Identity is that which sets us apart from each other. Everyone must find his or her own personal identity. This is a process through which one discovers who they are and why they are the way they are. One of many themes in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the search for identity. In Twain's novel, Huck finds Jim's identity and in the process he discovers his own.
At first, Jim's identity is presented plainly to Huckleberry as a stereotypical black slave. Jim is filled with superstition that appears to be a reflection of the ignorance that develops from a life of slavery. Slaves are supposed to be emotionless, yet he exhibits many emotions typically "restricted" to whites at the time. Huck sees this in him and gradually he starts to believe that Jim is more "white underneath."
Jim, Huck later realizes, is a heroic figure in a world consisting of liars, cheats, and scoundrels. Jim always does the
To some extent Huckleberry cannot grasp Jim's complete identity. There are some things that Huckleberry is oblivious to in the sense that he is only a child. One quality that Huck fails to identify is how much Jim is like a father. Jim is the leader during the travel down the river. He is the one who knows all the signs of weather; it is he who makes their journey a success. An example being when Jim throws rags over the corpse on the houseboat to protect Huck from seeing it. Jim's maturity is displayed by his reaction to the incident when Huck plays a trick on him during the fog. Instead of yelling at Huck, Jim provides a valuable lesson not to play games against other people that make them feel embarrassed. Jim's morals then start to reflect in Huckleberry's character throughout the rest of the novel.
For the most part Huck Finn does a good job discovering Jim's identity. In the course of their ad
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