Huck Finn

A detailed Summary of Huck Finn

In the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, race and class structure themes are seen throughout the book. The characters Tom and Huck Finn develop morally through the story. In the beginning, they are mischievous boys who joke about playing tricks on a black slave. By the end of the book, they develop a bond with the black man and understand there is more to a person than the color of his skin. Even today we try to categorize people by skin color, social class, and education. We still fight prejudice in our society. During the time of the story, slavery, racism, and moral judgments were commonly accepted. The racism of the time is clearly evident with Huck Finn's friend Jim..

Jim is the black slave of a woman named Widow Douglass, who also happens to take care of Huck along with her sister Miss Watson. In the story, Jim is a lower class individual not by choice, or through any of his actions. The main reason he would be considered a low class individual would be due to the color of his skin. Some would argue that he is not intelligent, therefore he should be in the low class category. Jim cannot help being unintelligent because he is black and there was no means of education unless you taught yourself, or if you

Mark Twain's portrayal of Jim is one of sympathy, and is meant to be historically accurate. Twain makes the reader feel a great amount of sympathy for Jim. This can be seen in the way Twain sets up Jim's character. Jim is a man, but acts just like Huck and Tom who are teenagers. Jim also is made fun of throughout the novel by the boys, which makes us feel worse for him. At times the boys talk about playing tricks on Jim. We also feel sympathy for Jim when Huck is trying to protect Jim,

"When we was ten feet off Tom whispered to me, and wanted to tie Jim to the tree for fun. But I said no"(15). This shows that Huck didn't want to get caught after sneaking out of the house. Tom seems to be the more mischievous character. In the middle of the book, Tom is not around much. Huck and Jim are forming a bond and friendship while traveling together on the river. This is shown when Huck doesn't want to tell Jim that the Duke and King aren't real,

"... and it warn't no use to tell Jim, so I didn't tell him"(126). This shows that Huck wants to keep the peace among the group and Jim. They both watch out for each other and protect one another in different situations. Huck is aware of Jim's sadness when he misses his family. In one instance Jim is supposed to wake Huck, but he lets him sleep through the night,

"... So I made Jim lay down in the canoe and cover up with a quilt, because if he set up people could tell he was a nigger a good ways off" (58). This makes the reader feel bad about Jim having to hide because he was afraid of being captured as a runaway slave. The historical accuracy of this novel is also seen when Huck yells to Jim,

"She put me in them new clothes again, and I couldn't do nothing but sweat and sweat, and feel all cramped up"(11). This shows how Widow Douglass tried to make him act civilized. If it were not for Widow Douglass attempting to teach Huck manners, he would fall into the low class due to what he does in his free time. He is a smoker and steals or "borrows" things. His actions always seem to be uncivilized; this is seen after a night out with Tom,

In the beginning of the book Huck and Tom both treat Jim as a friend, but they also use him to poke fun at. In one instance Tom wants to tie Jim to a tree while he is sleeping, but Huck will not allow it,

r owner desired to teach you. Huck would fall in a middle class position. The reason he is in this social class is really due to the fact that he lives with Miss Watson, and the Widow Douglass. If he did not live in that environment, where he is almost forced to act in a civilized manner, he would be in the lower cl

Some common words found in the essay are:
Miss Watson, Jim Jim, Huck Tom, Huck Jim, Widow Douglass, Tom Jim's, Mark Twain, Duke King, Huck Finn, Huckleberry Finn, low class, miss watson, huck jim, social class, skin color, widow douglass, huck tom, fall low class, lower class, color skin, towards jim, low class due, color social class, book huck tom, tie jim tree,

Approximate Word count = 1768
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels