxical views held by many in America at that time. Despite objections to the novel for offensive and insensitive portrayal of African Americans due to Twain’s negative and stereotypical “minstrel-like” characterization of Jim and the extensive use of the term “nigger,” throughout the novel, Twain exposes Jim’s unfeigned humanity behind a “minstrel-like” pretense by illustrating his capacity to possess profound human emotions and his triggering Huck’s moral transformation from a conscienceless, uncivilized juvenile into a an adolescent able to make the ethical choice.
Huck Finn learns from the actions of people around him, what kind of a person he is going to be. He is both part of the society and an outlier of society, and as such he is given the opportunity to make his own decisions about what is right and what is wrong. There are two main groups of characters that help Huck on his journey to moral maturation. The first group consists of Widow Douglas, Miss Watson, and the judge. They portray society and strict adherence to rules laid out by authority. The second group consists of Pap, the King, and the Duke. They represent outliers of society who have chosen to alienate themselves from civilized life and follow no rules. While these characters all extremely important in Huck’s moral development, perhaps the most significant character is Jim, who is both a fatherly figure to Huck as well as his parallel as far as limited power and desire to escape. Even though by the end of the novel, Huck still does not want to be a part of society, he has made a many choices for himself concerning morality. Because Huck is allowed to live a civilized life with the Widow Douglas, he is not alienated like his father, who effectively hates civilization because he cannot be a part of it. He is not treated like a total outsider and does not feel ignorant or left behind. On the other hand, because he does not start out being a true member of the society, he is able to think for himself and dismiss the rules authority figures say are correct. By the end of the novel, Huck is no longer a slave to the rules of authority, nor is he an ignorant outsider who looks out only for himself. This shows Huck’s moral and psychological development, rendering the description of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” as a picaresq...