Huck Finn; Jim: The Better Man
...aracter in the novel. Some characters in the novel are viciously racist, such as Huck’s father Pap, but Jim, even after being treated brutally, is still caring and loving. On their journey Jim takes it upon himself to protect and shield Huck from danger and sadness. This is seen when Jim and Huck stumble upon a dead man. Jim tells Huck to stay behind while he investigates the situation; he then covers the dead man’s face and tells Huck to stay away. He does this to protect Huck from seeing the man who turns out to be Huck’s father. “De man ain’t asleep – he’s dead. You hold still – I’ll go en see…Come in, Huck, but doan’ look at his face – it’s to gashly,” (Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 61-62). Through this remarkable act of compassion, Twain implies that Jim was more of father to Huck than his real father, Pap, ever was. Jim also worries incessantly about Huck’s well being. “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…de same ole Huck, thanks to goodness,” (Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 93). Jim, who grows to care for Huck as if he is his own son, is the truest family man in the novel. His motive for running away was the fear that he would be sold away from his wife and children, and after fleeing he is constantly thinking about them. It is Jim’s hope to either steal them or buy them out of bondage. This strongly contrasts the white character, Pap, who only takes an interest in Huck to take away his money to buy alcohol. In a strong discrepancy to the beliefs of the 1840s, Jim is compassionate and caring, he is not the unintelligent and self-interested black as Twain has often been criticized for stereotyping him as. While Jim lacks education and does not use correct English, Twain, in no way characterizes him as stupid. It is not racist or stereotypical to describe an 1840s slave as uneducated, rather it was a fact. Slave owners made sure that their slaves did not receive education or even learn to read, and it is not surprising that slaves would speak a diff...