Chapters 32-41 To Evoke A Sense Of Empathy In Huck Finn

In Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain draws out the length of chapters 32-41 to evoke a sense of empathy for Jim, who is searching for freedom. Twain uses these chapters as a parable to represent the slow actions that took place in the South after the Civil War due to the South’s unwillingness to change from slavery. Twain focuses on Tom’s lack of urgency in regards to freeing Jim, which corresponds with Southern resistance to anti-slavery movements. When Tom and Huck brainstorm plans to free Jim, Huck suggests stealing the key and getting Jim out of the hut (229-230). However, Tom disagrees and says, “It’s too ‘blame’ simple; there ain’t nothing to it” (230). He only cares about recreating the adventures he sees in his novels. This

Tom does not care about the haste of Jim’s escape and continues to prolong it for his entertainment. Tom's steps to delay Jim’s escape are similar to the Jim Crow laws implemented in the South because they both created obstacles for Black Americans to obtain their freedom. This evokes a sense of empathy for Jim because he is being unfairly held as a captive despite Tom knowing that he is free. Huck is shocked when he hears Tom is willing to help free Jim. When Huck asks Tom to guarantee his intentions, Tom states, “Didn’t I say I was going to help steal the slave?” (231). Although Tom knows Jim is free, he claims that he will help him to his “freedom”. Tom’s treatment of Jim represents greed because he kept Jim enslaved for his benefit, even though there were devastating consequences for Jim. After the Emancipation Proclamation, Southerners did not want to accept Black American’s equality under the law. Similarly, Tom continues to treat Jim as a slave during the last chapter and withholds Jim’s freedom from him. Twain stretches out chapters 32-41 to do something meaningful; he uses them to represent the history of the treatment of Black Americans in the United