[H] Laura: Chapters 41-the Last

Through out the time from when Tom agrees to help Huck free Jim from slavery, there is something that he is keeping from Huck, "there’s one more thing – a thing that nobody don’t know but me. And that is, there’s a nigger here that I’m a trying to steal out of slavery – and his name is Jim – old Miss Watson’s Jim.", Tom replies "What! Why Jim is –"(page 170). Tom never completes his sentence, and he begins to reconsider what he was about to say, and from this we know that something is up. As the story continues we see that Tom begins to make things more complicated than they need to be, almost as if it was a joke to him. We finally see the reason for this in the end, because of "Miss Watson setting Jim free in her will; and so, sure enough, Tom Sawyer had gone and took all that trouble and bother to set a free nigger free!"(page 218)

One of the other things that can be noticed is that Huck begins to care more about people, and have more genuine feelings for people, specifically those of color. We see Huck starting to treat Jim as more of a person and less of a piece of property, and actually consider him a living breathing person just like himself "I hope they was going to say he could have one or two of the chains took off, because they was rotten heavy, or could have meat and greens with his bread and water, but they didn’t think of it, and I didn’t reckoned it warn’t best for me to mix in"(215). Also in the Last chapter you see the people have a different view of Jim, and possibly all African-Americans, when in the end the unchained Jim when the realized he had done a good deed and helped to save Toms live. This caused them to view him as less of an inferior. See page 207, where Huck realizes something similar.

[H] Yona: Chapters 41-the Last

To begin with, I found the term, “singular dream” surprising. If one looks up “singular”, it is defined as “exceptionally good or memorable”, which lead me to wonder if the Doctor was being sarcastic, or otherwise.

Continuing, on pg. 214, I thought it was interesting that they said “keeping a whole family scared to death for days and nights” as one of the reasons Jim should be punished. I thought it was more like Tom’s absence that kept them up late at night, and less so Jim’s.

At the bottom of 214, “I got to have help...and all night.” I thought it was interesting that Jim offers up his freedom in order to help Tom, who has thus far only been detrimental to Jim acquiring his freedom. Does this show that Jim is a genuinely nice, naive guy, or that he sees possibility of freedom in coming out of the bushes?

“The nigger was setting by the pallet with…what he was about.” I thought it was interesting that even though the Doctor just gained so much by Jim’s sacrifice, he now disregards that and doesn’t repay him, but instead captures him. It is a kind of betrayal that I think is the ultimate: the Doctor takes away precisely what Jim has been fighting for for this entire book, after Jim has sacrificed it himself. But if Jim has already sacrificed it, has the Doctor really taken it away?

“I hoped they was going to say….best for me to mix in.” I think this is a great example of Huck’s new understanding of Jim as a person. He wants the best for Jim, and that includes removing the chains (literally), and providing better food. These are all luxuries that would be enjoyed by a human (through Huck’s eyes), and he wants them for Jim, showing that he now acknowledges Jim as more than a “nigger”. It also demonstrates Huck’s acceptance of Jim as a friend, and his genuine compassion.

“Why, the whole thing….wasn’t it bully, Aunty!” Tom’s confession of the events that transpired struck me as confessional, and as a weak attempt on Twain’s part to end the book with everything resolved. I was really disappointed by this resolution, and as Twain’s writing is so renowned and witty, I would have expected a cleverer solution to his problem of ending the book.

“Tom Sawyer had gone and took all that trouble, and bother to set a free nigger free.” I thought it was interesting that in the end, Tom receives much of the credit for the deed of setting Jim free. I also thought it was a weak resolution on Twain’s part to have Huck’s father dead (even though he was dead from the beginning, it’s as if he is only dead now because now is when we find out as readers). It’s as though all of Huck’s justifications for running away are no longer justified. For example, he no longer really had reason to be running away from the law, nor civilization. I was really disappointed by this.

“But I reckon I got to light out…I been there before.” The territories here seem promising, and they give Huck a chance to continue escaping the civilization, and rules, and people trying to change him. But I think it says a lot about Huck’s personality that even before one journey is finished, he’s looking to start another. He’s definitely a wanderer, and I doubt he would ever be satisfied staying in one place, simply because he is not one to want to confine to others’ ideals, which is something that would be expected of him if he stayed in one place for too long. But once again, he is choosing not to confront his fears, adversaries and challenges, but instead chooses to run away, this time to the territories.

[F] Dan: Chapters 41-the Last

In the following passages, Twain uses irony as his weapon to target the Southern society and the system of slavery.

1) “…and then (Aunt Sally) said she’d forgive us, and maybe it was all right enough anyway, and about what a body might expect of boys, for all boys was a pretty harum-scarum lot, as fur as she could see; and so, as long as no harm hadn’t come of it, she judged she better put in her time being grateful we was alive and well and she had us still, stead of fretting over what was past and done.” (Page 212)

-Aunt Sally clearly doesn’t care about Jim other than being property. Here’s another important place where Jim is left out.

2) “Laws know I wanted to go, bad enough, to see about Tom, and was all intending to go; but after that, I wouldn’t a went, not for kingdoms.” (Page 213)

-What happened to Jim? Does Huck not care about him anymore, does Huck now only care about Tom?

3) “It was Tom Sawyer on a mattress; and that old doctor; and Jim, in her calico dress, with his hands tied behind him; and a lot of people.” (Page 213)

-The irony of this statement is very powerful. Tom, the trouble-maker and immoral kid is being carried on a mattress while Jim, the moral person is in chains and is humiliated by wearing women’s clothing, for not even doing anything wrong. In fact, he helped the doctor treat Tom.

4) “I like the nigger for that; I tell you, gentlemen, a nigger like that is worth a thousand dollars—and kind treatment, too.” (Page 215, the doctor)

-Here’s another ironic statement, the doctor is saying how Jim is a good and kind person, however even he disparages Jim by calling him a nigger and talking about him as if he is property.

5) “Then they all agreed that Jim had acted very well, and was deserving to have some notice took of it, and reward. So every one of them promised right out and hearty, that they wouldn’t cuss him no more.”

-Jim’s reward for helping save Tom, the precious white child who played games with Jim’s freedom and even his life, is that the crowd won’t cuss him anymore? That’s not very much of a reward for risking his freedom and life to perform such a praiseworthy, selfless act.

6) “Then what on earth did you want to set him free for, seeing he was already free?” “Well, that is a question, I must say; and just like women! Why, I wanted the adventure of it; and I’d waded neck-deep in blood to—goodness alive, Aunt Polly!” (bottom of page 217- top of page 218, Aunt Sally to Tom Sawyer)

-what is the significance of the interruption? Why do you think that Twain placed this interruption here? This was all clearly just an adventure for Tom.

7) “…Tom Sawyer had gone and took all that trouble and bother to set a free nigger free!” (Page 218)

-what is Huck’s relationship with Jim now? Is Jim just another nigger to Huck? Is this a sign that Huck has lost all of his progress on his “road to morality”?

Questions

1) What is the significance of Jim’s disappearance at the end? Is Jim important to Huck anymore? What is their relationship?

2) Is Jim free? (Can he ever really be free?) The ending is a happy one for Huck and Tom but what about Jim? Jim’s feelings about everything at the end are completely left out.

3) What is the significance of the whole prison section (why did Twain include this section)? Does the represent Jim’s entire odyssey or is it a metaphorical representation of any sort?

4) We know that these are all just adventures for Tom and everything is just a game for him, but was toying with Jim’s life and his freedom and Huck’s entire odyssey just a game for Huck?

5) What are Jim’s feelings right now? He seems happy that he is free but is he just feigning this happiness and secretly angry at the two boys? When it was thought that Jim was Huck’s father figure, did Jim really care for and care about Huck, or was he just trying to get to the North and be free?

The following are some notes on the ending:

-When Tom proposed the idea that the three of them go on another adventure in the “injun territory”, Huck responds but Jim is either left out for this part or doesn’t even respond.

-When Huck states that he does not wish to be “sivilized” again, is this Twain metaphorically telling us that the Southern society is very prejudice and racist and they brainwash innocent children into becoming immoral, disgraceful human beings? Isn’t it ironic that it is this civilization that taught Huck to be a racist, and when Huck was finally progressing on becoming a truly moral person, only through a long journey with Jim, the Southern society quickly changes him back to being a prejudice racist.

-The saddest part of the ending of Huckleberry Finn is that Jim is never really free; he is still trapped in this racist society. Also it is very sad to see that through this entire journey, Huck hasn’t changed at all, he is still just as racist and prejudice as he was at the start of the novel.

[H] Kyle: Chapters 38-40

As what was discussed in the last couple of chapters, we see that Huck is going on a moral journey where he is learning that ownership give you power making ownership over a person give you more power. In these chapters, there is moral development is not necessarily a steady path. The interactions between the three of them influence Huck’s growth.

In the beginning of chapter 38, Tom has this idea that talked about Jim having a coat of arms. In the medieval times, a coat of arms was a distinctive heraldic bearing or shield of a person, family, corporation or country. Basically, this was necessary to know who your friends were and who your enemies were. On the bottom of 194, we see that Huck has this idea to create a coat of arms for Jim. “ Look at Gilford Dudley; look at old northumberland! Why, Huck, spose it is considerable trouble? – what you going to do? – how you going to get around it? Jim got to do his inscription and coat of arms” (194). The question to be asked is do you think Tom knows whom Jim is or does he care? In my opinion, this whole situation is just a joke to Tom and the only reason why Tom created this idea was just for the sake of the “game”.

On the subject of this “game”, Huck and Tom enslave Jim in a cabin for three weeks. During this process, Tom puts snakes and spiders in the cabin where Jim is staying for the sake of his sadistic game. Even though it is evident that Huck’s moral development is developing in a slow, unsteady path, we see that Huck’s motives stay strong. On PG 201, we see that Huck is questioning Tom’s motives for the game when involving the letters, “but looky here, Tom, what do we want to warn anybody for, that something’s up? Let them find it out for themselves –it’s their look-out” (pg 201-202).

Even though Jim was put in this situation, we see that Jim has the strongest coat of morality. On page 207, Tom gets shot and Jim, not only calls the doctor but even believed that Tom would do the same thing for him, “well, den, dis is de way it look to me, Huck. Ef it wuz him day ‘uz bein’ sot free, en one er de boys wuz to git shot….No, sah – I doan’ budge a step out’n dis place, ‘dout a doctor; not if it’s forty year!” (207) By Jim saying thing, Huck states that Jim is “white inside”. In my opinion, I think that Huck is referring to Jim as actually a person with feeling and morals not just an object for their game.

[F] Chloe: Chapters 38-40

In the last entry Noah posed the question of why is Tom listened to by Jim and Huck. In these chapters that question is even more important. Tom’s elaborate plan for Jim’s escape continues to become more and more convoluted. Tom decides that it is necessary for Jim to have a coat of arms. This is perplexing because normally only nobility have a coat of arms. Tom uses the work nobility to describe Jim on page 195. However, Tom also refers to Jim as a prisoner. It is interesting that both terms, which are both describing Jim, are used so closely in the reading but have such different meaning and connotations. When Tom is asked why all of these details are necessary for Jim’s escape he answers, (on page 195) “because he is going out right”. The word right in this context could have two different meanings, it could just mean the way Tom wants him to, or it could mean going out with morality. In class we talked about why Twain forces us to watch Jim endure all of these hardships before finally escaping. Tom forces Jim to live with rats and he says, (on page 201) “between rats, snakes and stone there was no room for him”.

We also discussed what it meant for Jim to be free, and if it was ever possible for him to be free. On page 207, Jim is told, “Jim you’re a free man again”. We talked about at what point during the book was Jim free. Cairo was the point in which Jim was the closest to being free. Aaron made a comparison between Jim and Caliban and posed the question of whether or not Jim would be like Caliban and just always live the life of a slave regardless of whether or not he was legally free.

The theme of silence and Huck really being unable to speak is also in these chapters. On page 205 Huck says, “and I couldn’t answer”. We discussed what is keeping Huck from speaking up and making Tom stop these ridiculous plans. Another important question was whether or not Tom could ever come to conscience and if so what would it take to make him realize his mistakes.

[H] Sarah: Chapters 35-37

“Tom was in high spirits. He said it was the best fun he ever had in his life” (page 188). Stealing Jim is a game to Tom: just another one of his adventures without consequences; an adventure with European “heroes” as he says on page 180. “You got to invent all the difficulties. Well, we can’t help it, we got to do the best we can with the materials we’ve got. Anyhow, there’s one thing – there’s more honor in getting him out through a lot of difficulties and dangers…” (Page 180).

Huck intersects all of Tom’s fantasy with a strain of reality. “What do we want to saw?” Tom says “What do we want of it? Hain’t we got to saw the leg of Jim’s bed off, so as to get the chain loose?” Huck says “Why, you just said a body could lift up the bedstead and slip the chain off.” (page 180). This shows some of the differences between Huck and Tom. The reality and sense in Huck’s thoughts Tom’s fantasies (that Huck follows along with because he doesn’t know what else to do and has no control over Tom).

Huck always has a notion of reality, consequence, and capture on his mind. This can be contrasted with Tom’s belief in fantasy and his incredible impunity and “honor” (pg. 180). This is all a game and a challenge to Tom while Huck needs to (and does) treat this as reality that has real consequences. If this doesn’t work or if they treat this as a joke, Jim’s life is in danger.

Tom, on page 181 said, “Huck, you don’t ever seem to want to do anything that’s regular; you want to be starting something fresh all the time.” Huck then responded, “Well, I says, if it’s in the regulations, and he’s got to have it, all right, let him have it; because I don’t wish to go back to no regulations; but there’s one thing, Tom Sawyer – if we go tearing up our sheets to make Jim a rope-ladder, we’re going to get into trouble with Aunt Sally, just as sure as you’re born.” (Page 181-182).

Tom feels that he has to obey all the white man’s regulations and the middle class conventions. He’s very unoriginal in that he follows in other people’s footsteps and does what he reads in books. Huck needs to think things up on the spot and is, on the other hand, very original. He has no regulations because of his previous life with Pap, though he does display his knowledge of consequence specifically through the above quote from pages 181-182. He wants some of these regulations to fit in with Tom, but others so he doesn’t have to deal with the life he lived before he was with Jim. Tom uses his authority to determine the impress upon Huck the regulations he could place on people.

The regulations that Tom submits to always affect Huck and his following decisions. Huck sometimes tries to resist the regulations, but always surrenders and follows Tom’s command. Tom even says that Huck is not “regular” and uses this standpoint of a white, middle class, male authority to manipulate Huck and the things he does. Huck generally submits to what Tom says, but thinks about it and ways to get around it by saying what he thinks only to be shot down by Tom saying that he (Huck) is uneducated and is inferior to him in many different ways.

Tom uses his white, middle class authority to determine right and wrong in each and every situation in addition to the regulations as I said above. He says that it was wrong for Huck to take the watermelon and proceeds to scold him. The stealing versus borrowing aspect of these chapters is very important in my mind. Tom uses his regulations and his authority to determine what’s right and wrong: what’s okay to steal and what’s not. Huck, as he learned from Pap, is allowed to borrow when he feels like it and doesn’t necessarily need to give it back afterward. For example, in these chapters, Huck borrows the pick-ax, but Tom steals the case-knife. Huck steals the watermelon and Tom says it’s a bad thing to do! That’s not abiding by the rules. Tom says that stealing is okay as long as it’s part of the plan, but not if it’s not part of the plan. This is part of the reason why Tom says it’s wrong for Huck to take the slave’s watermelon but okay to steal a case-knife from their Aunt Sally and Uncle Sirus.

Huck says, “Picks is the thing, moral or no moral; and as for me, I don’t care shucks for the morality of it, nohow. When I start in to steal a nigger, for a watermelon, or a Sunday-school book, I ain’t ways particular how it’s done so it’s done.” (page 186). Tom responds, “Well,” he says, “there’s excuse for picks and letting-on in a case like this; if it warn’t so, I wouldn’t approve of it, nor I wouldn’t stand by it and see the rules broke – because right is right and wrong is wrong and a body ain’t got no business doing wrong when he ain’t ignorant and he knows better. It might answer for you to dig Jim out with a pick, without any letting-on, because you don’t know no better; but it wouldn’t for me, because I do know better.”

Huck and Tom’s morality are VERY different. Tom has a flexible morality – the white morality but can still be adventurous. If he needs something, then it’s moral, but if he doesn’t need it, then it’s immoral which follows what he said before about stealing and whether or not it w as right or wrong, depending on the circumstances. Huck rejects Tom’s morality. He’s very concerned for Jim in these chapters and makes moral decisions based on humanity and helping Jim, for the most part, whereas Tom could care less about Jim, and instead wants adventure. Whatever will help him get that will suddenly be moral and within the regulations.

Tom has put himself at the top of the hierarchy in their current group of people; he’s in the position of superiority. Huck falls far below Tom in the hierarchy, and Nat is behind Huck. Nat and Jim are at the bottom of the totem pole in the scale of hierarchy. Nat resists white supervision and white superiority. Tom is one of the many white authority figures in Nat’s life. He resists this by letting go and not involving himself in the witch pie scandal at the end of chapter thirty-seven.

We talked, a week or so ago, about Jim’s silence in certain situations. Well, Jim is completely silenced in this group of chapters so Huck takes over and has the responsibility to the novel to report what Jim thinks, though that scarcely happens. Huck is only reporting what Jim thinks. There is a clear example of this on page 188, in the last line of the first paragraph where Huck says (for Jim), “Jim he couldn’t see no sense in the most of it, but he allowed we was white folks and knowed better than him; so he was satisfied, and said he would do it all just as Tom said.” I think, in a sense, that Jim’s silence has to do with the fact that he had been sold back into slavery and his severe unhappiness and willingness to speak of the subject. He feels that at this point he has no hope of getting out of slavery or seeing his family again. I don’t think that this time he’s trying to trick Huck to get something out of it; he’s genuinely upset and discouraged by this sequence of events, and rightly so! Jim’s silence is extremely important throughout the whole book and his is a prime example of it!

[F] Noah: Chapters 35-37

These three chapters, just as most chapters so far, test Huck’s morals and his ability to stand up to the bad judgment of others. The difference between these chapters and others are found not only in Huck’s response when influenced by others in an important situation, but in the subtlety of the morals which Huck questions. In other chapters, these differences were found in characters such as the “duke” and “king”. Their actions were clearly immoral, as they live by tricking others out of their money. Throughout the course of his time with the two con-men, Huck realizes that what they are doing is wrong, and begins to take actions to prevent them. Once Huck has finally escaped from them, Tom takes their role as a bad influence on Huck. Neither Tom nor the con-men completely accept in reality, pretending to be things that they are not. The immorality of Tom’s actions is more subtle than that of the con-men; he appears to be working towards a positive end, but does so for the selfish reason of his own boredom. The question presented is whether Tom is a morally sound character, and why Huck’s reaction to his actions is different from his reaction to the actions of the con-men earlier.

Tom’s actions are clearly immoral, although they are due not to his own bad intention but to his upbringing; he does not see the urgency in the situation. Despite this, Twain obviously is not using Tom as an example of a moral character. Tom is used instead as a way to show that Huck has not become a perfect character. Instead of convincing Tom to help him without trying to turn the situation into an adventure, or simply running away with Jim and leaving Tom behind, which he certainly has the chance to do; Huck plays along and eventually seems to enjoy delaying Jim’s escape as much as Tom does. The positive changes which Huck has gone through throughout the novel have been reversed. However, if it was this easy to change Huck, then one can see that he might not have been changed at all. There are a few possible explanations for this. Twain could simply be making an attempt at realism through this: that a boy of Huck’s age who was raised in a racist society could not miraculously change into a righteous man. It is important to remember that the last time that Tom had an idea of this type, Huck was relatively quick to dismiss it (i.e. in the beginning of the book, when Tom forms his gang). In this case, when more is at stake and Huck is supposedly a changed man since the first incident, Huck does not dismiss the plan. As he had predicted earlier, “the pinch comes there ain't nothing to back him up and keep him to his work, and so he gets beat” (Chapter XVI).

Huck has forgotten Jim’s humanity at some point between setting out to free him and meeting Tom Sawyer again. Even when he does attempt to convince Tom not to overcomplicate Jim’s rescue, he says “when I start in to steal a nigger, for a watermelon, or a Sunday-school book, I ain’t ways particular how it’s done so it’s done” (Chapter XXXVI). This sentence implies that Huck views Jim as comparable to a watermelon or a book; in this case it seems that he is saving Jim for his own sake, as opposed to Jim’s sake, viewing Jim as property. It is even clearer that Tom views Jim this way; he thinks that because “Jim’s a nigger … he wouldn’t understand the reasons [for sawing off his legs]” (Chapter 35).

Questions for Discussion:

1. What is Tom’s role in these chapters? (Remember how unlikely it would be for Huck to run into him like this)
2. Why is Tom used as opposed to a new character?
3. How does Tom compare to the king and the duke?
4. Does Huck not want to free Jim? Does he not want to lose Jim as a father figure and a friend, or as a slave?
5. If Tom is not acting morally in these chapters, should he be considered a bad person?
6. Should Huck be considered a bad person for going along with Tom’s plan?
7. Compare the situation at Tom’s Aunt Sally’s house to the situation at the house of the Grangerfords and the Wilks’s.
   

A few important passages:
“when I start in to steal a nigger, for a watermelon, or a Sunday-school book, I ain’t ways particular how it’s done so it’s done”, page 186
Page 188-189
Page 185
Page 169 “being Tom Sawyer was easy…”

[H] Jack: Chapters 32-34

In the beginning on chapter 32 occurs, I my opinion, the sickest joke of the entire novel. Sally asks Huck, “Good gracious! anybody hurt?" and Huck replies, “No’m. Killed a nigger.” Huck’s use the word “nigger” is obviously profoundly racist, but not just because of the meaning of the word; it’s the meaning Huck gives this word in this context. Huck is saying that a “nigger” is a no-one, a non-human. The sick joke lies in the response to the query “anybody hurt?” The way Huck’s response is punctuated furthers the racist connotation of his reply. Its should be read “No’m. [PERIOD, stop] Killed a nigger.” The forced pause in the middle of the line is the sick joke because Huck could have just stopped at “No’m.” His addition of the words “killed a nigger” forces home the racist agenda at the time.

In chapter 33, Huck asks for Tom’s help in freeing Jim from captivity. Tome replies, “I'll HELP you steal him!” and Huck then narrates, “Well, I let go all holts then, like I was shot. It was the most astonishing speech I ever heard—and I'm bound to say Tom Sawyer fell considerable in my estimation. Only I couldn't believe it. Tom Sawyer a NIGGER-STEALER!” Perhaps, Huck and Tom’s meaning of the word “steal” differ in that Tom is an apparently racist character and it just does not seem right for him to jump at the chance to free a runaway slave. Tom’s meaning of the word “steal” is that he will steal Jim for himself and make Jim his slave.

Tom’s apparent disregard for Jim’s life appears in chapter 34 when he proposes an elaborate plan to “steal” Jim. Huck first proposed a sound plan to get Jim to freedom. However, Tom shot down his plan and proposed his own “fifteen times” more elaborate.
This is another one of Twain’s sick jokes regarding Jim and his condition as a slave.

[F] Jonathan: Chapters 32-34

1. Huck was explaining what happened on the steamboat to Ms. Sally. Sally asks why he has been delayed and Huck says a steamboat explodes. Sally then asks, “Was anyone hurt?” Huck replies, “No’m, only a nigger”. Then Sally says that was so lucky. What does this tell us about the racism in the novel? Is Huck putting on an act, or is that how he really feels?
2. Why does Twain decide to make Tom appear out of nowhere in the end of the book. What is the purpose? He appears in a place where some of us believe that Huck is becoming a hero in the story?
3. Why do you think Tom so willingly agrees to help Huck free Jim? Did you expect him to do something so wrong by society’s standards?
4. What do you think of Tom? Is he how Huck described him?
5. Why does Huck feel so bad when he sees the king and the duke being chased by the mom of people? “Human beings can be awful cruel to one another. (pg. 174)

Whether or not Huck still retains some racist thoughts, it is unclear in these chapters. It is possible that he could just be putting on an act in order to make Sally believe that he is really Tom. In the previous chapter, Huck spoke of how he missed Jim and wanted to free him from his capture at Phelps. He says, “And went on thinking. And got to thinking over our trip down the river; and I see Jim before me, all the time, in the day, and in the night-time, sometimes moonlight, sometimes storms, and we a floating along, talking, and singing, and laughing. But somehow I couldn’t seem to strike no places to harden me against him, but only the other kind. I’d see him standing my watch on top of his’n, stead of calling me, so I could go on sleeping; and see him how glad he was when I come back out of the fog; and when I come to him again in the swamp, up there where the feud was; and suck like times; and would always call me honey, and pet me, and do everything he could think of for me, and how good he was always was; and at last I struck the time I saved him by telling the men we had small-pox aboard, and he was so grateful, and said I was the best friend old Jim every had in the world..(pg. 161)” At this point Huck is no longer concerned with the fact that Jim is “nigger”, he now sees Jim for all the good that he has done for him. It seems as though Jim is more a father or big brother to Huck.

Tom is a pivotal character in the book and his appearance is a large-turning point in the story. When he was first introduced he was the leader and Huck was the follower. As he comes and appears in the novel is takes his aforementioned role by coming up with a wild plan to free Jim and Huck just follows along (although Huck questions Tom’s plan by stating that it could kill all three of them). It seems as though Tom just stunts all of Huck’s growth in the novel. In the beginning it was stated that Huck and Tom planned to rob Spaniards and A-rabs when in fact it was just a picnic. Huck questioned this and Tom just brushed it off as he usually does being the more dominant partner in the relationship. The most puzzling question though is why does Tom so willingly agree to help Jim? He was perceived as the typical young racist southern boy. Huck himself is puzzled by Tom’s willingness. “It was the most astonishing speech I ever heard – and I’m bound to say Tom Sawyer fell, considerable, in my estimation. Only I couldn’t believe it. Tom Sawyer a nigger-stealer. (pg. 171)” It is baffling what Tom has to gain by helping Huck get his nigger back. Maybe, he is still afraid that Huck is a ghost, maybe he’s just a good friend, but that doubtful, he probably has an ulterior motive.

This chapter again shows Huck gaining a conscience as the story develops. These men, the duke and the king, have done many wrong things to Huck and have allowed for Jim to beb captured. Even so, Huck feels horribly for their fate. He now believes that humans are very cruel to one another when it seemed that he had no opinion before this. He also shows a lot of faith in God. He said that “Providence” helped him to not be caught in a lie by Aunt Sally. He now shows recognition that there is a God and thatnks him when he “helps” him when he is in a tight situtation.

[H] Chris: Chapters 29-31

In Chapters 29-31, the readers see a significant growth of maturity in Huck’s character. His growth takes place from pg. 160 to the top of 162 when he ends on “All right, then, I’ll go to hell” in what is known as his “crisis of conscience”. In his “crisis of conscience”, Huck Finn debates whether or not going after Jim is the right thing to do or not, but more importantly, if he wants to go after Jim or not because he would then be making a confrontation with decisions that he usually would run away from. It is because he debates, has the capacity to think, that is the reason the readers love him as a protagonist and his debates consist of many of the books ideals such as equality between whites and blacks and if Jim is just a oblivious runaway or the mastermind behind the scenes, and finally if any of it matters at all.

The “crisis of conscience” deals with whether or not Huck should or should not rescue Jim. Huck starts thinking of how “wicked” he’s been for stealing Jim away from Miss Watson, and the blow to his reputation that it would do. Here the reader sees Twain showing how the Southerners actually that blacks were inferior and should be treated as animals.

He then becomes “clean of sin” when he at first decided to let Jim be taken away, but then he thinks of the “good times” that he has experienced with Jim and finally decides that “ All right then, I’ll go to hell.” This is possibly the most important statement that Huck will say in the entire book, and it is ironic how we, the readers, are rooting for him because he made what the reader believes to be the right choice, but he, the doer of the deed, actually thinks that he is going to hell because he’s going to rescue a runaway slave. Not only does he decide to go to hell for the sake of Jim, he is not running away from the decision and just watch it past by him, he’s actually confronting what seems to be a his future after life decision, whether or not to go to hell, and the reader sees Huck grow as a character and as a man when he decides to do something instead of allowing the “grown-ups” to decide what to do.

[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?