Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a well recognized masterpiece of classical literature – it tells a story of the young boy, who travels over a raft down the Mississippi river together with a slave, who escaped from his owner. Their relations are fascinating, unusual, sometimes comic and really profound emotionally. Even if to consider Huckleberry Finn to become the principal hero, the role of Jim’s hero ought to not be underestimated. In reality this would be tough to imagine the whole story with out “Miss Watson’s big nigger, referred to as Jim…”.
Jim is also easily called the father of Huck, as he took care on the boy each physically and emotionally and is the only example for the young boy to follow.
From the very beginning the black companion of Huck looks to become too easy and obsessed with superstitious ideas; later however, readers meet a sort hearted and intelligent man in the person of Jim, who possesses a profound understanding on the natural globe close to him and deep feeling of responsibility for ones boy. Most likely if he weren’t separated from his beloved family, he would by no means consume a risk to run away from Miss Watson. Thus he can not be regarded as either a criminal or a vagabond.
Jim became a incredibly close and caring friend for Huck, he cooked for him, helped to produce the boy comfortable during the trip, was in no way importunate in spite of his larger life experience. A single on the major drawbacks that Jim’s hero has according to some critics, is his passive attitude to things around; this is nevertheless effortlessly said by the true situation Jim finds himself in – his life depends as well much on other characters in the novel, along with a teenager boy, like such as within the situation of the letter, which Huck was heading to send to Miss Watson. Nevertheless this can be incredibly natural, that Jim is significantly concerned within the effects of his deeds and even experiences fear sometimes. This on the other hand in no way changed his attitude to his young friend and he usually remained loyal and caring on the him. The readers feel sympathy with Jim, as in presentation of other characters with the novel the true feelings and concerns of Jim are of minor value and must hardly be taken into consideration, simply because his life is “lesser and trivial”, on the other hand he never lost his certain globe view and often remained type to everybody, irrespectively with the way they treated him (Chadwick-Joshua, 23). These qualities that Jim possessed made him even far more heroic and worthy man.
Readers are also in a position to see the clear contrast in between the “comfort”, provided by Jim for ones boy, who catches fish and builds “a snug wigwam [on the raft] to obtain under in blazing weather and rainy” (Twain, 48) towards cabin of Huck’s father – “he has to stop up the holes to preserve the wind from blowing in the chinks and putting the candle out” (Twain, 18-19).
The fact, that Jim is only a black slave creates it tough for Jim to very take in care of the boy and to protect him not only from negative weather, but also from other individuals like Pap, but Jim did his best: he tells lies for the King and Duke and prepares the raft for return escape towards the river.
Huck, who was not used to hearing nice words, who was abused by his personal father and scolded by Miss Watson, soon also learns to appreciate the attitude of Jim, who “would often call [him] honey, and pet [him]” (161). Also from Jim Huck learns the moral rules, which needs to be followed in many life situations. The corruption and brutality with the surrounding globe were usually contrasted to Jim’s views, attitudes, behavior – “”through Jim’s sensitivity [that] the entire Wilks episode is thrown into far more precise focus” (Cox, 65).
Jim has also impact upon the moral decisions of Huck –“Jim’s function… has been to test… Huck’s growing moral strength and mature independence” (Chadwick-Joshua, 39). Jim turned out to become the very first person inside the whole world, who spoke openly on the real meaning of loyalty, friendship, adore and responsibility in the boy. Once Huck apologized to Jim this was also the moment of complete acceptance in the moral views, advocated by the black slave.
Friendship and communication with Jim were the main forces for development of Huck’s moral views and his moral growth. “When Huck remembers their friendship, and couldn’t glimpse to strike no places to harden me [Huck] against him, but only the other kind, he creates the choice to “go to hell” (Cox, 69). It took time ahead of Huck realized, that Jim was also a personality, not depending on a color of his skin; he became aware of the fact, that humanity of someone cannot be diminished either by color of the skin or by some other factor, significant is only what's inside a man’s soul, Huck said “I knowed he was white inside”, meaning, that Jim was a human as well other white people, but using a deeper emotional and spiritual world. Huck also understands, how the color of the skin can't improve the inside the globe of the person, he learned, that Jim “cared just as significantly for his persons as white folks does for their’n. It don’t look natural, but I reckon it’s so” (Twain, 83).
“Jim represents slavery the major theme from the novel, is forgiving, and kind, on the other hand this makes him a heroic character” (Cox, 72).At the same time the role of the father is perfectly played by Jim, who was in a position to take in the responsibility of psychical, emotional and spiritual development in the boy, which makes him extremely essential hero from the story, and not a effortless example of an oppressed and suffering black slave. The character of Jim, created by the author doesn’t enable the novel to belong to just a piece of adventure fiction; unusually and subtly the author was able to discuss many moral problems, not only concentrating over a issue of slavery, but creating a important novel about humanity.
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