Minstrel Character

After one moment of Jim being the concerned ‘parent’ and worrying about Huck, he very quickly, and easily, is tricked into making him question whether he even is himself. Although some like Smith believe that Jim denies his stereotypical position as the minstrel character. “He is, in other words, a ‘nigger’ who refuses who to behave like one” (361). To me this is completely ridiculous because Jim embodies the stereotypical zambo exactly. On the other hand some may say that Jim’s character being a minstrel is purposeful to make a satirical point. While this could be a valid point it doesn’t work in this situation. Twain doesn’t show us that Jim is supposed to be something we take as a joke. The mere way the n-word itself is used in this book

His good is only considered good because it caters to white people, something like a mammy character. However Twain’s contradicting set up of Jim’s character disproves that Jim is momentarily a mammy on purpose. If the mammy is supposed to be always caring and always on top of things, why would Twain depict Jim as a man who is simultaneously childish? He can’t be good and black at the same time. It seems that black people aren’t made good, according to Huck “I knowed he was white inside, and I reckoned he'd say what he did say” (Twain 275). This is a problem because the book makes these ideas seems as if the were not only believed by white people and black people. The way Jim is portrayed, he seems like he also thinks that white people are better than him and that he should be dehumanized. “...even the most sophisticated reading today does not remove the shackles of the white supremacy presumption” (Woodard and MacCann 141). This is a false reality that can stroke the white ego because it brings back this fantasy world where they were superior and fuels thoughts that they can continue to be

It seems that very often the boys have thier wants, needs and thoughts put over Jim’s. The biggest example of this is toward the end of the book where Tom has put this huge plan in play to break Jim out of the shed he is being held prisoner in. The problem with the scene is that Jim is already a free man but just because Tom thinks it will be fun to play with Jim’s life he doesn’t tell anyone. “His self-respect and manly pursuit of freedom bow subserviently before the childish pranks of an adolescent white boy” (Henry 375). Later we see Jim come out of hiding so he can help the doctor with Tom once he was shot. “...both Huck and Mark Twain have a frame of reference that makes Jim (slave or freedman) an invisible entity whose being we come to know as something other that what he is.” Woodard MacCann 144). “...Jim remains about the same- a victim and a playmate of children, a clown to be either admired or toyed with as boys’ maturity or lack of maturity dictates” (Woodard and MacCann 146) They play with Jim and as soon as Huck doesn’t need him anymore he ignores him. In the end of the book we kind of see Jim just fade out of existence. For such a ‘prominent’ character it’s weird that after being paid This plays back into the 2-dimensionality of Jim’s character he is only relevant if it regards Huck or Tom. If Huck is supposed to be a white boy paradigm, he is only teaching