Symbolism In Huckleberry Finn

Christ Created in Characters
Two women take a journey with their children because they wanted Christ to bless their children. During that time, Jesus preached to others, so the the discipled turned the women away. However, Christ heard this and stopped and started preaching to the children around him (Kids Time 1). Christ ceased his preaching because being kind to others is being generous to Jesus himself. Similarly, in Mark Twain’s, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jim, a slave, becomes cordial to others even though they do not treat him correctly because of his appearance. Jim acts as an embodiment of Christ because he exerts fatherly actions and remains brutally disliked because of his appearance; however, some believe Jim’s superstitions
do not make him Christ-like. Throughout Huck and Jim’s adventure across the Mississippi River, Jim often protects Huck from menacing situations which results in Jim being a father figure to Huck like how Christ’s followers perceive him. When Jim and Huck find a floating house on the river, they discover a ghastly dead body, but Jim does not let Huck take a glimpse of the body and “...th[rew] some old rags over him…” (Twain 38). At the end of the novel, Jim reveals to Huck that he will not need to worry about his father anymore because Jim knew the dead man in the the house Although, Huck did not know that currently, Jim wanted their journey to continue and did not want Huck to be dreadful, therefore Huck trusted Jim because he views him as an epitome of a parent. Only a father would keep his child from observing a ghastly object and Twain uses this to emphasize that Huck’s metaphorical parent in this novel is Jim. In addition to being a father figure to Huck, Jim helps Tom Sawyer, even though he treats him like a slave, like a parent would do. When Tom got shot while trying to help Jim escape, the doctor had issues working by himself. He cried out for help and Jim crawled out of the woods, risking his freedom and “...says he [will] help…”(Twain 214) by nursing Tom partially back to health. Jim puts another before himself even though he formulated a ludicrous plan and did not treat him righteously like Huck did. Altogether, Jim protects Huck from possible dangerous situations and helps the doctor save Tom while risking his freedom, which appoints him to be an epitome of a parent. Along with Jim being a father figure to Huck and Tom throughout the novel, countless amounts of characters dislike him because of his race. Jim ran away from his home because Miss Watson wanted to sell him for “...eight hund[red] dollars…” (Twain 159). Although Jim has feelings, his appearance still makes him viewed as a slave. Several treat Jim like a sack of money and dislike him because of his race. In comparison, the Lord has unorthodox beliefs but still became a leader to multiple. Furthermore, when Huck comes back to the raft calling for Jim, he does not receive an answer back. Instead, the king sold Jim and“...got forty dollars…” (Twain 163) even after he kept quiet about their scandals and followed along with their plans. Twain uses these scenes to show that slaves should not be treated like money and instead should be considered as conventional beings. Jim fathers Huck and Tom continuously throughout the novel and several despise him, just like Christ; however, Jim believes in superstitions which causes him not to appear holy. Huck and Jim stayed on Jackson’s Island for a few days and while they stayed there, Jim saw birds and knew “...it was going to rain…” (Twain 34) because Jim believes in those types of superstitions. The Lord never had superstitions and believed in the Lord Almighty. Jim does have superstitions; however, he trusts others, which makes him an embodiment of Christ. When Huck and Tom formulate a plan to help Jim escape, he agrees to the absurd plan because he trusts them. First, Nat asks if Jim knew Huck and Tom, but he declined the idea, after Huck proposed the concept of him and Tom coming back to help Jim escape. However, Jim did not know that he instigated a ludicrous plan when “...he said he would…” (Twain 179) want them to come back, but he trusted them with his freedom. Similarly, Christ trusted his followers with deeds that he gave them, although, they would occasionally betray him.
Two women endured a long trip to get Christ’s blessing for their children but got shunned by his disciples because Jesus preached to others at this moment.
Instead, Christ decided to start preaching to the children around them. Jim constantly suffers from discrimination, but still realizes that different methods can be used to be kind to others. Correspondingly, Jim becomes a metaphorical father to Huck and Tom, as well as disliked by several because of his race, which makes him an embodiment of Christ; however Jim believes in superstitions which make him unlike the Lord. Throughout Huck and Jim’s adventure, they encounter innumerable treacherous occasions, such as when Huck and Jim find a dead man in a floating house on the river and Jim protects Huck from acknowledging the ghastly body by covering it up, however, later in the book, Huck finds out that Jim protected him from knowing that the man in the floating house was his father. Jim also helps the doctor nurture Tom back to health after he got shot assisting in Jim’s escape. In addition, Jim runs away from his home at Miss Watson’s because she will sell Jim for eight hundred dollars, in spite of how loyal Jim continues to be. Comparatively, the king sells Jim for a measly forty dollars so he can go drink and scam other townspeople. Jim follows along with their absurd plans and keeps quiet, but still the king sells him. However, Jim has superstitions, such as when him and Huck stay on the island and Jim stares a flock of birds, a signal of rain. In opposition, Christ believes in the Lord Almighty, while Jim does not have any information on the Lord. Many despise Jim because of his race, just like others loathed the Lord because of his beliefs, however they both became effigies of parents, even though Jim has
superstitions.