Conley 1

Luke C. Conley

Mr. Tlumack

AP English 11

1/18/2019

Jim As The Mentor of A Morally Corrupt Society.

Equality has changed its meaning to align with the societal expectations of both classist

and racist stereotypes. But society is the masses, a large portion of a group of people, not

necessarily each individual. It is in this case that Mark Twain sees the forest for its trees to

create a mentor of great possibility unbeknownst to the world. Jim, a former runaway slave,

deals with the crushing realism of his past actions by mentoring Huckleberry Finn and teaching

him that stereotypes are meaningless as a means of redemption and salvation.

Mark Twain is one of the most infamous writers across america for his ‘insidious’

descriptions of racism. The inclusion of racial slurs make their presence abruptly in the

beginning of the text and serve to provoke interest in how much racism existed in local groups

and common speech, “‘Why, looky here. There was a free nigger there, from Ohio,’” (Twain

39). The phrase is meant to be the exposition of the differences between Jim, a runaway slave

himself, and the way society treats him. Its juxtaposition is meant to create contrast between the

two. Comparing the likeability of Jim to the aggressive tone of racist speech is meant to spark

interest in JIm as a character since his actions and beliefs are so stark when compared to the

world.

But even though Jim is so opposite what society believes of him, he takes the threats

personally. Before he left his family, Jim acted against his daughter during a moment of
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confusion and anger, “‘En wid dat I fetch’ her a slap side de head dat sont her a-sprawlin’. [...]

O, Huck, I bust out a-cryin’, en grab er in my arms,’” (Twain 170). Jim’s past is haunted by the

beating he gave his daughter, and although his reaction in realization could be enough for

forgiveness it is not enough for Jim himself. Jim feels remorse for his actions, no doubt about

that, but to him saying how he feels and apologizing do not do his past justice. Because of his

determination to prove himself physically, he seeks redemption in all sorts of mediums,

including Huck, along the way back to his family. He treats Huck almost as if he were

reconnecting with his daughter. To Jim, he sees his daughter, Lizabeth, in Huck, a naive child

who has yet to see the worst of the society. Someone without knowledge of how class systems

work. Someone oblivious to oppression and injustice. Someone who will only see the hard logic

in people and dismiss emotion or faith almost entirely. Jim decides to teach Huck that people are

not the majority, as seen when he treats the idea of dressing Huck as women in order to ask for

help from a woman, “Then he studied it over and said, couldn’t I just put on some of them old

things and dress up like a girl? That was a good notion, too,” (Twain 66). Jim even comes up

with the idea of cross-dressing as a female during a time where females are still seen as inferior.

Huck does not understand any of the injustice declared among women as seen by his eagerness

to accept the idea as ‘good.’ He sees the plan as nothing more than a plan. So when Jim first

sees the world’s views rubbing off on Huck he breaks down in tears. It seems to him like he has

failed Huck, and that breaks his heart, “En when I wake up en fine you back again, all safe an

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. Dat truck dah is

trash; en trash is what people is dat puts dirt on de head er dey fren’s en makes ‘em ashamed,”

(Twain 95). Here, Jim is seen vulnerable for the first time and its after he believes he lost Huck
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forever. Jim truly cares about Huck because he sees the future in him, a growing potential to

correct the taboo beliefs of the world. There is a connection in Jim’s mind that Huck is his

daughter, Lizabeth, who was a victim of his own hands. To Jim, that feeds the monster of the

rumors others spread about his race. To Jim, he feels exactly like what he is described as:

disgraceful, undeserving, and wasted. Thats is why Huck means so much because through Huck

Jim can right himself. He can mentor Huck and mold him into believing that stereotypes can

mean nothing and by doing that the can change the minds of others in how they view African

Americans and he can also change his mind in how he views himself.

Progress is good for adaptation, and although Jim does not get to perceive the internal

struggle Huck undergoes, Twain puts it there so that we can observe the metamorphosis

occurring within Huck. The changes that take place inside Huck are seen in the conflict Huck

has with whether or not he should have turned Jim in, “Then I thought a minute. And says to

myself, hold on-s’pose you’d a done right and give Jim up; would you feel better than what you

do now? No, says I-I’d feel bad,” (Twain 113). Here, Huck reflects on himself in much the

same way Jim did with his daughter. After spending so much time away from Jim’s virtues,

Huck sees Jim as nothing more than a slave for a brief moment. That is why he calls giving Jim

up a ‘right.’ It would not be morally right to give up Jim. But because he spent several days

with other men, he saw other sides of the spectrum. This side not only hindered Jim’s teachings

with immoral codes, but also seeded their own ideas inside Huck. However, Huck’s self conflict

proves that although both sides can impact his decisions and morals, it is up to Huck to decide

where he stands. That is why it is so impactful that he admits he would feel guilt if he gave up

his friend for money. His decision proves to the audience that Jim succeeded in attempting to
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change the view of African Americans in society without him even knowing that it had

happened.

Although Jim completed his task in redeeming himself to himself, he is still unaware of

his accomplishment. To him, he still has to prepare Huck for the world so that he will not fall

into judging others. However, he gets caught by several whites and is chained up, but luckily the

doctor comes in and announces that Jim is indeed a just fellow and should be freed for his

actions, “‘Don’t be no rougher on him than you’re obleeged to, because he ain’t a bad nigger,”

(Twain 288). Here is the moment that Jim has been working up to. He has tried proving himself

to society the entirety of the journey and finally he hears that he is not a bad ‘nigger.’ How bitter

sweet that must be to hear. He gets the redemption that he is a swell guy, morally straight and

whatnot, but is instantly reminded of why he fought so hard to obtain that role. Twain included

that as a hard reminder that although Jim changed Huck and the moral perception on him, the

world still sees him as a black man. This proves Jim is right even more so, however, in that by

being reminded of the reasons that put him to working on altering others and himself it kinda

belittles the moment. It weakens the strength of Jim, an African American, in the greatest light

he has been in yet.

Jim has been through the wringer and back, and although society picked at him every

chance it got, he got some good out of it. Sometimes moments can be powerful even though

they are small in that they represent a much more dire, ever pressing issue experienced the world

over. So when Jim got his salvation with a punch to the gut, it still felt good that at least his hard

work paid off and he finally gets to be free from his past both figuratively and literally. The

freedom experienced in the North might be symbolic of the released shackles he put on himself
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in shame of his actions and that now that he is free, he can rest knowing that he is justified in a

new beginning.

Works Cited

Twain, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York and London, W. W. Norton &

Company, Inc., 1999.

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