Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Twain comments on the stupidity of intolerance through Jim and Huck's relationship and Huck's growth as a character

The time period exposed biases installed into people and the needlessness of intolerance is portrayed from Jim and Huck. In the beginning of the Novel Huck refers to Jim as a "nigger", but he begins to recognize Jim as more than that. When times get hard Huck begins to rely heavily on Jim as a security blanket in comparison to a slave. Huck makes Jim sad by playing a mean prank and remarks, "it was 15 minutes before I could work myself to go and humble myself to a nigger" (89). Huck never apologized for the 1st prank he pulled but his cruel actions lead to this reaction. Huck superiority over Jim diminishes because he perceives they are merely the same. In chapter 23 Huck sees humanity at its purest when he says, "I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their'n". Jim evidently cares for his family in the same intensity as a white person does. Huck puts 2 and 2 together and sees the similarities between blacks and whites. Twain includes this to express the turning of face for Huck and his continuing growing sympathy. The fate of Huck is in his hands and he decides to choose this for himself, "ill go to hell"(207). Huck contemplates his decision but Jim's influence made him make a reasonable decision. He goes against the grain to do the right thing instead of the bias easy one. The consequences that will result from it are worth the trouble for Huck as he has shed the ignorant behavior once part of his life. Jim is a vital part of Hucks new found tolerances in life.

Huck evolves from a typical southern boy to an independent boy after he realizes that intolerances he grew up with are pointless. The evil nature of society is seen by Huck when he exclaims, "Well, if I ever struck anything like it, I'm a nigger. It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race." (178). Huck is not content with the way society treat slaves and the inhumane way that life is for them. More and more Huck is expressing new found emotion for the wrongs of society he used to encourage. Maturity is something Huck finds as life changing events transpire this is very evident here, "Well, it made me sick to see it; and I was sorry for them poor pitiful rascals, it seemed like I couldn't ever feel any hardness against them any more in the world. It was a dreadful thing to see. Human beings can be awful cruel to one another." (253). Twain is effectively displaying the struggle Huck is facing and the evolving that is taking place. The young, reckless, and unsympathetic boy from the beginning is shaping himself into a more genuine person. Huck acquires an emotional tie to Jim, "I knowed he was white inside,