Through Huck’s Eyes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain takes place during a time before slavery was abolished; therefore, black people were obviously deemed inferior to white people. Our protagonist Huck, the son of the town drunk, fakes his death to run away from his abusive father and finds his slave friend, Jim, also running away. They decide to team up and run away together, but Huck is internally fighting his urge to do “the right thing” and turn Jim in. During the novel, Huckleberry views Jim as a slave, a friend, and most surprisingly, a father. Being raised in a time of prejudice and hate affected Huck and his mindset towards Jim. Although Huck was better than most people during his time, he still had lapses of judgement. While they were floating down the Mississippi River, Huck was debating whether or not he should return Jim to his owner. Although he ultimately decided against doing so, the fact that he even thought about it shows that he knows that Jim is someone else’s property. Huck also refers to him as “n-”, which proves his lack of respect for Jim. At the end of the novel as shown in Document F, Huck was unaware that Jim was …show more content…
Huck never had a good example of a father, so he seemed to find one in Jim. Jim would always ensure Huck’s safety before his own, and would stand watch over him at night to make certain that Huck was out of danger. Jim also taught Huck valuable lessons while they were together, just like how a normal father would teach a son. Jim taught Huck how to be cautious of his surroundings through his superstitious ways, which helped Huck stay safe in different situations. Huck also saw in Jim what he did not see in his father, compassion. Jim called Huck “pet” and “honey”, things his father never cared to say to him. Without Jim, Huck would not have matured as much as he did on that