Huckleberry Finn Literary Analysis

During Mark Twain’s historical fiction novel, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, Jim, a slave, takes a leap of faith for his own freedom. Twain reveals Jims true beliefs and tells a story of a noble father who is not only set on freeing his own sons, but is also set on freeing Huck from his preconceived beliefs on equality. Twain wants to show that people of color aren't just shells of people, they are actual people.
Twain shows Jim's journey as he becomes Huck’s mentor and sacrifices a lot for Huck. This relationship shows that even though that two people can come from very different stories, they can still become friends. During the start of the story, Jim shows that he not only cares about Huck but also others. Jim shows this when he

Whar is you? Dog my cats ef I didn' hear sumf'n. Well, I know what I's gwyne to do: I's gwyne to set down here and listen tell I hears it agin.”(Twain 7). When Jim stays outside, he is risking himself because it might have been a murderer, but in this situation it wasn’t. This act of protecting the house was not required of Jim at all, yet he spends time that he could be resting to make sure there is no danger. When Huck first realizes his father’s footprints and runs to go give Thatcher all of his money, he doesn't ask him for advice, in fact, he says “I says, “Don't you ask me no questions about it, please. You'll take it—won't you?”(Twain 23) Later, he goes to ask Jim for advice. Huck trusts Jim and when he gives Jim a counterfeit quarter that doesn't work for a “magic hairball” Jim takes it anyway, saying that he could put it into a potato overnight. Earlier in the story, Huck

Jim and Huck’s relationship develops more and more into a friendship. At the start of the book Huck refers to Jim as “Miss Watson's big nigger, named Jim, was setting in the kitchen door” (Twain 6) giving him an owner but as the story progresses more and we get to when Huck and Jim have developed more of a relationship with each other Huck slowly starts calling Jim by his actual name and he only brings up the word “nigger” to intentionally insult Jim. “you can't learn a nigger to argue.”(Twain 111) Then Jim and Huck start to have such a great bond at the end of the book, that Huck even defends Jim ”He ain't no bad nigger, gentlemen; that's what I think about him.”(Huck says this) (Twain 395) and even though he uses “nigger” he is just saying it to the men who want to treat Jim rough and poorly when he was captured. Twain has Jim sacrifice himself to save Tom to show that he will do almost anything for his friends, the people who have shown him kindness, no matter their background, he is even willing to sacrifice his freedom. Jim even stops in the middle of his escape and says “'Go on en save me, nemmine 'bout a doctor f'r to save dis one?' Is dat like Mars Tom Sawyer? Would he say dat? You bet he wouldn't! well, den, is Jim gywne to say it? No, sah—I doan' budge a step out'n dis place 'dout a doctor, not if it's forty year!” (Twain 381) making sure that Tom gets a doctor for