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Posted by shaun poe on February 23, 192004 at 23:35:48:
In Reply to: Racism and Huckleberry posted by mary on August 06, 192003 at 22:55:39:
: On the back of my copy of Huck Finn is this quote by Ernest Hemingway, “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.” It is a famous quote but is hardly ever seen in its entirety. The remainder is this, “ If you read it you must stop where the Jim is stolen away from the boys. That is the real end. The rest is just cheating.” The “rest” is the part of the book where Twain makes his points clear. Huck’s regression under Tom’s wing during the last part of the book reinforces society’s power over Huck. To not read the last eleven chapters would be cheating.
: Growing up in the inner city I have been faced with diversity all my life. The character Jim reached out to my heart and wrenched it several times, opening my eyes to the wider, unequal world beyond the sheltered grasp of home. Jim was a fictional character and many say that was all he was. However, Mark Twain established the characteristics of Jim-kindness, tenderness, the ability to love and be loved, the ability to think cleverly and to learn creatively and breathed life into them. He did not come out and spit these traits into our mouths, but instead stepped back and allowed Jim’s actions to seep slowly into our conscience. Jim’s ever apparent concern for Huck during the raft ride, allowing him to sleep while he continued the night watch and his worrying in the desolate fog were enough to prove his ability for caring. Even more than that, though, his actions of sacrificed freedom to help Tom when he was hurt and the tale of his deaf daughter made you love Jim as much as he loved others. He did love, as only a human being is capable of doing. He loved his family, he loved his freedom, and he loved Huckleberry Finn.
: Huck realized the reality of this as the society around him could not. Those sunny, stormy, and starlit hours began teaching Huck that slavery was inhumane and that slaves were human. Then Tom, a boy bearing a life stamped with social influences, came back into Huck’s life. He started right away serving as an example and teaching Huck again how to treat a Negro. Not with the kindness and generosity that Jim had shown him, but with cruelty and indifference that blacks, ignorant as animals, supposedly deserved. Tom proved that he thought of Jim as someone to play with and to tease. When talking about his ridiculous and meticulous plan of Jim’s escape he said, “Jim’s a , and wouldn’t understand the reasons for it”. I agree, Jim wouldn’t understand the reasons for it because there is no reason behind scratching marks on a millstone and trying to tame rattlesnakes. Tom cruelly abused Jim’s ignorance while Huck watched on. His growing love for Jim as a person and his concern for his well-being were squashed under the almighty and all-knowing knowledge of Tom, the boy with all the answers.
: Because of this journey, starting at prejudice, growing to understanding, and falling back into the enclosing arms of society, the book is complete. Some say all the strings were tied into little bows at the end, but what is wrong with that? Anyway, I’m not so sure that the strings were tied into knots instead.
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