Huckleberry Finn and Jim
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is the most grotesque example of racist trash ever written" (Wallace 1). Many people in the African American community share this rather extreme view, believing that the book promotes racist ideas and agendas. Others, however, regard it as holding one of the highest positions in the canon of American literature. On an international level, it is "a fixture among the classics of world literature" (Kaplan 352). How can such a discrepancy exist regarding people's perceptions about the meaning or intent of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? The majority of the problem is that opponents to the book get entirely caught up with the word "nigger" to the point that they do not pay attention to important changes in the book that yield anti-racist ideas. Also, opponents to the book, such as Julius Lester, take a myopic look at the character Jim without fully realizing the extent to which he is portrayed as a fully realized human being. Instance after instance, Twain writes about Jim in ways that help the reader come to understand that he is just as important, with just as much feelings, as anyone else in the book. Contrary to what many adversaries st
he wouldn't! Well, den, is Jim gwyne to say it? No, sah--I doan mos' broke bekase you wuz los, en I didn' k'yer 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 Nowhere in the novel is Jim's humanity more apparent than when he offers the ultimate sacrifice, his freedom, to save Tom's life. Huck and Tom help Jim escape from the Phelps' Farm, and in the process, Tom is wounded. It soon becomes apparent that his injuries are serious. Jim volunteers to stay with Tom while Huck fetches a doctor, even though he knows that he will probably be captured and returned to slavery. Believing that Tom would do the same for him if their places were reversed, Jim says:
Some common words found in the essay are:
Huck Huck, Jim Huck, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Jim Twain, African American, Twain Jim, Jim Jim, Jim Ef, Julius Lester, adventures huckleberry, adventures huckleberry finn, huckleberry finn, jim's humanity, jim shown, huck decides, jim huck, 408 huck, portraying jim, 287 jim, 287 huck,
Approximate Word count = 1519
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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