Huck finn essay

Have you ever played a mean trick or a joke on someone and only realized later on how bad it made them feel? Well, that was the case with Huckleberry Finn when he tricked Jim. After convincing Jim that the whole fog incident was just a dream, Huck tauntingly points out the broken oar and the leaves on the raft. It was this prank as well as the moments following it that showed us the true character of Huck as well as Jim. It was only after the incident that Huck realized that Jim cared for him and was heart broke because he thought he had died. As soon as making this realization he got to thinking.

Fifteen minutes later he went and comforted Jim, as well as apologized. Huck knew that was the right thing to do and never regretted it afterwards, even though he violated southern culture by acknowledging Jim’s worth. Assuming responsibility for his actions is starting to show that Huck recognizes Jim’s humanity.

This incident shows that Huck is starting to mature. The first time he played a trick on Jim he did not assume responsibility for it. When the dead rattlesnake’s mate bit Jim, Huck guiltily hid the truth and pretended not to know how the snake got there. As their journey progressed down the Mississippi the once young and impressionable Huck was starting to grow up.

Jim’s character is totally different from Huck’s. Jim is a sensitive man and the only father figure that Huck ever had in his life. Huck’s mother being gone and his father being a drunk, Huck never encountered someone who cared this much for him and in this way. Although the Widow Douglas gave him food, shelter, and an education she was not like a parent. Jim showed a lot of love and compassion for Huck. For example he protected Huck from seeing his dead father in the house boat by telling him to look away because the face was too gruesome.

He also shows that he cares for others more than him self. An example of this is when he had the chance to run from the Phelps plantation but he nursed the injured Tom instead, even though the same Tom kept him locked up for almost a month and made him play all sorts of foolish prisoner games. Even though Jim and Huck are very good friends he still respected the fact that Huck is white. Some examples are how he doesn” t wake Huck when it’s his watch shift, or when he is prisoner he gives up argument and says the boys must know better because their white. The response that Jim has towards Huck’s prank reveals his true character as well as his true feelings of love and affection for Huck. Due to the fact that Huck lived in the south he had no problem with slavery or the idea that blacks were inferior to whites. When he found Jim on Jackson Island his first intention was to leave him there and not help, but his common sense and good nature prevailed over society’s rules. His good nature also got the better of him when he was thinking of handing Jim in.

This included the time when the duke and the king handed Jim in for $40 dollars. Huck was thinking about writing to Miss Watson and telling her to come get her nigger, but he changed his mind and ripped up the letter. At the same time he also maintains society’s beliefs about niggers through out the entire novel. When Tom Sawyer’s Aunt Sally asks Huck if anyone was hurt when the steamboat cylinder exploded, he said “ No” m killed a nigger.

” This incident shows that even though he’s been friends with a black man all this time, he still hasn” t shed the southern belief that blacks are inferior. As the Novel progresses Huck not only matures but also looses his innocence. Seeing the Sheperdsons shoot his friends, seeing how the King and Duke tricked people cold heartedly and without even hesitating, or seeing Boggs getting shot were all incidents that showed him how evil natured some people could be. The family he found after the steamboat ran rite through their raft, the Grangerfords, cared more about winning the feud than about their sons” safety. The King and Duke did not care about those three poor girls, they just wanted to steal their father’s money and sell his property. Colonel Sherburn ends up shooting the drunken Boggs in public and right in front of his daughter. Seeing all these things did not only open his eyes to the evil intentions of people, but also helped him to mature. The quote that Jim muttered to Huck after the prank also helps to advance the action of the story.

Huck was affected by the quote so it can be anticipated that he will not play anymore tricks on Jim. It also foreshadows that Huck and Jim will become closer friends despite them being different races. The prank Huck played on Jim and the moments following it revealed Jim’s character as well as Huck’s. The prank was the start of Huck’s maturity, which progressed as he continued his adventure down the Mississippi. The road of life has its bumps, just as the Mississippi has its dangers.