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Good And Bad Decisions In Huckleberry Finn

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In the story The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, we meet a young troubled boy named Huck who hates authority and wants to be a free spirit. Through his adventures he makes some good and bad decisions, a recurring bad decision in the book is Huck lying over and over again. You could look at the various times he lies as a good or bad decision depending on the situation he lies in. A key good decision in the book is when Huck decides to stop being selfish and think about Jim instead of himself by saying “All right, then, I'll go to hell”(pg 179). The other main character who befriends Huck is Jim, Miss Watson's slave. Jim and Huck are both anti-heros because they have both made some good and bad decisions. Huck is an anti-hero because he lies constantly throughout the book, eventually starts to feel empathy,; and Jim is also an anti-hero …show more content…

Jim confesses to Huck that he hit his daughter for no good reason he then explains how he didn’t mean to hit her but he did; Jim apologizing doesn’t make up for what he did to his daughter and doesn’t make it go away he did it and now has to live with it. “En wid dat I fetch’ her a slap side de head dat sont her a-sprawlin’.”(pg131) What makes Jim so good is that he stands by Huck throughout the whole story even when Huck played tricks on him, or got him into trouble he never left Huck. Jim didn’t have to tell Huck about what happened with his daughter, but he did which showed us a darker side to Jim which also leaves open if he has ever does this or anything bad like this again. Jim could have just left Huck when they first met on Jackson island but he didn’t we wanted to help him to survive which really shows what a good guy Jim is considering what Jim endured with Huck. Jim is a good guy but him hitting his daughter and any other incidents like that are what take away from him being a hero and define him as an

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Jim was with Huck since the beginning and took care of him and cared for him also teaching him lesson on the way. Jim is trying to protect huck from the outside evil of the world. When Jim finds Huck’s dad’s body in the houseboat he would let Huck see the body because he wants huck to be happy “ Come in, Huck, but doan’ look at his face-it’s too ‘gashly’” ( Twain 57). Even though Huck’s dad beat huck all the time Huck still loves his dad.

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Huck had multiple chances to turn Jim in or not to help him when he was in trouble, but he could never bring himself to turn his back on Jim. From the time they first saw each other on the river, Huck felt a certain loyalty toward Jim. They both agreed not to give away the other’s location, this agreement brought a loyalty between them. “ Well I did. I said I wouldn’t

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This is the climax of the novel, in which many of the underlying themes are made clear. Huck’s morals overcome his fear for punishment, and he is determined to help Jim even if he has to go to hell for it. Furthermore, Jim is a runaway slave, and in the context of the story, helping a runaway slave, albeit one that was sold and has a new owner, would be almost traitorous to Huck’s community. Another revelation is that Huck has transcended the racial constructs of the time, recognizing Jim’s humanity and considering him someone worth rescuing at great personal risk. In this scene, Huck finally breaks the restraints of society, and indeed, his environment, by ignoring all societal and theological constructs and instead choosing what is right by his conscience.

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Jim tells Huck he hit her for not listening to get to work, but he then finds out she has been recently made dea when she did not react to the door slamming shut from the wind. He realizes he hit her when she never even heard Jim to begin with. Jim was so distraught begging for forgiveness from the Lord and his daughter, because he would never forgive himself for his mistake. This shows Jim’s deep rooted connection with love of others and his humanity. Not only that, but Huck realizes he cares deeply for his family and is capable of emotions that otherwise racist ideologies have told him are not possible.

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In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, you see how much people lie. People lie to protect others or for selfish reasons is a recurring theme shown through Huck, the Duke and the Dauphin and Tom Sawyer. Huck lied to protect himself and Jim throughout their journey. Right from the beginning of the book, Huck was lying.

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No matter what happened, Jim was always there for Huck, and Huck was always there for Jim. Even though in the beginning of the novel Huck started questioning what he was doing. Jim showed Huck that you don’t have to be the same skin color or ethnicity, or anything to be friends and care about one

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Huck goes against the law to help his friend become free, something that if he were to be caught he would be tarred and feathered or thrown in jail. Huck’s loyalty to Jim is a significant sign of true family and Jim's feelings towards Huck reciprocate as Jim says "Pooty soon I'll be a-shout'n' for joy, en I'll say, it's all on accounts o' Huck; I's a free man, en I couldn't ever ben free ef it hadn' ben for Huck; Huck done it. Jim won't ever forgit you, Huck; you's de bes' fren' Jim's ever had; en you's de only fren' ole

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Huck decides to act on his morals rather than be held captive by society; Huck believes that he has to act in the best interest of Jim and does not consider what society believes is acceptable behavior. By stating that he will “go to hell,” Huck reiterates what he promises Jim in the beginning- that he rather be a “low down abolitionist”; these statements combined supports his feelings to protect Jim from society. When Huck and Tom get back to the house, Huck states, “...it don’t make no difference whether you do right or wrong, a person’s conscience ain’t got no

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When Huck runs away, the only help he has is from a black man. This causes him to rethink what he was taught to think of black people. In Huck Finn Jim, the king, the Duke, and Society are all influences Huck has placed upon him. Jim represent a loving and caring fatherly figure. Jim gets mad at Huck when he plays mean tricks on him.

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Huck has been burned with the idea that he is to blame for Jim’s escape. Huck ultimately feels guilty because he knows he has not done wrong but he has no reason not to believe what society thinks because he was only taught one way. Huck imagines an alternate scenario, thinking “s’pose [he]’d’ a’ done right and give Jim up, would [he] felt better... No…[he'd] feel bad” (91). Huck is aware that the right decision based on society is to give up Jim.

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Naturally, as his bond with Jim cultivates, Huck unknowingly treats him as a human. Through Huck’s sensibility, he states, “It didn’t take me long to make up my mind that these liars warn’t no kings nor dukes at all … I hadn’t no objections, ‘long as it would keep peace in the family; and it warn’t no use to tell Jim, so I didn’t tell him” (Twain 125). Correspondingly, Huck gains a consideration for Jim and his personal feelings, which he expresses nonchalantly through motley aspects of their journey.

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Despite Huck’s constant teasing and mild abuse, Jim exhibits unconditional kindness towards Huck. Jim also proves to be a father figure, disciplining Huck and protecting him from seeing Pap dead in the floating house. He is not clueless and loving like a dog; in fact, Jim is one of the most intellectually and emotionally consistent and whole characters in the novel. Huck’s inability to express his care for Jim further reflects the stigmas held toward interracial relationships in the South and the flawed nature of the narrator, Huck. Jim and Huck’s existence on the raft provides a refuge from society, from the chains that bind Jim and separate him from Huck.

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