Jim the slave
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Jim is an important character from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Jim is a slave belonging to the sister of Widow Douglas. When he overhears the two of them talking about selling him to a slave trader in town who plans to ship him to New Orleans, Louisiana, Jim becomes uneasy and runs away to Jackson Island. There, Huckleberry Finn meets him, surprising Jim, who believes Huck is dead. Together, the two of them embark on a journey to escape from those chasing them.
A friend, a father figure, and a silent mentor; these three traits portray Jim from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in more ways than one. Jim is a symbol of equality that shows Huck that in truth, blacks and whites can be equal. The bizarre part of it is, that Jim has no idea that he is such an influence on Huck. Take this quote for example, “Huck; you’s de bes’ fren’ Jim’s ever had; en you’s de only fren’ old Jim’s got now. -Dah you goes, de ole true Huck; de on’y white genlman dat ever up’ his promise to ole Jim.” Huck realizes that he means something to Jim, he is a friend, and in turn he takes a closer look at what Jim really stands for. In the quote, “He was thinking about his wife and his children, away up yonder, and he was low and homesick; because he hadn’t ever been away from home before in his life; and I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their’n.” Huck is changing his whole perspective of Jim and taking it into consideration that the way he was brought up was unethical and entirely racist towards good people, like Jim. Huck recognizes that Jim has a family of his own that he has to be parted with, and like a sincere man, this dismays him. Whether Huck perceives it, or not, Jim is a fatherly icon whose advice needs to be taken advantage of and this reference validates this point, “Jim whispered and said he was feeling powerful sick, and told me to come along.” This particular incident happens when Huck wants to explore a sinking ship, and like a troubled father, Jim was late to provide an answer. Seeing that Huck keeps nagging, Jim agrees, but soon after he pretends to be ill to con Huck off the ship, given that he is worried about him. Jim does not see his impact on Huck and an example of this is the turning part in the story when Huck proceeds to yell, “All right, then, I’ll go to hell” for Jim’s sake of not turning him in. Jim was a silent mentor to Huck, but just the same, he was a good one.