Analysis of Chapter 31 in Huckleberry Fin by Mark Twain

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Huckleberry Finn Chapter 31 Analysis
In the story of Huckleberry Finn Huck is facing a constant battle within himself between following the laws of the land and doing what he knows is morally correct. There appears to be an underlying question of whether or not a person is born with morals and good character or if this is a learned behavior raised in the story. The circumstances of Huck’s upbringing were not ones that were conducive to him being a person with a good moral compass, in actually he should have been just the opposite, but he decided to go against the grain and do what he felt was morally correct which was befriend a runaway slave and try to set him free. Now we can questions his motives for wanting to help Jim, i.e., did he just want companionship so anybody would do, or did he genuinely see the good in Jim and want him to be a free man? If we explore the earlier chapters of Huckleberry Finn one would come to the conclusion that Huck was simply lonely and bored and Jim was just good company, once we reach chapter 31 we see that Huck has become quite attached to Jim and not only thought of him as a companion but also a good friend who he could no longer see himself living without. Chapter 31 is when Huck begins to question everything that he has been taught and the morality of the laws of the land.
Chapter 31 opens with the King, the Duke, Huck and Jim on the boat and they find themselves going down the river and heading into the south where it is extremely hot. The Duke and the King are making plans to scheme more people in the small towns that they are approaching Huck and Jim both hear them even though they are speaking quietly to each other and Jim and Huck are trouble and uneasy. They are planning to burgl...

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...ke he is committing an act against God and resolves that he would rather go to hell than to accept what society says about slaves.
While the resolution seems courageous and noble end the end Huck disappoints. While he was able to be strong willed and strong minded in this instance as soon as Tom Sawyer enters the story again Huck seems to lose all of the credibility and maturity he gained throughout the story. He accepts Tom Sawyer as a leader and an authority on the freeing of Jim even though the way he wanted to go about it was absolutely ridiculous. Even though Huck decides to go along with Tom’s plan he never loses sight of freeing Jim which would show us that the lessons we see that he has learned in Chapter 31 are still there. What Huck and especially Chapter 31 teaches is that people are born with moral compass and that no matter what the circumstances

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