[F] Emily: Chapters 29-31

The key plot line in these three chapters that stood out the most was Jim being caught as a runaway. What I found most interesting about this was the reaction from Huck and how it revealed some of what his and Jim’s relationship is about. In Ezra’s entry he discussed if the relationship between Huck and Jim is more like a father son relationship or a slave master one. When talking to the duke about how the king has sold off Jim, Huck says that Jim is the only PROPERTY he has. We are meant to believe this is a lie, however is it? Does Huck think of Jim as property and want to get him back because he has value or is it because he has a friendship with Jim and genuinely wants to save him?

Although Huck refers to Jim as property to the duke, when Huck first realizes that Jim is gone, he starts to cry. Crying is one of the ultimate signs of emotion, and we see it when Mary Jane cries by her father’s coffin, mourning his death. Is Huck mourning his loss of Jim as if he were a father to him? These two points contradict each other and so it is somewhat unclear how Huck truly sees his relationship with Jim.

One big question I came across while reading was where has Jim been? The king, duke and Huck have been away for quite a long time, leaving Jim all by himself. What has he been doing? What has happened to him? Huck says Jim is extreamly happy to see Huck when he arrives back at the raft however how happy can he really be for Huck leaving him for so long?

One thing we do see in these chapters is a definitive choice by Huck. He contemplates for a while what he should do about Jim. However in the end he does come to a decision to save him. We can see Huck is changing in that he is now able to make a complete choice, not choosing silence or to ignore what is happening. However why is this the thing that makes Huck choose instead of just ignoring it like he has in the past?