When Huck and Jim broke up on the river, I was really worried if they would ever see each other again. To my surprise, Huck finds Jim not long later, as I have expected them to separate for a long time. I noticed that in these past chapters, Huck really acts like Tom Sawyer's adventurous behavior. After adventuring onto a ship, he finds himself and Jim both in trouble, as there are robbers on the ship. They nearly run into robbers and were lucky to make it out unnoticed. There was no good reason for them to climb onboard the wreaked ship, but Huck just had to.
I think that these chapters being out again the fact that Huck and Jim are in constant danger. Huck finds out he's on a ship with a gang of murderers and robbers. I think also that when the steamboat ran into the small island, knocking them both away and trashing the raft. I thought that that part was very frightening.
Does Huck look up to Tom? Why does he always want to be like him?
The recent chapters are very hectic! Huck and Jim get seperated twice, and there is also a bit of action. Right now, Huck's been a sort-of witness to a murder, and also played a rather mean joke on Jim, which was soon discovered. It's also interesting how he's conflicting between his friendship with Jim and the things he's been taught about "niggers." Will he try to turn Jim in again in the future?
Matthew: I'm guessing that Huck thinks Tom is somewhat more sophisticated than him due to having read books.
I thought the part where Huck and Jim were debating over whether Solomon was a good man or not, and about whether Frenchmen speak a different language or not, was intriguing. It goes to show the theme of ignorance: Jim's ignorance makes him sound like a fool to someone educated like Huck. I think this also shows what the white society has done to blacks.
Huck is becoming a frighteningly adept liar. Do you think he'll be found out and get into a fix later on?
It comes as a shock to me that Huck still has prejudice. "Letting him have an inch and he'll take it all" really came as a jolt. In Huck's opinion, once Jim was free, he would have even greater plans in saving his family. Huck was apparently horrified by this, although he did not show it. Still, his horrification at that was due to his prejudice of blacks. WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH SAVING ONE'S OWN FAMILY?
Other passages also prove Huck's downward glance towards Jim. After he played the joke on Jim (which wasn't any harm in my opinion), he made a great deal of him humbling himself to him and apologizing. While I do apraise his capability to acquiesce and to bow to someone allegedly below his status quo, I should say that there shouldn't have been one in the first place.
All in all, however, this prejudice taints Huck's character, and he is no longer a stereotype, which is a good thing in my opinion. I just hope that he can overcome his prejudice later on in the story
I’m really curious about Huck’s sense of right or wrong. It seems like he has an unusual way of viewing things. In chapter 13, when Huck sees the stranded robbers, he feels bad for them, and even devises a story so that a ferryman can go and save them. He feels proud of his good deed, and thinks that Widow Douglas would have approved of him helping stranded robbers. I am not so sure about that. Huck and Jim’s argument about King Solomon is interesting, especially when they start arguing over French people and speaking different kinds of languages. Jim doesn’t give in to Huck. When they get separated in chapter 15, Huck tricks Jim and Jim get mad at Huck. “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger,” Huck says, but he eventually apologizes and does not regret it. He feels bad about hurting Jim. This shows that although Huck has the influence of white society’s views about black people on him, he does not view people like Jim as animals or property. He views them as humans and he treats them almost equal. Huck's becomes troubled about helping Jim escape from his “rightful owner,” Miss Watson, especially after all she has done for Huck, and Jim talks on and on about going to the free states, earning money, and buying the freedom of his wife and children. Huck goes out on the canoe to check when Huck and Jim think they see Cairo, having secretly resolved to give Jim up. However, Huck can’t bear to do it after he hears Jim call out that Huck is his only friend, the only one to keep a promise to him. Here Huck is forced to question the rules of white society. He still thinks that helping a black man run away is wrong, but then he likes Jim and wants to help him.
I think these chapters bring out the point that Huck and Jim are both in danger. Also, they get seperated and lost each other in thf fog on the river. I was wondering if they would ever meet again, or they would be seperated for a long time. But at the end, Huck finds Jim again. Also, In these chapters, Huck's lies are non-stoping, as if everything he tells are lies. Why does Huck do that?
I found the part when Jim and Huck were argueing over whether Solomon was a good king or not and why a Frenchman and a cat don't speak the same language really funny. The fact that their arguments don't really make any sense brings out the theme of ignorance.
Why does Huck treat Jim the way he does? Does he not have the same prejudice against black people as the other whites do? Or does he just want Jim there so it's easier for them to survive?
In these chapters, Huck tells a lot of lies. He even tricked the watchman into believing that Jim Hornback was “Miss Hooker’s” uncle. I thought that was really smart of him to do. But then Huck and Jim are separated in the next chapter. I thought Huck would never find Jim again. While they were separated though, Huck found the raft, and heard a whooping sound. Finally, Huck found Jim. Jim told Huck about the fog and that he whooped to Huck, but Huck said that it was only a dream. Why did Huck lie to Jim, why doesn’t he want to admit the truth?
In these chapters, Huck and Jim seemed to attract danger. Bad things just keep happening. Huck finds out he's on a ship with a gang of murderers and robbers. I think also that when the steamboat ran into the small island, knocking them both away and trashing the raft. I thought is was pretty interesting that they he survived.
Since these chapters were filled with bad luck (example: dogs, fogginess on river, and drifting apart), were they possibly because of the snakeskin? Mark Twain showed us that Jim was clever for a Negro, since he was aware that Huck was lying when he was trying to convince they didn't drift apart on the river, and it was all just Jim's dreams.
Huck breaks the stereotype of prejudice against Blacks in these chapters. Is he treating Jim as an actual friend? Or is he just afraid of feeling guilt if he turned him in? :D
I find the part in which Huck tries to teach Jim French amusing because it showed the level of knowledge between these two people and how they interpreted things that did not know or understand. Their logic on how animals and humans were different or the same was also funny. One of the parts I found interesting is when Huck wakes up from the fog and tries to play a trick on Jim that it was all a dream. In the end, Jim found out and told Huck how he happy felt when he was able to see Huck alive, Jim was almost able to kiss his feet. Starting from here, Huck starts to wonder what’s right and what’s wrong and how difficult to know what right is.
Huck is getting really good at lying but in a smart way. He made up a story to make the ferryman go save the robbers because he and Jim stole the their boat. But I don’t get why he cares so much about the robbers when they are planning murder, and Huck even feels happy about saving them (thinking that he has done a good deed and Miss Watson would be proud of him).
Jim is a really stubborn character, but he is also very smart in a werid way. Back in those times, blacks were uneducated, but Jim actually knows about some interesting things that I don’t even know. They argue about the weirdest things and Jim ends up winning the argument because “you can’t learn a nigger to argue”.
“…found boots, blankets, and clothes, and all sorts of other things, and a lot of books, and a spyglass, and three boxes of seegars. We hadn’t ever been this rich before in neither of our lives.” (pg.80) I can understand that Jim has never been that rich before with all of these things they stole, but I thought we discussed in class that Huck has social mobility. And that he has been rich before. Why does Huck say “we hadn’t ever been this rich before in neither of our lives.” ?
I think even though Huck Finn is still a boy, as shown in the incident where he tricks the "watchman" of the steamboat. Nevertheless, it is becoming apparent that the older and more mature he got, the questions of morality are starting to "dig in". I think this is why he starts thinking about betraying Jim and turning him in. Nevertheless, I think this book is also rather good at demonstrating that morals are rather relative to the time and place. Perhaps, as Huck Finn was young, he didn't see any wrong in working with a black person when he was younger. Now that he's getting older, I think he is beginning to see some of the morals and prejudice appropriate to the time and place. Nevertheless, I find it admirable that he was able to overcome this question of morality and see Jim as perhaps a friend and companion and for what he is; human. I believe that the theme of morality as he grows up is well demonstrated.
I think the talks about French and King Solomon really bring out ignorance. It shows us how whites have long deprived blacks of education and learning. But by the way Huck talked about the French, it becomes apparent that he didn't know all that much either. Could it be that maybe it is because of not having an education that enabled Huck to form bonds with Jim so easily?
After reading these chapters, I think Jim is a very stubborn person. The stubborn side of Jim is told when Huck comments that once Jim gets an idea into his head it is impossible to change it, and proves this to the reader by discussing Jim's opinions of Solomon and Frenchmen. I think Jim wishes to avoid any adventures because adventures bring complications. Jim only wants to get to Cairo and take the steamboat upriver with no interruptions, he wants to reach his goal, which is freedom. Huck is very smart and has quick reactions when face to problems. He made two slave-hunters believe that his family have smallpox and it also demonstartes the fear which people treat other sick people who needs support and help. Rather than offering to help, the two men try to buy off the family and send them away.
Question: Is Jim and Huck going to escape the next dangerous event? Will Huck’s lies save their lives again?
I think Chapter 13 is the most interesting chapter so far. In that chapter, Huck didn't just show a sense of loyalty to Jim, but he was smart enough to save the robbers so they can be "hung when their time comes" He knew that it wasn't right to leave them stuck on the wreck, and if somebody went and found them, they would be charged for their crimes. Not only did Huck put robbers into jail (sort of) he told Jim to go on down the river, so people won't know where he was. Jim was a runaway slave, and if he were caught, he would probably be lynched. Huck knew that and didn't want Jim to be killed. I think Huck was really clever to come up with a elaborate story to get the watchman to go to the wreck. It was elaborate but at the same time, still believable. Huck is getting better and better a lying. I think there might be something wrong with Jim, because he was so sure that what he dreamt was real. I think he was a little insecure, always on the run and everything.
FOR THOSE WHO DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND THE STORY OF SOLOMON: Two women both had newborn babies. One night when they slept together with the kids. While the four were sleeping together, one of the baby got squished by the mother. When the mothers woke up and saw the dead baby, they both claimed that the baby wasn't their's. So they brought it up to King Solomon. After he heard the case, he said, "Fine, both of you claim its your's, we'll just cut the baby in half and split it between you two. But that's not the end of the story, as Jim puts it. After Solomon said that one of the mother said, "Ok, fine, kill the baby." The other mother pleaded with the king, "Please don't kill the baby, even give it to the other mother, just please don't kill him." By the two remarks made by the women, Solomon could find out who the real mohter was.
QUESTION: In chapter 16, Huck Finn said that his conscicence didn't feel good because he was helping a black slave escape. But isn't his conscience supposed to tell him that it's wrong to treat people like animals by enslaving them?
Huck lies to the ferryman that his family is stranded on a boat in order to try and save the robbers, but I don't understand why he does this. Huck also keeps contemplating whether or not he should turn Jim in, because that's what he thinks is the right thing to do. And if he doesn't, he will feel bad, but at the same time, if he does, he still will feel bad. I think that although Huck is friends with Jim, he still is affected by the white society he lived in.
I think Huck still think that Jim is a Negro and still treats him with a bit of unfairness. When Jim was talking about what he will do when he gets to Cairo Huck felt guilty for keeping and helping Jim who had run away.
“It was according to the old saying, ‘Give a n****r an inch and he’ll take an ell.’ Thinks I, this is what comes of my not thinking. Here was this n****r, which I had as good as helped to run away, coming right out flatfooted and saying he will steal his children- children that belong to a man I didn’t even know; a man that hadn’t ever done me no harm. I was sorry to hear Jim say that, it was such a lowering of him. my conscience got to stirring me up hotter than ever…”- page 92
Huck still think of Jim and his children are properties to be owned. I think it is funny that Huck’s conscience was bugging him now when his friend is just dreaming instead of all the times he lied and stole.
page 102 (or part of it) is really amusing. :D i forgot why, my books not here with me.
anyway.
weifan: I guess Huck still sees things from a prejudiced white's perspective, although he hasnt much influence. He sees it from the owner's view - and the kids as poultry or cattle or just belongings - he's okay with Jim buying his wife (as though he was buying a sack of flour) but not STEALING his children (like shoplifting). I also think this applies to us too - we don't think people as objects, but when we gossip about them, it's sort of like an objectification - we're speaking as if they're just an item, not someone with feelings, moods, etc. Jim's kids are real (at least in the story) but at the moment Huck doesn't think about them as real breathing children.
Adam: You can't really blame Huck for still being prejudiced against African Americans. He's still white, and still has some influence by the white society - how blacks are supposedly lower than them and all that. And many of the people they pass by on the raft talk about not letting runaway blacks get away. Society tells us what is right, and at this time, it's right to turn in a runaway black slave and not help them out. Huck hasn't had much influence from society, being a drunkard's son, but he still has some - plus he's only a child, which makes him and his conscience very confused between the two - what he thinks is right vs. what the society says is right.
I find Jim’s tirade about King Solomon actually sort of meaningful, although it did sort of miss the main point. His speech reflects on the people in our society today- that we treasure things a lot more if we have little to none of it, and that we are a lot freer with things that we do have a lot of- that we know we have excess of. However, Jim’s tirade also shows his ignorance, for the in the story, King Solomon only threatened to cut the child in half to see which mother was the true one. However, Jim completely misses the point and only concentrates on the fact that Solomon was going to split the child in half. I guess Huck’s comment, “If he got a notion in his head once, there warn’t no getting it out again.” is very true…
After reading these chapters, I wonder that whether Huckleberry Finn is doing the right thing and choice or not, because I think his choice is going to cause a danger to not only to himself but to both of him and Jim. And also in the beginning of these chapters, we can see that Jim and Huckleberry were arguing and I think Mark Twain is pointing out something very important. That is when you spend time with someone, you can know who that person really is. Even though at the first time you might be really close with that person, but as time passes you can know whom that person really is. I think Mark Twain is showing the readers about the real personality somehow. Also in these chapters, we saw the bias side of Huckleberry Finn. Here comes my question, if Huckleberry Finn is our hero in the story, why would he be bias and why would he be good at lying? Wouldn’t that be ironic?
“But now it did; and it stayed with me, and scorched me more and more. I tried to make out to myself that I warn’t to blame, because I didn’t run Jim off from his rightful owner; but it warn’t no use, conscience up and says, every time, ‘But you knowed he was running for his freedom, and you could ‘a’ paddled ashore and told somebody.’” (Twain 91) I wonder why does Huck still think of Jim as a slave, not a friend. Even after all that they went through, and all the times they helped each other, Huck still wants to turn Jim in?
I think the arguments between Huck and Jim were really funny, especially the part about different types of languages. I think this part really shows how uneducated blacks were back then, which was all caused by whites. The theme, ignorance, really shows here.
When Jim talks about being free and buying back his wife and child, I felt really bad for him. Why does a man have to BUY his family back?! It just didn't sound fair to me at all.
Is Huck racist to blacks? Sometimes it seems to me like he treats Jim as a friend, but other times he treats him as someone with a low status...
When Huck hears Jim say that “…he would go to saving up money and never spend a single cent, and when he got enough he would by his wife, which was owned on a farm close to where Miss Waston lived; and then they would both work to buy the children, and if their masters wouldn’t sell them, they’d get an Ab’litionist to go and steal them.” Huck feels ashamed that he has helped a slave escape, but at the same time, pleased becuase he is helping his friend. I was traumatized when Huck made the desicion to turn Jim to the authorities. In the end he didn’t. My question is, what made Huck want to turn Jim in? And what stopped him from doing so? Miss Waston taught Huck wrong from right. Did that concept motivate Huck in turning his friend in?
Huck and Jim's arguments about King Solomon and different languages were really interesting. Beside the fact that Jim missed the point in the King Solomon story, he supported his statement pretty well and actually hit a good point[that people really do take things for granted when they have an abundance of that particular item]. But, the intellect that was portrayed in the Solomon case was totally contrasted when Huck and Jim switched their topic to languages. In this argument, Jim just sounds extremely ignorant and stubborn.
I found Huck's dilemma of whether or not to turn Jim in interesting as well. After Huck tricks Jim for the last time, he feels no regret in humbling himself to someone "below" him, but when it comes to turning his own friend in, he can't make up his mind. I was glad that Huck didn't turn Jim in. :)
Demi: It isn't fair, but that's how things were. It seems he doesn't act superior toward Jim because Jim is his friend. I'm pretty sure that if they weren't as close as they are, Huck would have turned Jim in. Maybe.
After reading these few chapters, I have to say that Huck is an extremely lucky person. It seems like he is always able to talk himself out of things. For example, when Huck met a few men that were looking for runaway slaves, he managed to stop them from looking at the raft.
Steven: I think that Huck still thinks Jim as a slave is because of the community he lived in. Huck lived in a community that treated blacks as slaves, and he also lived in a house that owned one. Therefore, the thought of black people being slaves is probably hard to get rid of.
When Huck and Jim were on the ship, it was a like a life and death situation where they’re looking for a boat to escape. It’s like either they found a boat and leave or fight until the other dies to escape. After they’ve escaped back to the island, they’ve found lots of things on the trunk the gang has stolen. In the following conversation between them, Huck talked about ‘Louis Sixteenth that got his head cut off in France long time ago; and about his little boy the dolphin, that would a been a king, but they took and shut him up in jail, and some say he died there.’Then Jim said if Louis the Sixteenth had got out and came to America, then he must be able to speak with the rest of the Englishmen. It’s kind of ironic that Jim was not able to comprehend the fact that France speaks a different language than English. Huck used the example of cats and a cows and applying that to the French people and the Americans, but Jim was not able to get the point. From this, I’ve noticed Huck was intelligent in many ways, and know a few phrase of French. And Huck, a child was teaching an adult, Jim, such a simple things. Another thing that I’ve notice was that Huck sometimes teaches Jim things and did most of the actions during many situations. Just when they’re on the ship, Huck was the one that made the decision. It was somehow very interesting how Huck was sometime over control of an adult. In the other words, Huck was very independent and was able to survive alone.
To Amy's Question: I think Huck just want to tell the truth to get rid of him so he could travel alone. But then he know he couldn't for he had made a promise with Jim. He couldn't say it out but then afterwards, he feels better that he hadn't turn Jim in. So then he wouldn't be alone.
To Haley's Question: I think he tells non-stopping lies because, either he does it for a certain purpose to protect someone. Or he doesn't understand that lying is bad. Huck did not grow up in a proper enviroment.
I feel like one of the most touching parts of this part of the book is the part where Huck tries to make Jim think that their separation is a dream, and as a side note the way Jim recounts his dream and interprets it strikingly reminds me of Joseph in the Bible, who was highly valued by the Pharoah because of his dream-interpreting ability. Though Huck tried to make Jim think it was a dream, Jim found out when he saw dirt and debris and branches lying in the raft, and was mad at Huck for trying to make a fool of him when he had worried about him so much. "What do dey stan' for? I's gwyne t tell you. When I go ta ll wore out wid work, en wid de callin' for you, en went to sleep, my heart wuz mos' broke bekase you wuz los', en I didn' k'yer no' mo' what become er me en de raf. En when I wake up aen find you back ag'in, all safe n soun', de tears, come, en I could 'a' got down on my knees en kiss yo' foot, I's so thankful. En all you wuz thinkin' bout wuz how you could make a fool uv ole Jim wid a lie."--it showed the feelings Jim had for Huck as a companion and a friend and i thought it was extremely touching the way even his sleep was disturbed because he was worried for Huck's safety.
Also, earlier the part about French speaking people showed Jim and Huck in a brilliant display of wit and metaphor. Huck employs metaphors of different animals to show how different people can say the same thing in different languages, while Jim maintains that as long as a man is a man, he should always speak the same way. The idea of unity is present in jim's words, while the idea of diversity is present in Huck's. Though Jim may seem ignorant, his views are not in any way less valuable than Huck's.
The friendship between Huck and Jim is interesting. When confined to the rules of society, Huck finds it harder to treat Jim as an equal. However, when they are travelling down the river alone with each other, they are equal beings with a friendship so close that Jim seems to be an older brother/role model for Huck.
Throughout the book, I notice that Huck and Jim are not only friends, but like brothers. They rely on each other every minute of their lives. The two characters begin to trust and need each other so much, that Jim was going to kiss his foot when he saw that Huck came back. Something I find very touching was how Huck told Jim that their sudden split was only a dream.
In the mini- adventures of chap. 13 -16, Huck has lied numerous times in order to survive and come across problems. In order to hide his true identity, Huck has transformed into many different people. So far, I have not seen Huck reveal his identity to anybody on the way, besides Jim. He trusts Jim, who is an African- American, more than white people, which I find very ironic, especially in those times.
At the very end of chapter 16, I think that Huck and Jim will be separated for a period of time, maybe even permanently! I wonder what will happen to Huck and Jim.
QUESTION: Why do they want to go to Cairo when cities near it still practice slavery?
Huck is definitely has gradually learned a skill of lying, he talks more fluently when he’s lying than before. He made an elaborate story about how his family was at Walter Scott and the ferryman actually believed him. Once you make a story more elaborate, there is a greater chance for the other person to believe you. Even when Huck was telling Jim stories from the books in the wreck, he made up and added to the stories. Before, we only know that Huck is street smart, but now we know that he has smartness for lying too. The novel is called “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” however, Huck’s definition of “adventures” is his trips with Jim that can cause them to die or be captured. Is the rest of the story going to be about Huck and Jim’s “adventures”? To Angela: maybe because when they were traveling alone with each other they were side by side? Or…?
in these chapters, we see the more caring side of Huck but with that side, we also see his stupidity. When the robbers were stranded, he felt bad for the robbers and sends help to them, and he thinks that it was a good deed because miss watson cared about rapscallions and dead-beats. then later on he feels bad about lying and insulting jim. he also begins to worry about the fact that he was helping an escaped slave. he does everything because he wants to be a good person, but it seems like he doesn't exactly know what good really is.
In chapters 14 to 16, we saw the true personality of Huck. Even though he sometimes still has the concept of white supremacy, his consciousness and kindness often still overcomes his evil deeds (for example giving Jim up to the authorities). As the story progresses, Huck and Jim's master to slave relationshop strenghtens and evolves into a friendship, which later on turns into a brotherhood. As Michael Wu had said before, the part where Huck told Jim the whole seperation was just a dream proved that Huck and Jim are more than just friends (or at least for Jim). Jim was extremely worried, fearing that he would lose Huck forever; since, like he said, Huck is his only friend that he can trust.
Huck and Jim found many things including books, cigars, and clothes. When Huck and Jim lost each other on the canoe, I was scared that they would never find each other again, but luckily, they did. Now, Huck and Jim are very close friends and they rely on each other so they can survive. They do everything together and they help each other with everything. Now we're beginning to see the adventures of Huck's life.
After reading these chapters, I think that Huck is really struggling with Jim. He wants to get rid of him just because he is a runaway black slave, but he sympathizes Jim and Jim’s only friend was Huck. I think this really shows the racism in their society, all of the people hate the black men and when one wants to help a black man, he usually restrains himself from helping because the society doesn’t allow it. The same is for Huck, he thinks that having a black man on the same journey as him might bring him more trouble.
I agree with you. I think that Huck is fighting an inner battle with himself, trying to decide if he wants to help Jim, or if he just wants to turn get rid of him so that he can be out of danger. The issue of racism is really brought out through this internal conflict. Many people would normally be happy to help a black slave, and they really want to, but they are afraid of what the society might do to them. If they get caught with a black man, then they will probably be killed along with the black man.
Chapter 13-16 In this section Huck and Jim find some more supplies and a new raft. Throughout the book I have noticed that Jim doesn’t have a very clear view of the world and has a wild imagination. His views of this world are from a very weird standpoint and his arguments are unjustifiable. Yet Huck chooses not to continue arguments with him. Personally I would think that it would be wiser to fight back because Jim needs some help with his views. He thinks people aren’t supposed to be different from him like when he was arguing for the French man. Just because the French man was human, he expected him to speak English. Huck should be able to talk some sense into him because Jim’s arguments seem easily irrevocable. So why does Huck not continue?
After going through so much on the river, Huck and Jim have developed a strong bond. As much as they want to, they know that they need each other more than anything/anyone. When they were separated for the brief amount of time in the fog, they Huck realized how important Jim was to him and tried really hard to reunite with him. Luckily, they did, strengthening their bond even more. I think that Huck and Jim, although separated again, will find each other soon.
In these chapters, again, we can see that Huck is really smart and kind. For example, when the man gave Huck twenty-dollars, he felt sorry to tell the lie, even though he really wants to help Jim. That’s kind of a dilemma. But it’s nice to see him making the right choice. And also I found it funny when Huck told the lie to every man he met. I think he felt comfortable and confident to do that. However, in your opinion, why do you think that Huck had the idea to give up Jim when the man gave him twenty-dollars?
I noticed that Huck lies a lot to get out of situations or to get something he wants. In most situation he always lies and never tells the truth. I think this has become a habit of his, he has become good at making excuses and fake stories in a short amount of time and always trick the person. Huck is only staying with Jim because he sympathizes him. Huck wants to leave Jim because hes a runaway slave, but Jim says things that make Huck feel bad for him. This shows how whites do not like being with black people. Which also shows the racism. The part where Huck and Jim are talking about different people, it shows how black people are uneducated and always stay with what they think.
In these chapters, we see that Huck, a white person, and Jim, a "nigger" are becoming closer and closer. This forbidden friendship has changed Huck quite a bit, for example he chose not to give Jim up. We also see Huck's street smartness. He lied to many people which acquired him information and gold. This shows his level of quick thinking. My question now is that, where is this story going to go? I mean is he going to dirft to random places with Jim for the whole book? This book doesnt seem like it has a plot.
"Well, den, I reck'n I did dream it, Huck; but dog my cats ef it aint the powerfulest dream I ever see. En I haint ever had no dream b'fo' dat's tired me like dis one." (Page 88, original version)
In chapter 15, Huck fooled Jim that it was all just a dream. He was teasing Jim. Later, Jim found that it was just one big lie. What is the significance of Huck lying to Jim?
Q: when Huck and Jim are escaping, they found an instant small floating boat, and it was pure luck. If the the boat wasn't there, they probably would be found. Why does the main characters have to be a lucky boy? Is this element required for adventureous novels?
Reuben: Huck decided to discontinue the conversation, because he wanted to stop arguing with Jim. Arguing with each other brought them nowhere; they were both really stubborn and didn't tolerate each other's own thoughts. Jim was convinced that his own way was right and Huck was also convinced that his own way was right. They didn't want to accept each other's opinions. From here, we learned more about Jim's personality; that he is also stubborn and would only accept his thoughts.
Throughout this chapter shows a white man and a black getting closer friend. Especially when Jim is still a running slave, but still they are still friends. I think Huck and Jim's friendship is unbreakable, it's like using your own hand trying to break a rubber band, but it won't work at all, it's unbreakable. i agree with Sean, no matter how Huck and Jim are separate far away, they will find out a way to see each other, probably is the destiny let them to be together.
"I wished the widow knowed about it. I judged she would be proud of me helping these rapsciallions."(p.85) Huck is starting to turn into a much more soft hearted person. He is willing to help the robbers escape from the island. Though does would the widow really have been proud of him? Would she really have been proud in Huck's change of character? Because in my opinion, his change would only lead him to more adventures and trouble, as he accepts more people, no matter good or bad.
Jasmine: In chapter 15, Huck fooled Jim that it was all just a dream. He was teasing Jim. Later, Jim found that it was just one big lie. What is the significance of Huck lying to Jim? I think Huck lied to Jim because he just wanted to have fun, or maybe he didn’t want Jim to worry about him.
The most thrilling part between Chapter 13 to 16 is the part when the men searched for runaway slaves on Huck's boat. At first the situation is tense, because you would be nervous and afraid that the whites would lynch Jim, which is the only companion that Huck has. However, in this part of the novel, we can clearly see how Huck Finn reacts to things. Huck is a clever, brilliant, and calm kid that gets away from troubles due to his plans and lies. We'll see more of his cunning personality later in the book.
I am continuously amused at Huck's lying skills. All the lies he has told on the way so far still fail to amuse me. I feel kinda of sorry for Jim, especially when Huck tried to trick him after drifting around. I also feel touched about Huck and Jim's relationship, they are a single pair of friends that definitely need to stay together.
Question: Near the beginning of this chapter, Huck notes that he may become a murderer someday. I wonder why he has such a notion. Also, I wonder why Huck is so persistant that the French can speak English. Well, I'm Chinese (Taiwanese) and I can speak English. (Can't we all?)
To Ted L.: I think the whole idea of the story will be the narration of Huck's journies and adventures with Jim, detailing the events that lead to him growing up. After all, this novel is called "The Adventure*s* of Huckleberry Finn".
In this section, it really emphasizes the relationship between Jim and Huck. It was interesting and funny how Jim and Huck were arguing over solomon and the french.Although it seems like it shows Huck intellectual superiority over Jim but turns out that Huck aint much more smarter than Jim is. There is also somewhat this love/hate, inferior/superior relationship going on. Jim and Huck broke up and then Jim was glad when Huck came back when Huck didnt have any emotions. Huck sold out Jim, cheats, and lies. It shows Huck's lack of morality towards things. Jim is somewhat being tossed around. Which shows Jim's inferiority in white society.
I thought that the part when Jim and Huck were fighting over whether King Solomon was a good king or not and why a Frenchman and a cat don't speak the same language really funny. The fact that their arguments don't really make any sense brings out the theme of ignorance.
Why does Huck treat Jim the way he does? Does he not have the same prejudice against black people as the other whites do? Or does he just want Jim there so it's easier for them to survive?
When Huck and Jim broke up on the river, I was really worried if they would ever see each other again. To my surprise, Huck finds Jim not long later, as I have expected them to separate for a long time.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that in these past chapters, Huck really acts like Tom Sawyer's adventurous behavior. After adventuring onto a ship, he finds himself and Jim both in trouble, as there are robbers on the ship. They nearly run into robbers and were lucky to make it out unnoticed. There was no good reason for them to climb onboard the wreaked ship, but Huck just had to.
I think that these chapters being out again the fact that Huck and Jim are in constant danger. Huck finds out he's on a ship with a gang of murderers and robbers. I think also that when the steamboat ran into the small island, knocking them both away and trashing the raft. I thought that that part was very frightening.
ReplyDeleteDoes Huck look up to Tom? Why does he always want to be like him?
The recent chapters are very hectic! Huck and Jim get seperated twice, and there is also a bit of action. Right now, Huck's been a sort-of witness to a murder, and also played a rather mean joke on Jim, which was soon discovered. It's also interesting how he's conflicting between his friendship with Jim and the things he's been taught about "niggers." Will he try to turn Jim in again in the future?
ReplyDeleteMatthew: I'm guessing that Huck thinks Tom is somewhat more sophisticated than him due to having read books.
I thought the part where Huck and Jim were debating over whether Solomon was a good man or not, and about whether Frenchmen speak a different language or not, was intriguing. It goes to show the theme of ignorance: Jim's ignorance makes him sound like a fool to someone educated like Huck. I think this also shows what the white society has done to blacks.
ReplyDeleteHuck is becoming a frighteningly adept liar. Do you think he'll be found out and get into a fix later on?
It comes as a shock to me that Huck still has prejudice. "Letting him have an inch and he'll take it all" really came as a jolt. In Huck's opinion, once Jim was free, he would have even greater plans in saving his family. Huck was apparently horrified by this, although he did not show it. Still, his horrification at that was due to his prejudice of blacks. WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH SAVING ONE'S OWN FAMILY?
ReplyDeleteOther passages also prove Huck's downward glance towards Jim. After he played the joke on Jim (which wasn't any harm in my opinion), he made a great deal of him humbling himself to him and apologizing. While I do apraise his capability to acquiesce and to bow to someone allegedly below his status quo, I should say that there shouldn't have been one in the first place.
All in all, however, this prejudice taints Huck's character, and he is no longer a stereotype, which is a good thing in my opinion. I just hope that he can overcome his prejudice later on in the story
(drooling to know what's to come)
Weifan
I’m really curious about Huck’s sense of right or wrong. It seems like he has an unusual way of viewing things. In chapter 13, when Huck sees the stranded robbers, he feels bad for them, and even devises a story so that a ferryman can go and save them. He feels proud of his good deed, and thinks that Widow Douglas would have approved of him helping stranded robbers. I am not so sure about that.
ReplyDeleteHuck and Jim’s argument about King Solomon is interesting, especially when they start arguing over French people and speaking different kinds of languages. Jim doesn’t give in to Huck. When they get separated in chapter 15, Huck tricks Jim and Jim get mad at Huck. “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger,” Huck says, but he eventually apologizes and does not regret it. He feels bad about hurting Jim. This shows that although Huck has the influence of white society’s views about black people on him, he does not view people like Jim as animals or property. He views them as humans and he treats them almost equal.
Huck's becomes troubled about helping Jim escape from his “rightful owner,” Miss Watson, especially after all she has done for Huck, and Jim talks on and on about going to the free states, earning money, and buying the freedom of his wife and children. Huck goes out on the canoe to check when Huck and Jim think they see Cairo, having secretly resolved to give Jim up. However, Huck can’t bear to do it after he hears Jim call out that Huck is his only friend, the only one to keep a promise to him. Here Huck is forced to question the rules of white society. He still thinks that helping a black man run away is wrong, but then he likes Jim and wants to help him.
Krissss
I think these chapters bring out the point that Huck and Jim are both in danger. Also, they get seperated and lost each other in thf fog on the river. I was wondering if they would ever meet again, or they would be seperated for a long time. But at the end, Huck finds Jim again.
ReplyDeleteAlso, In these chapters, Huck's lies are non-stoping, as if everything he tells are lies. Why does Huck do that?
I found the part when Jim and Huck were argueing over whether Solomon was a good king or not and why a Frenchman and a cat don't speak the same language really funny. The fact that their arguments don't really make any sense brings out the theme of ignorance.
ReplyDeleteWhy does Huck treat Jim the way he does? Does he not have the same prejudice against black people as the other whites do? Or does he just want Jim there so it's easier for them to survive?
In these chapters, Huck tells a lot of lies. He even tricked the watchman into believing that Jim Hornback was “Miss Hooker’s” uncle. I thought that was really smart of him to do. But then Huck and Jim are separated in the next chapter. I thought Huck would never find Jim again. While they were separated though, Huck found the raft, and heard a whooping sound. Finally, Huck found Jim. Jim told Huck about the fog and that he whooped to Huck, but Huck said that it was only a dream. Why did Huck lie to Jim, why doesn’t he want to admit the truth?
ReplyDeletewhoa woops. arguing*
ReplyDeleteIn these chapters, Huck and Jim seemed to attract danger. Bad things just keep happening. Huck finds out he's on a ship with a gang of murderers and robbers. I think also that when the steamboat ran into the small island, knocking them both away and trashing the raft. I thought is was pretty interesting that they he survived.
ReplyDeleteSince these chapters were filled with bad luck (example: dogs, fogginess on river, and drifting apart), were they possibly because of the snakeskin? Mark Twain showed us that Jim was clever for a Negro, since he was aware that Huck was lying when he was trying to convince they didn't drift apart on the river, and it was all just Jim's dreams.
ReplyDeleteHuck breaks the stereotype of prejudice against Blacks in these chapters. Is he treating Jim as an actual friend? Or is he just afraid of feeling guilt if he turned him in? :D
I find the part in which Huck tries to teach Jim French amusing because it showed the level of knowledge between these two people and how they interpreted things that did not know or understand. Their logic on how animals and humans were different or the same was also funny. One of the parts I found interesting is when Huck wakes up from the fog and tries to play a trick on Jim that it was all a dream. In the end, Jim found out and told Huck how he happy felt when he was able to see Huck alive, Jim was almost able to kiss his feet. Starting from here, Huck starts to wonder what’s right and what’s wrong and how difficult to know what right is.
ReplyDeleteHuck is getting really good at lying but in a smart way. He made up a story to make the ferryman go save the robbers because he and Jim stole the their boat. But I don’t get why he cares so much about the robbers when they are planning murder, and Huck even feels happy about saving them (thinking that he has done a good deed and Miss Watson would be proud of him).
ReplyDeleteJim is a really stubborn character, but he is also very smart in a werid way. Back in those times, blacks were uneducated, but Jim actually knows about some interesting things that I don’t even know. They argue about the weirdest things and Jim ends up winning the argument because “you can’t learn a nigger to argue”.
“…found boots, blankets, and clothes, and all sorts of other things, and a lot of books, and a spyglass, and three boxes of seegars. We hadn’t ever been this rich before in neither of our lives.” (pg.80) I can understand that Jim has never been that rich before with all of these things they stole, but I thought we discussed in class that Huck has social mobility. And that he has been rich before. Why does Huck say “we hadn’t ever been this rich before in neither of our lives.” ?
I think even though Huck Finn is still a boy, as shown in the incident where he tricks the "watchman" of the steamboat. Nevertheless, it is becoming apparent that the older and more mature he got, the questions of morality are starting to "dig in". I think this is why he starts thinking about betraying Jim and turning him in. Nevertheless, I think this book is also rather good at demonstrating that morals are rather relative to the time and place. Perhaps, as Huck Finn was young, he didn't see any wrong in working with a black person when he was younger. Now that he's getting older, I think he is beginning to see some of the morals and prejudice appropriate to the time and place. Nevertheless, I find it admirable that he was able to overcome this question of morality and see Jim as perhaps a friend and companion and for what he is; human. I believe that the theme of morality as he grows up is well demonstrated.
ReplyDeleteI think the talks about French and King Solomon really bring out ignorance. It shows us how whites have long deprived blacks of education and learning. But by the way Huck talked about the French, it becomes apparent that he didn't know all that much either. Could it be that maybe it is because of not having an education that enabled Huck to form bonds with Jim so easily?
After reading these chapters, I think Jim is a very stubborn person. The stubborn side of Jim is told when Huck comments that once Jim gets an idea into his head it is impossible to change it, and proves this to the reader by discussing Jim's opinions of Solomon and Frenchmen. I think Jim wishes to avoid any adventures because adventures bring complications. Jim only wants to get to Cairo and take the steamboat upriver with no interruptions, he wants to reach his goal, which is freedom.
ReplyDeleteHuck is very smart and has quick reactions when face to problems. He made two slave-hunters believe that his family have smallpox and it also demonstartes the fear which people treat other sick people who needs support and help. Rather than offering to help, the two men try to buy off the family and send them away.
Question: Is Jim and Huck going to escape the next dangerous event? Will Huck’s lies save their lives again?
I think Chapter 13 is the most interesting chapter so far. In that chapter, Huck didn't just show a sense of loyalty to Jim, but he was smart enough to save the robbers so they can be "hung when their time comes" He knew that it wasn't right to leave them stuck on the wreck, and if somebody went and found them, they would be charged for their crimes. Not only did Huck put robbers into jail (sort of) he told Jim to go on down the river, so people won't know where he was. Jim was a runaway slave, and if he were caught, he would probably be lynched. Huck knew that and didn't want Jim to be killed.
ReplyDeleteI think Huck was really clever to come up with a elaborate story to get the watchman to go to the wreck. It was elaborate but at the same time, still believable. Huck is getting better and better a lying.
I think there might be something wrong with Jim, because he was so sure that what he dreamt was real. I think he was a little insecure, always on the run and everything.
FOR THOSE WHO DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND THE STORY OF SOLOMON:
ReplyDeleteTwo women both had newborn babies. One night when they slept together with the kids. While the four were sleeping together, one of the baby got squished by the mother. When the mothers woke up and saw the dead baby, they both claimed that the baby wasn't their's. So they brought it up to King Solomon. After he heard the case, he said, "Fine, both of you claim its your's, we'll just cut the baby in half and split it between you two. But that's not the end of the story, as Jim puts it. After Solomon said that one of the mother said, "Ok, fine, kill the baby." The other mother pleaded with the king, "Please don't kill the baby, even give it to the other mother, just please don't kill him." By the two remarks made by the women, Solomon could find out who the real mohter was.
QUESTION:
In chapter 16, Huck Finn said that his conscicence didn't feel good because he was helping a black slave escape. But isn't his conscience supposed to tell him that it's wrong to treat people like animals by enslaving them?
Huck lies to the ferryman that his family is stranded on a boat in order to try and save the robbers, but I don't understand why he does this. Huck also keeps contemplating whether or not he should turn Jim in, because that's what he thinks is the right thing to do. And if he doesn't, he will feel bad, but at the same time, if he does, he still will feel bad. I think that although Huck is friends with Jim, he still is affected by the white society he lived in.
ReplyDeleteI think Huck still think that Jim is a Negro and still treats him with a bit of unfairness. When Jim was talking about what he will do when he gets to Cairo Huck felt guilty for keeping and helping Jim who had run away.
ReplyDelete“It was according to the old saying, ‘Give a n****r an inch and he’ll take an ell.’ Thinks I, this is what comes of my not thinking. Here was this n****r, which I had as good as helped to run away, coming right out flatfooted and saying he will steal his children- children that belong to a man I didn’t even know; a man that hadn’t ever done me no harm. I was sorry to hear Jim say that, it was such a lowering of him. my conscience got to stirring me up hotter than ever…”- page 92
Huck still think of Jim and his children are properties to be owned. I think it is funny that Huck’s conscience was bugging him now when his friend is just dreaming instead of all the times he lied and stole.
page 102 (or part of it) is really amusing. :D i forgot why, my books not here with me.
ReplyDeleteanyway.
weifan: I guess Huck still sees things from a prejudiced white's perspective, although he hasnt much influence. He sees it from the owner's view - and the kids as poultry or cattle or just belongings - he's okay with Jim buying his wife (as though he was buying a sack of flour) but not STEALING his children (like shoplifting).
I also think this applies to us too - we don't think people as objects, but when we gossip about them, it's sort of like an objectification - we're speaking as if they're just an item, not someone with feelings, moods, etc. Jim's kids are real (at least in the story) but at the moment Huck doesn't think about them as real breathing children.
Adam: You can't really blame Huck for still being prejudiced against African Americans. He's still white, and still has some influence by the white society - how blacks are supposedly lower than them and all that. And many of the people they pass by on the raft talk about not letting runaway blacks get away. Society tells us what is right, and at this time, it's right to turn in a runaway black slave and not help them out. Huck hasn't had much influence from society, being a drunkard's son, but he still has some - plus he's only a child, which makes him and his conscience very confused between the two - what he thinks is right vs. what the society says is right.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI find Jim’s tirade about King Solomon actually sort of meaningful, although it did sort of miss the main point. His speech reflects on the people in our society today- that we treasure things a lot more if we have little to none of it, and that we are a lot freer with things that we do have a lot of- that we know we have excess of. However, Jim’s tirade also shows his ignorance, for the in the story, King Solomon only threatened to cut the child in half to see which mother was the true one. However, Jim completely misses the point and only concentrates on the fact that Solomon was going to split the child in half. I guess Huck’s comment, “If he got a notion in his head once, there warn’t no getting it out again.” is very true…
ReplyDeleteAfter reading these chapters, I wonder that whether Huckleberry Finn is doing the right thing and choice or not, because I think his choice is going to cause a danger to not only to himself but to both of him and Jim. And also in the beginning of these chapters, we can see that Jim and Huckleberry were arguing and I think Mark Twain is pointing out something very important. That is when you spend time with someone, you can know who that person really is. Even though at the first time you might be really close with that person, but as time passes you can know whom that person really is. I think Mark Twain is showing the readers about the real personality somehow.
ReplyDeleteAlso in these chapters, we saw the bias side of Huckleberry Finn. Here comes my question, if Huckleberry Finn is our hero in the story, why would he be bias and why would he be good at lying? Wouldn’t that be ironic?
“But now it did; and it stayed with me, and scorched me more and more. I tried to make out to myself that I warn’t to blame, because I didn’t run Jim off from his rightful owner; but it warn’t no use, conscience up and says, every time, ‘But you knowed he was running for his freedom, and you could ‘a’ paddled ashore and told somebody.’” (Twain 91) I wonder why does Huck still think of Jim as a slave, not a friend. Even after all that they went through, and all the times they helped each other, Huck still wants to turn Jim in?
ReplyDeleteI think the arguments between Huck and Jim were really funny, especially the part about different types of languages. I think this part really shows how uneducated blacks were back then, which was all caused by whites. The theme, ignorance, really shows here.
ReplyDeleteWhen Jim talks about being free and buying back his wife and child, I felt really bad for him. Why does a man have to BUY his family back?! It just didn't sound fair to me at all.
Is Huck racist to blacks? Sometimes it seems to me like he treats Jim as a friend, but other times he treats him as someone with a low status...
When Huck hears Jim say that “…he would go to saving up money and never spend a single cent, and when he got enough he would by his wife, which was owned on a farm close to where Miss Waston lived; and then they would both work to buy the children, and if their masters wouldn’t sell them, they’d get an Ab’litionist to go and steal them.” Huck feels ashamed that he has helped a slave escape, but at the same time, pleased becuase he is helping his friend. I was traumatized when Huck made the desicion to turn Jim to the authorities. In the end he didn’t. My question is, what made Huck want to turn Jim in? And what stopped him from doing so? Miss Waston taught Huck wrong from right. Did that concept motivate Huck in turning his friend in?
ReplyDeleteHuck and Jim's arguments about King Solomon and different languages were really interesting. Beside the fact that Jim missed the point in the King Solomon story, he supported his statement pretty well and actually hit a good point[that people really do take things for granted when they have an abundance of that particular item]. But, the intellect that was portrayed in the Solomon case was totally contrasted when Huck and Jim switched their topic to languages. In this argument, Jim just sounds extremely ignorant and stubborn.
ReplyDeleteI found Huck's dilemma of whether or not to turn Jim in interesting as well. After Huck tricks Jim for the last time, he feels no regret in humbling himself to someone "below" him, but when it comes to turning his own friend in, he can't make up his mind. I was glad that Huck didn't turn Jim in. :)
Demi: It isn't fair, but that's how things were. It seems he doesn't act superior toward Jim because Jim is his friend. I'm pretty sure that if they weren't as close as they are, Huck would have turned Jim in. Maybe.
After reading these few chapters, I have to say that Huck is an extremely lucky person. It seems like he is always able to talk himself out of things. For example, when Huck met a few men that were looking for runaway slaves, he managed to stop them from looking at the raft.
ReplyDeleteSteven: I think that Huck still thinks Jim as a slave is because of the community he lived in. Huck lived in a community that treated blacks as slaves, and he also lived in a house that owned one. Therefore, the thought of black people being slaves is probably hard to get rid of.
When Huck and Jim were on the ship, it was a like a life and death situation where they’re looking for a boat to escape. It’s like either they found a boat and leave or fight until the other dies to escape. After they’ve escaped back to the island, they’ve found lots of things on the trunk the gang has stolen. In the following conversation between them, Huck talked about ‘Louis Sixteenth that got his head cut off in France long time ago; and about his little boy the dolphin, that would a been a king, but they took and shut him up in jail, and some say he died there.’Then Jim said if Louis the Sixteenth had got out and came to America, then he must be able to speak with the rest of the Englishmen. It’s kind of ironic that Jim was not able to comprehend the fact that France speaks a different language than English. Huck used the example of cats and a cows and applying that to the French people and the Americans, but Jim was not able to get the point. From this, I’ve noticed Huck was intelligent in many ways, and know a few phrase of French. And Huck, a child was teaching an adult, Jim, such a simple things. Another thing that I’ve notice was that Huck sometimes teaches Jim things and did most of the actions during many situations. Just when they’re on the ship, Huck was the one that made the decision. It was somehow very interesting how Huck was sometime over control of an adult. In the other words, Huck was very independent and was able to survive alone.
ReplyDeleteTo Amy's Question:
ReplyDeleteI think Huck just want to tell the truth to get rid of him so he could travel alone. But then he know he couldn't for he had made a promise with Jim. He couldn't say it out but then afterwards, he feels better that he hadn't turn Jim in. So then he wouldn't be alone.
Amy: maybe Huck is afraid that someone might find out that he is helping a black and might get introuble for it.
ReplyDeleteTo Haley's Question:
ReplyDeleteI think he tells non-stopping lies because, either he does it for a certain purpose to protect someone. Or he doesn't understand that lying is bad. Huck did not grow up in a proper enviroment.
I feel like one of the most touching parts of this part of the book is the part where Huck tries to make Jim think that their separation is a dream, and as a side note the way Jim recounts his dream and interprets it strikingly reminds me of Joseph in the Bible, who was highly valued by the Pharoah because of his dream-interpreting ability. Though Huck tried to make Jim think it was a dream, Jim found out when he saw dirt and debris and branches lying in the raft, and was mad at Huck for trying to make a fool of him when he had worried about him so much. "What do dey stan' for? I's gwyne t tell you. When I go ta ll wore out wid work, en wid de callin' for you, en went to sleep, my heart wuz mos' broke bekase you wuz los', en I didn' k'yer no' mo' what become er me en de raf. En when I wake up aen find you back ag'in, all safe n soun', de tears, come, en I could 'a' got down on my knees en kiss yo' foot, I's so thankful. En all you wuz thinkin' bout wuz how you could make a fool uv ole Jim wid a lie."--it showed the feelings Jim had for Huck as a companion and a friend and i thought it was extremely touching the way even his sleep was disturbed because he was worried for Huck's safety.
ReplyDeleteAlso, earlier the part about French speaking people showed Jim and Huck in a brilliant display of wit and metaphor. Huck employs metaphors of different animals to show how different people can say the same thing in different languages, while Jim maintains that as long as a man is a man, he should always speak the same way. The idea of unity is present in jim's words, while the idea of diversity is present in Huck's. Though Jim may seem ignorant, his views are not in any way less valuable than Huck's.
The friendship between Huck and Jim is interesting. When confined to the rules of society, Huck finds it harder to treat Jim as an equal. However, when they are travelling down the river alone with each other, they are equal beings with a friendship so close that Jim seems to be an older brother/role model for Huck.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the book, I notice that Huck and Jim are not only friends, but like brothers. They rely on each other every minute of their lives. The two characters begin to trust and need each other so much, that Jim was going to kiss his foot when he saw that Huck came back. Something I find very touching was how Huck told Jim that their sudden split was only a dream.
ReplyDeleteIn the mini- adventures of chap. 13 -16, Huck has lied numerous times in order to survive and
come across problems. In order to hide his true identity, Huck has transformed into many different people. So far, I have not seen Huck reveal his identity to anybody on the way, besides Jim. He trusts Jim, who is an African- American, more than white people, which I find very ironic, especially in those times.
At the very end of chapter 16, I think that Huck and Jim will be separated for a period of time, maybe even permanently! I wonder what will happen to Huck and Jim.
QUESTION:
Why do they want to go to Cairo when cities near it still practice slavery?
testing cuz kevin wants me to
ReplyDeleteHuck is definitely has gradually learned a skill of lying, he talks more fluently when he’s lying than before. He made an elaborate story about how his family was at Walter Scott and the ferryman actually believed him. Once you make a story more elaborate, there is a greater chance for the other person to believe you. Even when Huck was telling Jim stories from the books in the wreck, he made up and added to the stories. Before, we only know that Huck is street smart, but now we know that he has smartness for lying too.
ReplyDeleteThe novel is called “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” however, Huck’s definition of “adventures” is his trips with Jim that can cause them to die or be captured. Is the rest of the story going to be about Huck and Jim’s “adventures”?
To Angela: maybe because when they were traveling alone with each other they were side by side? Or…?
in these chapters, we see the more caring side of Huck but with that side, we also see his stupidity. When the robbers were stranded, he felt bad for the robbers and sends help to them, and he thinks that it was a good deed because miss watson cared about rapscallions and dead-beats. then later on he feels bad about lying and insulting jim. he also begins to worry about the fact that he was helping an escaped slave. he does everything because he wants to be a good person, but it seems like he doesn't exactly know what good really is.
ReplyDeleteIn chapters 14 to 16, we saw the true personality of Huck. Even though he sometimes still has the concept of white supremacy, his consciousness and kindness often still overcomes his evil deeds (for example giving Jim up to the authorities).
ReplyDeleteAs the story progresses, Huck and Jim's master to slave relationshop strenghtens and evolves into a friendship, which later on turns into a brotherhood. As Michael Wu had said before, the part where Huck told Jim the whole seperation was just a dream proved that Huck and Jim are more than just friends (or at least for Jim). Jim was extremely worried, fearing that he would lose Huck forever; since, like he said, Huck is his only friend that he can trust.
Huck and Jim found many things including books, cigars, and clothes. When Huck and Jim lost each other on the canoe, I was scared that they would never find each other again, but luckily, they did. Now, Huck and Jim are very close friends and they rely on each other so they can survive. They do everything together and they help each other with everything. Now we're beginning to see the adventures of Huck's life.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading these chapters, I think that Huck is really struggling with Jim. He wants to get rid of him just because he is a runaway black slave, but he sympathizes Jim and Jim’s only friend was Huck. I think this really shows the racism in their society, all of the people hate the black men and when one wants to help a black man, he usually restrains himself from helping because the society doesn’t allow it. The same is for Huck, he thinks that having a black man on the same journey as him might bring him more trouble.
ReplyDeleteRobert
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I think that Huck is fighting an inner battle with himself, trying to decide if he wants to help Jim, or if he just wants to turn get rid of him so that he can be out of danger. The issue of racism is really brought out through this internal conflict. Many people would normally be happy to help a black slave, and they really want to, but they are afraid of what the society might do to them. If they get caught with a black man, then they will probably be killed along with the black man.
Chapter 13-16
ReplyDeleteIn this section Huck and Jim find some more supplies and a new raft. Throughout the book I have noticed that Jim doesn’t have a very clear view of the world and has a wild imagination. His views of this world are from a very weird standpoint and his arguments are unjustifiable. Yet Huck chooses not to continue arguments with him. Personally I would think that it would be wiser to fight back because Jim needs some help with his views. He thinks people aren’t supposed to be different from him like when he was arguing for the French man. Just because the French man was human, he expected him to speak English. Huck should be able to talk some sense into him because Jim’s arguments seem easily irrevocable. So why does Huck not continue?
After going through so much on the river, Huck and Jim have developed a strong bond. As much as they want to, they know that they need each other more than anything/anyone. When they were separated for the brief amount of time in the fog, they Huck realized how important Jim was to him and tried really hard to reunite with him. Luckily, they did, strengthening their bond even more. I think that Huck and Jim, although separated again, will find each other soon.
ReplyDelete In these chapters, again, we can see that Huck is really smart and kind. For example, when the man gave Huck twenty-dollars, he felt sorry to tell the lie, even though he really wants to help Jim. That’s kind of a dilemma. But it’s nice to see him making the right choice. And also I found it funny when Huck told the lie to every man he met. I think he felt comfortable and confident to do that. However, in your opinion, why do you think that Huck had the idea to give up Jim when the man gave him twenty-dollars?
ReplyDeleteI noticed that Huck lies a lot to get out of situations or to get something he wants. In most situation he always lies and never tells the truth. I think this has become a habit of his, he has become good at making excuses and fake stories in a short amount of time and always trick the person.
ReplyDeleteHuck is only staying with Jim because he sympathizes him. Huck wants to leave Jim because hes a runaway slave, but Jim says things that make Huck feel bad for him. This shows how whites do not like being with black people. Which also shows the racism.
The part where Huck and Jim are talking about different people, it shows how black people are uneducated and always stay with what they think.
In these chapters, we see that Huck, a white person, and Jim, a "nigger" are becoming closer and closer. This forbidden friendship has changed Huck quite a bit, for example he chose not to give Jim up. We also see Huck's street smartness. He lied to many people which acquired him information and gold. This shows his level of quick thinking. My question now is that, where is this story going to go? I mean is he going to dirft to random places with Jim for the whole book? This book doesnt seem like it has a plot.
ReplyDelete"Well, den, I reck'n I did dream it, Huck; but dog my cats ef it aint the powerfulest dream I ever see. En I haint ever had no dream b'fo' dat's tired me like dis one." (Page 88, original version)
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 15, Huck fooled Jim that it was all just a dream. He was teasing Jim. Later, Jim found that it was just one big lie. What is the significance of Huck lying to Jim?
Q: when Huck and Jim are escaping, they found an instant small floating boat, and it was pure luck. If the the boat wasn't there, they probably would be found. Why does the main characters have to be a lucky boy?
ReplyDeleteIs this element required for adventureous novels?
Reuben: Huck decided to discontinue the conversation, because he wanted to stop arguing with Jim. Arguing with each other brought them nowhere; they were both really stubborn and didn't tolerate each other's own thoughts. Jim was convinced that his own way was right and Huck was also convinced that his own way was right. They didn't want to accept each other's opinions. From here, we learned more about Jim's personality; that he is also stubborn and would only accept his thoughts.
ReplyDeleteThroughout this chapter shows a white man and a black getting closer friend. Especially when Jim is still a running slave, but still they are still friends. I think Huck and Jim's friendship is unbreakable, it's like using your own hand trying to break a rubber band, but it won't work at all, it's unbreakable. i agree with Sean, no matter how Huck and Jim are separate far away, they will find out a way to see each other, probably is the destiny let them to be together.
ReplyDelete"I wished the widow knowed about it. I judged she would be proud of me helping these rapsciallions."(p.85)
ReplyDeleteHuck is starting to turn into a much more soft hearted person. He is willing to help the robbers escape from the island. Though does would the widow really have been proud of him? Would she really have been proud in Huck's change of character? Because in my opinion, his change would only lead him to more adventures and trouble, as he accepts more people, no matter good or bad.
Jasmine: In chapter 15, Huck fooled Jim that it was all just a dream. He was teasing Jim. Later, Jim found that it was just one big lie. What is the significance of Huck lying to Jim?
ReplyDeleteI think Huck lied to Jim because he just wanted to have fun, or maybe he didn’t want Jim to worry about him.
The most thrilling part between Chapter 13 to 16 is the part when the men searched for runaway slaves on Huck's boat. At first the situation is tense, because you would be nervous and afraid that the whites would lynch Jim, which is the only companion that Huck has. However, in this part of the novel, we can clearly see how Huck Finn reacts to things. Huck is a clever, brilliant, and calm kid that gets away from troubles due to his plans and lies. We'll see more of his cunning personality later in the book.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI am continuously amused at Huck's lying skills. All the lies he has told on the way so far still fail to amuse me. I feel kinda of sorry for Jim, especially when Huck tried to trick him after drifting around. I also feel touched about Huck and Jim's relationship, they are a single pair of friends that definitely need to stay together.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Near the beginning of this chapter, Huck notes that he may become a murderer someday. I wonder why he has such a notion. Also, I wonder why Huck is so persistant that the French can speak English. Well, I'm Chinese (Taiwanese) and I can speak English. (Can't we all?)
To Ted L.: I think the whole idea of the story will be the narration of Huck's journies and adventures with Jim, detailing the events that lead to him growing up. After all, this novel is called "The Adventure*s* of Huckleberry Finn".
In this section, it really emphasizes the relationship between Jim and Huck. It was interesting and funny how Jim and Huck were arguing over solomon and the french.Although it seems like it shows Huck intellectual superiority over Jim but turns out that Huck aint much more smarter than Jim is. There is also somewhat this love/hate, inferior/superior relationship going on. Jim and Huck broke up and then Jim was glad when Huck came back when Huck didnt have any emotions. Huck sold out Jim, cheats, and lies. It shows Huck's lack of morality towards things. Jim is somewhat being tossed around. Which shows Jim's inferiority in white society.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the part when Jim and Huck were fighting over whether King Solomon was a good king or not and why a Frenchman and a cat don't speak the same language really funny. The fact that their arguments don't really make any sense brings out the theme of ignorance.
ReplyDeleteWhy does Huck treat Jim the way he does? Does he not have the same prejudice against black people as the other whites do? Or does he just want Jim there so it's easier for them to survive?