As
readers start off Chapter 31 we find Huck tagging along, unwillingly,
with the King and Duke once again. After many failed attempts of
conning people out of their money, the Duke and King begin to whisper
amongst themselves. It is in this moment that Jim and Huck decide
that they will no longer follow these men. Huck says, “...we was
pretty scared, and made up an agreement that we wouldn't have nothing
in the world to do with such actions, and if we ever got the least
show we would give them the cold shake, and clear out and leave them
behind.” I believe that this is a large step in Jim and Huck's
current enslavement predicament. They are prepared to make their own
freedom and set themselves free from this pilgrimage they have been
dragged into. However, this changed when Huck went into town with
the King and Duke, leaving Jim alone. Jim is sold and is a slave
once more. His physical enslavement leads to Huck's mental
enslavement. Huckleberry becomes so focused on achieving Jim's
freedom that he is neglecting his own, of which we have seen multiple
times preceding these chapters. This teenage boy who, at times, has
a more matured thought process than people in the world today is able
to see past the color of Jim's, and other black people's, skin in a
time where slavery and racism is evident.
Then,
Tom makes his appearance after many chapters of his absence. We
painfully read through Tom diminishing Huck's ideas and creating a
complex means of escape for Jim. Huck, yet again, is enslaved. I
think that this is a large part of Huck's character. People
constantly take advantage of Huck and treat him like he is below
everyone. This is once of Huck and Jim's greatest battles to
overcome in the Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn.
2 comments:
I feel like people are always taking advantage of Huck because he isn't "civilized" when in reality I think Huck is pretty well of for making it this far. He could of been caught and for all we know with Pap. I always see that when either Huck or Jim get a chance to be on their own and chase after their freedom they're held ack. Why? Well as I read more you see that like you said Huck "is able to see past the color of Jim's, and other black people's, skin in a time where slavery and racism is evident." He knows where Jim stands with him and it is only right to always help him especially at this point of the book that we are in. I also like how you found that Jim being physically enslaved once again led Huck to mental enslavement because he knows he cannot continue on without his partner. It's like you can kind of consider them very close siblings.
I like how you linked Jim’s physical enslavement with Huck’s mental enslavement. It almost seems as if Huck is happy if Jim is happy, which is nice, but almost makes it seem as if they are married. Like you said, we see that Jim and Huck are enslaved by the Duke and the King and are getting the courage to make their own freedom and not to be with the con men any longer. I thought that it was cool when Tom came back into the book after being gone for such a long time, but then I quickly realized that Tom, too, was enslaving Huck with his dominance. Huck in many ways has more freedom than any child could ever imagine, yet in a lot of ways, he is enslaved more than anyone else.
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