Miss Watson Character Analysis
Mark Twain, author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, writes about a young boy named Huck Finn, who experiences many tough decisions and meets a variety of people. Huck meets those whom he can trust and those he cannot. Growing into who he is meant to be, Huck starts to find who he is and his stance on topics. Throughout his journey down the Mississippi, Huck encounters Crooks, Caregivers, and Racists who positively influence his moral growth. While Mark Twain depicts Huck growing in many ways, those who are Selfish increase his moral growth. Widow Douglas, a character who displays selfishness, uses Huck in a self-serving way to please herself. Widow Douglas believes she is helping Huck grow into a well-civilized young man, but does
…show more content…
Miss Watson, Pap, and the Townspeople demonstrate racism through how they treat Jim. Miss Watson believes in the idea that white folk can sell African Americans. One of the major characteristics we see Miss Watson gain from racism is selfishness. At one point, we see her becoming greedy when she starts to think about gaining money from selling Jim. While her views and actions seem horrible, they only get worse with other characters. Pap is one of the biggest Racist in this novel. While drunk, Pap expresses his feelings about the government and his stance on African Americans. “‘Oh, yes, this is a wonderful govment, wonderful. Why, looky here. There was a free nigger there from Ohio. . . They said he was a p’fessor in a college, and could talk all kinds of languages, and knowed everything. And that ain’t the wust. They said he could vote when he was at home. . . . [B]ut when they told me there was a state in this county where they’d let that nigger vote, i drawed out. I says I’ll never vote ag’in’” (24). Pap’s true feelings about African Americans come through this quote, which allows the reader to understand another aspect of Pap. The last group of people who portray racism is the townspeople. The townspeople think that Huck is a “victim to murder.” Jim runs away that same night, which leads to assumptions of him being the murderer. They do not think twice about their accusation because during this
Miss Watson, Pap, and the Townspeople demonstrate racism through how they treat Jim. Miss Watson believes in the idea that white folk can sell African Americans. One of the major characteristics we see Miss Watson gain from racism is selfishness. At one point, we see her becoming greedy when she starts to think about gaining money from selling Jim. While her views and actions seem horrible, they only get worse with other characters. Pap is one of the biggest Racist in this novel. While drunk, Pap expresses his feelings about the government and his stance on African Americans. “‘Oh, yes, this is a wonderful govment, wonderful. Why, looky here. There was a free nigger there from Ohio. . . They said he was a p’fessor in a college, and could talk all kinds of languages, and knowed everything. And that ain’t the wust. They said he could vote when he was at home. . . . [B]ut when they told me there was a state in this county where they’d let that nigger vote, i drawed out. I says I’ll never vote ag’in’” (24). Pap’s true feelings about African Americans come through this quote, which allows the reader to understand another aspect of Pap. The last group of people who portray racism is the townspeople. The townspeople think that Huck is a “victim to murder.” Jim runs away that same night, which leads to assumptions of him being the murderer. They do not think twice about their accusation because during this