Huckleberry Finn Essay on Racism free essay sample

Huckleberry Finn IB English 11 Characterization of Jim Throughout Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain portrays Jim as a human rather than an inferior being and a slave. There are several instances where Jims character is further developed and these developments make the reader think of Jim as a human, rather than an inferior being. One such instance is when Huck meets Jim on Jackson Island right after they both run away. Another example is when Huck and Jim are on a raft going down the Mississippi river headed to the Ohio river, but they get lost in the fog and miss the river. Finally, the third point is when the doctor gives the speech about Jim and his willingness to help a child in need, even though he is a runaway slave. Twain uses dialogue and narration to characterize Jim and make the reader think of Jim as a human. Twain had antislavery views, he wanted to spread these views to others by writing about slavery and convincing his readers that such a thing was immoral and wrong. We will write a custom essay sample on Huckleberry Finn Essay on Racism or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page First, Huck meets Jim at Jackson Island and talks to him about why they ran away. In this scene, Mark Twain portrays Jim as a human by giving him the emotions of any normal person, Blamed if I would, Jim. Well I blieve you, Huck. I-I run off' (32). Through the dialogue between Jim and Huck, Twain shows that Jim can feel fear just like a normal human being. Another reason that Twain uses dialogue here is to show that a conversation where both people are speaking to each other equally is possible; even if the conversation is between a runaway slave and white person. The fear that Jim feels is shown by his stuttering of the word I, he feels the fear because he has just run away, and does not want someone to find him and return him. Runaway slaves were usually punished severely. At one point, Jim talks about how he thought Huck had died; Iuz powerful sorry yous killed, Huck, but I aint no mo, now. (33). Jim shows compassion by saying he was sorry that Huck had died. His compassion helps the readers understand that slaves share some emotions with humans. Finally, as they are about to leave Jackson Island, they find a house floating down the river, and a dead man inside, Its a dead man. Yes indeedy; naked too. Hes ben shot in de back. I reckn hes ben dead two er three days. Come in, Huck, but doan look at his face its too gashly' (38). As it turns out, this dead body is Hucks father, Pap. Jim makes sure not to tell Huck too keep him from being upset. Jim also covers Paps head with rags so that Huck cannot tell who the dead body was. Jims intelligence can be seen here, he realizes that nothing good would come from Huck knowing his father was dead in front of him. In Jackson Island Twain gives Jim a sense of compassion, fear and intelligence to make him seem like less of an inferior being to the audience. Twain uses narration to make the audience think of Jim as a human. One example is when Jim and Huck are both in the raft going down the Mississippi river and the fog rolls in. The fog splits Jim and Huck apart from each other, they holler to each other, but end up lost. Jim is extremely concerned about Huck while Huck is lost, this is evident by Jim worrying over Huck When I got all wore out wid work, en wid de callin for you, en went to sleep, my heart wuz mos broke bekase you wuz los, en I didn kyer no mo what become er me en de raf. En when I wake up en fine you back agin, all safe en soun, de tears come en I could a got down on my knees en kiss yo foot Is so thankful (65). This shows Jims compassion towards Huck. Since Huck was gone for a such a long time, Jim thought he would never see Huck again. This once again helps to make Twains case against slavery, Jim is seen as humanlike. Once Huck did come back, Jim was so happy that he could have cried. Jim is able to tell that Huck is lying to him, Huck Huck Finn, you look me in de eye; look me in de eye. Haint you ben gone away? (63). Jim is suspicious of Huck, Jim knows that Huck is lying to him about something, he just is not sure what it is quite yet. Jim is again shown as intelligent, he is not easily fooled by Hucks pranks like everyone else in the novel. Huck and Jim are able to talk to each other equally, Jim even tells Huck to look him in the eye; most white people would not bother to look a slave in the eye. Twain also shows Hucks view on Jim and his feelings, It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger- but I done it, and I warnt ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didnt do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldnt done that one if Id a knowed it would make him feel that way (65). Here Huck realizes that even though Jim is a slave, he has feelings too. Huck feels so bad for hurting those feelings of Jims that he even manages to apologize to him. Twain also uses Hucks perspective to tell the audience that a young child can think of a slave as a person. Twain challenges people to be like Huck, if a child can treat a slave like a normal person, anyone should be able to do the same. Towards the end of the book, Jim sacrifices his freedom in order to save Tom Sawyer. The doctor that comes to help Tom compliments Jims ability to help with Tom, I had everything I needed, and the boy was doing as well there as he would a done at home better, maybe, because it was so quiet (215). By this point in the story, Twain has drilled the idea into the audience that Jim is an intelligent slave, however, for the first time Twain says so directly through dialogue. The doctor also believes that Jim is a hard worked slave and likes him, Dont be no rougher on him that youre obleeged to, because he aint a bad nigger and yes he was resking his freedom to do it, and was all tired out, too, and I see plain enough hed been worked main hard, lately' (214-215). Jim is characterized to make him seem more human to the audience by making others see what the worth in him is. Jim has taken many actions throughout the novel by this point that exemplify his compassion and his ability to feel emotion, Twain wraps up these points by having a new character give a speech that directly addresses Jim and his characteristics. Twain also uses dialogue from a new character in the story to show that this cannot only be accomplished by children like Huck. Through several different encounters, Jim is characterized through dialogue with others. The character that makes up Jim is his ability to feel emotions and be compassionate while at the same time being intelligent. Through the use of this dialogue, the readers are able to think of Jim as a person and not a slave. At Jackson Island, Cairo and at the Phelps house Jim shows his ability to be intelligent, compassionate and feel emotion. Twain opposes slavery and wants his audience to oppose slavery as well. Twain does this by using the perspective of different characters in the novel, Mark Twain characterizes Jim. These characterizations let the reader think of Jim as a human being rather than an inferior slave. Word Count: 1340 Works Cited Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin. London: Thomas Nelson amp; Sons, n. d. Print.