In chapters 31-35, Huck
becomes free from the Duke and the King.
He has the opportunity to leave and with it start his life over
fresh. But, Jim has been sold and Huck
can’t just leave him there. Is Huck
being enslaved by Jim? If it weren’t for
Jim, Huck could have achieved his goal by now.
However you look at it, whether you think Jim is unknowingly enslaving
Huck or not, Huck definitely feels a very strong connection to Jim.
We also see that Huck’s internal
struggles continue. Even though the Duke
and the King were bad people and con men, Huck still feels bad after they
die. His conscience is eating him alive,
and his internal fighting enslaves his thoughts. When Tom comes into the picture, Huck needs
help with getting Jim back. Huck could
probably do it by himself, yet he asks Tom to help him, complicating the
matter. Huck and Tom cannot agree on a
plan and Huck has to listen to Tom. One
might say that because of how Huck asked for Tom’s help and the fact that he
even allowed Tom’s crazy hole idea to be an option shows that Huck may be a
slave of his very best friend. Huck was
free from this enslaving friendship when he “died”. If this is the only way that Huck can be truly
free, then Huck needs someone to help him.
4 comments:
I agree that you see that Huck is also enslaved by Jim. First of all helping him is the biggest risk. Like I had said Huck could of used this opportunity of Jim being sold to continue on with his freedom. Their bond is just too strong for either of them to leave one another especially since they're chasing after the same thing. Besides that although Huck is making these big decisions he is still a kid, so I can understand why he would have this internal struggle knowing the con men are dead. I like the realization that we see with Huck being enslaved by his best friend Tom. I mean Huck has made all these big decisions and took all these risk along the journey him and Jim took just to stoop down and ask for help? Knowing in reality Tom is all about his books and if it isn't in any of the books he read what does he actually have to refer to ?
Wow! I never even thought about Huck being enslaved by Jim. That's really awesome that you brought it up. I guess I never thought about it because Huck cares for Jim but I agree. Huck is in a way enskaved by his affection for Jim which I think appeared back when Huck was going to turn in Jim and Jim said Huck was good and trustworthy. I think Huck is also maturing because of this. He seems to be making decisions for himself even if they're dangerous. I believe this is right though; saving Jim. In this way, Huck is freeing himself from his own conscience because now he's not torn between what is right and wrong.
Hey Kevin, I just want to focus on one idea that you presented in your article. When you suggest that Huck might be a slave of his best friend in many situations, I have to agree but also disagree with you. I have to agree with you because in many cases, it is Tom that comes up with many of their ideas. When he comes up the ideas, most time Huck just goes along with it because he figures that Tom knows best. But I have to disagree because Tom presents one idea for saving Jim, but as you can see, Huck says no they should not do this and does not agree with the idea. So in many cases, Huck could or could not be misinterpreted as a slave of his best friend.
I do agree with you, Kevin, that Huck is enslaved by Jim, but also that Jim is enslaved by Huck. And, as you implied, I don't think this enslavement is like the rest. These two have a very strong connection and I think they're giving up their own freedom willingly for one another.
As Kentrisha pointed out, Huck is still just a child even though we see him maturing ever so slightly through the course of the novel. It's sad that Huck can so easily be enslaved by his “best friend” even though Huck was simply asking for Tom's help.
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