Similarities Between Batman And Huckleberry Finn
Batman and Robin, a classic Hero/sidekick duo, but what do these two have to do with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain? While the antebellum south and Gotham City have very little in common, and Huck does very little to stop crimes and more to commit them, both stories feature a hero and his trusty sidekick. Critic Jane Smiley suggests “Twain really saw Jim as no more than Huck’s sidekick”. While the hero Huck does not actively try to put down his sidekick Jim, the relationship between Huck and Jim is anything but parallel. Through making Jim a sidekick Twain suggests that, due to both Jim’s lack of direction when alone and his own belief that he owes his freedom to Huck, as well as Huck’s power over Jim’s fate and his failure
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While Huck may still care for Jim and do things to help Jim gain his freedom, he is obviously not one of Huck’s major priorities. Huck’s carelessness for Jim is exemplified in Jim’s omittance from the end of chapter sixteen all the way to half way through chapter eighteen. Huck dismissively states I sung out for Jim about a dozen times, but I didn’t get any answer; so I grabbed a plank that touched me while I was “treading water,” and struck out for shore, shoving it ahead of me”(116) and Jim is forgotten for a long chapter and a half. Huck does not need Jim to guide him throughout the novel like Jim needs Huck to do. Huck’s freedom to act independently implies Huck influences Jim’s life more than Jim influences Huck’s. This imbalance in their relationship creates the servant/ master relationship seen throughout the novel.
Huck and Jim have a less than equal bond, however the two need each other. Without Jim, Huck is simply a young boy seeking adventure, not the developing young man on his way to heroic moral decisions. Without Huck, Jim is hopelessly lost, now knowing what move to make next. While some may argue this duo is not as fantastic as Batman and Robin, Jim and Huck place themselves in a position to be true trailblazers for racial equality. While their enemies are not the Joker and Bane, but are ideologies and crude generalizations, both duos take steps to battle the problems head on for the greater
While Huck may still care for Jim and do things to help Jim gain his freedom, he is obviously not one of Huck’s major priorities. Huck’s carelessness for Jim is exemplified in Jim’s omittance from the end of chapter sixteen all the way to half way through chapter eighteen. Huck dismissively states I sung out for Jim about a dozen times, but I didn’t get any answer; so I grabbed a plank that touched me while I was “treading water,” and struck out for shore, shoving it ahead of me”(116) and Jim is forgotten for a long chapter and a half. Huck does not need Jim to guide him throughout the novel like Jim needs Huck to do. Huck’s freedom to act independently implies Huck influences Jim’s life more than Jim influences Huck’s. This imbalance in their relationship creates the servant/ master relationship seen throughout the novel.
Huck and Jim have a less than equal bond, however the two need each other. Without Jim, Huck is simply a young boy seeking adventure, not the developing young man on his way to heroic moral decisions. Without Huck, Jim is hopelessly lost, now knowing what move to make next. While some may argue this duo is not as fantastic as Batman and Robin, Jim and Huck place themselves in a position to be true trailblazers for racial equality. While their enemies are not the Joker and Bane, but are ideologies and crude generalizations, both duos take steps to battle the problems head on for the greater