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Maroun Harb

ENGL-2328-004

Ms. Angela Brazeal-Hager

29 July 2019

Cheated Out of an Ending

In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the themes of racial

representation, morality, truth, and development of conscience are woven together to

highlight the purpose behind the adventures Huck embarks upon and how his treatment

of Jim reflects the nature of slavery during the Reconstruction period. Although Huck is

depicted as immature and disobedient at the beginning of the novel, he is the protagonist

of the novel and Jim’s freedom rests in his hands. Moreover, Huck’s treatment of Jim

varies throughout the novel since they form a special bond with each other, both a

master-slave and father-son bond. Nevertheless, the novel’s ending almost discounts the

humanity that Jim gains in exchange for complicity with adventure and societal norms.

From the start of a novel, a special connection forms between Huck and Jim Huck

is haunted by an abusive father and has no real family while Jim is separated from his

wife and children, setting the stage for Huck to rely on Jim as a fatherly figure. In fact,

Huck went to Jim after placing his assets under Judge Thatcher and posed a question to

Jim: “What I wanted to know was, what he was going to do, and was he going to stay?”

(Twain 29). While Huck and Jim’s exchange may be seen as “strictly business” and

lacking explicit emotion, a more careful examination reveals that the adult, Jim, is gently

consoling the confused adolescent. During their adventures together, Twain made a
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decisive decision in his writing to either provide “powerful social commentary or a

lighthearted kid’s novel.” (Fikes 241). Jim tells Huck a story about his daughter, which at

the surface leads the reader to believe it was intended for a younger, more immature

audience in need of a life lesson. Upon more careful examination, however, it alludes to

the fact that slavery is evil and that nobody should be treated unfairly, contrary to

society’s views at the time since they discriminated against and abused slaves.

Furthermore, Jim’s humanity is believed to be established from Huck’s perspective.

Huck and Jim were separated countless times throughout the novel, causing them

to individually worry about each other. The most notable instance is when Huck lies to

Jim about his whereabouts in an attempt to play a joke, yet Huck’s joke backfires and

makes him feel so guilty “[he] could almost kiss his foot” (Twain 89). This is the

strongest level of commitment displayed by Huck in the entire novel, essentially placing

Jim as his equal. Unfortunately, this directly contrasts with Huck’s actions in the final

chapters of the novel, where he “discards Jim’s humanity and comedy gets in the way of

the point.” (McGrath 57). This makes Twain’s ending botched, illogical, and morally

suspect. After all the progress made by Twain in an attempt to demoralize the peculiar

institution of slavery, he questionably ends the novel with society’s traditional views on

slavery. Regardless of whether or not Jim obtained his freedom, he was always

fundamentally viewed as a slave under any household that may be used as property.

While Jim is seemingly free from slavery, he is still bound by the chains of slavery and

Twain essentially disregarded any attempt for the novel to herald equality.
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Towards the final chapters of the novel, Jim is returned to an environment of

servitude and separated from Huck, breaking the bond made with his only white ally.

Huck runs into Tom Sawyer and disappointingly yields to his adventurous spirit and

follows his authority. Although Jim was there for Huck when he needed support or

guidance, Huck “prioritizes his friendship with Tom over his loyalty to Jim” (Valkeakari

39). Jim is left to conclude that he is either doomed to serve as a slave for the rest of his

life, or he will be saved by two white boys who fundamentally have white loyalties.

Despite coming to terms with these harsh realities, Jim turned down a sure chance at

freedom to save the injured Tom, who elaborated a lengthy scheme that cruelly left him

waiting alone in a cellar. Although Tom knew that Miss Watson’s will had set Jim free

from slavery, he continued to embark on this needless adventure and deferred Jim’s

freedom as something that could eventually be handled by money. Regardless of the

connection made between Jim and Huck, Jim is ultimately returned to an environment of

slavery and is treated not only as property, like in the beginning of the novel, but also as a

means to satisfy Tom’s sense of adventure and capitalism.

Whether by enabling, misguiding, or observing others, there are countless

characters within The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that are crucial towards the plot,

yet there is only individual who remained consistently heroic: Jim. While Huck formed

his conscience throughout the novel, he is simply “a survivor… who feels a certain way

but needs to act.” (Sanford 647). On the other hand, Jim at first humbly serves the

individuals in his household and offers advice to Huck when he was struck by fear from

his abusive father. During his adventures with Huck, Jim places a significant amount of
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trust and dependence on Huck since his freedom was at stake. In fact, he continued to

offer advice and humbly obey any commands given to him, showing “strength despite

discrimination or unusual treatment.” (Sanford 649). Most importantly, Jim accepts his

fate of servitude at the end of the novel and sacrifices a potential path to freedom by

staying behind to help the injured Tom. Although he was always viewed as inferior and

called derogatory terms, Jim remained humble and unselfish.

Although Twain attempted to question the institution of slavery, he ultimately fed

into the discrimination and forfeited any meaning or purpose included in the novel. This

parallels with the fact that even after the Civil War and the Reconstruction Era, African

Americans never escaped from the discrimination and bias associated with slavery.

Moreover, Jim should serve as an exemplary model for not only slaves, but for all those

who are persecuted and enslaved. His humility and selfless actions serve as a righteous

defense to Twain’s poor ending, which left him permanently inferior.

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Works Cited

Fikes Jr., Robert. “The Black Love-Hate Affair with Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”

Western Journal of Black Studies, vol. 35, no. 4, Sept. 2011, pp. 240–265.

EBSCO Host, web.a.ebscohost.com. Accessed 28 July 2019.

McGrath, Brian Seto. “The True Story of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” Raritan,

vol. 37, no. 4, Apr. 2018, pp. 56–69. EBSCO Host, web.a.ebscohost.com.

Accessed 28 July 2019.

Sanford, Pinsker. “Huckleberry Finn and the Problem of Freedom.” Virginia Quarterly

Review, vol. 77, no. 4, Oct. 2001, pp. 642–649. EBSCO Host,

web.a.ebscohost.com. Accessed 28 July 2019.

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Harlow, Pearson Education, 2008.

Valkeakari, Tuire. Huck, Twain, and the Freedman’s Shackles: Struggling with

Huckleberry Finn Today". Dec. 2006, pp. 29–43, ISSN 0210-6124. Accessed 28

July 2019.