Preview

Huckleberry Finn Character Development

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
548 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Huckleberry Finn Character Development
Throughout the story of Huck Finn, written by Mark Twain, we see many pieces of character development shown through racism, discrimination, and making choices that could affect one’s morality. Huck’s view of Jim changes throughout the story. He goes from thinking Jim is just a slave to thinking that the way of modern society is completely wrong and doesn’t attempt to delve deeper and find more out about the black people that they would enslave. When Huck originally ran away from society as he knew it, he unknowingly ran into Miss Watson’s slave Jim. He was torn between choosing to turn Jim in or staying alongside him and escape with Jim. Later on, they are separated out of panic and later happen to meet again. Huck then thinks “Well, I warn't long making him understand I warn't dead. I was ever so glad to see Jim. I warn't lonesome now. I told him I warn't afraid of HIM telling …show more content…
Huck became someone that Jim could talk to, someone he could consider family. We see Jim tell Huck of how excited he is because of Huck’s bravery. “Pooty soon I'll be a-shout'n' for joy, en I'll say, it's all on accounts o' Huck; I's a free man, en I couldn't ever ben free ef it hadn' ben for Huck; Huck done it. Jim won't ever forgit you, Huck; you's de bes' fren' Jim's ever had; en you's de ONLY fren' ole Jim's got now. (16.14)” We can see Jim cares deeply about Huck because he relies heavily on Huck to get him out of the horrors he had to deal with each day in his life of slavery. Because of Huck Finn, it forever shaped the overall morality of America was viewed in terms of racism. It influenced people’s views and thoughts and actions and how they treated people around them. “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain helped change on how the world operates as a whole and how the individuals operate within

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn was the main character of the book Huckleberry Finn. He definitely became way more mature throughout the book and it really shows. At the start he isn’t very much like everyone else around him. He just followed his own rules and did what he wanted to do without really putting in much thought about what his actions may do to others or how they may feel and react. He was a poor, homeless boy growing up and also acted very ignorant most of the time. He was just not important in the town or society he lived in. Towards the end of the story you will see a big change in the way he acts. Throughout the first portion of the book he was trying to escape his father, who was a drunk, mean old man.…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huckleberry Finn Criticism

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages

    To Huck, for a majority of the novel, Jim was seen as Mrs. Watson’s property and Jim was incapable of emotions and it would be fine if he was sold away from his family. It was not until the last half of the novel did Huck see humanity in Jim. Huck recalled that Jim “was thinking about his wife and his children, away up yonder, and he was low and homesick; because he hadn't ever been away from home before in his life; and I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their'n. It don't seem natural, but I reckon it's so. He was often moaning and mourning that way nights, when he judged I was asleep, and saying, "Po' little '! po' little Johnny! it's mighty hard; I spec' I ain't ever gwyne to see you no mo', no mo'!" He was a mighty good nigger, Jim was” (Twain 152). Twain hoped that his would provide seeds for an equality movement between African-American and the white Southerners. Twain wanted peace after years of fighting, so by adding human qualities to Jim and creating a strong relationship between Huck and Jim, the peace would possibly come through The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.…

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jim is the slave of the widow Douglas and Miss Watson, Huck’s guardians in the beginning of the book. A key part in Huckleberry Finn is how Huck is the only person who treats Jim like anyone else. Most see Jim as just another useless black man but to Huck, Jim is a very important man. Jim acts as the sort of father figure for Huck when they are flowing down the river. Although Huck was taught how to be friendly, Jim is friendly by nature. When Huck has “Gone Away,” Jim is genuinely concerned, saying "Goodness gracious, is dat you, Huck? En you ain' dead—you ain' drownded—you's back agin? It's too good for true, honey, it's too good for true. Lemme look at you chile, lemme feel o' you. No, you ain' dead! you's back agin, 'live en soun', jis de same ole Huck—de same ole Huck, thanks to goodness!" (15.19). Huck is confused but, he can see how much Jim cares for him. Huck is always very respectful towards Jim, which is a way most people did not act towards slaves at the time; Jim tells Huck that he was the only "white genlman dat ever kep' his promise to ole Jim" (16.16). Later on in the story, the two come across a boat, and on the boat was Huck’s dead father. Knowing how much this would upset Huck, Jim shielded Huck from seeing this by saying "It's a dead man. Yes, indeedy; naked, too. He's ben shot in de back. I reck'n he's ben dead two er three days. Come in, Huck, but doan' look at his face—it's too…

    • 897 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Mark Twain and Henrik Ibsen were both influential authors. Their books are read today and seen as stories that dive into social problems during the author’s respective times. Mark Twain’s Huck Finn (from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) is about a young boy who finds himself struggling with an issue within his morals that he was taught. Nora Helmer, from Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House, deals with a secret that could cause her to be disrespected in society. Although both Twain and Ibsen use a bevy of characters that affect how they persuade the audience of their social issue, Twain uses supporting characters to build up Huck’s moral dilemma, whereas Ibsen introduces challenging characters into Nora’s situation.…

    • 1328 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    During The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck was forced to deal with his morals and how he should not help Jim escape to freedom. Huck actually ended up stealing Jim from a farmer to get him to freedom. While Huck is spending so much time with Jim, his opinion of him changed. When Huck and Jim were on their way to Cairo, Huck was in a canoe and got separated from Jim on the raft. Jim had fallen asleep and when he woke up Huck tricked him into believing the whole thing was a dream and they had never been apart. Huck then realizes that what he did was a little harsh and feels the need to apologize. “...I didn’t do him no more mean tricks and I wouldn’t done that one if I’d a knowed it would make him feel that way.” (Twain 87). Huck feels sorry for playing tricks on Jim and he starts to realize that Jim being black doesn’t mean he deserves to be treated poorly. By putting this in the book, Mark Twain was foreshadowing the friendship to…

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the novel, Mark Twain creates an interesting relationship between two seemingly opposite characters: a white boy and a black man. Right away, the reader realizes this relationship seems not only odd, but almost unlikely. As the story matures, the relationship between Huck and Jim matures as well. In the beginning of the book, Huck treats Jim as though Jim is not a human-being, but something sub-human with human-like qualities. More to the climax and conclusion of the book, Jim changes in Huck 's eyes. Huck now seems to regard Jim as a friend, supported by the fact that Huck did not have the heart to turn in the fugitive slave. This relationship is critical in the plot. Twain not only uses it to advance the story, but to address a rising national problem. The national need for companionship and re-bonding after the Civil War, not only to heal the wounds between the North and South, but between blacks and whites. Twain illustrates this need by making Jim become something of a father figure to Huck, a type of nurturing between men, essential for the survival of the nation. Twain sets the scene by showing that Jim felt he had an obligation to protect Huck on their adventure, especially when they enter the house floating on the…

    • 1165 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Huckleberry Finn: Racism

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In Mark Twains' The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the main character Huck, makes two very important decisions. The first one is how he treats Jim when he first meets him at Jackson's Island and the second is to tear up the letter to Miss Watson because he cares deeply for Jim. When Huck first runs away from Pap he goes to Jackson's Island and thinks that he is the only person there. He soon finds out that this is not true, and that "Miss Watsons Jim"1 , is taking crap there as well. Many people would hate to be alone on an island with a "nigger"2 , but Huck is happy to have someone to talk with. At first Jim thinks he sees Hucks ghost and is scared. Huck gets Jims feelings by changing the subject and saying "It's good daylight, le's get breakfast"3 , showing that Huck is not only real but he does not mind that Jim is black. Jim feels that Huck might tell on him for running away, but he then decides that it will be okay to tell him why he ran away from Miss Watson. Jim keeps asking Huck if he is going to tell anyone about his running away, and Huck say's "People would call me a low down abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum but that don't make no difference I aint gonna tell"4 . Hucks response truly shows that his ignorance has no showing over his kindness. When taken into consideration good decisions are much more important in the long run than being the smartest person. After traveling with Jim for quite some time Huck begins to feel bad about harboring a runaway slave. He decides to write a letter to Miss Watson explaining the whole story, because Jim had been sold and he does not know where he is. Huck was indeed confused about what he should do so he dropped he dropped to his knees and began to pray. He felt by helping Jim he was committing a sin, but he later realized "you can't pray a lie"5 . Huck saying this shows that he feels what he has done for Jim is not wrong; instead what others had done to Jim is wrong. Still not sure of what to do about the…

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an important novel that shows how the two worlds of Huck and Jim collide to bring out the problems of racism and slavery before the civil war. Huck was a young, naive boy who is oblivious to the outside world. Jim was a slave with a big heart who looked at the world in a whole different perspective. Throughout the journey together Huck and Jim’s relationship was shaken by the cold reality of racism and slavery, thus slowly opening Huck's eyes to the world around him and creating a new foundation for friendship. When Jim and Huck go on their journey outside of St.Petersburg, Missouri a whole new world was opened up to them, they saw the country like never before.…

    • 912 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Mark Twain’s book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck Finn was a troubled kid who grew up and matured in several ways. Huck ran away and had to learn how to make it on his own, and as he went on that journey of going from boyhood to adulthood he learned so much about doing the right thing.…

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The story “Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain discusses a theme of slavery. Noting from the content in the story, Mark Twain was most likely anti-slavery. A character in the story was a slave. The life that the character lived was a struggle, as well as de-humanizing. Huck learned a lot about Jim and his life he was forced to live. He respected Jim for his bravery and willingness to return to his family. Jim was treated as property, but was able to keep true to himself as Huck helped him become a free…

    • 1297 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the book, Huck hasn’t really experienced what life really was and what you might encounter during times that just come out of anything. Jim is someone that you might call strange and unexpected. When Huck and Jim were together on the island and going down the river, Huck was mainly giving orders to Jim, but on occasion he didn’t. The reason why Huck was giving orders more often was because that was the environment that he had grown up around. As time goes on he begins to realize and understand how a black man has been treated throughout life and starts to respect him more and more by who he actually is. When Huck was deciding whether to tell Mary that Jim was with him, “ It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a slave; but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterward, neither” (Twain 92). Huck was scared to what was going to happen if he would tell Miss Watson, but he overcame it very well.…

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Huckleberry Finn is a young boy who struggles with complex issues such as empathy, guilt, fear, and morality in Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". There are two different sides to Huck. One is the subordinate, easily influenced boy whom he becomes when under the "guide" of Tom Sawyer. His other persona surfaces when he is on his own, thinking of his friendship with Jim and agonizing over which to trust: his heart or his conscience. When Huck's ongoing inner struggle with his own duality forces him to makes difficult and controversial choices, the reader sees a boy in the throes of moral development. And it is, indeed, a struggle. Although Huck believes in the rules of the harshly racist society in which he lives, a deeper and sounder part of him keeps making decisions that break those very same rules.…

    • 1735 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    As Huck travels further with Jim, their bond grows stronger. He realizes how Jim and others are being mistreated and taken advantage of. Despite this, Huck was still bombarded with the idealisms proposing slavery. When faced with the options of turning Jim in or not, it was a difficult choice for him to make. With his decision to assist Jim in his escape, he was overcome by guilt and remorse, when in fact, morally this was the honorable and right choice. Unfortunately Huck only came to this conclusion from his feelings of guilt towards Jim. "Dah you goes, de ole true Huck; de on'y white genleman dat ever kep 'his promises to ole Jim." (page 124). Jim's loyalty to Huck was infinite and he put so much faith in Huck that he could not bear to betray Jim like that.…

    • 909 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Throughout the entire novel, Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, Jim has clearly been the most loyal, honest friend to his peers. Jim shows his kindness mostly to Huck, but the most apparent instance where Jim’s loyal characteristics show is at the end of the book when he gives up his freedom to help Tom Sawyer who was shot in the leg. I am not shocked at all about Jim’s decision to do this, largely because he showed great character to everyone he met and always took care of the people he knew.…

    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the beginning of the novel, Huck’s relationship with Jim is one of only acquaintance. He has had minimal contact with Jim and sees him as merely just slave.Huck doesn’t fully acknowledge the fact that he has feelings. He even allows Tom to play a trick on Jim, “Tom said he slipped Jim’s hat off and Hung it on the tree”(Twain 6). Although he did try to stop Tom from doing, Huck doesn’t think much about it , as he doesn’t really care about Jim since he is just a slave. After the incident Jim comes to believe that witches rode him all over the world and that the hat was left on the tree. Huck never tells him the truth. By the time Jim and Huck have set out in the raft, they’ve developed a special bond. Huck doesn’t fully understand this until he plays a mean joke on Jim that leaves Jim deeply hurt,” when I got all wore out wid work, en wid calling you, en went to sleep my heart was mos broke bekause you woz los, (...) , en all you could think of how you make a fool uv ole jim, (Twain 55) After the incident, Huck comes to the realization that Jim isn’t just a slave but a person. Huck knows he has feeling and from this point on he begins to question the morality of slavery.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays