(p.236-237) Huck didn’t feel free if Jim wasn 't free as well. He knew what the consequences were if he got caught but he didnt care at all. He was going to do everything he can to set him free which he ended up doing at
Twain states, “Before night they wanted to lynch him, but he was gone, you see. Well, next day they found out the slave was gone…” (Twain 59). Because of Huck’s lie it moves Jim even more wanted to arrest since he is a runaway slave and the public thinks Jim killed Huck. If Jim gets caught during their journey there is no chance of Jim living since Huck pretended to die.
By turning him in, Huck would be appeasing the law. Jim had been the house slave at the home Huck had been living at and never actually had the chance to know Jim; therefore, he would always be that mysterious slave if it were not for the long journey down the
What kind of person does that? I then began to think about who Huck’s father was leading me to not feel angry at Huck anymore but to feel empathetic. Why would he react like a regular person who grew up in a stale household when he didn’t. When he begins to debate whether or not to turn Jim in, I decided rather than judge him immediately. I put myself in his shoes and thought based on where he lives, people would agree that turning him in would be the moral thing to do but based on the reasons he ran away, a person thinking not only morally but also rationally would agree that turning him in would be
In chapter thirty-one, Huck is again faced with the choice of turning Jim in. The debates with himself about morals, should he tell the truth, or help his friend? Page 382 says, “ The more I studied about this the more my conscience went to grinding me, and the more wicked and low-down and ornery I gotta feeling.” This is an obvious example of Huck becoming more mature because he thinks about weather or not to write a letter about Jim for over two pages of the book. In conclusion, he puts his friendship before societal morals and makes a crucial decision on his own.
There’s a difference between making a decision for the better good and because it supports a certain belief. For instance, one person’s beliefs may benefit him/her but put someone else at risk. In Huck Finn’s case, he is forced to protect and lie for Jim despite it putting himself at risk as well. His decision, in turn, makes him care for Jim as a person and become more humane.
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
But Huck also feels like he can not turn Jim in because deep down he knows that Jim’s life will be better not being a slave. This shows that Huck battles between himself whether to follow society’s rules or his own morlas. When Huck chooses to not turn Jim in as a runaway slave, that makes it evident that he matures or so it
Ultimately, Huckleberry not only chooses to not turn Jim in, but later in the book decides to steal Jim out of slavery. Huckleberry decides that the law is not completely moral in the book, but in real life things are not as black and
Huck knows that at any point he could turn in Jim and get money as a reward, but there is something about an escaping slave that seems reasonable. He understands that helping a slave break free is looked down upon by many. Huck told himself in Chapter 31, “It would get all around that Huck Finn helped a (man) to get his freedom; and if I was ever to see anybody from that town again I’d be ready to get down and lick his boots for shame.” (Twain). In this point of the story, Huck believes that might be a wrong decision to help Jim run away.
Mark Twain, in this novel, presents another important issue which is the position of children in society. One thing to consider throughout the court and the Pap debating custody was how Huck felt through all of this and if he had any rights of his own to speak up about the matter. It is true that a child will most likely lose all respect for their parent when they abandon them. For example, Huck describes Pap as “He was mostly fifty, and he looked it” (Twain 31).
But the education of students on the topic of slavery would not be possible if this novel were banned from schools. Characters in the novel do not question whether slavery is immoral or cruel because they do not see African Americans as equal to whites. Although some people may see this situation as uncomfortable for students to read about in school, it is history and sometimes history is uncomfortable. The novel’s main character, Huckleberry Finn, also known as Huck, even feels “low-down and ornery” (Twain 11) for refusing to turn Jim, a runaway slave whom he later befriends. During the time period of slavery, all people were required to turn in slaves who had escaped or were trying to escape.
The two have numerous episodic adventures throughout the novel and have a few difficulties with the law. Jim then gets captured and in the end he gets set free due to his owner writing in her will for him to be released. Mark Twain uses point of view and plot to highlight that the racist mindset of slavery is immoral in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain uses point of view within the characters to help illustrate the immorality of racism and slavery.
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.
(Twain 87-88). At this stage in the novel, it is important to denote his ambivalence toward the situation. Though he helps Jim, he feels a sense of guilt for going against societal standards. Regardless, Huck has a myriad of opportunities to turn Jim in--and doesn’t. This verifies that Huck progresses in developing his maturity and poise.
